Italy’s ENEA gamifies smart grid management with video game

ENEA has developed a video game, Master Grid, to educate users on how to manage a smart grid. 

Developed by the Smart Grid and Energy Networks Laboratory within the Department of Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources, Master Grid is part of the National Electric System Research Programme's 2022–2024 Three-Year Plan. 

According to ENEA, the Master Grid offers an interactive gaming experience that demonstrates the importance of intelligence and advanced control logic for operating a modern power grid. This includes balancing electricity generation and consumption, preventing failures, and optimising resources.

The game provides a simplified representation of typical smart grid elements, such as a thermoelectric power plant and electricity generation systems from renewable sources, as well as the typical loads of a small town such as a detached house.

Maria Valenti, the ENEA project contact and Head of the Smart Grid Laboratory, said the objective of the video game "is to accumulate points through optimal resource management while preventing the grid from crashing”. 

A score is calculated based on playing time, with points increasing over time, accumulated wealth - measured in terms of energy savings from fossil sources and from the grid - and CO₂ emissions: the lower the emissions released into the atmosphere, the higher the score.

Have you read:
What's the biggest workforce challenge facing the energy transition?
Why workforce retention is crucial for a reliable grid

Players take on the role of a system power manager and must 'protect' the grid from critical issues that may arise during gameplay as a result of factors such as the alternation of day and night, weather conditions, the type of fuels chosen to power the system, possible cyberattacks, and the type of units to be supplied.

"Through Master Grid, the player must meet energy demand without overloads or outages, while also progressively developing the grid by enriching it with renewable energy technologies and storage systems. Finally, the player must manage the budget for grid expansion," said Valenti.

She added that the idea for the developing the game came from the awareness that the energy transition will require significant changes, both technologically and culturally.

“The power grid of the future will rely increasingly on plants powered by renewable sources. Consequently, it will be necessary to address and manage their limited programmability, as well as the increasingly variable and extreme conditions to which the grid is exposed as a result of climate change, such as heatwaves. 

“Research and innovation will be crucial in developing smart solutions to ensure the grid's reliability, security and flexibility.”