IFI Annual Report 2012 V1.0 PXM 310712...2 Foreword Welcome to UK Power Networks’ annual report describing our activities under Ofgem’s Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI). This

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Foreword Welcome to UK Power Networks’ annual report describing our activities under Ofgem’s Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI). This report constitutes UK Power Networks’ annual report on our activities from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 and covers the innovation we have undertaken to improve the efficiency of the three licensed electricity distribution networks operated by UK Power Networks. These are: Eastern Power Networks plc, London Power Networks plc, and South Eastern Power Networks plc. The report will be published on the Ofgem website alongside those of other network operators. The geographic areas we serve can be found on page 6. This report demonstrates our increasing engagement in innovation activities. Through innovation we are committed to bringing forward improvements to the level of service efficiency that we provide to our customers whist ensuring that our networks remain fit for the new challenges that lay ahead. Our Future Networks Development Plan (FNDP), which you can read more about on page 13, defines a route map by which we shall achieve our ambition to play a leading role in Britain’s transition to a low carbon economy. The FNDP will guide our activities throughout the next price control period (RIIO ED1), ensuring that our innovation activities remain closely aligned with our business objectives and our stakeholders’ needs. For this reason we have categorised our innovation activities according to the various themes identified in the FNDP. This year, in addition to reporting our progress under IFI, we have taken the opportunity to highlight the broad range of Low Carbon Networks Fund (LCNF) projects that we have launched as part of our overall innovation portfolio. Many of these incorporate learning and technology developed as a result of earlier IFI projects. In terms of highlights, we are particularly proud to have carried out an initial trial of a new solid-state switching technology for use on the LV distribution network under our LV Remote Control and Automation IFI project which you can read about on page 73. The prototype devices developed allow remote reconfiguration and monitoring of the LV network to an unprecedented level of granularity. Following a successful small scale trial deployment, we have registered an ambitious LCNF Tier 1 project (Smart Urban Low Voltage Network) that will demonstrate active network management of the low voltage network. Another significant step forward this year has been the development of a suite of asset condition degradation models under our ‘Sustainable Asset Risk and Prioritisation Modelling’ project which you can read about on page 82. A scientific and evidence-based approach to forecasting future asset replacement is a vital prerequisite to agreeing with our stakeholders an efficient level of network reinvestment. Further highlights demonstrating how we have successfully integrated IFI funded projects into our business as usual operations, or used the learning from IFI projects to launch larger scale trials under the LCNF, can be found on page 16. Overall, this report describes UK Power Networks’ commitment to our customers and stakeholders through innovation and continuous improvement; I hope you will find it both interesting and informative.

Basil Scarsella Chief Executive Officer, UK Power Networks

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Contents

Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 5

Background to the Innovation Funding Incentive .................................................................................... 7

Summary of Expenditure ......................................................................................................................... 9

Expenditure from IFI Projects ................................................................................................................ 10

Our Strategy – the Future Networks Development Plan ....................................................................... 13

Innovation Highlights ............................................................................................................................. 16

Managing asset risk and Improving fault performance ................................................................... 24

National Underground Assets Group (NUAG) ....................................................................................... 25

Automated Asset Registration ............................................................................................................... 27

Vegetation Management ....................................................................................................................... 29

Tree Growth Regulator .......................................................................................................................... 31

Overhead Line Incipient Fault Detection ............................................................................................... 33

Earthing Information System ................................................................................................................. 35

Leveraging Industrial and Commercial demand response and dispatchable generation ........... 37

Bankside Heat Transfer ......................................................................................................................... 38

Automated LTDS Diagrams ................................................................................................................... 40

Managing residential and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) consumer demand ........ 42

Supergen 3 – HiDEF Highly Distributed Energy Futures ...................................................................... 43

Active Distribution networks with full integration of Demand and distributed energy RESourceS (ADDRESS) ........................................................................................................................................... 45

Low Carbon Scenario Modelling (Completed) ....................................................................................... 47

New options to release capacity at11kV, 33kV and 132kV ............................................................ 49

Increased Capacity from Existing Overhead Line Routes ..................................................................... 50

Urban Transformer Substation .............................................................................................................. 52

Strategic Technology Programme (STP) Module 2 – Overhead Networks........................................... 54

Strategic Technology Programme (STP) Module 5 – Networks for Distributed Energy Resources ..... 56

Transformer Design for FR3 .................................................................................................................. 58

Radio Frequency (RF) Mesh for Smart Grid Communications (Completed) ........................................ 60

AURA NMS – Autonomous Regional Active Network Management System (Completed) ................... 62

Growth in City Centres (Completed) ...................................................................................................... 64

Supergen 1 – FlexNet (Completed) ....................................................................................................... 66

Understand current and future performance of the HV and LV network ....................................... 68

High Performance Computing Technologies for Smart Distributed Network Operation (HiPerDNO) ... 69

Distribution Network Visibility ................................................................................................................ 71

LV Remote Control and Automation ...................................................................................................... 73

Strategic Technology Programme (STP) Module 3 – Cable networks .................................................. 77

Strategic Technology Programme (STP) Module 4 – Substations ........................................................ 79

Understand the condition of our assets ........................................................................................... 81

Sustainable Asset Risk and Prioritisation Modelling ............................................................................. 82

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Helicopter Mounted Partial Discharge Locator ...................................................................................... 84

Online Condition Monitoring (Completed) ............................................................................................. 86

Collaborative programmes ................................................................................................................. 88

Power Networks Research Academy .................................................................................................... 89

Collaborative ENA R&D Programme ..................................................................................................... 92

