Electricity grid operator

A solar system or heat pump is to be connected

1. 01

   Installer submits the request: An installer registers a solar system with storage on the portal.

2. 02

   Grid connection checks the request: Small systems pass the simplified route, larger ones go to load flow.

3. 03

   Installer submits missing documents: The installer submits the data sheet.

4. 04

   Grid planning checks compatibility: Grid planning calculates: can the local feeder take the feed-in?

5. 05

   Approval with timetable: The approval goes out, with timetable and conditions.

6. 06

   Contractor reinforces the grid: A contractor lays a stronger cable.

7. 07

   Installer reports completion: The installer builds the system and reports completion.

8. 08

   Appointment at the customer: An appointment for the meter exchange is arranged.

9. 09

   Meter exchange: Metering installs a bidirectional meter.

10. 10

    Register and feed-in payment: Check against the market master data register, payment starts.

11. 11

    Connected.

How a grid operator can use the model

• Internal communication

  Control centre, three substations, grid depot, yard and administration on one site. Asset management, operations and connections see how their processes interlock – from request to fault.

  Pour quiManagement, communications, all divisions

• Onboarding

  ‘Who sits where – and reports to whom’ shows locations and responsibilities. New staff see which department takes over when, for a connection request or a cable fault.

  Pour quiNew staff in connections, operations and metering

• Training

  Apprentices trigger ‘Storm’ and follow ‘A medium-voltage cable fails’: alarm, remote switching, fault location, excavation, cable joint, switching back to normal.

  Pour quiElectrical apprentices, work-study students, fault crews

• Explaining to installers and municipalities

  Installers and local councils see where eight weeks pass and where years pass, as with a new substation. ‘Where the time goes’ makes the difference clear without jargon.

  Pour quiConnections team, customer service, municipalities, installers

• Strategic overview

  Connection packages, more grid planners, remote-controlled substations and the pace of the smart meter rollout side by side. ‘What each control does’ ranks the levers for faster connections.

  Pour quiManagement, regulatory management, asset management

What is shown – why – for whom

Departments in the model

• Management

  Leads the grid company – independently of the group's sales.

• Compliance officer (non-discrimination)

  Ensures all suppliers are treated equally.

• Asset management

  Owner role: strategy, investment, condition of assets.

• Grid planning

  Load flow, target grid, (n-1): optimise first, then reinforce, then expand.

• Regulatory management

  Calculates costs and revenues for the regulator.

• Grid control centre

  Around the clock: switching, managing outages, planning outages.

• Fault service

  On standby: drives out, locates, repairs.

• Maintenance

  Maintains substations, stations and lines.

• Construction and project delivery

  Builds lines, stations and substations.

• Grid connection

  Checks requests for solar systems, heat pumps and charging points.

• Customer service and outage hotline

  Takes reports and informs during outages.

• Metering

  Installs meters and smart metering systems.

• Network economics

  Network charges, market communication, feed-in payments.

• IT and control technology

  Grid control system, geodata, meter data – isolated.

All processes in the model

What you can change

What the model gives a grid operator

• 01

  The bottleneck has a name

  Set connection requests to heat pump boom and the queue at grid planning visibly grows – and a tip at the bottleneck names the control that relieves it.

• 02

  Operating and expanding at once

  Connection, cable fault, substation build and smart meter installation run in parallel. More installations tie up the same fitters, and the model shows where that gets tight.

• 03

  Faults with routes

  In a storm, ‘The path across the site’ shows the fault crews moving between control centre, depot and substations.

• 04

  Supply chains in view

  The ‘Transformer shortage’ disruption stretches the substation build. It shows what a year of extra lead time means for grid expansion.

• 05

  For committees and big screens

  A browser is enough, and large projections work too – so the model can be shown in council committees, at installer events or in your own lobby.

• 

  Energy supplier

  An energy group without its own grid as a walkable model: supplier switching within 24 hours, power trading until noon, and gas, wind and solar on one site.

• 

  Water and wastewater utility

  A water utility as a walkable model: from the reservoir to the treatment plant, with the path of a drinking water sample through the lab to the public health office.

• 

  Heating, plumbing and electrical contractor

  A heating, plumbing and electrical contractor as a walkable model: what happens after a breakdown call, why the right part in the van matters and when the emergency service hits its limit.

• 

  Construction group

  A construction and infrastructure group as a walkable model: see how a viaduct is built section by section and where frost, inspections and variations cost time.

• 

  City administration

  A large city's administration as a walkable model: see how a building application moves through the departments, how council and committees meet and where people queue at the counter.

• 

  Online retail

  An order from click to doorstep as a walkable model: payment check, warehouse, packing, trucks, sortation and delivery in a running simulation.

• 

  Search engine

  A search and advertising group as a walkable model: auctions in milliseconds, experiments over weeks, and a new ad campaign that waits for people.

• 

  Cloud provider

  A cloud provider as a walkable model: support cases, zone outages and new data centres on three time scales, in a running simulation.