Fundamental industry changes

PSC recognises fundamental changes are occurring in the electricity industry. Changing patterns of generation and energy demand are being fuelled by the emergence of new distributed energy resources and technological innovations. These technologies, such as micro renewable generation and lithium ion battery storage, are created partly in response to the need for reduced carbon emissions, but also in response to the emergence of increased consumer demand awareness and energy efficiency measures.

These changes are becoming disruptive to the traditional business models for managing and operating electrical grids and networks. The Smart Grids of the future must therefore be flexible and responsive to these challenges. This means that power systems engineers and system operators must think about and act differently to the way assets are maintained and to how energy is dispatched.

The first PSC solar array at our offices in Wellington, New Zealand

Our vision

At PSC our vision is to engage with these changes in a positive and practical way. The PSC e-tron project and solar arrays described in these pages are the first of several initiatives we plan to undertake in the renewable energy and Smart Grid space. Our goal is to immerse ourselves in these challenges and provide industry leadership as well as achieving practical learnings for our own organisation.

Through project e-tron we are already generating intellectual property and identifying new ways of using solar arrays and EV’s. This initiative is an example of how we can learn more about these technologies to ensure that our society fully benefits from a fully renewable energy