Tuesday 6 September 2022

WPD unveils project to help grid deal with low carbon demand

WPD unveils project to help grid deal with low carbon demand

Western Power Distribution (WPD) has announced a new project that will see smart meters used to help with the demands of low carbon technologies.

The Smart Meter Innovations and Test Network (SMITN) will help support the connection of electric vehicle (EV) chargers and heat pumps to the grid, as demand grows.

Data from smart meters will determine the stress level on the grid and the best times to charge these items.

This information will then be passed onto customers if extra capacity will be required.

WPD currently has more than 10,700 heat pumps and 58,000 EV chargers connected to its network – and projects that by 2028, it will add 1,600 new EV chargers to this on a weekly basis.

Jenny Woodruff, Innovation Engineer at WPD, said: “When we have good quality data, we can do better network planning.

“We can do it safely, we can automate it, we can make sure phases are more balanced, we can make future networks more efficient, reducing the impact of faults and even predicting future faults. Ultimately, all this will save money and deliver a better service for our customers.”

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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