The three-year project will look at how a smarter grid can help the network become “multi-directional and automated”, allowing it to use digital communications to “detect and react to local changes in usage”.
The distribution management system (DMS) will be delivered by energy management firm Schneider Electric, and will control energy distribution, identify and self-heal outages, and gather and integrate grid and external data to “improve efficiency of the network”.
Electricity North West head of engineering Steve Cox said: “Over the next eight years, the existing energy infrastructure, designed for a one way flow of energy, will have to deal with a level of complexity never before seen.
“Future-proofing our systems to cope with this change was absolutely paramount in our choice of who to work with. The modularity of the system that Schneider Electric is able to provide means that we can expand and improve our system according to our needs.
“Investing in an intelligent grid is vital for us as a business, for our customers and for the UK as a whole.”
Schneider Electric smart grid director Barrie Cressey said a smarter grid is “vital” in helping the UK meet the European objective of becoming a low-carbon economy by 2050, “as well as allowing energy distributors (DNOs) to meet the goals outlined by Ofgem in the new eight-year price control period”.
“The challenges posed by distributed generation, load growth and an aging grid are immense, but intelligent networks have the power to transform energy throughout the country,” he added.
“There are only a handful of such systems in the UK and it’s hugely exciting to be working on a project of this magnitude.”