Technology and consulting firm Accenture has clinched a million-dollar contract from Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) to design and implement the country’s first Intelligent Energy System (IES) pilot project.
The IES pilot will involve 4,500 customers in various residential, commercial and industrial locations, including the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) campus, the CleanTech Park at Jalan Bahar and the Punggol public housing eco-precinct.
When the system is finally implemented, households will be able to select their electricity retailer and pricing plan. They will be able to monitor their energy consumption on a real-time basis with convenient in-home display devices. Through this, home owners will gain better control of major home appliances to reduce energy usage and hence, their power bills.
Businesses will gain similar advantages, including gaining better control and automated systems at the
building level to reduce energy consumption.
EMA said on Wednesday the total project is budgeted at $30 million, funded by EMA and Singapore Power.
Its chief executive Lawrence Wong said in a statement that “this IES pilot project will allow us to deploy and test out promising smart grid applications in selected areas, before rolling them out on a wider scale. All this will support Singapore’s efforts in developing a smart energy economy.”
The IES pilot will be conducted in two phases. Phase 1, to be rolled out from 2010 to 2012, will focus on the implementation of the enabling infrastructure for the IES.
The key infrastructure components are the smart meters and the communication system. Smart meters are equipped with communications capabilities, and provide both energy providers and consumers with detailed information on how much electricity is being used and fed into the grid.
A good communications network is crucial for such information flows to be handled seamlessly, said EMA.
Hence a key emphasis in this first phase of the pilot will be to establish the smart metering communication protocols and standards. This will be done by leveraging on the Next Generation National Broadband Network and other communication platforms.
Accenture has been appointed for Phase 1 of the IES pilot project and it will be working with its selected partners including ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems), Oracle, Hewlett Packard, Power Automation, Control4 and Greenwave, in designing and implementing this phase of the project.
In Phase 2 of the pilot, other companies may be brought in to provide smart grid applications and services.
Besides offering direct benefits to customers, the IES pilot will help to strengthen the power system capabilities and network efficiency in Singapore, added EMA.
With information from the smart meters, the national power grid operator, SP PowerGrid, will be able to detect almost instantly the location and extent of any localized outages, and respond promptly to restore supply.
Furthermore, it will be easier to integrate distributed and intermittent energy sources, such as solar photovoltaic panels and small co-generation plants, into the grid.
This also caters to the future possibility of electric vehicles connecting to the grid, both to draw electricity from the grid and also to supply electricity to the grid during periods of peak demand.
The IES pilot project and the latest trends in smart grid technologies will be showcased at the upcoming Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2010, to be held from 27 October to 4 November 2010, together with other innovative energy solutions.
Accenture’s utilities industry group managing director Paul Gosling said: “Energy efficiency, reliability and greater consumer participation in energy consumption and conservation are just some benefits of a smart grid.
“The IES pilot will bring exciting innovations to the Singapore power system and Accenture, and
our teaming partners, are delighted to be chosen by the EMA to implement this
showcase project.”
