Smart grid rising in Central and Eastern Europe

Demand for smart grid solutions is not isolated to developed economies or nations that tend to focus on developing the most sophisticated technologies possible. Instead, a wide range of nations are combining utility infrastructure, network systems, terminal servers and other solutions to make smart grid develop happen. This trend is especially clear in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), where the smart grid market is set to grow substantially in the near future despite the fact that the region is often considered secondary when compared to Western Europe.

According to a recent Northeast Group study, the smart grid market is poised to rise considerably in the CEE region. By 2023, smart grid investments in CEE will reach $10.3 billion, creating an environment in which almost all utility providers in the area have deployed the smart grid.

Smart grids in CEE
The Northeast Group found that the interoperability, security and best practice standards set in place by the European Union are playing a prominent role in easing smart grid deployment throughout the CEE region. These regulations are giving nations in CEE advantages that many other countries with emerging economies cannot benefit from. While not every nation will be able to take advantage of this to meet the EU's 2020 guidelines for smart grid deployment, some already have projects that are set to be completed well before that date. Estonia, for example, is set to have smart grid deployed across all of its utility operations by 2017.

The Northeast Group said the CEE region is among the most highly developed regions, of those with many emerging economies, from a smart grid perspective.

"Central and Eastern Europe is the most advanced region among emerging market countries for smart grid and smart meter deployments," said the Northeast Group. "All ten countries covered in this study are expected to adopt EU smart meter regulations over the course of this decade, and some already have extensive smart grid road maps in place. At the same time, with lower electricity demand levels compared with Western Europe, it's not clear if all CEE countries will meet the EU targets."

Accelerating smart grid deployment through terminal servers
Serial to Ethernet conversion is essential for smart grid success. As a result, terminal servers can play a major role in enabling smart grid setups that are cost efficient. Interoperability is a major challenge when trying to get serial and Ethernet equipment to work well with one another. Handling this problem inexpensively can create value for organizations deploying smart grid systems, making terminal servers key.

Perle offers a range of cost effective serial-to-Ethernet converters to help meet NERC-CIP compliance for the protection of critical cyberassets in substations. The IOLAN SDS HV/LDC Terminal Server is designed to meet harsh environments associated with Power Substations with attributes such as support for substation AC and DC voltage ranges, extended operating temperatures and meeting emission, immunity and safety approvals associated with substation IT equipment.