Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | MARCH 2021 | 35 Operational Excellence Harrison said making the Value of Lost Load more "granular" could open up "a whole new way of think- ing about what network services people need", enabling them to be managed in "a very precise and dynamic way at the level of individual customers or even devices". "If you have a customer Value of Lost Load where cer- tain high load items – and the obvious example would be an electric vehicle charger – that are quite tolerant to lost loads for periods of times, that potentially has quite big implications as to how you might then go about rein- forcing networks," he explained. Customers willing to accept a lower level of reliability could be o• ered lower cost connections on this basis. The panel also called for the removal of the voltage limits that have been "essentially unchanged for over 80 years, in which time the voltage tolerances of devices has improved dramatically". It said the "strict application of these limits is likely to drive signi‚ cant unnecessary rein- forcement or other mitigating actions" costing billions ofƒpounds. Harrison said these limits are set in legislation – something the panel saw as "anomalous" – but should instead be le„ to network companies and stakehold- ers to "work through together to re… ect individual circumstances." It additionally suggested that new or refurbished cir- cuits be sized to reduce network losses where they would be more costly than higher capacity assets. "If you're doing something new and you're putting some new copper in the ground, then size that not for the load but for the losses," Harrison explained. "And that does two things. First, it reduces the losses, which is economic… But what is also does is then give you some built in headroom for load growth." The panel said enacting its recommendations could avoid one-o• costs of £5-10 billion and a further £2-6ƒbil- lion annually. But Harrison said these would be achieved only with accompanying reforms to energy system gov- ernance. Responding to Ofgem's review of energy system operation, he said "shaping the architecture of the sys- tem… that's part of the story here". Tom Grimwood, energy editor Simon Harrison, group strategic development director, Mott Macdonald With expanding AI capabilities, industries such as the energy, rail and telecommunications are wit- nessing growth in the adoption of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or drones). The increase in drone usage has already begun challenging the conventional methods of inspection and maintenance of assets. More importantly, it is showing the value of using innovation to overcome tradi- tional challenges. Across the industry, traditional inspection and maintenance opera- tions faced high costs, safety risks and were time consuming for companies to conduct. These activities o„ en included the use of helicopters to inspect high-pressure pipelines or highly labour-intensive work which tends to require operatives climbing tall structures to inspect an asset. Innovation-based companies such as ULC Robotics (ULC) are assisting in the adoption of drone technology by deploying in-house designed and built UAV to carry out aerial inspection services and UAV-related innovation projects. For successful and eœ cient UAV operations, an innovative mindset is required to identify the current and future uses of applications as well as understanding how to implement the technology into a company's business- as-usual operations. Working with clients across the industry, ULC's stra- tegic approach helps to accommodate speci‚ c requirements and improve eœ ciency. With the experience of delivering successful robotic services in the UK, including the Cast Iron Joint Sealing Robot (CISBOT), ULC's UK team works collaboratively with their US counter- parts to disseminate knowledge and solutions that are applicable across global markets. US industries have been o• ered an innovative approach from ULC's pilots in overcoming the typical challenges associated with inspection and maintenance activities. This has involved working with clients to develop and integrate machine learning solutions in UAVs, as well as being one of the ‚ rst companies to deploy UAV's for US o• shore wind inspections. From the initial discussion with a client, ULC's team seeks to under- stand the exact problem that needs to be solved from the operations. Using ULC Technologies' R&D capabilities, the in-house engineers and sensor scientists work closely with the client to identify a solution where they are provided with meaningful … ight data. Together, ULC and the client can ‚ nd and build unique solutions through custom-built platforms, so„ ware and UAVs that best suits their needs to receive actionable insights. Bringing almost 20 years of robotics-as-a-service expertise, award-winning innovations across the company, and highly experienced UAV pilots, ULC has witnessed the bene‚ ts UAV's can provide for commercial operations. ULC's custom-built aircra„ provide safer UAV inspections around utility facilities and o• er longer … ights, delivering additional insight for the client. Using AI and machine learning, UAV technology can also capture smaller and more precise details, which are o„ en unnoticed when using conventional methods of inspection and maintenance. With the recent approval from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), ULC will take … ight in the UK in 2021, commercially deploying UAV technol- ogy to assist across the utility and industrial sector utilising a pool of experienced UK pilots. To ‚ nd out more about ULC's UAV capabilities and services, visit: www.ulcrobotics.com or contact our UK team directly at: ukenquiries@spx.com. DAVID MCLEOD, HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, ULC ROBOTICS Using innovation and strategy to increase drone inspection effi ciency Tech Talk Sponsored content brought to you by strategy to increase drone

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