E.ON’s 10.000th Digital Substation in Operation in Germany

• E.ON grid companies reach milestone in the digitization of distribution grids
• Joint standard sets benchmark and enables rapid rollout of up to 500 new stations per month
• Customers benefit from greater efficiency and renewable energy

In mid-July, the 10,000th digital secondary substation in E.ON’s German grid was commissioned. This is a significant milestone, as the rapidly increasing number of PV systems, electric vehicles, and heat pumps also raises the demands placed on power grids: E.ON has already connected over 1.9 million renewable energy systems with a total capacity of more than 103 gigawatts to its grids in Germany. To ensure that distribution grids are operated safely and efficiently, data from smart equipment is essential. Digital secondary substations are a key component in this process.

These mostly grey boxes may look inconspicuous, but digital secondary substations are the central link between regional medium-voltage and local low-voltage grids. With the help of these smart substations, the flow of electricity is monitored in real time, improving grid stability and making it easier to integrate renewable energy sources. Thanks to intelligent equipment, around 2 million measurements per minute are now transmitted to a central data platform, where they are processed automatically. This increases transparency and controllability in the medium and low-voltage grids, creating the prerequisites for safe and efficient grid operation.

“The energy transition can only succeed with robust, intelligent distribution grids. Digital secondary substations play a key role in this – with their help, local grid capacities can be optimally utilised, and more renewable energy can be integrated into our grids. At the same time, the data obtained forms the basis for new, innovative solutions. The substations developed by E.ON combine ‘copper with brains’ and set new standards in the industry. Commissioning the 10,000th digital secondary substation underscores our ambition, as Germany’s largest distribution system operator, to actively drive the energy transition forward,” Thomas König, E.ON Board Member responsible for Energy Networks, explains.

The in-house developed standard for digital secondary substations has proven to be pioneering. This has created uniform systems and processes for all grid companies within the E.ON Group. Standardization simplifies procurement and manufacturing processes, facilitates collaboration with various suppliers, and generates further synergies by, for example, speeding up construction processes. The scale of acceleration can be seen in the rollout: up to 500 digital secondary substations are now installed each month in Germany.

With the ongoing digitization of distribution grids, E.ON is laying the foundation for new solutions based on the data generated. For example, by better integrating decentralized consumers, it becomes possible to control flexibilities for grid-friendly charging of electric vehicles. Customers also benefit from this, thanks to optimal utilization of the available grid infrastructure.

Better integration of renewable energy sources also reduces costs for so-called congestion management, as the grids can absorb more green energy. The result: a more cost-effective implementation of the energy transition and more electricity from renewable sources for customers.