Communication network-centric smart grid services

Telecommunication networks and power grids are parallel hierarchical maintenance structures with system-wide reach. New ways of coupling the two network types open up the possibility of an optimized joint control of the ‘energy’ and ‘transport’ dimensions of the telecommunication network. Thus, the hitherto static and unidirectional powering of the telco network is replaced by feedback options and overall load variability with space and time. Given the fact that national carriers figure among the top energy consumers in national economies, this new flexibility can be assumed to be of a relevant scale, leading to optimized overall energy consumption. In the project DESI, funded by a German federal grant and conducted by a topically wide-ranging consortium, the different coupling mechanisms such as load-adaptive network operation mode or distributed energy storage capability are studied in detail along the entire information and communications technology (ICT) delivery chain. This contribution summarizes theoretical and practical project results and gives an overview on the final project goal: the development of an overarching control system for the ICT elements and the energy storage equipment as well as the deployment of a pilot implementation.