Northern Powergrid Prepares for a Net-Zero Carbon Footprint with Smart Meters and GE Digital ADMS Software

Setting the stage for the UK’s net-zero carbon future, Northern Powergrid is betting on data-led smart meters to trim up to £500M from customers’ energy bills and reduce the country’s carbon footprint by up to two million tons annually.

As part of its Boston Spa Energy Efficiency Trial (BEET), Northern Powergrid will couple its innovative smart-meter algorithm with GE Digital’s Advanced Distribution Management Solutions (ADMS) software to harness real-time data from local smart meters and use those insights to optimize voltage delivered to consumers.

The electricity distribution network operator (DNO) aims to reduce the energy bills and carbon emissions for 15,000 homes and businesses in the local trial area of the village of Boston Spa and the small town of Wetherby. This will be followed by a regional rollout to as many of its eight million customers as possible across North East England, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.

Carbon and Energy Cost Savings with Every Flip of the Switch

To ensure compliance with voltage regulations, households often receive a higher voltage than most domestic appliances require. When Boston Spa resident and retired electricity supply engineer, Keith Jackson, discovered an overabundance of voltage in his own home, he knew his community could benefit from voltage optimization.

Voltage optimization is the process of converting higher input voltage from the electricity grid to lower voltage that better meets needs of today’s electrical equipment and appliances. But while it can reduce power consumption and energy costs, voltage optimization often requires an investment in voltage adjustment devices, which can be out of reach for many consumers. The idea for the smart-meter trial was born.

“Northern Powergrid asked me to join their investigation team. We came up with this innovative solution, which gathers remote voltage readings from smart meters,” said Jackson.

In collaboration with technology and university partners, Northern Powergrid created the “BEET-Box”, which applies an algorithm to local smart meter data every 30 minutes to determine the most efficient voltage to supply on the network at a given moment.

GE Digital’s ADMS software will deliver real-time network voltage data from the smart meter to the BEET-Box. This combination of smart meters, the BEET-Box and ADMS will enable Northern Powergrid to actively manage and monitor the low-voltage network, ensuring rapid detection of power disturbances while facilitating quick restoration and minimizing interruption time for consumers while driving down costs.

The resulting energy efficiency improvements will happen “behind the meter” in customers’ homes and businesses. Even customers without smart meters will experience the benefits of BEET, as the voltage optimization will be applied across the network rather than to individual properties.

Starting in early 2023, this real-time, data-led voltage optimization could save homes and businesses in the trial area an average of £20 on their annual bills and cut their carbon footprint by 27 kg per year – the equivalent of driving 100 km. The resulting efficiency savings could also play a part in helping to unlock network capacity for the anticipated increase in low-carbon technologies, such as electric vehicle chargers and solar panels, as the region readies for net-zero emissions.

Local Trial has National Net-Zero Benefits

Upon completion of successful trials, Northern Powergrid plans to roll out its BEET-Box technology across its region, with 80% of its 3.9 million homes and businesses benefitting by 2033. As one of the millions of people set to gain from this rollout, which requires no action on the part of end users, customers like Keith Jackson and his fellow Boston Spa residents are excited for the future.

The DNO will share the learnings and technology with fellow electricity network operators to deliver benefits at a national level. Nationwide, voltage optimization could save up to £500M from consumer energy bills and cut between 200,000 and two million tons of carbon dioxide annually – the equivalent of removing up to 200,000 cars from the road.