Endesa is deploying a digital twin of its distribution network: an exact computer-recreated replica of the electricity network combined with real-time information on the physical conditions in which it operates obtained through sensors. With this digital twin, the company wants to open up new possibilities for managing the distribution network of the future: from making simulations in all possible conditions to performing preventive maintenance, interacting with field staff more efficiently or monitoring in real time the operation of the different components of the network that brings electricity to homes and businesses.

With an investment of 6.5 million euros, e-distribución, the network subsidiary of Endesa, will digitize in the next three years in Catalonia 52,000 transformation centers, 18,000 kilometers of high and medium voltage lines and 353 substations .

At state level, the company has deployed 50 teams in Catalonia, Andalusia, Aragon, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Extremadura, the areas where it manages the distribution network, to complete the Network Digital Twin project, which will allow digitize a total of 144,000 distribution centers, 90,0000 kilometers of high and medium voltage overhead lines and 1,311 substations by 2025, with an investment of 40 million euros.

This year it is planned to complete the digitization of nearly a third of the components that will make up the digital twin of Endesa's network subsidiary. This year alone, 14.2 million euros will be invested in this project for the entire State, which represents another step in the design of the networks of the future.

The digital twin would allow, for example, to detect where an incident has occurred in the network in order to prevent it or simulate the most efficient way to recover the supply in the face of an extreme weather phenomenon, it would help reduce replacement times and improve quality of service received by the customer. The possibility of working remotely also reduces the planning times for maintenance and network improvement tasks and has an additional advantage: because it avoids a lot of travel by workers to the facilities, the footprint is reduced carbon

To create this digital twin, the high-voltage and medium-voltage lines are digitized from helicopters and from the ground with more complex machines such as power transformers. These components are represented virtually and connected with sensors. Information is transmitted over IoT data networks so that the digital model can be remotely simulated and operated as if working on real assets, study future behavior, plan work and improve network resilience without impacting customers.