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Introduction UK Power Networks operates the three licensed electricity distribution networks serving London, the East of England and the South-East of England. These networks serve eight million homes and businesses and support critical national infrastructure. Our aim is to deliver both quality and value to electricity customers by investing wisely and cost-effectively in infrastructure, offering timely and affordable connections to our network and maintaining high standards of security of supply. In parallel, we have a core challenge to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. The UK Government’s Carbon Plan1 outlines how the Government proposes to manage UK’s transition to a low carbon economy; it contains ambitious proposals for generating electricity from low carbon and renewable sources, and for electrification of heat and transport. Wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles (the batteries of which will be charged from the electricity distribution network) and electric heating (which will be supplied by the electricity distribution network) will be fundamental to achieving these targets. UK Power Networks’ challenge is to understand how future electricity demand will change, and to then develop new tools and design options to add to our armoury in order to that this increased level of electricity demand can be met efficiently and economically. Innovation is central to this challenge. This annual report to our regulator, Ofgem, is our summary of innovation activities which have been funded by the Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI). We are also aware that a number of other important stakeholders will be reading this report in order to understand our activities. For this reason, we provide some initial context by introducing the company, our approach to innovation and the background to the IFI. Our activities funded by the IFI form only part of our overall innovation portfolio. Throughout the report we shall refer to other innovation activities, including LCNF Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects. You can keep up to date with developments with our larger scale LCNF Tier 2 Smart Grid trials: ‘Low Carbon London’ and ‘Flexible Plug and Play’, through their regular progress reports published on the Ofgem website2. Further information relating to Low Carbon London can be found on its dedicated website: www.lowcarbonlondon.info. Company Structure UK Power Networks owns and operates the licensed electricity distribution networks serving the East of England, London and the South-East of England. The licensees managed by UK Power Networks are: Eastern Power Networks plc for the East of England, referred to as ‘EPN’ in the rest of this

report

London Power Networks plc for London, referred to as ‘LPN’ in the rest of this report

South-Eastern Power Networks plc for the South East of England, referred to as ‘SPN’ in the rest of this report

These licence areas are shown in the map in Figure 1 overleaf.

1 http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/tackling-climate-change/carbon-plan/3702-the-carbon-plan-delivering-our-low-carbon-future.pdf 2 http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Networks/ElecDist/lcnf/stlcnp/Pages/stp.aspx

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Figure 1: The areas served by UK Power Networks

Innovation activities across the EPN, LPN and SPN licensed electricity distribution areas are conducted by UK Power Networks. For each project, we allocate expenditure across the three licensed areas in proportion to the major assets within those licensed areas that are expected to benefit from the innovation activity, or according to the number of customers in each licensed area who will benefit. For example, our innovation projects associated with overhead line networks are largely funded from the IFI allowance allocated to the EPN and SPN licensed areas, where the vast majority of our overhead line network is to be found. Our innovation activities typically fall into a number of categories: to understand a future issue and build a timeline for action; to inform engineering decisions; or to develop new solutions such as test equipment, sensors, network management controllers, network management software and desktop design tools. In order to ensure an informed approach, UK Power Networks operates a balanced portfolio of innovation, with projects ranging from early-stage research through to trials on our network. Whilst the IFI has been a significant source of funding for our innovation activities, we seek to leverage other sources of funding where possible. In parallel with the activities reported here, UK Power Networks is strongly involved with Ofgem’s Low Carbon Network Fund (LCNF)3. As well as the LCNF Tier 2 projects, (Low Carbon London and Flexible Plug and Play) five smaller LCNF Tier 1 smart grid projects are also registered; again, details of which can be found on the Ofgem website.

3 http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Networks/ElecDist/lcnf/Pages/lcnf.aspx

SPN

LPN

EPN

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Background to the Innovation Funding Incentive

The primary aim of the Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI) is to encourage both distribution and transmission network operators to apply innovation in the technical development of their networks. Ofgem recognises that innovation has a different risk/reward balance compared with a network operator’s core business. The incentives provided by the IFI mechanism are designed to create a risk/reward balance that is consistent with research, development, demonstration and deployment. IFI is intended to provide funding for projects primarily focused on the technical development of the networks in order to deliver value (e.g. financial, quality of supply, environmental, safety) to consumers. The IFI activities described in this report are governed by Standard Licence Condition 46 and Charge Restriction Condition 10 in the Electricity Distribution Licence. Their requirements can be summarised as follows:

A network operator is allowed to spend up to 0.5% of its combined distribution network revenue or its combined transmission network revenue, as the case maybe, on eligible IFI projects;

Internal expenditure incurred by the network operator in running and implementing IFI projects can be considered as part of the total IFI expenditure accrued by the network operator;

The network operator is allowed to recover 80% of its eligible project expenditure via the IFI mechanism within the network operator’s licence;

Ofgem does not approve IFI projects, but network operators have to openly report their IFI activities on an annual basis;

Ofgem reserves the right to audit IFI activities if this is judged to be necessary in the interests of customers.

Eligibility for IFI Funding Projects will be judged as eligible within the IFI, provided that:

The project satisfies the eligibility criteria described in Engineering Recommendation G85, Issue 2, ‘Innovation Good Practice Guide for Energy Networks’, published by the Energy Networks Association (ENA);

The project has been well managed as defined in Engineering Recommendation G85; and

The reporting requirements have been met. This report is intended to fulfil our reporting requirements and to demonstrate that our projects are being well managed. Each individual project report presented later in this report includes a project ‘score’ which summarises how the project meets the eligibility criteria laid down in Engineering Recommendation G85. Work that has been approved within an industry recognised or national/governmental programme (such as a Technology Strategy Board programme or European Commission programme) and whose terms of reference clearly address innovation in the networks may be considered eligible within IFI if it meets the defined criteria. Co-operation between network operators and other organisations to pursue IFI projects is encouraged. In such cases the overall project would be expected to meet the IFI eligibility criteria and it would be acceptable for each participating network operator to use the eligibility case for the overall project. IFI projects that secure additional funding from outside agencies, such as the Technology Strategy Board or the European Commission, will not trigger any claw-back of IFI funding by Ofgem. Engagement with industry engineering committees is not considered eligible as this does not constitute a project with a specific target or delivery. In the event that a network operator provides resources to contribute to an eligible IFI project which is led or managed by a third party, those costs incurred by the network operator, that are not recovered from the third party, will be considered to be eligible IFI expenditure. Where supporting such projects with a net cost to the network operator, the network operator should demonstrate that the expected benefits to the network operator exceed the costs involved.

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IFI projects, by their nature, involve risk. It is understood, therefore, that not all IFI projects will meet their aims and objectives and deliver net benefits. However, it is expected that the benefits from those that do succeed will significantly outweigh those which do not, and exceed the overall costs of a network operator’s IFI programme.

