Four operators pick Depsys to modernise electricity supply

  • May 17, 2021
  • Steve Rogerson

Swiss smart grid firm Depsys has won contracts with four electricity distributors to modernise their operations through digitalisation.

The four distribution system operators have chosen to partner Depsys for full deployment in their distribution grid. The firm has also signed initial contracts with five more operators in the past few months.

Depsys says this highlights the fact that utilities are accelerating their digital transition to adapt to the new realities of the electricity market. These are marked by the increased electrification and the need for the visibility and management of extensive incoming renewable energy sources as well as unpredictable consumption peaks.

With upwards of €13bn forecast to be invested in grid monitoring in Europe by 2030, the wins concrete Depsys’ expansion in assisting the utility sector with a post-pandemic green recovery, transitioning to a sustainable and manageable future, where the performance of the entire grid is known at any given time.

Swiss grid operators, including Romande Energie and Viteos, are deploying smart technology across their entire grid using Depsys to provide real-time actionable data and analyse their networks.

Depsys’ GridEye tool empowers utilities to control consumption peaks and manage renewable energies by knowing the network’s usage in real time and injecting current according to demand, encouraging the green recovery. The technology gathers the essential electrical data from the network to be analysed and fine-tunes operations to make the grid visible, intelligible and compatible with the energy transition and the expansion of smart cities.

“Power grids are at a turning point,” said Michael De Vivo, CEO of Depsys. “Historically, they have been in the dark, with little to no information about activity in the system and no reliable field data to plan and forecast. But now they’re on an exciting journey to an ecosystem where consumers and distributors have a two-way dialogue using real-time data and where energy flows must meet the requirements of safety, reliability and sustainability.”

He said the company was proud to enable this transition to efficiency and transparency through the quality of its technology.

“The trust placed in us by more than 40 network operators worldwide is a testament to the value of our solution,” he said. “It motivates us to continue developing tools useful for a stable, affordable and intelligent energy supply.”

GridEye is used across western and eastern Europe and Asia, and now covers around three-quarters of low and medium voltage network providers in French-speaking Switzerland.

Founded in 2012 and based in Puidoux, near Lausanne, Depsys works with electricity distribution network operators in various ways. It helps them understand and control their networks by providing data via its intelligent technological platform GridEye. In addition to optimising current networks, Depsys helps distributors adapt and move more towards the energy transition, and build a sustainable future more quickly.

Depsys has won contracts with more than 40 network operators around the world.