Increased use of renewable energy sources such as sun, wind and biomass also leads to an increase in distributed power generation, with the result that many supply networks are already reaching their capacity limits.

New consumers, like electric cars or controllable loads such as smart buildings, introduce additional degrees of freedom in grid operation.

The Energy Department uses numerical network simulations to examine the effect of these new players on the overall system and can thus provide network operators with important information relevant to future network planning and operation.

Real and virtual power quality analyses are used to determine the key parameters of quality of supply and to measure local effects on grid operation.

Based on these analyses, the Energy Department develops customised management strategies to guarantee high power quality against the background of a further rise in the share of distributed generation.