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Summary of Expenditure Tables 1 and 2 and figure 2 below show UK Power Networks’ usage of the innovation funding incentive since its inception:

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Early Start 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12

Innovation Spend (£million)

Regulatory Year

LCNF Tier 2

LCNF Tier 1

IFI

Figure 2: Trend of Innovation spend

Regulatory year Total IFI Expenditure IFI Allowance

This regulatory year: 11/12 £2,668.9k £5,392.3k

Regulatory year 10/11 £3,339.5k £4,793.3k






Early start report 04/05 £ 275.8k n/a

Total £24,892.2k £31,001.0k

Table 1: IFI Expenditure and allowance

Details of the expenditure in the current regulatory year are shown below:

EPN LPN SPN TOTAL

IFI carry forward from 10/11 (£k) £417.1k £624.7k £373.7k £1,415.4k

Combined distribution network revenue (£m) £436.9m £357.8m £283.8m £1,078.5m

Allowance 11/12 (Including carry forward) (£k)

£2,601.4k £2,413.8k £1,792.6k £6,807.7k

Eligible IFI expenditure 11/12(£k) £1,202.6k £740.3k £726.1k £2,668.9k

Of which internal expenditure 11/12(£k) £112.0k £73.7k £67.8k £253.5k

The IFI carry forward to 12/13 (£k) £981.7k £894.6k £692.8k £2,569.1k

Table 2: IFI spend/Allowance/Carry forward per licence area

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Expenditure from IFI Projects Table 3 below details individual project expenditures from April 2011 to March 2012. Investment is apportioned across UK Power Networks’ three licence areas according to the number of customers, or assets in each area most likely to benefit from the research outcomes. The basis of the allocation is specified in each project report.

EPN LPN SPN Total

Managing asset risk and Improving fault performance

National Underground Assets Group £24,406 £14,368 £15,748 £54,522

Automated Asset Registration £18,159 £5,133 £9,042 £32,334

Vegetation Management £5,347 £0 £1,917 £7,264

Tree Growth Regulator £15,132 £0 £5,426 £20,558

Overhead Line Incipient Fault Detection £8,844 £0 £3,171 £12,015

Earthing Information System £25,508 £16,301 £16,312 £58,121

Leveraging Industrial and Commercial demand response and dispatchable generation

Bankside Heat Transfer £0 £24,535 £0 £24,535

Automated LTDS diagrams £84,356 £53,909 £53,945 £192,210

Managing residential and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) consumer demand

Supergen 3 – HiDef Highly Distributed Energy Futures

£19,143 £12,233 £12,241 £43,617

Active Distribution networks with full integration of Demand and distributed energy RESourseS (ADDRESS) – please see note at foot of table

-£1,942 -£1,241 -£1,242 -£4,425

Low Carbon Scenario Modelling - Completed £23,928 £15,292 £15,302 £54,522

New options to release capacity at11kV, 33kV and 132kV

Increased Capacity from Existing Overhead Line Routes

£78,092 £0 £28,004 £106,096

Urban Transformer Substation £9,406 £5,028 £6,356 £20,790

STP Module 2: Overhead Networks £23,167 £14,805 £14,815 £52,787

STP Module 5: Networks for Distributed Energy Resources

£24,615 £15,730 £15,741 £56,086

Transformer Design for FR3 £30,123 £0 £0 £30,123

RF Mesh for Smart Grid Communications - Completed

£30,028 £34,039 £13,351 £77,418

AURA NMS – Autonomous Regional Active Network Management System - Completed

£186,768 £119,357 £119,436 £425,561

Growth in City Centres - Completed £0 £6,758 £0 £6,758

Supergen 1 (FlexNet) - Completed £9,572 £6,116 £6,121 £21,809

Multiple Cable Ratings in Ventilated Tunnels (Reported completed last year) - Completed

£2,969 £1,748 £1,916 £6,633

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Understand current and future performance of the HV and LV network

High Performance Computing Technologies for Smart Distributed Network Operation (HiPerDNO)

£172 £110 £110 £392

Distribution Network Visibility £0 £66,916 £0 £66,916

LV Remote Control and Automation £86,294 £49,354 £56,884 £192,532

STP Module 3: Cable Networks £28,072 £17,940 £17,952 £63,964

STP Module 4: Substations £20,511 £13,108 £13,117 £46,736

Understand the condition of our assets

Sustainable Asset Risk and Prioritisation Modelling £354,235 £189,338 £239,362 £782,935

Helicopter Mounted Partial Discharge Locator £24,035 £0 £8,619 £32,654

On-Line Condition Monitoring - Completed £1,410 £14,578 £7,524 £23,512

Collaborative programmes

Power Networks Research Academy £29,762 £19,020 £19,032 £67,814

Collaborative ENA R&D Programme £40,466 £25,807 £25,856 £92,129

TOTAL £1,202.6k £740.3k £726.1k £2,668.9k

Table 3: Allocation of expenditure per project and licence area

Please note that for readability, all the figures in the report have been rounded to the nearest £ or £k as appropriate. The reported expenditure on projects ADDRESS and HiPerDNO is very low because the majority of our activities on these projects are reimbursed by the European Union. The figure for ADDRESS represents a correction following a financial reconciliation with the European Union. Three projects included in our 2010/11 IFI annual report which were forecast to incur expenditure in this (2011/12) regulatory year have not required IFI support for the following reasons:

The ‘Geographic Information System (GIS) Data Definition’ project was completed and did not require the additional funds which had been forecast;

Following the initial design work carried out under the IFI project, the Algorithmic Automation project advanced sufficiently for it to be taken on by the business and is now included in our budget for operational IT improvements; and

The Advanced Harmonic Monitoring project is currently being re-scoped and has not incurred further expenditure in the current regulatory year.

