AWARDS FINALIST: SmartCo – collaboration with Hiko Energy Insights

SmartCo, a joint venture serving over 250,000 consumers across New Zealand, has undertaken a data and technology initiative to improve electrical safety and network management – “HIKO Energy Insights”.

The initiative involved the collaboration of six different networks to inform the requirements and scope for a LV Digital Twin solution that would generate new data and actionable insights from smart meter data information.

HIKO Energy Insights

The project was undertaken to make granular and meaningful LV data available to quickly and effectively address the current and future challenges posed to networks and communities from evolving customer needs, an increasing demand for energy and the uncertainty of how and where to prioritise meeting those challenges. 

Several alternative approaches were deliberated over, including each network leveraging their own teams and business intelligence capabilities, commissioning a third-party software developer, or as a joint venture building a single New Zealand focused platform for the benefit of all.

The JV network approach was considered the most efficient, controllable, and scalable solution to data enhancement – making it more meaningful, accessible and actionable. The JV enabled the differing perspectives and priorities of each network to be managed, and also the chance to capitalise on a greater pool of smart metering knowledge and experience.

The primary development objective was to generate high integrity high relevance data, complemented by easy to use tools to: help networks better rationalise large capital expenditures over the next 20-years; help monitor and manage individual connection points; provide methods to identify and efficiently resolve issues quickly; and to provide end consumers with better service and the potential for greater control over their energy usage.

Early low-code prototypes proved unfit for purpose as they actually created additional work for networks to use them, and so a back-end platform was developed using Amazon Web Services architects. Application integrating mapping tools, storage and business intelligence was combined to create a flexible platform that not only generated new high value data but enabled users to access it for investigation, action, tracking of results, and integration with their pre-existing network systems.

Results

The successful project now delivers highly contextualised, granular and actionable data that is critical for meaningful network planning and operations, complemented by a scalable and user friendly SAAS front-end. HIKO Energy Insights is available to all networks throughout New Zealand and lets them actively manage the low-voltage service to end-consumers, respond in near real-time to issues, and improve their service visibility and quality.  

The solution creates significant data assets along with improved network safety, reduced customer calls, network asset efficiency, and the firmest base yet for informed future network decisions.

Customer service has improved, and due to historically reactionary tasks now being addressed in a lower-cost planned manner, field force management is optimised. HIKO has contributed to reducing community and public risk by improving supply reliability and energy security.

HIKO remains in continuous development and its technology roadmap is directly informed by its collaborative environment of planners, engineers and customers. There is a pipeline of new analytics and data, new features and user experiences, all designed to allow efficient and continuously improving network intelligence to better protect communities and respond to the evolving priorities of the networks that serve them.

The Network Initiative of the Year Award category is sponsored by Utilities Disputes