China Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI) shone at this year's IET Excellence and Innovation Awards conferred by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in the UK recently.

One of CEPRI's sci-tech achievements won both the Power and Energy Award and the International Award. The awards were given to its power distribution Internet of Things (PD-IoT) technology. The innovation promotes digital transformation of traditional distribution networks through a technology architecture based on "cloud, network, edge and endpoint." It enables a diverse range of user resources to actively participate in the operation of distribution networks.

The technology has led to the development of an International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard, and been implemented in the management of low-voltage distribution networks across 27 provincial utilities, effectively enhancing the outage detection, power quality monitoring, and coordinated control of power source-grid-load-energy storage.

Three other CEPRI innovations were also nominated for the International Award. They include a controllable line commutated converter (CLCC), a comprehensive solution for flexible, safe, and reliable charging of EVs, and a smart IoT energy meter for various electricity scenarios.

The CLCC technology addresses the issue of commutation failure in traditional DC converters. It was successfully demonstrated in the Gezhouba-Nanqiao ±500 kV HVDC transmission project, achieving a zero commutation failure record.

The comprehensive solution for flexible, safe and reliable charging of EVs proposes precise prediction and flexible regulation strategies for electric vehicle charging, with an advanced safety warning system, and an efficient portable remote automatic detection device for AC/DC charging.

The smart IoT energy meter for various electricity scenarios introduces an innovative architecture for energy meters. Its hardware and software are both expandable, significantly enhancing the flexibility, openness and scalability of the sensing and monitoring capabilities.