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Strategy

Strategy

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Our Strategy – the Future Networks Development Plan

Whilst all the projects and activities reported within this document need to meet the criteria laid out by Ofgem, the starting points for our innovation activities are our aspirations as a network operator. UK Power Networks has spent considerable effort over recent months in evolving our existing innovation strategy into a ‘Future Network Development Plan (FNDP)’, which provides a template for our activities throughout the next price control period (RIIO ED1) and beyond. This plan not only provides an exhaustive up-to-date review of technical and commercial solutions, but also brings these together into logical solution sets aligned with those developed in the cross-industry ‘Smart Grid Forum’ jointly chaired by Ofgem and the Department for Energy and Climate Change. The other key aspect of the Future Network Development Plan is a set of vision statements describing how UK Power Networks expects to evolve and develop its capabilities in seven key areas, by deploying the various solutions in a staged manner. These key capability areas are shown in figure 3, and we have categorised the individual IFI and LCNF project reports which follow into these specific capability areas.

Understand the condition of our

assets


New options to release capacity at

11kV, 33kV and 132kV

Develop commercial solutions and

products

Leveraging Industrial and Commerical (I&C) demand response and dispatchable generation


Managing asset risk and improving fault

performance

Figure 3: Key capability areas The five capability areas at the centre of the diagram are internal to the company, but are critical factors in the service that we offer both to existing and future residential, industrial, commercial and generation customers, including in terms of providing affordable new connections. The most fundamental of these capabilities is our duty to manage the risks (particularly any emerging risks) associated with our assets, and to minimise asset failure rates and post-fault restoration times. The two capability areas shown in the outer ring envisage a more interactive relationship with our customers, whether directly or through energy suppliers, aggregators and other market entities.

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By agreeing with the various business units in UK Power Networks the future capabilities that we are seeking to develop, we are able to put innovation into context and prioritise the benefits of technical and commercial solutions. Increasingly, it is possible to see a continuum across the current activities of the business, the existing internal improvement activities, and the first set of new, incremental capabilities recommended within the Future Network Development Plan. This sets a strong foundation on which to build the later capabilities that will be required to support the Government’s Carbon Plan and which will see UK Power Networks increasingly playing the more active role of Distribution System Operator (DSO) as opposed to the traditional more passive Distribution Network Operator (DNO):

What is a Distribution System Operator? A Distribution System Operator (DSO) has access to a portfolio of responsive demand, storage and controllable generation assets that can be used to actively contribute to distribution system operation. A DSO builds and operates a flexible network with the ability to more actively control load flows and voltage levels. The combination of a highly flexible network and access to demand and generation response allows the DSO to contribute to the increasing GB-wide challenge of system balancing. By contrast, a Distribution Network Operator (DNO) continues to build in response to growth in maximum or peak demand. A DNO does not have the ability or desire to influence demand and generation. It tends to introduce flexibility only to the extent that it supports well-established regulatory priorities, such as to reduce supply interruptions and the risk of catastrophic asset failure.

Figure 4: Evolution from a DNO to a DSO

DNO

Non-flexible demand

Non-flexibleDG

DSO

EV

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Heat

Cooling

Flexible Demand

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Possible Future

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Aggregation

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Highlights

Highlights

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Innovation Highlights This section presents the highlights from our innovation programme, and some of the key projects carried out under the Innovation Funding Incentive and the Low Carbon Network Fund. Two LCNF Tier 2 projects have been awarded funding and a third proposal has been submitted:

Low Carbon London (Oct 2010) – Ofgem awarded £24.9 million to our first flagship project, supplemented by UK Power Networks to activate a £30million programme;

Flexible Plug and Play (Nov 2011) – awarded £6.8million for a second flagship project;

Smarter Network Storage (April 2012 – initial project submission). UK Power Networks is seeking to demonstrate the way in which storage can support the DNO with network needs but also provide key services to other energy market entities.

Five LCNF Tier 1 projects have been registered to date:

Demonstrating the benefits of short-term discharge energy storage on an 11kV distribution network (June 2010) – this builds on the design and commissioning work carried out under IFI;

Distribution Network Visibility (September 2010) – follow up from a project carried out under IFI;

LV Current Sensor Technology Evaluation (December 2011) – the first DNO collaborative project (undertaken in collaboration with WPD);

Validation of Photovoltaic (PV) connection assessment tool (January 2012);

Smart Urban Low Voltage Network (July 2012) – follow-up from a project carried out under IFI. More information on our LCNF Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects can be found on the Ofgem website. Several IFI projects have been completed this year. The table below highlights how the outputs and learning from selected completed projects are benefiting UK Power Networks.

Project name Outcome

Low Carbon Scenario Modelling

The scenario model has been adopted by UK Power Networks and now forms a key part of our load forecasting process. The output of the model has also been used to explain the impacts of low carbon technologies on our network. This has helped shape our business planning scenarios.

RF Mesh For Smart Grid Communications

Following the successful installation and commissioning of end-point radio devices at twelve secondary substations, valuable learning has been gained around the installation, operation and performance of RF Mesh communications technology. The technology is now being rolled out at larger scale for use in active network management and other primary applications within UK Power Network’s LCNF Tier-2 project Flexile Plug and Play, with learning from this trial directly incorporated.

AURA NMS – Autonomous Regional Active Network Management System

A 200 kWh energy storage device has successfully been installed and commissioned. The installation is now being used to demonstrate the value of energy storage as a Low Carbon Networks Fund tier 1 project. The project has also generated considerable knowledge on the subject of centralised versus distributed control, and the integration of large amount of distributed generation.

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Growth in City Centres

This project was aimed at evaluating innovative ways of dealing with the increasing load demand in cities. Areas of focus were power electronics, cables and transformers. The project successfully indicated the benefits which may come from a wider availability of power electronic solutions, as the growth in offshore wind generation drives requirements in this area.

Supergen 1 – FlexNet

FlexNet has identified and verified a number of new concepts and techniques for operating distribution networks in a flexible manner. The concepts and techniques developed will help DNOs make best use of existing assets, when faced with new generation and demand patterns. Prototypes and demonstrators from several of these concepts were produced and showcased in the closing stages of the project. This will help DNO staff appreciate options available for future network enhancement.

On-line Condition Monitoring

Several online condition monitoring products and associated software have successfully been developed and are now available for other DNOs to purchase. A formal UK Power Networks procedure has been developed. The technology was embedded into the business in 2011 and is now delivering benefits. An increasing number of ‘preventative’ cable and switchgear repairs are being carried out, thus avoiding potential failures.

