Empowering the Edge: A Guide to Low Voltage Grid Management for Modern Utilities

Author Sticky

Rebecca Gu

Senior Director, Product Management - GridOS Distribution Management Systems Product Portfolio

Grid Software, GE Vernova

Rebecca Gu is a Senior Director at GE Vernova, supporting the GridOS Distribution Management Systems Product portfolio.  She supports our utility customers on all aspects of distribution grid modernization and energy transition challenges from renewables integration, to integrating new AMI analytics for grid management. Prior to her role on distribution management, she was the Senior Manager for the Distributed Energy Resources Management Systems portfolio.  On DERMS, Rebecca led the vision for Distribution System Operations and management of market-based or transactive energy solutions using DER, and expanded the DERMS partner ecosystem to include Edge DERMS solutions and market solutions providers.

Nov 14, 2025 Last Updated
3 Minutes Read

Introduction: Why Low Voltage Matters Now

Grid Orchestration’s “Final Boss”

The energy transition is presenting new challenges across the energy value chain, and said challenges are felt most strongly at the low voltage (LV) network. In many geographies, LV is the “final frontier” of grid orchestration – a vast, complex layer that can be 10 times the size of the medium- and high-voltage distribution network. The LV segment of the grid can connect thousands of individual premises in some regions, or handfuls of customers along long feeders in more rural areas.

The LV network model also has more inaccuracies – as the “unmanaged” part of the network, the control room has traditionally not needed to either see nor accurately manage it. Instead, utilities would simply assume sufficient LV capacity to support demand. For many decades, this was the norm and LV was allowed to stay its course, unchecked and unmanaged.
GE Vernova
The Low Voltage Era is here

Actively managing the LV network has not been a high priority for grid operators – until now. Today, there’s a newfound need to address Low Voltage grid management more actively than ever before. Continuing with a business-as-usual approach to Low Voltage gridLV management is no longer a viable strategy for utilities, for the following reasons:
  • DER proliferation: More DERs are requesting connection to the grid – for example, one utility faced 34m DER interconnection requests alone in a single year.
  • Changing energy flows: In sunny regions like Australia and California, high solar PV integration means distributed generation is reversing power flows and pushing the LV grid’s active voltage limits.
  • Electrification: New demand from storage, electric vehicles, and heat pumps is reshaping consumption and patterns across the grid.
The result? Grid operators face unprecedented stress at the LV layer. At the same time, rising smart meter adoption (projected to reach ~78% worldwide by 2028) is creating an opportunity to harness the visibility and data needed at this traditionally invisible part of the network.

GEV’s Low Voltage Grid Management Strategy

Managing the LV network requires at least one of three approaches:
  1. Model-Based Approaches: Some utilities have enough visibility of the LV network to leverage existing powerflow-based solutions. This can mean the full connectivity model, which includes how equipment is connected, including phase connectivity. It also includes line ratings, grid equipment electrical parameters/models, load data, generation data, and voltage control information. With this information, GE Vernova’s GridOS ADMS and GridOS DERMS solutions can run the same powerflow-based applications at LV that have already been field-proven at the MV and HV levels.
  2. Model-Free Powerflow Approaches: For utilities with incomplete and/or less-than-accurate LV network data, a less data-intensive model— grouping meters by transformer—can still support active Low Voltage gridLV management. This approximation of the LV network, called a hierarchical or logical network model, is what drives many of GE Vernova’s customers’ DER use cases for Low Voltage grid management. GridOS DERMS applies a “model-free” powerflow, using full impedance or logical approximations to calculate dynamic operating envelopes for LV-connected DERs. This enables proactive management of grid constraints even without a detailed network model. For many use cases, our ADMS solution can also enable the operator to visualize the LV network without the full impedance model.
  3. New, Data-Driven Approaches: The traditional approach adopted by utilities has been to improve the quality of their LV model until it could support one of the two aforementioned approaches to LV management. To support them in this endeavor, GridOS supports automated network model quality improvements through GE Vernova’s Model Verification Manager solution. However, it can take significant time to attain the right conditions for traditional grid management approaches.

