SP Group Launches World’s First Smart Grid Index

SP Group – an energy utilities group in the Asia Pacific – launched the world’s first smart grid index to help utilities measure and advance in key dimensions of grid development. Currently, utilities worldwide apply varying parameters to benchmark smart grids. SP has used definitions published by the European Union and the US Department of Energy to create the benchmarking framework.

Sim Kwong Mian, Chairman of the SP Engineering Council responsible for SGI development, said: “We created this index as we wanted a simple, quantifiable framework to advance our own grid development. It will enable utilities to learn best practices from each other, towards developing a future-ready grid and to serve our customers better.”

The Smart Grid Index (SGI) covers seven key aspects of an electricity grid: supply reliability; monitoring and control; data analytics; integration of distributed energy resources (DER); green energy; security; and customer empowerment and satisfaction.

The framework was designed to be simple and quantifiable for utilities to easily determine where their strengths are and where there is room for improvement. SP applied the Smart Grid Index (SGI) framework on 45 utilities across 30 countries. The top three utilities are US-based PG&E and SDGE with scores of 86 per cent and 82 per cent, respectively;  and Great Britain’s UKPN with 79 per cent.

The index’s methodology has been validated by the Energy Research Institute at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Nanyang Technological University’s Deputy Provost for Education Kam Chan Hin said: “Smart grids are a critical infrastructure that supports economic growth while improving the quality of life in a city. SP Group’s smart grid index will provide important data points, aids healthy industry discourse and enables utilities to deliver sustainable solutions for the future.”