GIS Data definition

UK Power Networks is continuing to work on improving the quality and usability of its GIS data for cable and overhead lines. The outputs of this project are now available as tools to be used in these larger internally funded projects.

Table 4: Projects outcome

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Demonstrating the Benefits of Short Term Discharge Energy Storage on a 11kV Distribution Network (Previously IFI, now LCNF Tier 1) Progress: The 200kW Li-Ion energy storage system was successfully commissioned at Hemsby in April 2011. It operated as a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) until May 2012 acting either as a source (export) or sink (import) of reactive power. Exchanges of real power have recently started. Results from STATCOM Operation The impact of this mode of operation on the voltage is described below and can be seen on figure 5.

An export of reactive power onto the network is providing voltage support by beneficially increasing voltage (solid line) over the level with no export (dotted line)

An import of reactive power from the network is providing voltage support by beneficially lowering the voltage (solid line) below the level with no import (dotted line)

Figure 5: Impact of STATCOM Operation

Real power exchanges (charge / discharge) Since May 2012, exchanges of real power have begun. Whilst charging and discharging the battery, the demand at the local primary substation (Martham) was closely monitored in order to assess the impact on the network. Details of the first tests carried out are as follows; the impact is shown in figure 6.

Step 1: 100kW export of real power (discharge) for a 30 minute period. This resulted in a drop in network loading, but fluctuations due to changing wind farm output and local demand were observed

Step 2: Stop export of real power for 30 minutes

Step 3: 75kW import of real power (charge) for a 60-minute period. This resulted in a slight increase in network loading

Step 4: 100kW export of real power (discharge) for a 30-minute period. A sharp decrease in network loading can be observed

Step 5: 75kW export of real power (discharge) for a 60-minute period

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Figure 6: Impact of real power exchanges Analysis of this first scheme and the STATCOM operation confirmed that the storage device is having the desired impact on the network. Next steps Working with our project partners, we will continue to concentrate on evaluating the benefits of an energy storage device for a DNO. We shall run a number of tests to demonstrate how we can improve the management of the distribution network and address some typical network issues, more specifically:

Voltage stabilisation (based on different set points)

Management of peak power flows

Combination of voltage stabilisation and real power exchanges

Switching power exchanges between feeders (as the storage device can be connected to two different 11kV feeders)

Management of voltages across the two feeders

Management of reverse power flows

Management of wind farm output

Reduction in number of tap change operations at the primary substation

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Distribution Network Visibility (Parallel IFI and Tier 1 projects) The project will develop a solution that will allow UK Power Networks to evaluate the benefits that can be derived from improved use of existing Remote Terminal Units (RTUs), better visualisation of available data, and enhanced monitoring of the distribution network using optical current sensors. Progress

The database hosting the information has been upgraded to enable faster access to information such as load and maximum demand;

Automated analysis of existing data from 8,500 substations is available, enabling some defects to be identified;

The collection of additional analogues from secondary RTUs has begun. It is expected that 600 RTUs will be upgraded by the end of the year;

The development of a web-based interface is being finalised and will be released to the business during Q3 2012 (figure 7)

Figure 7: Web based interface Optical sensors have been successfully installed onto an 11kV overhead line, enabling the output

of a generator to be better understood

Figure 8: Installation of optical sensors

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Smart Urban Low Voltage Network (Parallel IFI and Tier 1 projects) In order to facilitate smarter management and use of the LV network, UK Power Networks and TE Connectivity have collaborated as part of an Innovation Funding Incentive project. This has resulted in the development of a new solid-state switching technology for use on the LV distribution network. The prototype devices developed during this project have been designed to retrofit to existing LV plant. The system allows remote switching and re-configuration of the LV network. Large scale demonstration Following a successful network demonstration, in which the prototype devices have been installed on an LV circuit linking two distribution substations and three underground link boxes, UK Power Networks has registered a follow-on LCNF Tier 1 project. This will enable a large scale trial of the technology in two areas of the London network. Up to 60 secondary substations will be equipped with circuit breakers and 140 link boxes will be fitted with switches or load monitoring devices. Following is an overview of the system to be rolled out as part of the project: At the distribution substation A RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) is installed to provide remote control of the devices. Single phase fault-break / fault-make circuit breakers (CB) are retrofitted in place of the existing LV distribution board fuses.

Figure 9: Distribution substation equipment

(left to right): The LV CB, the RTU, and an LV way in a distribution substation populated with CBs Installed in LV underground link boxes Load-break / fault-make switches replace solid links in link boxes (figure 10), and provide a control engineer with the ability to remotely monitor and reconfigure the LV network. Communication from the distribution substation to the link box is achieved via PLC (Power Line Carrier) communication. Figure 11 below shows the link box devices being installed in the IFI trial location.

Figure 10: Switch

22

Figure 11: Link box equipment

During the IFI project, remote switching and reconfiguration of the LV network from the UK Power Networks control centre has been achieved, and load monitoring data from all devices is available. To enable a large scale roll out, the system will be further developed to provide full integration with UK Power Networks’ existing SCADA and Network Management System; the ability to implement automated switching and reconfiguration of the LV network; and the collection of load monitoring data. Two trial areas have been selected for the roll out: Area 1 (City Rd B South West feeders): This area has been selected because it has recently been changed to a radial running arrangement, and has been subject to load related fuse operations. It will be used to evaluate how proactive LV network management can improve performance, and optimise the use of existing LV plant. Studies using the additional visibility of the LV network will be performed to validate existing network models, investigate LV voltage levels and evaluate the level of LV harmonics. Area 2 (City Rd B North West feeders): This area has been selected due to the number of faults it has recently experienced. Analysis on this network area will focus on the benefits to network performance offered by remote control and automated switching under normal and fault conditions. The following activities will be undertaken as part the project, to enable the potential benefits of the system to be evaluated:

Quantify the improvement in quality of supply possible when deploying LV remote control and automation;

Pro-actively manage the LV network to reduce loading issues, reduce load-related customer interruptions and increase LV network performance (i.e. implement active LV network management);

Investigate how greater understanding, visibility and smart management of a flexible LV network can help facilitate the predicted increase in domestic distributed generation, penetration of electric vehicles, and a move to other low carbon technologies;

Use the unprecedented visibility of the LV network available to validate current LV modelling and assumptions.

