Singapore, 31 October 2019 – Utilities in Asia Pacific nations made significant improvements in the 2019 Smart Grid Index (SGI) rankings with an overall improvement by 10 percentage points from 2018. Improvements were most notable in areas of integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER), security, and customer empowerment and satisfaction.

The SGI is the world’s first industry framework that measures and benchmarks grid smartness across 75 utilities from 35 countries.

Here are the key findings from the 2019 results:

• Asia-Pacific utilities have made significant improvements in DER integration, security and customer empowerment and satisfaction. This reflects the increasing importance of enhancing renewable energy penetration into the grid, cyber security defence and a greater focus on customer satisfaction.
• State Grid Beijing was the most improved utility in this year’s results, increasing its score by 29 percentage points – from 50 per cent in 2018 to 79 per cent in 2019. Ranked #9 on the SGI, it made significant improvements in the areas of data analytics, DER integration and security. Key contributions include its first large grid-connected energy storage system, use of predictive analytics for Asset Health Index, adoption of the National Cyber Security Protocol and providing real-time energy consumption monitoring to customers.
• North American utilities continue to lead in smart grid development. As a region, they improved by 8 percentage points in Data Analytics. This can be attributed to increasing smart meter coverage and wider data analytics application to their grid system. It makes planning, operating and maintaining the network more efficient, thereby providing better value to customers.
• Ranked #1 on the SGI is PG&E for the second year running. The American utility scored 93 per cent, improving by 7 percentage points from 2018. It continued to achieve best practices in Monitoring & Control, Data Analytics, DER Integration, Green Energy and Security, and improved its score on supply reliability.
• Globally, there is increasing focus on security, which on average increased by more than 13 percentage points. This comes on the back of greater emphasis on strengthening against cyber security threats to utilities
• SP Group, ranked 33, scoring 66 per cent this year, an improvement of 16 percentage points from its 2018 score, mainly in the areas of green energy, data analytics and customer empowerment and satisfaction. This was due to its efforts to install an island-wide highspeed electric vehicle charging network, provide half-hourly electricity usage with smart meters and achieving higher customer satisfaction scores.

Mr. Sim Kwong Mian, Chairman of the SP Engineering Council said: “We are greatly encouraged that within a short two years, almost one-third of the utilities benchmarked improved by more than 10 percentage points. We see utilities advancing to counter the potential impact of climate change and security threats, while meeting customer demands and expectations.”

A simple definition of a smart grid is an electricity network that integrates distributed energy resources and deploys technology to better serve customers. Distributed Energy Resources (DER) refer to energy technologies such as solar panels, energy storage systems, and electric cars and their charging points that can be connected to and respond to signals from the grid.

The SGI’s seven key dimensions are:

1. Monitoring and Control
2. Data Analytics
3. Supply Reliability
4. Integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER)
5. Green Energy
6. Security
7. Customer Empowerment and Satisfaction
    

SP Group developed the SGI last year to advance its own grid development and encourage the sharing of best practices. The SGI benchmarking results identify best practices in smart grid development by utilities to enhance service offerings, save cost, and be more sustainable.

More information about the smart grid index can be found at https://www.spgroup.com.sg/whatwe-do/smart-grid-index.

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About SP Group

SP Group is a leading energy utilities group in the Asia Pacific. It owns and operates electricity and gas transmission and distribution businesses in Singapore and Australia, and district cooling businesses in Singapore and China. SP Group is committed to providing customers with reliable and efficient energy utilities services. More than 1.6 million industrial, commercial and residential customers in Singapore benefit from SP Group’s world-class transmission, distribution and market support services. These networks are amongst the most reliable and cost-effective world-wide. SP Group also drives digital solutions to empower customers to manage their utilities, reduce consumption and save cost.

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