Accessible and accurate network data holds the key to disaster-resilient grids

Christian Wirth, general manager for Europe at IQGeo, explains why networks need a more “decentralised, accurate and timely view” of their assets to remain resilient to extreme weather events.

In the last decade, the electrical utility industry has faced increasing environmental changes and operational challenges. Recent events have demonstrated that natural hazards pose a growing threat to grid resilience. Storm Ciara left thousands without water across Cumbria and the recent Tropical Storm Isaias left two million people without power across the US.

The increase in natural hazards is partly caused by a recorded rise in extreme weather events over the past 36 years. Studies have shown more frequent and radical temperature swings mark a growing threat to utility grid stability. 83 per cent of utility companies now expect high-impact extreme weather events to affect grid stability in the coming years. The combination of climate change and needing to adapt utility infrastructure to changing technology and market demands has complicated the challenge. For example, the transition from fossil fuels to renewables means that the instability of hybrid power grids could increase without a truly resilient network and support strategy.

While the causes and effects of utility grid hazards have multiplied, visibility over them has simultaneously become more difficult. The decentralisation of energy generation and information through local wind or solar projects means that energy firms will struggle to create a single accurate geospatial view of the state of their network assets. This trend is amplified by the growth of ‘smart grids’ that generate vital utility data at the ‘edge’ of the network with sensors and from field worker mobile devices. All too often geospatial network data is held in legacy centralised Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) or even paper maps and siloed applications so field technicians or contractors have out of date information and cannot easily correct errors or update network data with details of recent work. The result can be an ever-growing backlog network data and as-built field information.

To address one of these challenges – countries with first-hand experience of extreme weather events are providing valuable lessons in how to develop geospatial strategies that accelerate response efficiency, creating more reliable and resilient grids in the face of natural disasters. Japanese power giant TEPCO has responded to frequent damage from storms and typhoons by both harmonising and decentralising network data access so that damage or degradation can be seen by everyone, from operations centre staff to field engineers.

They deployed a decentralised mobile-friendly geospatial platform which can be easily accessed and updated by workers in the field to create a comprehensive and current overview of utility grid damage and hazards. When Typhoon Faxai damaged their network, the system was used to allow both central managers and field crews to rapidly view critical network information, blackout locations and damage in any location. The system is based on Google Maps technology, making it easy for field technicians and construction teams to find unfamiliar locations and identify facility characteristics. Working online and offline, technicians can instantly see the condition and position of nearby assets, enabling them to quickly find the right equipment and efficiently and effectively target repairs.

This provides a valuable lesson for electrical utilities companies in the UK, who can harness open geospatial data to bring new visibility to the grid and improve disaster resilience and recovery. The growing frequency of extreme weather events such as the recent Storm Ciara in the UK renders it a growing imperative that geospatial data is made accessible to those on the ground.

Accessible and integrated geospatial data enables field crews to continuously correct or update network data for all other users, so that grids become progressively more disaster-resilient. Ultimately, this could be integrated with other datasets such as local hazard or weather information to create proactive and ‘predictive’ grids, continually anticipating and averting hazards before they arise. Decentralisation and digitalisation of utility grids means that utilities now face a fast-paced and dispersed operating environment where threats can be local as well as central. They can now respond to this challenge by creating an equally decentralised, accurate and timely view of their network assets.