Smart Grid Power Distribution Automation Updates- Smart Grid is a way to get better system performance by using data information integration and communication. Smart Grid refers to a sustainable electricity grid modernization, integrating information and communication technologies to intelligently manage and operate generation, transmission, distribution, consumption, or even the electric energy market.
Smart Grid Power Distribution
Some companies focus on developing devices to support the Smart Grid System.

- ABB
- General Electric
- Schneider Electric
- Siemens
- Rockwell Automation
here is the specific topic of the smart grid
- Abb Smart Grid
- Schneider Electric Smart Grid
- Siemens Smart Grid
The history of the development of the power grid
The first alternating current grid system was installed in 1886 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. At that time, the grid was a one-way centralized system of electric power transmission, distribution, and demand-driven control.
In the 20th century, local networks grew over time and eventually became interconnected for reasons of economy and reliability. By the 1960s, the power grids of developed countries had become very large, mature, and highly interconnected, with thousands of ‘central’ power plants delivering power to main load centers via high-capacity power lines, which were then branched and divided to provide power. . for smaller industrial and domestic users across supply areas.
The grid topology of the 1960s was the result of strong economies of scale: large coal, gas, and oil power plants on the scale of 1 GW (1000 MW) to 3 GW were still considered cost-effective due to the efficiency-enhancing features that could save costs only if the station becomes very large.
Power plants are located close to fossil fuel reserves (the mine or the well itself or close to railway lines, roads, or ports). The placement of hydroelectric dams in mountainous areas also dramatically affects the structure of the emerging grid. Nuclear power plants are placed for the availability of cooling water.
Finally, fossil fuel power plants are initially highly polluting and are located as far as economically possible from population centers once the electricity distribution network allows them. In the late 1960s, the electricity grid reached the majority of the population of the developed world, with only remote areas remaining ‘off-grid.’

Electric consumption measurement is required per-user basis to allow for precise billing according to the consumption levels (very variable) of different users. Due to limited data collection and processing capabilities during periods of network growth, flat rate arrangements are usually applied, as well as dual rate arrangements in which nighttime power is charged at a lower rate than daytime power.
The motivation for the dual rate arrangement is the demand for lower night time. Double tariffs allow the use of inexpensive nighttime electric power in applications such as maintenance of a ‘heat bank,’ which serves to ‘smooth’ daily demand and reduce the number of turbines that need to be shut down overnight, thereby increasing the utilization and profitability of generation and transmission facilities. The metering capabilities of the 1960s grid meant technological limitations on the extent to which price signals could be propagated through the system.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, increasing demand led to an increase in the number of power plants. In some areas, the power supply, especially during peak times, cannot meet this demand, leading to poor power quality, including blackouts, power outages, and blackouts. Electricity is increasingly being relied on for industry, heating, communications, lighting, and entertainment, and consumers demand ever higher levels of reliability.
Towards the end of the 20th century, electricity demand patterns were established: home heating and air conditioning caused daily peaks of demand which were met by a series of ‘peak power stations’ that would only be turned on for a short time each day.
The relatively low utilization of these peaking plants (generally, gas turbines are used due to their relatively lower capital costs and faster start-up times), together with the redundancy required in the power grid, resulting in high costs for the power company, are passed on in the form of the tariff increase. In the 21st century, several developing countries such as China, India, and Brazil are pioneers in deploying smart networks.
Source: Gov