When SaskPower refers to a smart grid, we are talking about an electric delivery network, which includes everything from electrical generation to customer end-use, combined with advances in automation to improve electric-system reliability, security and efficiency.
How it fits into our Future Power Plan
We've got a plan to power the province into the future, and developing our smart grid is a key part of our Future Power Plan. Like our Future Power Plan, our smart grid conversion will not happen overnight, but will develop over short-term, medium-term and long-term periods. It will be an evolution of our system with continued improvements.
The smart grid will allow us to make more efficient use of the electricity we generate, including new renewable sources of electricity. We can build more renewable power plants and rely less on traditional coal power plants. Reducing our reliance on traditional coal power production and exploring renewable power sources are two core principles of the Future Power Plan.
The smart grid will also provide more detailed information about your energy use, so you can make informed decisions about your power usage. By saving energy, you save money and help protect the environment—which is also a big part of our Future Power Plan.
Smart grid projects
There are a number of projects that we'll be implementing, which are considered part of our overall smart grid system.
Infrastructure projects
As part of the Advanced Metering project, we're installing 500,000 new smart meters in the province. The completion of the Advanced Metering project is critical to the success of smart grid implementation. Smart meters provide secure, two-way electricity and information to and from the smart grid.
Other smaller infrastructure projects include communications upgrades, smart technology pilot projects and cyber-security installation.
System projects
Projects will be underway to:
- enable residential customers to control the flow of electricity to in-home appliances (through smartphones and other devices)
- identify and prevent power outages before they happen
- distribute electricity more effectively throughout the province
- integrate smaller scale renewable generation technologies into the smart grid
- optimize the performance of the generation, transmission and distribution systems
Benefits of the smart grid
Matches electrical supply to the demand
The smart grid ensures the required supply of electricity matches the demand from our customers, at any given time. It determines how much power is required, where it is required and how to satisfy that requirement most efficiently while optimizing the use of renewable fuel sources. This is why it has been dubbed 'smart'—it examines all the data and recommends the most efficient solution.
By determining:
- how much power is required, the smart grid will ensure there's enough electricity to satisfy the demand—the less electricity produced by the system means less stress on the system and less fuel used, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)
- where power is required, the smart grid will recommend how much power should come from each power station, so that power production is closer to where the power is actually being used—electricity that travels shorter distances is more efficient and not as much power is lost in transmission
Monitors the entire system
When fully operational, the smart grid will constantly monitor the performance of every piece of power infrastructure in the province. This will reduce unplanned power outages, because problems with the system are identified proactively and corrected before the power goes out. It also means that if the power is going to go out, we'll know before it happens. Planned power outages will also be reduced because testing and evaluating can be done without turning the power off.
In addition to monitoring the system, the smart grid also allows remote access to the system, so that maintenance can be done through a secure network instead of on-site. This reduces the number of field visits required by our technicians, which reduces the GHG produced by our fleet of vehicles as well.
Provides more information and options
The smart grid will provide you with information about your home or business power usage, so you can see where the best opportunities are for saving power and money.
