KT-MEG: Korea’s Smart Energy System

Across the globe, governments and energy suppliers are increasingly recognising the advantages of renewable and smart energy systems. However, according to the Korea Energy Agency, as of May 2017, only 6.61% of South Korea’s electricity is generated by renewable energy sources. 6.61% South Korea’s electricty generated by renewable sources Korea Energy Agency, May 2017 Compounding this issue was Korea’s tightly controlled energy market. Until 2015, the generation and supply of Korea’s energy was the exclusive responsibility of KEPCO, Korea’s dedicated utility company. Recognising the need for stimulation in this sector, the government introduced phased liberalization of the country’s energy market, which eventually enabled competitors to enter the market. At the same time, the government-sponsored R&D project ‘Korea Micro Energy Grid’ was launched, allowing KT to develop

Available to both energy consumers and suppliers, customers can connect to KT-MEG through LTE-M, 3G/LTE, RFID, fixed-line communications and, as of next year, the Korean operator will add NB-IoT to its portfolio of network technologies. With its range of connectivity mediums, KT-MEG has very few restrictions on where it operates and what type and size of business it can serve. With the operator’s commercial launch of Mobile IoT (licensed spectrum low power wide area technologies), the solution will be able to expand the number of businesses it can serve due to the technologies’ ability to operate in very hard-to-reach or extremely remote locations, such as underground, or areas with minimal coverage. Energy use is relayed to the network control centre in Gwacheon, where experts monitor site usage and micro grid demand to inform them of how to ensure optimal grid balancing and power distribution. Supporting this task is KT’s cloud-based analytics platform, the ‘e-Brain’, which analyses usage trends and performs diagnostics in real time. Capable of machine learning, KT’s e-Brain is able to factor weather, usage patterns and profitability to generate its own prediction models that enable efficient management of energy generation, energy consumption, energy trading and vehicle charging.

• [Efficiency Improvement - Energy]
  Energy generation KT-MEG has been integrated into many of the nation’s power stations, including 247 renewable energy sites. It aids energy producers by providing real time remote monitoring, diagnostics and, for solar energy sites, consolidated PV-ESS management (GiGA energy gen). Power stations using KT-MEG, have been able to make significant savings. For example, solar power sites in Yeoju and Jeonnam have significantly increased the number of hours in which they generate power per day, respectively producing 3.98 hours and 3.88 hours compared to the national average of 3.5 hours. The Korean operator estimates that these efficiencies add up to colossal savings. They calculate that, if adopted by all the nation’s power plants, with proper management and distribution of power demands, KT-MEG could make an energy saving equivalent to 5 new nuclear plants operating in peak demand – 10% of the country’s electricity usage. Delaying or eliminating the construction of additional power plants would result in vast savings for the Government and help the country meet its national carbon reduction goal
• [Cost Reduction - Energy]
  Energy consumption & trading The KT GiGA energy manager allows a wide range of businesses the means to reduce their consumption, principally by enabling a more efficient use of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and lighting facilities. Business customers connected to KT-MEG have the opportunity to observe real-time consumption and adjust their energy use through the GiGA energy manager dashboard. Additionally, businesses can also make use of KT’s remote monitoring and analysis to provide forecasts, peak management, and optimization guides. 5 iot@gsma.com www.gsma.com/iot Complementing this is KT’s GiGA energy Demand Response, which allows businesses the opportunity to profit from reducing their consumption during periods of high demand and increase their consumption at times when there is less demand. By monitoring energy use in real time, KT is also able to advise customers when to make these trades and reduce the risk of outages at times of high demand. Businesses that have adopted KT-MEG have seen their power energy consumption drop dramatically. For example, the Bupyeong hospital has reduced its energy consumption by 54%, while a sports complex in Gwangju has experienced a 75% reduction in its energy use since using KT-MEG.