Utility Week

As an increasing amount of low carbon generation comes into operation, network companies are facing a revolution in the way they transmit and distribute electricity Advertising feature Networks they are a-changin' T his month saw a milestone in the South West of England as Western Power Distribution (WPD) and National Grid completed the technical aspects of a 12-month collaboration to produce a whole electricity system strategy. WPD's South West licence area was chosen for the study because it has such an abundance of renewable resources that they may exceed the ability of the network to absorb their energy beyond 2020. And, as the start of the collaboration coincided with the first day since the 1880s when the UK electricity network operated without coal generation, the region also provides a good indication of what the future could look like for electricity networks. Scenarios The review involved working out how the transmission and distribution systems across the whole licence area would interact under different future energy scenarios and what impact this may have on investment decisions for both companies. Energy scenarios under consideration included: • What would the effect on the networks be if 100,000 properties switched to low carbon electric heat pumps by 2030? • What impact will the charging demands of 200,000 electric vehicles have? • What effect will connecting the predicted 570MW of energy storage to the distribution network have? • What impact will installing 5.6GW of generation on the distribution network have? Network Strategy Team Manager Ben Godfrey, who led the project for WPD, said: "Traditionally, the transmission and distribution operators only looked at their own systems when making investment decisions. "But with more generation being installed onto the distribution network and the reduction of large fossil-fuelled generation connected to the transmission system, we have to work together. "For example, it might be cost-effective to use the distribution network to resolve an issue on the transmission network but National Grid is not able to consider that investment without our support." The collaboration has led to a greater understanding of the levels of resilience each company works to and the impact they have on each other, which will help both avoid unintended consequences of network operation and enable customers to connect more quickly and cheaply. Challenge The sheer scale of the engineering challenge facing distribution system operators shouldn't be underestimated. For most of the year, low carbon energy that comes onto the grid is too small-scale to ever leave the distribution element of the network. However, when peak generation coincides with minimum consumption, the energy travels all the way up the network. But the distribution network was originally designed for power to flow in only one direction – towards customers' homes and businesses. Connecting generation to the distribution network means power must flow in more than one direction and it must do so in a way that doesn't impinge on the reliability of the network. A significant amount of generation has already been successfully connected. The traditional response to allow more to connect would be to add new infrastructure – but that would have to be paid for by customers. In today's climate the challenge is to find a more cost-effective way of operating the network. WPD is meeting this challenge by undertaking a host of research projects to investigate alternatives to building new infrastructure. For more information see www.westernpower.co.uk/RDP Ben Godfrey TRADITIONAL ELECTRICITY JOURNEY FUTURE ELECTRICITY JOURNEY

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