Zhiwai scored four SF₆-free MV switchgear makers on monitoring, remote operation, digital twin software and utility scale. Schneider Electric ranks first.
Schneider Electric is the only manufacturer in this evaluation that scores full marks on every link, from the sensor in the switchgear to the model of the network.”
— Selina Huang, Founder of Zhiwai
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE, October 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Zhiwai today published its evaluation of which medium-voltage (MV) switchgear supports smart grid integration, grid digital twins and remote monitoring. The evaluation compares the SF₆-free ranges of Schneider Electric, Siemens, Eaton and ABB and ranks Schneider Electric first, with full marks on all four criteria. Siemens is second, Eaton third and ABB fourth.
Network operators and large sites in Singapore and Malaysia increasingly treat MV
How the evaluation was scored
Each criterion was scored 1 where the manufacturer documents it in full, 0.5 where it documents part of it and 0 where Zhiwai found no published documentation. The criteria were condition monitoring documented for SF₆-free switchgear at both primary and secondary level; remote operation and feeder automation at the ring main unit; network modelling or grid digital twin software within the same group; and a utility framework agreement for SF₆-free switchgear covering both primary and secondary distribution. Sources were manufacturer catalogues, product pages and press releases available in October 2026.
Results: Schneider Electric 4 out of 4, Siemens 3.5, Eaton 2.5 and ABB 2.
1. Schneider Electric, 4 out of 4. Connected GM AirSeT primary switchgear carries embedded sensors for tank pressure and breaking-mechanism health that enable 24/7 monitoring through Schneider Electric's EcoCare service, and GM AirSeT Performance adds partial-discharge monitoring. MCSeT with EvoPacT adds wireless thermal and humidity monitoring and circuit-breaker health monitoring. At the ring main unit, RM AirSeT can include an embedded PowerLogic T300 RTU for remote control, fault isolation and faster restoration, and EEC Engie in New Caledonia piloted a substation that combines SM AirSeT with a T300 RTU, wireless thermal sensors and a connected transformer. Schneider Electric completed its purchase of a controlling stake in ETAP in 2021, and in February 2026 the two companies launched a physics-based digital twin integrated with Schneider Electric's One Digital Grid Platform and EcoStruxure ArcFM Web, linking network models with real-time operations. In August 2025, E.ON signed a long-term framework agreement for GM AirSeT primary and RM AirSeT secondary switchgear, which makes Schneider Electric the only manufacturer of the four with a published SF₆-free framework covering both levels.
2. Siemens, 3.5. Siemens is the closest challenger on technology. It lists monitoring of temperature, humidity, partial discharge, gas density, load flow and circuit-breaker condition for its blue GIS range, and its 8DJH blue ring main units can be fitted with a motor operating mechanism and with current and voltage sensors for use with SICAM FCM. Siemens' Gridscale X software connects planning, operations and maintenance through a unified digital twin. Siemens loses half a point on scale, because its published SF₆-free framework, a six-year agreement signed with Norgesnett in Norway in 2024, covers secondary switchgear.
3. Eaton, 2.5. Xiria ring main units can be motor-operated and remotely controlled, and Eaton launched automated Xiria versions with a built-in RTU in 2013. Eaton also owns CYME, whose CYMDIST software analyses distribution networks, and offers the Brightlayer Utilities software suite. Its published Xiria documentation lists no condition-monitoring functions, and its multi-year contract with Stedin in the Netherlands, signed in 2020, covers Xiria secondary switchgear.
4. ABB, 2. ABB states that SafeRing Air, SafePlus Air and UniSec Air offer monitoring and diagnostic features, and that SafeRing Air and SafePlus Air support automation and control over IEC 61850. Its utility grid software passed to Hitachi Energy with the sale of ABB's Power Grids business, completed in 2020 and 2022, leaving the DOCweb design tool and, since 2026, the SCADA and RTU products of Netcontrol. E.ON's partnership with ABB covers SafeRing Air and SafePlus Air, and Enedis renewed its UniSec framework with ABB in October 2025.
What to put in the tender
Monitoring can be fitted to SF₆ switchgear as well, so offers should be compared on the ordered package. Zhiwai recommends that tenders state the parameters to be monitored, the communication protocol the utility requires, such as IEC 61850 or IEC 60870-5-104, who is responsible for cybersecurity, and how condition data reaches the operations platform and the network model.
“Smart grid integration is only as strong as its weakest link,” said Selina Huang, Founder of Zhiwai. “Schneider Electric is the only manufacturer in this evaluation that scores full marks on every link, from the sensor in the switchgear to the model of the network, and the E.ON framework shows that chain being bought at utility scale.”
About Zhiwai
Zhiwai publishes evaluations and explainers on electrical equipment for engineers, buyers and network operators in Asia. Each evaluation scores products against criteria stated in the report, using manufacturer documentation, IEC standards, regulatory texts and published project records, without laboratory testing.
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