Korean companies start orchestrating electricity via communications

A planned test-bed project on smart grids allows energy providers to orchestrate electricity in two-way communications with appliances.

SAP Korea will collaborate with a telecommunications company KT of Korea in this project, which will allow consumers and companies to optimize energy use, reduce cost and increase reliability and transparency.

According to the MOU and the project scope of the Jeju smart grid test-bed project, both parties will be implementing a smart grid pilot system that will use intelligent metering software from SAP AG.

In addition, both companies will draft a detailed road map that comprehensively defines the technology parameters for the collaboration. The SAP system is currently being used to capture data from nearly 200 households on the South Korean island, with a targeted plan to increase the number five-fold to 1,000 households over the next six to eight months.

In this project, SAP will provide advanced metering infrastructure software, SAP AMI Integration for Utilities, to help deliver metering data and manage communication exchanges between smart devices and SAP Business Suite software in the back end.

The Jeju smart grid test-bed is one of the key smart grid projects driven by South Korea's government as a main engine for sustainable growth. The total investment made by the government and private organizations in the project is targeted to reach $206 million.

Infrastructure for the test bed will be established by May 2011, followed by a two-year comprehensive operating test. The project is expected to provide test scenarios and process benchmarks that will establish the global standard and leadership through this early commercialization of a smart grid model. The implementation will include tests and assessments of deployed technologies within a real-life environment.

"We are very pleased to undertake this 'proof-of-concept' project with a strong global partner like SAP," said Jeon Hong Beom, vice president, KT. "SAP has had a long history of utilities technology development as well as a global customer knowledge base with tried-and-tested best practices. KT believes we have found a fitting collaboration partner in a company like SAP."

The project is implemented in conjunction with OSIsoft, an SAP software solution partner.