Lastly, consumers and businesses are using software and devices to manage electricity usage themselves, including smart thermostats that learn what temperature you prefer and adjust settings throughout the day to minimize energy consumption.
Digitalization of electric grids is supporting new ways to source and use energy more sustainably while also enhancing cybersecurity.
As a result, the number of power-generating assets has grown significantly, and so has the amount of data that grid operators and utilities have to monitor and take into account.
Regarding smart grids, enhanced data gathering is required to support that level of sophistication and speed.
Building smart grids starts with adding capabilities to capture more granular data - building out the Internet of Things.
Smart meters can provide your utility with real-time data on electricity use, reducing the need for estimated bills, a change that can save money for consumers.
If opted-in, some connected devices can receive signals from your electric utility to adjust settings or turn off for a period of time to help reduce demand on the grid.
Bringing together data from these disparate IoT resources is requiring more computing power - to compile it, to analyze it and to report on what's happening so that grid operators and utilities can act on it.
First, electric vehicles represent a new category of load, drawing more electricity from our grids when they charge.
Energy storage enables the grid to capture and dispatch energy, which adds flexibility and resilience to electric grids.
Having more flexible grids that receive granular data on both electricity supply and demand from smart meters can enable operators to accommodate a wider range of resources with different behaviors.
On grids powered by a growing percentage of intermittent renewables, granular data can provide utilities with transparency to support customers' needs and reliable power throughout the day.
Digitalization of electric grids has a third key leg - enhancing cybersecurity through smart controls that can be accessed faster and remotely.
More important, this helps to protect grids from bad actors who might seek to disable them altogether.
Our technology can be used to help the world prepare for the outcomes of a changing climate-such as to monitor grid reliability, enable grid decarbonization, monitor transportation and water systems, and support the workplace of the future.
Cisco has partnered with Italy's largest electricity provider, Enel, to introduce innovative solutions for agile grid operation, regulation, and supervision.
Using Cisco technology, Enel can monitor its energy grid and preemptively address any faults or failures that threaten the network.
Cisco is also helping Enel connect its grid to renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy at scale, speeding the transition to a low-carbon electricity grid.
Cisco Meraki sensors, IoT devices that track a range of energy and environmental data, are helping creative agency WPP to reduce energy consumption from heating and cooling in its data center campuses.
Learn more about how Cisco is supporting the digitalization of energy and the creation of smart grids and buildings in Cisco's environmental, social, and governance Reporting Hub.
This Cyber News was published on feedpress.me. Publication date: Thu, 11 Jan 2024 00:13:04 +0000