Stabilising the Grid in Real-time: How DSOs Can Keep Pace with Change

The rapid growth of distributed energy resources (DERs) is transforming the way distribution networks operate. For Distribution System Operators (DSOs), maintaining voltage within safe and efficient ranges has become more complex than ever. Traditional methods that once sufficed are now being challenged by bidirectional power flows, fluctuating generation, and increasingly dynamic loads. Recent blackouts and near-miss events around the world underscore how critical real-time voltage management has become for keeping the lights on.

In a recent webinar, hosted by Edge Marketplace, Barbara, our Senior Smart Grid Engineer, Dimitrios Lagos, explored how advanced optimisation strategies can help DSOs manage these challenges and unlock new operational efficiency. Here are the key insights from the discussion:

1. Voltage Control Is Critical - and Increasingly Challenging

Voltage management is no longer a secondary consideration. With more DERs connected to distribution networks, voltage levels can fluctuate rapidly, creating risks for both reliability and equipment safety. Poor voltage management has been linked to power interruptions and localised blackouts, demonstrating the urgent need for real-time monitoring and control.

2. Distribution Networks Are No Longer Passive

The energy transition has introduced a fundamental shift: distribution networks are now active, dynamic systems. Generation is no longer centralised, and electricity can flow in multiple directions. This complexity means that voltage must be managed in real time, across thousands of connected assets, rather than through traditional, static control schemes.

3. Optimisation-Based, Real-Time Control: Edge and Cloud Solutions

SMPnet’s Optisys platform provides both edge and cloud-based solutions for real-time voltage control. Edge deployments allow DSOs to monitor and act on voltage fluctuations locally, with minimal latency, while cloud-based optimisation enables network-wide coordination across multiple sites. Together, these approaches ensure voltage stability, improve operational efficiency, and reduce risk - even in the most complex and dynamic networks.

4. DERs Are Part of the Solution, Not Just a Challenge

When properly coordinated, DERs can provide active voltage support, helping networks operate more flexibly and reliably. This shifts the focus from reactive problem-solving to proactive, network-wide optimisation, reducing the risk of blackouts and improving service continuity.

This webinar emphasises that modern voltage control is about speed, coordination, and adaptability. DSOs equipped with advanced edge and cloud solutions can not only manage complexity but also extract value from the changing network landscape - while keeping the lights on for their communities.

‍Want to learn more?

Dimitrios and the team at Barbara guide viewers through practical examples, insights, and demonstrations in the full webinar, available on our YouTube channel.

Watch a shortened highlights version below:

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A full transcript of the webinar highlights is published below:

"Voltage control is a very critical service for power system operation.

We have the very recent incident of the Spanish blackout where based on the reports that have come out, the voltage instability has been identified as the core reason that led to this cascaded disconnection of power sources that led to the blackout.

To the right I have some graphs of voltage measurements recorded in the system and we see that there was some large voltage surges detected that the system couldn't absorb. And what we mean by 'couldn't absorb', we mean that the system was lacking enough voltage control capacity. That means that there wasn't enough sources available to perform the voltage control by providing reactive power support.

Of course this is not a new incident, in Greece we had a similar incident also for Greek non-interconnected island in roads where a blackout have occurred in 2016.

The incident there was that the key synchronous generator that was mainly providing the reactive power support and voltage control was disconnected leaving the rest of the resources having insufficient voltage control and reactive power support capabilities that led again to high voltage values disconnection of distributed generation and, eventually blackout in the system.

Due to the energy transition, at the distribution system level, we have not only customers and demand at the moment, but also a lot of distributed generations, mainly renewable sources. That means that the sources can cause issues related to voltage control in the distribution network, but can also be utilised to provide the solution to these issues.

Distribution system comes with its own challenges regarding voltage control. As we have DERS and loads to a distribution feeder, we can have various voltage incidents. For example, voltage rise if we have surplus of DER generation or voltage drop if we have a surplus of demand.

For example, if we have a lot of EVs charging at the network and at the moment the solutions to address these issues are mainly based on local or centralised rule-based approaches.

That means that we have some static models and simplified rules.  According to these rules they activate specific resources in the grid to resolve the issues. With this approach there are several issues. For example, no one can be certain that all the different local controllers are being coordinated in a proper manner and they are not battling each other trying to solve the issue and whether what we is happening is the optimal in terms of efficiency for the distribution system.

Our software Omega suite is designed to facilitate voltage optimisation. So let's see here the solution overview of Optisys.

So, as we said voltage management at the distribution level is suboptimal and you can have uncoordinated controls between the central centralised solution and local controllers and Optisys comes to resolve this issue by operating as a wide area voltage optimisation module for existing SCADA system and coordinating with existing local controllers. In that way it can provide voltage management to the distribution grid and deliver voltage service to the TSO. So it can be multi- vendor and interoperable with system operators software. It can improve the grid stability by resolving over and other voltage issues and congestion incidents. Reduce the energy losses in the system improving the efficiency in operation, and increase the renewable energy penetration.

So, the deployment options for voltage control schemes that we discuss in this presentation can be either local as we said we can have local controllers that measure a point in the network and make decision for the DERS.

Distributed controllers that can coordinate the operation of multiple DERS. A centralised solution that can talk to every DER and make decision and a hybrid solution that can combine both centralised and edge devices. You see here the active dashboard of Optisys where the user can see the actual data calculated from Optisys as well as the latest measurements".

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Get in touch with the team for your own demo run through of our Omega suite.

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