Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1111696
FAULT DETECTION supermarkets. Similar problems occur for manufacturers where power electronics are affected by short interruptions resulting in shutdowns and waste. Q What kind of solutions can be put into place to tackle short inter- ruptions? Christopher Watts: From a regulatory point of view, we think the first step is that Ofgem should include it in its financial incentives package, which would make companies re- spond to the issue more. But there are now technical solutions, like the S&C TripSaver NETWORK / 28 / MAY 2019 With regulatory and technological changes afoot, the issue of reliability is never far from the top of the agenda for many in the regulatory sector. While much has been said about the need to avoid long power outages, has the issue of smaller interruptions been ignored? Network spoke to S&C Electric Company's director of regulatory affairs, Christopher Watts and its EMEA sales director, Jonathan Hopkins about why short interruptions matter, what can be done to avoid them, and what other solutions will improve grid reliability for the network of tomorrow. Short interruptions matter Q Energy company executives have a lot on their plates these days, why should they give priority to an issue like short interruptions? Christopher Watts: One of the biggest issues in the sector is the transition of distribution network operators (DNOs) to distribution system operators (DSOs) and managing resources at a local level, like storage and distributed generation. But DSOs can only rely on such resources to the extent that the underlying distribution network itself is reli - able. Short interruptions have a significant impact on that reliability. Q Obviously, there is a lot of talk in the energy sector about mov- ing to a smarter energy grid with more intermittent renewable energy sources. Could this mean we will see more short interruptions in the future? Christopher Watts: The move to greater flexibility means that distribution reli- ability is more important, because flexible, decentralised resources will be connected to the distribution network, rather than the transmission network. So, the underlying reliability of the distribution network will become more important. While the DNOs have done a lot of good work in terms of managing longer interruptions, instances of short interruptions have been increasing. An interruption of just a few seconds can take distributed generation off the network. It could also mean some flexible resources, like energy storage are not able to provide services back to the network. So, short interruptions are an area that has not been addressed that well. Jonathan Hopkins: We are finding that cus - tomers have increasing expectations and no longer tolerate interruptions of any length. We mention decentralisation, but we must also consider the impact of digitalisation and the Internet of Things (IoT). Everything is now reliant on Wi-Fi, and if the Wi-Fi goes offline, it can cause major problems for industrial and commercial custom- ers, including service industries, such as banks and call centres, retailers such as