Electric power comes from the socket, of course! But what if we could no longer charge our smartphones or electric cars at any given time? What if our ovens or fridges suddenly broke down? These are the risks of an electricity shortage. In the winter of 2022, this could have happened under unfavourable circumstances. Various measures are planned to avoid or overcome power shortages.[1] In order to reliably assess the supply situation and to evaluate the effectiveness of the individual measures, we need available, reliable and up-to-date data. Alas, that this is not yet a given.
As part of its focus on artificial intelligence, the SATW has been working for years to improve access to high-quality data for research, industry and other stakeholders. To this end, together with the Swiss Data Alliance SDA, the Directorate of International Law of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA and the Federal Office of Communications OFCOM, SATW founded the Swiss Digital Self-Determination Network in May 2021. In collaboration with the SDA and other organisations, the SATW examined specific areas of application with the aim of identifying important aspects and areas where action is needed to improve the use of personal data. The results of this work were published in the form of the fact sheet entitled "Sharing data in a self-determined way".
Energy is an important area of applications where data plays a key role in Switzerland's security of supply. In an interview with Manuel Kugler, SATW Programme Manager Data and Artificial Intelligence, Dr Matthias Galus, Head of the Geoinformation and Digital Innovation Section - Competence Centre for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence at the Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE, explains how digitalisation can be driven forward in the energy sector.
We are currently undergoing one of the biggest transformations in our recent history and it is incredibly exciting to be part of it. The efficient integration of renewable energies into the existing electricity grid is of crucial importance. We are dependent on reliable data to ensure planning, operation and billing. However, obtaining this data is no easy task. One example: there are probably well over 200,000 photovoltaic systems in Switzerland today[2] and the number is growing every day. That is a welcome development. However, there is a lack of current, measured production values - per day or even per hour - at a national level. Pronovo[3] only registers installations that have received subsidies or guarantees of origin. Furthermore, there is no reliable information on electric cars[4] or heat pumps. National consumption or regional consumption figures aren’t available with the required granularity and actuality - a rather sad overall picture. With its energy dashboard[5], the SFOE has taken a big step forward for the sector and Switzerland, but many problems have not yet been solved. With better availability of data, the supply situation could be assessed more acurately, better short-term forecasts could be derived and ultimately, the risks of a shortage could be better quantified.
In principle, work should be conducted along two axes: Improving the availability and the accessibility of data. The SFOE has been advocating the introduction of digital measuring devices - smart meters - for years in order to improve the availability of measured data. The Federal Act on a Secure Electricity Supply from Renewable Energies lays the regulatory foundations for a national data hub in the electricity sector. This energy data hub[6] is intended to improve data accessibility: Participants in the electricity market can exchange data via the platform and consumers can finally gain access to their data. The plan is for the platform to be available to all players by 2027. It is also important to make data from other players accessible - e.g. from system or inverter manufacturers and service providers.
Digital and well-resolved data on consumption makes a significant contribution to saving energy. With PERLAS[7], the SFOE has created a free opportunity for consumers to have their smart meter data analysed and receive personalised energy-saving tips free of charge. This results in savings of up to 6%. During the tight supply situation in the winter of 2022, this would have been a major contribution. Unfortunately, however, many consumers were unable to benefit as they were unable to download their data. Absurd, really - because this has long been required by law.
Even if you want to run energy-saving campaigns, up-to-date consumption data in a high granularity is eminently important. Due to the low data quality, the effects of such campaigns can currently only be quantified in a useful timeframe using machine learning models in the energy dashboard. The SFOE has developed them specifically for this purpose. We therefore have to work with estimates until more reliable data is available from the industry.
What can be provided today is plausible data at national level - albeit with a time lag of two to six months. Such historical data becomes more accurate the further back it goes. However, grid operators sometimes correct them months later. The population and companies naturally want this data to be updated at least daily. There is a need for improvement on the part of the industry and I still see a lot of work ahead of us.
A first step is to set up a digital metering infrastructure in the grids - think "smart meter" - and to operate it "smartly". It is not acceptable for smart meters to still be read manually in some cases. The next step is to modernise traditional data processes. This is where we are applying a great deal of regulatory leverage via the data hub and want to ensure a standardised national API ("Application Programming Interface"), for example. There is also further potential for distribution grid operators. You might ask yourself why a simple data plausibility check should take a month – today, in the age of ChatGPT.
There are many obstacles. So far, there has been a fundamental lack of incentive and/or necessity. Digitalisation is pronounced in energy trading - after all, it's all about profits and bonuses. The situation is different in the protected area of the grid and the end customer business. The requirements have now increased, and the impending crisis has served as a wake-up call. But we are lagging behind, and questions are now being asked about financing and available resources. After all, IT projects cost money and are associated with risks. As there was not enough pressure from either the market or the regulator up to now, there was no incentive to move forward. This is increasingly changing, at least from a regulatory perspective.
