As new technologies come onto the grid and electricity demand grows, utilities, regulators, and governments are under pressure to make faster, smarter decisions about our electricity grids. Deloitte, working with utilities around the world including Belgium-based Fluvius, developed ElectrifiedGrid to support that effort. The tool is a digital twin of the distribution grid, offering a virtual model of the utility’s built infrastructure, including cables, transformers, circuits, and meters.
ElectrifiedGrid allows users to test different scenarios, such as the effects of widespread electric vehicle adoption or new rooftop solar installations, and see how these changes could impact the electricity system. With this insight, utilities, regulators, and policymakers can plan infrastructure upgrades, assess investment needs, and explore decarbonization strategies based on shared data and clear visuals.
The platform integrates data from a range of systems. It pulls in geographic infrastructure data (GIS), electricity usage information from smart meters, and real-time monitoring data from SCADA systems that control grid equipment. This information is used to identify where the grid may become congested or strained. By performing what is known as congestion analysis, the system helps teams anticipate challenges before they appear.
One of the most significant benefits of ElectrifiedGrid is how it brings different stakeholders together around shared assumptions of future demand scenarios. By giving utilities, regulators, and government agencies access to the same platform and future demand assumptions, the tool helps build consensus around what grid investments are needed and when. It also improves the efficiency of the rate-case process by showing where infrastructure spending is likely to deliver the most benefit.
According to Deloitte, the platform has been especially useful in planning for uncertain or fast-changing conditions, such as rapid uptake of electric heating and vehicles. With a flexible interface and scenario planning tools, ElectrifiedGrid makes it easier to explore a range of futures and stress-test decisions before they are made.
The tool is now being adopted more broadly as utilities look for ways to maintain affordability and reliability while preparing for increased demand. For Deloitte, the project reflects a growing need for data-driven tools that support long-term infrastructure planning and energy transition goals.
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This article is part of Innovation+ in the Plus 15, a special editorial series from the Calgary Innovation Peer Forum and Digital Journal that explores how Calgary-based companies are innovating.
