“Smart City Infrastructure
Poor transport accessibility and unproductive use of electricity are the scourge of Russian cities. In Russia today 13-14% of all electric power is lost during transmission to the consumer, in Japan the figure is 5%, and in the US the figure is 7-9%. in Western Europe – 4-9%.
Without harnessing the power of ICTs, the infrastructure of today’s cities simply cannot develop efficiently. The use of ICT allows not only to improve the infrastructure of a megacity, but also to use the existing infrastructure much more efficiently. Thus, the use of ICT solutions objectively reduces the costs required to build urban facilities – primarily transport and power grids.
The main assets of Russian power systems are more than half physically and morally depreciated, and their “refreshment” will require considerable expenditures. Modernization of the “physical” component of our power distribution networks is currently needed. Nevertheless, the use of communication and information technology to automate power distribution networks, providing feedback between the supplier and the consumer of energy, efficient automated power distribution, verification of energy consumption by the last consumer, leveling the daily fluctuations of load, can significantly improve the efficiency of the existing power distribution infrastructure. Moreover, the introduction of such technological solutions will require relatively small expenditures compared to the investments necessary to improve the “physical” equipment of the network.