Croatian state-owned energy supplier Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP) presented the Smart Grid Pilot Project which refers to the digitalisation of a part of the electricity distribution network in Croatia.
The total value of the project amounts to 176,8 million kuna (23,3 million euros), 85 per cent of which are secured from the European Regional Development Fund.
“Regarding the European Union objectives in the following ten years, as well as the national objectives presented in all our strategic documents, such as the. Energy Development Strategy and the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan, we expect a more flexible grid and the development of a modern system, ready to accept a big amount of renewable energy sources in the system”, said Tomislav Ćorić, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development (pictured above).
The Project will increase the effectiveness of electricity distribution and create preconditions for increasing electricity supply reliability, as well as the number of customers with smart grid access. Furthermore, it will create preconditions for further integration of distributed sources. Through this Project, HEP is investing into three functional areas of advanced electricity distribution network: advanced metering infrastructure, development and optimisation of the conventional network as well as automatisation of the medium-voltage network.
“We in HEP are ready to be the bearer of the Croatian energy transition towards a low-carbon society, which we have confirmed through a successful launch of the renewable development scenario,” commented Frane Barbarić, President of HEP’s Management Board. “An important element of that scenario is a reliable, modern, effective and flexible system of electricity distribution, based on the concept of smart grids.”