Smart Grid: the intelligent power network

From managing bidirectional flows to integrating renewables, smart grids are the essential infrastructure for energy efficiency, energy communities and smart districts.

According to data from the IEA (International Energy Agency), buildings account for nearly 40% of global energy consumption. In this context, efficient energy management plays a crucial role in minimizing the impact on the grid and guiding people toward more conscious use of resources.

With the increasing integration of non-dispatchable renewable sources such as wind and solar into the energy mix, an infrastructure capable of managing complexity and intermittency becomes indispensable: the smart grid, the intelligent power network. This technological evolution is not merely a technical upgrade, it forms the backbone of future urban models, such as smart districts, where energy management will be seamlessly integrated into community life.

What the smart grid is and how it works

A traditional power grid is a one-way system: energy flows from large power plants to end users, while consumption data flows back in aggregate form.
The smart grid revolutionizes this model by introducing bidirectional flows of both energy and information. Thanks to digital technologies, IoT (Internet of Things) sensors and smart meters, the grid becomes a kind of nervous system capable of communicating in real time with all its nodes. This vast network of sensors and software processing enables constant monitoring and interactive management of energy flows.

This makes it possible to dynamically manage the complexity of distributed generation, where energy is produced by a multitude of plants, including small-scale renewable installations. The grid does not merely distribute power, it actively controls and optimizes energy flows, balancing supply and demand, preventing overloads, and minimizing voltage fluctuations.
In this new paradigm, the consumer evolves into a “prosumer”: an active participant who not only consumes but also produces and potentially stores energy (becoming a “prosumager”) and makes it available to the grid.

The benefits of smart grids

The adoption of smart grids delivers tangible, multi-level benefits. It is not just about efficiency, it is a complete re-engineering of the energy system.

For users, the most immediate benefit is greater awareness. Through detailed consumption monitoring, they can identify anomalies, optimize expenses and adopt more sustainable behaviours. It also opens up new opportunities for valorizing self-produced energy, as in the case of energy communities, transforming a cost into a potential source of income and active participation.

For the power system, the benefits translate into increased reliability and resilience of the grid. Its “self-healing” capability allows for faster fault detection and isolation, reducing downtime.
For grid operators, access to granular, real-time data provides the tools needed for accurate assessment of grid behaviour, crucial for fault management, maintenance planning, and loss optimization.

This rationalization of consumption also supports the ongoing energy transition: by enabling better grid management, smart grids facilitate greater renewable energy integration into the system and support their progressive increase in the energy mix, in line with the sustainability targets set by the Fit for 55% package.

Flexibility in action: pilot projects in Italy

A system’s ability to adapt to changes is known as energy flexibility, a key concept for the proper functioning of modern grids.
In Italy, several pilot projects approved by ARERA (Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment) are already testing the potential of flexibility in distribution networks. Projects such as RomeFlex in Rome, MiNDFlex in Milan and Brescia, and EDGE in various cities including Arezzo, Bari, and Padua, are creating true local energy markets. In these contexts, residential customers equipped with storage systems (such as batteries paired with photovoltaic plants) can actively participate by offering stored energy to the grid operator to help stabilize the system, receiving economic benefits in return. These experiments are essential for testing the technologies and business models that will enable large-scale smart cities and smart districts in the future.

In this scenario, Plenitude positions itself as an operator capable of supporting all types of users, both private and business, by providing innovative, customized tools for energy efficiency from renewable sources. Only through a shared commitment to the effective use of resources can we generate real value, reduce waste and make energy consumption more efficient.