23

Online Condition Monitoring (IFI) This project has now been completed. A number of online condition monitoring products (listed below) have successfully been developed and are available to other DNOs. A formal procedure describing how the technology should be used has been developed, and the technology has been embedded into the business. The system is now enabling an increasing number of preventative cable and switchgear repairs to be carried out, thus avoiding potential failures.

Equipment Description Suitability

Online spot testing. Enables detailed partial discharge spot

checks to be carried out All switchgear and cables

Advanced substation monitor: (Monitoring HUB): Enables the connection

of up to 128 sensors to continuously monitor partial discharge

Primary switchgear excluding Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS)

and cables associated with primary substation

PD-Eye monitor (Monitoring HUB): Enables the connection of up to eight

sensors to continuously monitor partial discharge

Primary and secondary switchgear (excluding GIS) and

cables in vicinity

On-line incipient fault location: Location of a source of partial discharge on

a cable or switchgear component

Switchgear (excluding GIS) and cables

Airborne Acoustic (Sensor): Enables the detection of acoustic switchgear discharge.

Externally connected and directional

Switchgear with air insulated terminations or retrofit circuit

breakers

High frequency Current Transformers (Sensor): Enables the detection of partial

discharge in switchgear cables and associated accessories. Connected to the

cable earth strap.

Switchgear (excluding GIS). All type of cables. Equipment

earthing arrangements must be suitable.

Transient Earth Voltage (Sensor): Enables the detection of partial discharge

on metal cladding of equipment Switchgear (excluding GIS).

iSM (Web based software): Automated collection and analysis of data

Monitoring HUB

24


Individual Project Reports


25

National Underground Assets Group (NUAG)

Description of Project

This project is being carried out as part of the National Underground Asset Group (NUAG). The aim of this project is to develop and trial the concept of having a UK-wide IT portal to enable anyone planning to undertake excavation in the highway or on private land to request information about the location of utility assets so as to prevent utility strikes and injury to workers, and improve joint working between utilities.

Expenditure for Financial Year

EPN LPN SPN

External £22,382 £13,176 £14,442

Internal £2,024 £1,192 £1,306

Total £24,406 £14,368 £15,748

The costs have been allocated in proportion to the length of underground cable installed in each of the three licence areas

Expenditure in Previous (IFI) Financial Years

This is a new project for 2011/12.

Total Project Costs (Collaborative + external + UK Power Networks)

£600,000 Projected 2012/13 costs for UK Power Networks

External £ 0 Internal £ 0 Total £ 0

Technological Area and / or Issue Addressed by Project If applicable only

Reducing utility strikes and injury to workers excavating near utility assets.

Type(s) of Innovation Involved

Incremental

Project Benefits Rating

Project Residual Risk

Overall Project Score

14 -10 24

Expected Benefits of Project

Reduce the number of utility strikes Improve safety for teams undertaking excavations Improve cross sector utility visibility of underground assets

Expected Timescale to Adoption

2013 Duration of benefit once achieved

Ongoing

Probability of Success High

Project NPV (Present Benefits – Present Costs) x Probability of Success

Small

Potential for Achieving Expected Benefits

The portal has been developed and the testing phase is complete. A trial is expected to begin in June 2012.

26

Project Progress March 2012

The project commenced in December 2011, and was launched at City Hall by Garret Emerson the CEO of Transport for London. The National Underground Assets Group (NUAG) will be trialling the new asset information IT portal solution in the London area bounded by the M25. The initial programming phase for the IT Portal has been completed and tested. NUAG has issued three Newsletters and started a weekly Hot News item. More information can be found on: http://www.nuag.co.uk

Collaborative Partners Thames Water (via UKWIR); Southern Gas Networks; National Grid Gas; Transport for London; City of London Corporation; Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and BT Openreach.

R&D Providers NUAG with ENVISTA as the main technology provider

27

Automated Asset Registration

Description of Project Investigation into the use of electronic tagging technology in order to improve and automate various aspects of the asset-registration process.


EPN LPN SPN

External £16,653 £4,707 £8,292

Internal £1,506 £426 £750

Total £18,159 £5,133 £9,042

The costs have been allocated in proportion to the total circuit length in each licence area.





UK Power Networks is reviewing progress to date and considering whether to proceed with the next phase of this project

Technological Area and / or Issue Addressed by Project

The first phase of this project explored technologies to support asset registration and tracking to improve the visibility and management of regulated assets. Current processes can lead to inadequate visibility of assets for short periods of time, causing issues and delays in the event of recalls or faults.


Technological substitution

from different application




15 -4 19


Benefits, if automated asset registration was adopted would include: Improved logistics staff productivity and efficiency, reduced data

entry Improved investment decisions facilitated by better data Working with key suppliers which will help to define information

standards and asset data requirements for network operators Easier identification of all affected assets in stock in the event of

equipment defects Reduced need for data entry on commissioning assets, leading

to improved efficiency and reduced staff-time on site


2014/15 Duration of benefit once achieved

10-15 Years

Probability of Success 30%


£48,000

28


Whilst the RFID technology performed well in the operational tests, the investments required to integrate the use of tracking technology into the existing processes are relatively high. Recommendations for alternative and lower-cost improvements to the registration process were made as a starting point for the development of more advanced asset-tracking capabilities. These are being explored further by the business under business-as-usual projects.


A feasibility study including an ‘as-is’ and ‘to-be’ process review was undertaken at a key logistics and distribution site for UK Power Networks. Two common forms of electronic tagging were investigated including 1-D and 2-D bar-coding and Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Tags. The investigations concluded that RFID technology was the most appropriate technology solution for UK Power Networks as an enabler of automated asset registration due to a number of factors: Key assets are frequently wrapped in polythene for transit,

making line of sight access to barcodes impractical Assets at key stages of the supply chain are often stored in

exposed outdoor locations, making tag resilience an important factor

Flexibility in leveraging tagged assets for future applications in the field is maximised by using longer-life RFID tags

Experiments to evaluate the operational performance of the tags in the vicinity of energised plant and harsh weather conditions were performed. No impact was observed on the read performance of the RFID tags, demonstrating the satisfactory performance and applicability of RFID tags to electrical assets. An end to end process and system design that would facilitate the full automation of the asset registration process was completed and costed.

