Smart Grid Design and Implementation for the Town of Danvers
Weston & Sampson assisted the Town of Danvers as project manager in the implementation of a Smart Grid system to better manage energy and water demands.
A smart grid uses the latest advances in digital and information technology to distribute electricity, in conjunction with an information and net metering system. The town operates its own utility and elected to upgrade its electric grid system to improve customer service, reduce peak load, improve the distribution management system, ensure scalability of the system, and defer costly upgrades to the system’s existing main substation. The upgrade also makes it easier to connect renewable energy sources to the grid, which is important to the town.
The main components of the Smart Grid technology include an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Electric Distribution Automation (EDA) and Customer Systems Implementation (CSI). The AMI is the basis for the Smart Grid network and allows for two-way communications, bi-directional metering, and advanced interval data collection. Weston & Sampson managed the installation of all bi-directional residential and commercial smart meters -- a key component to the implementation of the system. All interval data generated by the AMI system is collected through the meters and stored in a Meter Data Management (MDM) System. With Weston & Sampson’s help, Danvers sought and successfully secured an $8.5 million Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) from the Department of Energy (DOE).
The project also required upgrades to the town’s supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system server and software to increase efficiency and provide real-time data management within the network. As an actively managed system, the Smart Grid increases efficiency and minimizes energy loss thorough energy loss switching and load balancing.