Smart metering system for microgrids

Smart meters are the cornerstone in the new conception of the electrical network or Smart Grid (SG), providing detailed information about users´ energy consumption and allowing the suppliers to remotely collect data for billing. Nevertheless, their features are not only useful for the energy suppliers, but they can also play a big role in the control of the Microgrid since the recorded power and energy profiles can be integrated in energy management systems (EMS). In addition, basic power quality (PQ) disturbances can be detected and reported by some advanced metering systems. Thus, this paper will expose an example of Smart Meters integration in a Microgrid scenario, which is the Intelligent Microgrid Lab of Aalborg Univeristy (AAU). To do this, first the installation available in the Microgrid Lab will be introduced. Then, three different test scenarios and their respective results will be presented, regarding the capabilities of this system and the advantages of integrating the Smart Meters information in the Microgrid control.