Massive ingestion of variable and distributed generation in an ageing electricity grid will significantly transform current planning and operation paradigms, challenges that cannot be effectively addressed without the emergence of an integrated, smarted and sustainable network. After revisiting the main grid modernization concepts, the speaker will scope the challenges facing utilities in the new context of energy transition and digital transition. Then he will outline some innovation projects developed at IREQ to support Hydro-Quebec in digesting new energy technologies, which pose many challenges while enabling tremendous opportunities:

• Massive integration of renewable energy resources and distributed resources,
• Adoption of power electronic equipment allowing greater grid controllability,
• Deployment of smart monitors and synchrophasors allowing greater network observability with more cybersecurity risk exposure,
• Regional deep decarbonization through enormous renewable power fluctuations over long distances and hundreds of daily transactions year-round.

The presentation will conclude by discussing current

developments at IREQ that leverage network simulation tools

into new products and applications such as analysis of Smart

Grid and Telecom Grid interactions, Simulation of continental

scale grids and Power-hardware in the loop simulator for

distributed resources studies.