Plexigrid Powers its Software Solution for Managing Complex Electricity Distribution Networks with TigerGraph

By AIT News Desk On Oct 14, 2022

TigerGraph, provider of the leading advanced analytics and ML platform for connected data, has announced that Plexigrid, an innovative developer of software solutions for the management of electrical distribution grids, is using TigerGraph’s graph platform and analytics solution to help solve the challenge of managing power grids in an age of intermittent renewables and an increasingly electrified urban infrastructure.

Electrification of transportation, heating, and cooling is posing an increasing challenge in the management of electricity production and consumption across power grids. To better manage the peaks and troughs of power demand and supply, a more granular view of energy demand and production is needed, a visualization challenge that is not being delivered by traditional power grid management systems due to their inability to collate information from across the electricity network.

Building on TigerGraph’s graph database and analytical capabilities and its own deep knowledge of power grid infrastructure management, Plexigrid has built a system that can assimilate data from myriad sources, enabling grid operators to visualize the grid in unprecedented detail, analyze and forecast events, and implement decisions in real-time.

Critical information about grid operations exists in the form of geographical information systems (GIS) that contain the local and physical characteristics of tens of thousands of kilometers of cables in cities and regions. In addition, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems hold vital asset and economic information. The grid SCADA “Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition” system traditionally provides real-time visibility of networks down to 20,000 volts but not below. Smart metering systems are providing local information but not in a way that is readily accessible to grid operators.

“With TigerGraph, Plexigrid is able to take data from every device attached to the grid and use sophisticated graph queries and analytics to interpret the data at scale and in real-time. That data is then fed into visualization tools that enable grid operators to understand what is happening in the grid from the top down to local level via an intuitive graphical interface,” said Harry Powell, head of industry solutions at TigerGraph.

“Real-time, granular information is the raw material of grid management and data analytics. We are leveraging the same concepts that the telecoms sector uses to manage bandwidth for voice and data transmission to enable the energy grid to make a step-change in how it manages power distribution,” said Plexigrid’s CEO, Alberto Mendez.

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TigerGraph enables Plexigrid to not only collect and visualize the data but also to use algorithms to compute constraint violations such as overloads, bottlenecks, and unbalances.

Better visibility and active management of the local grid enables operators to work to smaller overcapacity margins, allowing them to safely expand local capacity at peak times and signal devices to draw power at times of lower demand.

This enables operators to run local grids closer to their limits, reduce overcapacity margins, and ultimately pinpoint investment to address real network bottlenecks.

Smarter infrastructure investment not only enables better network management but also allows grid operators to respond more quickly to change in the regulatory environment aimed at boosting district and domestic power generation and storage while driving the continued growth of renewables.

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