ASSE T MANAGEMENT
By Angelo Fiumara, Digital Asset Integration Manager, Essential Energy
Essential Energy is an electricity distributor (sometimes referred to as Distribution Network Service Provider or DNSP) responsible for operating and maintaining the electricity distribution network supplying 95 per cent of NSW and parts of southern Queensland. The business is utilising a digital twin to uplift its asset management and operational practices, unlocking ways of working not previously possible. By building a digital model of the network and its surroundings, many insights that were impractical due to the laborious and manual calculations involved, are now easily within reach, because assets can be accurately modelled to replicate how they will perform in reality and interact with the real world.
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ssential Energy has more than 870,000 customers and manages over 183,000km of powerlines. This markedly low ratio of customers to assets means that it is critical that Essential Energy finds ways of working that are not only industry best practice but are also agile enough to continuously improve and deliver long-term value to its customers. While there are many definitions of digital asset management, at Essential Energy, digital asset management refers to the use of digital data sources to provide asset management insights and operational efficiencies. It encompasses a multitude of techniques that leverage rich sources of intelligence that, at its most basic level, involves the use of digital imagery to determine what assets exist and what condition they are in. More advanced applications include the building of an accurate digital twin of the network that is supported by an engineering-grade mechanical and electrical analytics engine to provide ‘whole of network’ insights. Network-wide risk and resilience assessments as well as the compatibility of the network to connect renewable energy supplies are some of the applications made possible by this modelling capability. The development of the digital twin that can be applied at a large scale is seen as a core capability required to efficiently manage one of the largest and most geographically dispersed distribution networks in the world.
HARNESSING THE POWER OF BIG DATA FOR DIGITAL TWIN DEVELOPMENT Essential Energy’s digital twin journey began in 2014, when Essential Energy began carrying out Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scans of its service area for the purposes of compliance reporting.
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The acquisition of this data laid the foundations for Essential Energy to be able to enhance its network design function. The LiDAR data, once ingested into a technology solution that is used for network design, enabled the automatic creation of Building Information Model (BIM) objects. These BIM objects replicate the way the network is actually constructed in the real world which creates a 3D digital twin of the ‘as built’ network. This accurate ‘as built’ record provided by the digital twin had never previously been available. This automatic creation of digital twins for portions of the network has significantly improved the efficiency of the network design process, which has initiated the transition away from 2D construction plans to 3D BIM-based network designs. The use of auto-generated 3D digital models of the network has also enabled a rapid production of compliant and consistent approach to network designs. It has also uplifted the skill levels for both network designers and accredited service providers who design new connections based on digital twin objects on behalf of customers connecting to the network. One of the key components of designing with BIM objects is the implementation of built-in compliance checking. This allows consistent, accurate and fast design reviews for internal and externally produced designs, creating high levels of compliance with Australian Standards and Essential Energy guidelines, and reducing technical certification assessments timeframes by up to 50 per cent. This network design application of digital twins has in turn provided the foundation for Essential Energy to expand its application to the entire network to support asset management and operations.
