Abstract

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One of the most important trends of our time is the issue of digitization. It enters into all areas of our life and will determine this in a sustainable way. Everybody has to deal with - it is a threat and an opportunity at the same time.

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Digitization is also the top theme of the energy industry and, of course, it is one of the basic requirements for the implementation of an intelligent electricity grid to in-crease the use of renewable energies and make the production and consumption more efficient.

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Renewable energies are the pivotal issue in the energy transition; their use is a global trend and continually on the rise. This poses complex challenges for the entire supply system. The structure of energy supply has changed fundamentally. Electricity is no longer only consumed, but also fed into the grid decentral. The requirements made of today’s electricity grid are multifaceted – including the fact that consumers can now also become producers. The new challenges in the electricity market demand integrated solutions.

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The reason is that metering alone is no longer adequate: Simply recording the cur-rent energy consumption is a thing of the past. Today, sharply varying flows of electricity must be controlled and automated while at the same time consumption needs to be reduced. This means that a vast array of data must be recorded.

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And not only that, these data must be processed and communicated intelligently. Consequently, two elements must come together to make the electricity grid future-proof: Metrology and modern communication technology.

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Modern measurement and communication systems are essential for managing the complex network of data. IT has long formed the core of the new world of meter technology. A fusion of the two fields – data measurement and data processing – is only possible when they can communicate with each other