Digitalization in Heat Supply Might Transform Power Industry Radically

13:51, March 12, 2019

New approaches will save billions of rubles and remove obstacles to connecting consumers

The introduction of digital technologies into the Russian fuel and energy complex will make it more energy efficient and will save billions of rubles annually. Konstantin Shcherbinin, the senior lecturer of the Department of Heat Power Engineering and Heating Systems Engineering of the UrFU Ural Power Engineering Institute made a report on the prospects for digitalization in heat supply at an open meeting of the Sverdlovsk Regional Union of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs Power Committee.

According to Konstantin Shcherbinin, digital transformation of the fuel and energy Complex (through implementation of Big Data, blockchain, machine learning, distributed power generation technology) allows to solve many topical problems in this field rather quickly.

He also noted that the competence of the UrFU Ural Power Engineering Institute could play an important role in realizing the enormous potential of digital technology for solving the tasks which the fuel and energy complex faces. The Regional Center for Competence in Heat Supply, which has modern equipment at its disposal, including a stand for field tests of heating systems designs, operates successfully at Ural Federal University. Besides that, UrFU is engaged not only in applied science, but also in the training of power engineers in advanced technology. Konstantin Shcherbinin is confident that the interest of business and government in such competences and technology in the conditions of digitalization will grow each year.

‘There are hundreds of heating systems in the Sverdlovsk region and most of them need transformation. Capital for these projects is supposed to be raised, among other things, through concession agreements. A significant amount of money will be invested in upgrading the heating systems economy. And here the factor of controlling the technical and financial efficiency of changes in the heat supply system is extremely important. Very little attention is paid to this issue,’ Konstantin Shcherbinin says.

At the committee meeting, it was proposed to create a roadmap on the functionality and development of a regional heat supply center in the Sverdlovsk region in the near future for strengthening of the control over the efficiency of the heating systems.