The advance of technology is unstoppable in all fields, and digitalization is gaining ground and accelerating the transformation of all types of communications. Faced with this reality, companies do not want to be left out, as is the case with Endesa. In this sense, the company has replaced traditional telephone and oral communication with an application and digitized communications to give instructions to technicians and operators who work on the ground performing maneuvers on the electrical distribution network.
Through the E-Cho project, Endesa has carried out an irreversible structural change in the transmission of these instructions, which represents a leap in the digitalization of communications at Endesa's Control Center in Catalonia. Until now, the center would call field personnel and give them instructions, after which the operator would repeat them for verification, in communications that were subject to interference due to low coverage or acoustic contamination.
The creation of this app will allow for greater clarity, traceability, speed, and security, as these types of maneuvers represent the most critical point when operating on the network. The project was first tested in Tarragona and has now expanded to all of Catalonia, to then be exported to the rest of the country. The initiative is part of the global Grid Blue Sky project, which consists of a new platform model to uniformly manage all of the company's networks, which until now were handled independently.
In Catalonia, more than 1.2 million maneuvers were carried out from the control center in 2023, of which nearly half were based on telephone instructions, while the rest relied on digital remote control systems installed in the medium voltage network. In this sense, the E-Cho project, which focuses on telephone communications, aims to represent a turning point in the operation of the electrical grid.
The project is part of the company's commitment to advance the digital transformation of all its processes, for which it uses resources such as Big data, machine learning, augmented reality, AI, robotics, and the development of IoT sensors. The company has also created a digital twin of the network, with the aim of being able to perform simulations, carry out preventive maintenance, and interact with field personnel more efficiently.
Along these lines, Endesa considers it essential to bet on digitalization to face the climate emergency and the energy transition process, in a context where the grid also needs to be digital to facilitate the injection of renewable energies into the system. All of this in favor of sustainability, towards which Endesa is advancing with measures such as launching this new application.