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NETWORK / 22 / OCTOBER 2016 A s the low-carbon energy market continues to develop, network operators will need to know a lot more about what is happening on their systems. New Thames Valley Vision (NTVV), a Low Carbon Networks Fund (LCNF) project led by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, has been looking at how this can be done. NTVV has shown that an intelligent approach to network monitoring can bring positive benefits to end customers. The enhanced insight can help distribution network operators (DNOs) prevent faults before they occur and to avoid unnecessary expense when SSEN's innovation project Thames Valley Vision reveals how an intelligent approach to network monitoring can bring positive benefits to customers. Low carbon vision LOW VOLTAGE Project details • A £30 million project by Southern Electric Power Dis- tribution funded through the Low Carbon Networks Fund • Aims to establish a high- quality, affordable future elec- tricity network by trialling new technologies and practices • Collecting data and devel- oping models to allow the operation of networks to avoid costly system reinforcement • The network in Bracknell is typical of much of Britain upgrading their local network. It is vital that the DNO knows as much about its network as possible, especially the LV network which feeds individual customers' meters. UK DNOs have converged on an LV net- work design that provides good value to the end customer. This value has been measured in terms of reliability at the lowest cost. To achieve their economic goals, DNOs have traditionally chosen to design and build low-voltage networks that were simple and practical. Policy of simplicity This has meant that it has become the custom for LV networks to be built without any