In recent years, we have been able to achieve a lot, particularly through regulation in the electricity sector, for example through the smart meter requirements or the energy dashboard. The data hub is another urgently needed step. In addition, transparency requirements or instruments on data availability and data quality as well as the development of standardised data models could make an important contribution. Insights into how reliable data is, how often data is corrected or how often deadlines are violated and whether there were transmission errors incentivise improvements and can make a big difference. Countries such as Denmark, Estonia and the UK are already using geoinformation systems to show where there is potential for flexibility and how often this is utilised. Such information is of great importance for the market. In these countries, regulators have set important requirements for companies that have been implemented for years. In comparison, we still have a lot of catching up to do in Switzerland.
End consumers and their service providers are at the centre of the ongoing transformation. Until now, they have primarily been viewed as metering points or invoice recipients – very convenient for companies. Digitalisation is fundamentally changing this. End consumers with smart home or energy management systems can use data on their energy supply to optimise themselves and play a more active role in the energy supply. Their service providers – who control heat pumps or electromobility in the home, for example – also have access to important data. Making this data accessible and using it to optimise the system would be extremely helpful.
The new Data Protection Act takes an important step for end users with the principle of data portability. The work supported by the SFOE on a trustworthy energy data room[8] should provide further technical and organisational foundations to support consumers. Detailed specifications are not yet foreseeable. The Electricity Supply Act (StromVG) currently regulates companies in the energy industry. However, many service providers who are new to the energy sector are still seeing only few requirements.
Of course, increasing digitalisation also leads to a larger attack surface. This is why calls for more digitalisation are always accompanied by considerations of cyber aspects. As part of its digitalisation work, the SFOE initially carried out basic studies on cyber maturity. These showed that, on average, companies in the energy sector were not particularly well positioned. Regulatory measures were taken accordingly: From summer 2024, minimum requirements in the area of cybersecurity will be mandatory by ordinance. A major success for the SFOE's digitalisation work.
The implementation of cybersecurity is complex and overwhelms many companies. However, there are already numerous tools that can ease the burden. Artificial intelligence and self-learning algorithms can be used to automatically recognise attacks, which saves on human resources. However, it is irritating that this is still little known in the industry.
There is still a long way to go, but we are on our way. Grid operators cannot expand their grids indefinitely, as this is costly and will eventually be difficult to justify in terms of regional policy. In order to save costs, (digital) innovations and automation are essential. The technologies are often already available without presenting too many obstacles. The pressure to do things differently is slowly but steadily increasing. I am optimistic, but I am also aware that this will be a lengthy process.
(translated with Deepl)
[1] Cf. OSTRAL – the organisation for electricity supply in extraordinary situations (german: Organisation für die Stromversorgung in Ausserordentlichen Lagen). It is subordinate to the federal government's Office for National Economic Supplies and takes action on its instructions, e.g. when an electricity shortage occurs.
[2] Electricity production plants in Switzerland (admin.ch)
[3] https://pronovo.ch/, the accredited certification body for the capture of guarantees of origin (GO) and the processing of federal incentive programs for renewable energies.
[4] https://www.mobility.ch/en/magazine/sustainability/electric-cars-feed-electricity-back-into-the-grid | https://www.mobility.ch/de/v2x | https://www.mobility.ch/en/magazine/sustainability/prejudices-electromobility
[5] Energy dashboard Federal Office of Energy (admin.ch)
[6] Digitalisation in the energy sector (admin.ch) Box comment on datahub: Data exchange is to be organised via this, all participants (consumers, grid operators, etc.) are to be connected to it, development by 2027.
[7] PERLAS - PErsonalised Residential Load curve AnalysiS
[8] Promoting trustworthy data spaces and digital self-determination (admin.ch)
(translated with Deepl)
Dr Matthias Galus is Head of the Geoinformation and Digital Innovation Section at the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). Under his guidance, the SFOE created the Competence Center for Digitalisation and AI. Its activities centre on energy data and related innovation. The section develops and implements strategies in the regulatory area and pursues projects for the digital transformation of the sector. Topics include energy data spaces, data infrastructures, data science and artificial intelligence, geoinformation, data management, open government data and cloud technologies. Matthias Galus has held various positions at the SFOE since 2012, including Deputy Head of Grids. He is an expert in intelligent energy systems with topics such as smart metering, smart grids and flexibility. He led the digitalisation task force, the development of the national smart grid roadmap and the national energy dashboard. He completed his studies in electrical engineering and industrial engineering at RWTH Aachen University in 2005 and 2007 respectively and subsequently obtained his doctorate at ETH Zurich in the field of smart energy systems. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on digital energy systems.
The conversion of energy systems to climate neutrality and security of supply poses major challenges for Switzerland. SATW supports these developments by identifying important new technologies, providing well-founded information and neutral explanations and assessing the potential of innovative solutions. With regard to the environment, SATW also covers the important topics of circular economy and biotechnology.