Collaborative Partners N/A

R&D Provider Tata Consultancy Services

29

Vegetation Management


This project’s overall goal was to provide an improved understanding of vegetation growth, and the way in which it encroaches on the safety space around electrical equipment, known as the utility space. This project is monitoring vegetation growth at 1,300 sites across the UK and integrating the national database of vegetation growth into existing vegetation management systems to promote an efficient, spatially and climatically sensitive management of vegetation.


EPN LPN SPN

External £4,904 £0 £1,758

Internal £443 £0 £159

Total £5,347 £0 £1,917

The costs have been allocated in proportion to the length of overhead lines in each licence area.


External £393,556

Internal £36,258

Total £429,814

Total Project Costs (Collaborative + External + UK Power Networks)

£1,740,000 Projected 2012/13 costs for UK Power Networks

External £8,000 Internal £2,000 Total £ 10,000

Technological Area and / or issue Addressed by Project

Arboriculture Rate of vegetation growth


Significant




17.8 1 16.80


The expected benefits include an integration of results into existing vegetation management processes. This will enable UK Power Networks and other collaborating DNOs to determine cutting patterns and cycle lengths based on potential risks, allowing multiple savings to be made.


Year 2012 Duration of benefit once achieved

20 Years

Probability of Success 70% Project NPV (Present Benefits – Present Costs) x Probability of Success

>£4,000,000


A final report has been submitted to the project partners and the project is almost complete.

30


The overall goal of the project was to create an improved understanding of vegetation growth in the UK and in particular to study the closure of the safety space around electrical equipment over time. This was achieved through the creation of a national database of growth rates in the form of utility space measurements and the application of a novel approach to spatial scaling of these measurements through the use of a bioclimatic zones concept. The resulting database is available to the partners in the form of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) geodatabases and shapefiles for use in their asset management and planning systems. It has also been incorporated into an interactive mapping website (http://web1.adas.co.uk/ifi/). The implications of the projected climate change impacts forecast by this project are significant for the utility sector, local authorities and private landowners. With substantial increases in growth predicted for most areas of the UK over the next decade, there is a clear need to start planning for revised, proactive tree clearance cycles. The database produced shows that vegetation growth in the UK is not uniform, is spatially complex and that if we are to manage it efficiently then spatially sensitive management strategies need to be adopted.

Collaborative Partners Electricity North West, Scottish Power Energy Networks, Western Power Distribution, National Grid

R&D Provider ADAS

31

Tree Growth Regulator


The project is investigating the effect of a tree growth regulator (TGR) on tree vitality and growth rates. Six field trial sites have been established, supported by 13 observational sites throughout the UK to represent a diverse range of bio-climatic zones. There are two sites in each of the participating network operator’s licence areas. Tree species selected for TGR evaluation were selected to represent those that occur commonly near to overhead networks, and where both the landowner and the DNO may find mutual benefit in using TGRs to manage growth and health of trees.


EPN LPN SPN

External £13,877 £0 £4,976

Internal £1,255 £0 £450

Total £15,132 £0 £5,426

The costs have been allocated in proportion to the length of overhead lines in each licence area


External £70,360

Internal £9,397

Total £79,757



External £16,632 Internal £2,221 Total £18,853


Ability of tree growth regulators to manage rate of vegetation growth and reduce maintenance costs, whilst improving vitality of vegetation.


Significant




15.4 -2 17.4


The expected outputs from the project will be data and information on the effect of paclobutrazol (PBZ) on tree growth rates across a range of species and bioclimatic areas. This data will be used to apply for a licence for the use of PBZ for utility vegetation management. PBZ could then be used as part of utility vegetation programmes to reduce growth rates on restricted cut sites and reduce overall vegetation management costs. This would also reduce the disturbance to landowners and the high costs of returning each year to maintain clearances from locations where only a restricted cut is possible.


Adoption in 2014

Duration of benefit once achieved

20 Years

32



>£1,000,000


In 2010 and 2011, a significant influence of TGR on growth and vitality was recorded in the majority of trees at each field and observation site, albeit there was a greater observed effect in 2010 than in 2011; This was characterised by reduced shoot growth and trunk diameter and a subsequent increase in root growth. With respect to tree vitality, effects are increased leaf photosynthetic activity, greener leaves and plant cell wall strength. Consequently, all objectives stipulated in the IFI research project have to date been achieved. In addition, no particular factors can be foreseen which would result in delays in the achievements of any of the stated objectives in the original research proposal. Measurements in subsequent years will continue to investigate the potential for reduction in utility tree growth rates.


Both field and observational site data over the first three growing seasons (2009 – 2011) confirm the following conclusions: There are no indications of phytotoxic effects of PBZ application

on tree vitality There are however indications of a positive benefit of PBZ

application on tree vitality. These effects were namely an increase in photosynthetic activity, greener leaves and reduced electrolyte leakage

Application of PBZ has resulted in reduced shoot extension growth and trunk diameter in both 2010 and 2011

The emerging data trends indicate greater growth reduction in 2010 compared to 2011 indicating possible degradation of PBZ within woody plant tissue

Effects of PBZ on growth vary considerably between species. English oak and beech are sensitive to PBZ applications and growth reduction ranged between 40 – 70% across the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons. Other species such as poplar and willow were less sensitive to PBZ application and growth reduction ranged between 20 – 32% across the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons

Effects of PBZ on growth varied between field sites. As an example, growth of English oak was reduced by 50% averaged across two growing seasons at the Hull site and by 73% at the Reading site. Stem extension of sycamore and oak was reduced by 19.5% at the Boxworth site and by 39% at the Drayton site. Differences in soil conditions may account for these responses

There was an increase in root dry weight in most PBZ treated trees in 2010. However, in 2011 this trend in root growth data was not observed in most instances

