ViSION - visibility and systems insights

The situation

Typically, an EDBs street-level low voltage network supplies more than 99% of its customers. Despite this high percentage, EDBs have traditionally not had good visibility of the condition and behaviour of their low voltage networks, which were planned for reasonably stable passive household loads with one-way power flow. However, as more customers adopt technologies such as EVs, and solar systems and batteries create two-way power flows, developing visibility of and capability in the low voltage area is essential to efficient electricity network management, and facilitating customer choice and participation in demand response.

Orion extensively considered various visibility and insight options before settling on our ViSION (Visibility and System Insights for the Orion Network) project.

What we explored

Working with international and national partners, we identified that through triangulated analysis of three separate data sources we would be able to achieve excellent initial low voltage visibility and learnings at lowest cost. The three sources of data being:

  • Smart meter operational data.
  • Low voltage distribution transformer monitors.
  • Network topology.

Gaining access to required data is the first phase of ViSION. The second phase is to use the data, via advanced digital platforms, to lower costs to customers and increase reliability etc.

Recognising a future of vast data inflow, Orion is also, as part of ViSION, introducing new methods and techniques for data receipt, storage, cleansing and security.

Outcomes

The insights developed through our ViSION project will help unlock latent capacity in Orion’s LV network, thereby reducing the need for future network investment, lower costs to our customers, and deliver numerous other efficiency, quality and safety improvements. 

Publications