Singapore’s First “Digital Twin” for National Power Grid

Singapore is developing a “digital twin” of its power grid assets and network, to improve the reliability of its electricity supply and support the deployment of cleaner energy sources.

It has created in collaboration with government agencies, industry players and research experts to enhance power grid resilience.

A brighter and more sustainable energy future – this is what Singapore’s first digital twin for the power grid will enable.

Supported by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), SP Group (SP) and the Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office (S&TPPO) under the Prime Minister’s Office, the upcoming Grid Digital Twin will serve to enhance Singapore’s grid resilience to ensure grid reliability and support the deployment of cleaner energy sources. It will give authorities a more comprehensive overview of the country’s power grid assets and network.

It comprises two key models that can assess the health of power grid assets and the impact of connecting new energy sources and consumers to the grid.

Research and development work is expected to be completed by 2023 and the digital solution will be progressively deployed, according to SP.

“When fully deployed, it will enable SP to better plan, operate and maintain the national power grid through modelling and simulations so that the actual works can be carried out in a more effective and efficient way,” said EMA and SP.

In tandem with the Singapore Green Plan 2030, Singapore is looking to greener sources of energy and more diversification of energy supply, such as solar deployments, energy storage systems and vehicle-to-grid technologies.

In addition, power grid operations will become more complex with increasing electrification and deployment of more distributed energy resources (DERs). Currently, the national power grid comprises over 18,000 transformers, with more than 27,000 km of underground cables interconnecting over 11,000 substations.

The Grid Digital Twin will therefore help to future-proof our power grid, to ensure that it is well-equipped to manage such complexities while maintaining reliability of grid operations, said the official statement.