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NETWORK / 22 / JULY/AUGUST 2016 T here is a facility 30 minutes from the centre of Milan, Italy, at the forefront of the evolution of smart grids. A place where smart meter data is already being used to automate electricity distribution, manage the increasing demands of renewable generation, aid maintenance and ultimately improve the overall customer experience. The Smart Grid Laboratory belongs to Enel, a multinational manufacturer and distributor of System control electricity and gas. Network vis- ited the company at its facility to see what the future could hold for UK distribution network op- erators once consumption data is unlocked by the approaching smart meter rollout. The transition from distribution system operator to distribution network operator (DNO) is only just beginning in the UK, with DNOs largely blind to the energy flows on their system and passive in managing them. In contrast, Enel is already operating in the 'promised land' with reams of consumption data collected by smart meters. The company already has 32 million smart meters installed in Italy, a figure it expects to increase by 17 million by 2017. This data is being put to use in the backbone of Enel's smart grid: its distribution management system (DMS). The DMS, developed by Schneider but fully customised by Enel to meet its own specific needs, is a diagrammatic representation of its network in five levels of increasing detail. A month's worth of historical data from smart meters is mapped onto the system and combined with weather data collected from a separate satellite application to reveal the likely electrical flows in all branches of the system. This includes direction, quantity of power and current. Enel has multiple uses for the so"ware. It is used live on the network but also within the Smart Grid laboratory for testing. In Italy, the DSO has 28 control centres, each with its Italian distribution system operator Enel is already utilising smart meter data to give a level of control that UK DNOs can only currently imagine. Enel's diagrammatic DMS in operation ON SITE EnEl at a glancE l Leading DSO in Europe for smart metering – more than 32 million installed in Italy l 28 control centres – each with own SCADA/DMS system l 2,500 high-voltage/ medium-voltage remote controlled substations l 30% of its 426,000 high- voltage/medium-voltage substations are also remote controlled