Demo8 Deniz Raif Durmaz

Competency questions by Deniz Raif Durmaz. Power Systems Consultant, Software Developer at Siemens.

• Linkedin blog Reimagining the Electrical Grid: Why Your Digital Twin is a Query Problem, Not a Storage Problem, 31 May 2026. Also see Discussion.
• GridLab page CIM Query Capabilities for Digital Twin Implementation

Deniz lists 7 very broad categories of questions.

Please note that many cannot be answered by a semantic database alone. Indeed, the blog is predicated on the following architectural observations:

• Relational databases choke on graph-shaped topologies with millions of nodes.
• Triple stores excel at relationships but lag on real-time state management.
• Time-series databases handle telemetry but lose structural context.

Deniz made similar points in the Talk2PowerSystem Final Webinar Q&A Session:

• A hybrid query that combines time-series, relational, and geospatial data: Find all breakers added after 2024 that are located within 500 meters of Asker Substation and have tripped more than 10 times
• My goal was to stir the pot a little and provoke some deeper thought into what it truly takes to build a comprehensive digital twin. The fundamental truth I was trying to highlight is that no single database technology can optimally serve all query categories.
• Driven by this, I’ve been stitching together various GridLab prototypes to handle massive datasets (not just toy model sizes, but real-world network models containing around 40 million triples).
• Distributed computing related mumbo jumbo can be found at GridLab Microsoft Orleans; I was able to process 40M triples in ~8 sec

Furthermore:

• Not all semantic queries are about CIM. Some require querying substation automation data (SCADA and IEC 61850)
• Some require long-term grid evolution data, i.e. a series of well-organized and time-indexed EQ profiles