Keeping the lights on in stormy times

It has been a challenging period for the UK recently as Storm Desmond [and subsequently Storms Eva and Frank] led to flooding in Cumbria, parts of Lancashire, Yorkshire, and the Scottish Borders. The impact on homes and businesses was considerable, with significant power outages in some areas.

The increasingly unpredictable and erratic nature of our weather presents serious challenges for governments, regulators and energy providers as they aim to maintain a resilient energy network. This article looks at how the industry responds to and mitigates against the force of mother nature, as well as what steps need to be taken to make our energy infrastructure even more resilient.

Short term response

The recent floods presented huge and immediate challenges. Despite the flooding occurring in areas with prevention measures in place, network resilience was still pushed to the limit. This was further complicated by the enduring nature of the flooding and the repeat rainfall hampering restoration efforts. It was not just power that caused problems – as well as physical damage and contamination, a loss of mobile phone connectivity meant some people were cut off completely.

The response from distribution network operators (DNOs) to a storm of this scale needs to be swift and effective. In the case of Storm Desmond, Electricity North West was able to move quickly to deploy additional skilled resources from other DNOs and other areas of the UK and Ireland. Significant quantities of temporary generation were put into place, supporting a small town worth of affected customers for a prolonged period. At a time when the energy industry has experienced significant political criticism, DNOs acted quickly to provide vital support to those in need.

Building a smarter Grid

Whilst the reactive response by Electricity North West was impressive, there is work to be done by everyone in further mitigating the impact of these extreme weather events in the future. Investment is needed to maximise the reliability and efficiency of the Grid, providing a diverse network that presents multiple options for network control engineers in times of crisis. Floods (and winds, which are even more unpredictable) cannot be totally mitigated by a smarter Grid, however it will lead to more effective responses in the long term.

Although UK DNOs currently receive a capital allowance to deal with flood defences, the main responsibility in determining the magnitude of this future investment will fall to governments and regulators. The severe 1 in 1,000 year and 1 in 100 year storms which influence investment decisions have already occurred several times in a decade, so balancing this with the investment requirements of security of supply and energy affordability is no easy task.

Emerging technology, such as automated distribution and smart metering, may provide more accurate information about who has been affected by power outages, helping operators provide additional options for resilience and restoration. Devolving some decision making power to a local level may also lead to a more agile response through Active Network Management; substations can help to transfer power more easily in an emergency situation, providing they themselves are not flooded and out of action.

Solutions that enable the network to be pushed harder whilst remaining in tolerance mean that power outages are less frequent and can be restored more quickly. Ofgem, UK DNOs and global technology and solution providers have been trailing innovation projects in this sphere for the last five years. However, operationalising these solutions across the UK plc network will require further sustained effort and investment from all participants to realise the value.

The impact of extreme weather events in the future could be greater with greater electrification of heating and transportation. A good example is electric vehicles. Cities are starting to adapt their infrastructure to facilitate the emergence of these vehicles due to the environmental benefits of their reduced emissions.

However, in the future, when EV uptake will be significant, a power outage to the extent of those recently witnessed in Cumbria could be catastrophic, with local transportation potentially being brought to a halt. All may not be lost though; in a world of decentralised energy, where new technologies such as battery storage are commonplace and a greater percentage of the population are “off-grid”, we may find greater supply resilience at a local level, supporting the overall resilience of the UK plc network.

Looking forward

As global weather patterns become more unpredictable, we will be seeing a greater number of extreme weather events in the coming years. Whilst short term reactive responses will continue to play a role in providing relief to those impacted, a more strategic and coherent approach is required to keep the lights on in times of crisis. However, at what cost?

The answer may lie in creating smarter energy networks, alongside adapting our communities and cities to facilitate a more robust national infrastructure. Through sustained and well-planned government investment, we must continue to use the transformative power of technology to stay ahead of our changing climate.

Stephen Haw, partner at Baringa and Harry Taylor, senior manager at Baringa