    Utilities do not need to wait to achieve model quality improvements to begin actively manage their networks. In parallel to model quality improvements, a third approach, this one involving leveraging real-time data analytics and LV monitoring solutions, is available. This data-driven approach relies on minimal grid data, reducing the risk of inaccuracies skewing results. It instead produces estimates of the load flow and voltage on the LV network through a minimal amount of AMI data. GridOS enables a data-driven approach to complement model-based and model-free powerflow solutions in the control room using GridOS Connect – the data-integration layer of the overarching GridOS Data Fabric. GridOS Connect enables reliable integration of AMI data into GridOS applications or partner solutions.

Why Partnerships Matter at the Edge

GE Vernova offers a range of solutions (outlined above) that support capabilities for model-based and model-free approaches to LV management. We are excited to add to these capabilities a selection of strategic partnerships to bring greater data-driven approaches to LV management. These partnerships complement the current capabilities of ADMS and GridOS DERMS. Through GE Vernova’s partnerships with LV Management partners, we are driving the utility industry to use LV monitoring solutions to complement centralized model-based and model-free approaches to LV management.

How our Partnership with Plexigrid Supports the Vision

Recognizing the growing importance of better LV network modelling and management, we are excited to welcome Plexigrid as our newest LV management partner in the GridOS portfolio.

Plexigrid’s solutions enhance GE Vernova’s GridOS ADMS and GridOS DERMS by providing additional LV monitoring data and complementary workflows that expand control-room operator visibility and insight into the LV grid. Even with minimal LV model data, Plexigrid delivers valuable capabilities, including two key modules:
  • Ari (LV monitoring): Uses AMI data to provide real-time visibility of the LV network – including detection of constraints, alerts, and power quality analysis – helping operators anticipate issues and act proactively.
  • Tatari (planning and simulations): Leverages historical grid measurements to simulate peak load, evaluate hosting capacity, assess flexibility impact, and model future load growth –supporting the interconnection of new DER and proactive grid planning.
To support the different strategies for managing the LV network, the Plexigrid modules include tools that enhance LV model accuracy as well as data-driven methods to close gaps where topology information is missing. By uniting these approaches, Plexigrid expands the scope and reliability of GridOS LV use cases—enabling utilities to accelerate the transition toward flexible, resilient, and customer-focused grid operations.

LV management starts with the data you have

At GE Vernova Grid Software, we take a portfolio approach to a portfolio problem. LV management spans the full spectrum of grid orchestration, from long-term planning to real-time operations. With Plexigrid joining our partnership program, we now offer a complete set of solutions that enables grid operators to manage LV networks across any time horizon and with any level of data quality.
GE Vernova
We believe low voltage grid management requires a long-term, multi-faceted strategy. That means combining model-based, model-free, and data-driven approaches to meet the significant challenges ahead. We support utilities at every stage of this journey—whether they are starting with low voltage grid monitoring solutions, advancing through model-based approaches, or simultaneously improving their model quality while leveraging data-driven approaches.

Low voltage grid management is not a one-size-fits-all challenge. Each utility needs a tailored approach depending on data maturity, network visibility, and operational priorities. That’s why GE Vernova takes a portfolio-based approach — offering flexible solutions that can be applied individually or in combination. By complementing our portfolio with partners like Plexigrid, we empower utilities to scale low voltage grid management with confidence, resilience, and flexibility.
GE Vernova

Learn more about how GridOS ADMS and GridOS DERMS are helping utilities tackle the LV frontier:

Author Section

Author

Rebecca Gu

Senior Director, Product Management - GridOS Distribution Management Systems Product Portfolio
Grid Software, GE Vernova

Rebecca Gu is a Senior Director at GE Vernova, supporting the GridOS Distribution Management Systems Product portfolio.  She supports our utility customers on all aspects of distribution grid modernization and energy transition challenges from renewables integration, to integrating new AMI analytics for grid management. Prior to her role on distribution management, she was the Senior Manager for the Distributed Energy Resources Management Systems portfolio.  On DERMS, Rebecca led the vision for Distribution System Operations and management of market-based or transactive energy solutions using DER, and expanded the DERMS partner ecosystem to include Edge DERMS solutions and market solutions providers.