Ovag Marks Smart Grid Milestone With Successful Control Box Trial
A significant milestone has been reached in the realm of smart grid management. Ovag has successfully conducted the first practical trial for field deployment of control boxes, marking a substantial step towards widespread adoption. The trial, conducted under real-world conditions using the fully secured public key infrastructure (Wirk-PKI), validated the system's effectiveness under Tariff Application Case 7 (TAF 7). Notably, a utility successfully controlled an electric vehicle's charging power directly from its control center for the first time. The control command was initiated by Ovag's central dispatch center and relayed via a smart meter gateway to the connected electric vehicle. In a related development, China's new tender system has driven photovoltaic bids down by up to 32 percent below previously agreed prices in the first provincial auctions under revised pricing rules. This demonstrates the potential of competitive markets to drive down costs in the renewable energy sector. In Germany, under Section 14a of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG), operators of consumption devices must be remotely controllable and integrable into grid management. This requirement, along with the harmonization of applied standards and deeper software integration into ERP, control, and backend systems, will facilitate widespread scaling of such technologies. CLS gateways are set to become standard equipment for all metering points subject to mandatory upgrades, further facilitating the integration of smart grid technologies. These developments pave the way for more efficient and cost-effective grid management, driving progress towards a more sustainable energy future.
