TenneT powers grid stability with real-time event streaming.

Quick facts

• Company: TenneT
• Industry: Energy Transmission
• Date: 2023
• Our Involvement: Platform design consultation, implementation support, enterprise Kafka deployment for critical grid infrastructure

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About TenneT

TenneT is one of Europe's leading electricity Transmission System Operators, managing over 24,000 kilometers of high-voltage grid across the Netherlands and Germany. As a critical infrastructure provider ensuring power reaches 43 million end-users, TenneT operates at the intersection of traditional grid management and the renewable energy transition, where real-time data processing has become essential for grid stability.

Goals & context

TenneT faced a challenge common to energy operators modernizing legacy infrastructure: their existing batch-driven data architecture could not support the real-time decision-making required for modern grid operations.

The constraint was fundamental. Sensors and monitoring systems across TenneT's high-voltage network generated vast data volumes, but batch processing meant delays between data collection and actionable insight. For a transmission system operator managing grid stability across two countries, these delays translated directly to reduced situational awareness. The standard approach of simply adding more batch jobs would not solve the underlying architectural limitation.

The grid itself was changing. Increasing renewable energy penetration meant more variable power flows, requiring continuous monitoring and faster response times. TenneT needed an event streaming architecture capable of processing high-speed sensor data continuously, not periodically. The requirement was clear: real-time situational awareness for real-time grid management.

Strategic approach

Hypothesis: Building a governance-first event streaming platform would enable TenneT to process grid data in real time while maintaining the security and control required for critical infrastructure.

Principles:

• Mission-critical reliability as the foundation, not an afterthought
• Integration between operational technology (OT) and IT systems without compromising either
• Self-service capabilities for grid operations teams while maintaining centralized governance
• Open-source foundation to avoid vendor lock-in on critical infrastructure
• Scalable architecture designed for TenneT's expanding network needs

Operating Model: TenneT's own engineering teams designed and installed the platform with Axual's implementation support, ensuring deep organizational knowledge and architectural control from day one.

Real-time grid operations with governance-first architecture

TenneT faced interconnected challenges. Their batch-processing infrastructure created an architectural bottleneck: grid monitoring data flowed from sensors to storage to analysis systems, but each step introduced latency. By the time operations teams analyzed the data, grid conditions had already changed. Simultaneously, event streaming at grid scale introduced governance complexity. Multiple teams across TenneT needed access to different subsets of grid data, but a transmission system operator cannot compromise on security or audit capabilities.

The insight: real-time grid management requires real-time data architecture with governance built in from day one, not added as an afterthought. Event streaming would transform grid data from periodic snapshots into continuous situational awareness, but only if the platform enabled both self-service agility and enterprise control simultaneously.

Separating control from data flow

Axual provided an enterprise Apache Kafka platform combining Strimzi's open-source capabilities with the governance features required for critical infrastructure. The architecture separated the data plane (Kafka clusters processing grid sensor data) from the control plane (governance and access management), allowing TenneT to maintain operational reliability while enabling self-service data flows.

The governance model uses role-based access control and multi-tenancy to create secure data domains within the streaming platform. Each team operates with appropriate permissions, while platform administrators maintain visibility and control. The self-service interface allows authorized users to create and manage data streams without admin bottlenecks, accelerating time to insight while maintaining security.

TenneT engineers lead platform design and grid integration

TenneT selected Axual through a competitive Economical Most Beneficial Proposal (EMVI) evaluation. Rather than a traditional vendor implementation, TenneT's engineers led the platform design and installation with Axual's expert guidance. This approach ensured the architecture reflected TenneT's specific grid operations requirements and regulatory constraints.

The platform integrated with existing SCADA systems and grid monitoring infrastructure, creating a unified streaming backbone for real-time data flows. TenneT implemented fine-grained access policies aligned with organizational structure and grid operations roles. Operations teams gained the ability to provision new data streams for specific use cases, while security policies ensured compliance with critical infrastructure requirements. The platform's audit capabilities track all configuration changes and data access, supporting both operational transparency and regulatory compliance.

Operating at grid scale

The implementation delivered continuous data processing across TenneT high-voltage network. Grid monitoring systems now stream sensor data directly to analytics platforms and decision-support tools without batch processing delays. Visual data flow management in Axual’s self-service interface allows operations teams to identify bottlenecks and trace data lineage across complex grid monitoring systems.

Role-based access control ensures that only authorized teams access specific grid data streams, meeting security requirements for critical infrastructure. The governance framework scales with TenneT's needs: as new renewable energy sources connect to the grid and monitoring requirements expand, teams can provision appropriate data streams within established security boundaries. The visual interface provides clear visibility into data flows, access patterns, and system configurations, reducing the complexity of managing an enterprise streaming platform.

Outcomes

The platform transformed TenneT's grid operations from batch to real-time processing, replacing periodic data snapshots with continuous monitoring and analysis. Operations teams gained immediate situational awareness of network conditions, enhancing their ability to maintain grid stability across both countries. Visual data flow management simplified bottleneck identification, while seamless integration connected grid sensors directly to decision-making teams and analytics platforms.

Security and governance scaled alongside operational capabilities. Role-based access control enforces policies across all grid data streams, while self-service capabilities reduced time-to-insight for operations teams without compromising security. The platform's complete audit trail supports compliance requirements for critical infrastructure, and the governance model scales with TenneT's expanding network as renewable energy sources and monitoring requirements grow.

Results

• Architecture Transformation: From batch to real-time data processing for grid operations
• Operational Visibility: Continuous monitoring and analysis of high-voltage network conditions
• Time to Insight: Eliminated batch processing delays between data collection and decision support
• Governance Model: Enterprise-grade access control and audit capabilities for critical infrastructure
• Scalability: Platform architecture supporting TenneT's expanding grid monitoring requirements

Closing thoughts

TenneT's implementation demonstrates a fundamental principle: event streaming architecture for critical infrastructure requires governance by design, not as an afterthought. The platform enables real-time grid operations while maintaining the security, audit capabilities, and architectural control that transmission system operators require. As energy grids integrate more renewable sources and distributed generation, this foundation positions TenneT to adapt to evolving grid management challenges without architectural redesigns.

Further information / resources

• Axual Platform for Energy Sector
• Future Control Room Architectures whitepaper

Next steps

Discuss your healthcare data architecture challenges with our technical team. Schedule an architecture review session to explore how event streaming can address your specific interoperability requirements while maintaining compliance.

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