Collaborative Partners Scottish and Southern Energy, Western Power Distribution, Northern Powergrid

R&D Provider Bartlett Tree Experts, ADAS

33

Overhead Line Incipient Fault Detection


This project aims to trial a solution to locate faults on overhead lines, using detection points installed on the HV overhead network. The objectives are to: Help identify more rapidly network sections containing faults Predict and accurately locate a potential fault on the system

before it occurs


EPN LPN SPN

External £7,166 £0 £2,570

Internal £1,677 £0 £602

Total £8,844 £0 £3,171



External £295,932

Internal £25,436

Total £321,368


£659,000

Projected 2012/13 costs for UK Power Networks



Overhead line fault mechanisms and the extent to which they are associated with recognisable, repeatable waveforms

The location of faults based on measuring time-of-arrival of the waveforms


Radical




16 0 16


The expected benefits of the project are: Development of a proactive approach towards decreasing

interruption duration Reduce the switching required to locate faults Reduction in recurring faults



>10 years



£215,000


Four 11kV circuits have been identified for installation of the system. The circuits have a relatively high historical fault-rate which should give a greater amount of data for analysis and also a higher chance of realising the benefits in the trial stage.

34

The output of the system will be made available to the control centre, and their feedback will be used alongside fault and fault detection data to asses the effectiveness of the system.


The project has been restructured towards trialling an existing technology as opposed to developing a new system. Four 11kV circuits have been identified for the trial installation and have been surveyed to identify optimal positioning of detection points. Once installed, the system will be operated for a 12 month period with all data being gathered and compared with system fault and switching data. Conclusions about the system effectiveness and reliability will be drawn.

Collaborative Partner Electricity North West

R&D Providers PPA Energy (Previous) and ALTEA B.V. (Current)

35

Earthing Information System


The Earthing Information System project will develop a Geographical Information System (GIS) to assist the installation of earthing systems for secondary distribution and pole-mounted substations. The system will provide a graphical presentation of ground conditions and predict the type and quantity of earthing required for a particular earthing resistance. Earthing rural substations can be very labour intensive, with the need to drive earthing rods vertically downwards into the ground to a depth of 12 metres, to achieve the necessary 10 ohm resistance. Rods are usually driven by pneumatic tools or by hand. Where hard ground restricts the depth of installation an array of rods may be installed at shallower depth, or an earthing system is extended some distance from the substation to achieve the required resistance. This project aims to improve the prediction of costs of earthing before on-site work commences by providing a desk-top indication of the earthing required.


EPN LPN SPN

External £23,392 £14,949 £14,959

Internal £2,116 £1,352 £1,353

Total £25,508 £16,301 £16,312

The costs have been allocated in proportion to the number of customers connected in each licence area.

Expenditure in previous (IFI) Financial Years

External £383,865

Internal £46,789

Total £430,654


£470,000 Projected 2012/13 costs for

UK Power Networks


Technological Area and / or issue Addressed by Project

A network-wide information system that will help network planners to improve planning and costing of new and replacement earthing installations.

Type(s) of innovation involved

Significant




9.4 0 9.4


The expected benefits are: Accurate estimation of the cost of installation of rural ground

earthing systems Advice on the number and techniques required for earthing

installations. Improved employee safety



20 Years


£100,000

36


The potential for integrating the outputs of this project into the business is high. An engineering design standard has been produced to communicate the earthing information system to the business. The use of the earthing information system is also being incorporated into the various earthing design and construction standards as they are reviewed and updated.


The original (phase 1) earthing maps for 20 ohm, 10 ohm and 1 ohm prognosis have been implemented in the UK Power Networks’ NetMAP GIS system. A second phase of the project was started in 2011 to improve the soil resistivity data that forms the basis of the maps, and to improve the modelling of the earthing system components and techniques. This will also include research into the effects of climate and seasonal change in order to predict the vulnerability of earthing to these effects. The soil resistivity data and earthing modelling has now been updated, and a new set of maps are available. As the project progresses, further updates will be incorporated. The project is now concentrating on the climate and seasonal parts.

Collaborative Partner Western Power Distribution

R&D Providers British Geological Survey and Cranfield University

37



38

Bankside Heat Transfer


Substation transformers generate heat, particularly during peak loads. This heat is normally lost to the environment, often through energy-intensive forced cooling. The upgraded substation at Bankside, adjacent to the Tate Modern, has used transformers with water cooled heat exchangers. It is proposed that the waste heat from the transformers will be used by the Tate Modern to assist with their space heating. This will benefit the Tate by providing low carbon heat. The benefits for UK Power Networks are that less energy will need to be expended within cooler fans at the substation, and lower maintenance and replacement cost will be incurred. The overall carbon footprint of the site and assets will be reduced.


EPN LPN SPN

External £0 £22,500 £0

Internal £0 £2,035 £0

Total £0 £24,535 £0

The costs have been allocated to LPN as the trial is being carried out at Bankside substation in London.


External £696,580

Internal £93,000

Total £789,580





The oil-to-water heat exchangers at this scale and for this purpose are novel, as is the specific heating arrangement.


Significant




4 1 3


Benefits are expected to include: Heat used by a third party replacing a high CO2 heat source Use of energy that would otherwise be lost Fewer maintenance interventions for cooling Less energy expended for cooling via less auxiliary electricity

consumption Lower noise level from coolers



20 Years

39


£200,000


The grade of heat (water temperature) is not as high as predicted, but there is potential to provide a benefit for a number of heat (or pre-heat) applications. The initial objective will be to pre-heat the general use hot water supply at the Tate Modern. This will reduce the amount of energy required from the main boilers, to raise the water to the required user outlet temperature.


The work at the Tate is nearing completion, and the heated water will be in use shortly afterwards. The system has been tested and been shown to be effective. Monitoring of the transformers and water system is being undertaken to identify possible measures that could be taken to increase the water temperature. Possibilities considered are: To replace the water pumps with units with a lower rating so that

the water flow can be reduced To divert the water away from the roof coolers when cooling is

not required (this introduces the risk that the coolers could freeze in lower temperatures)

Collaborative Partner Tate

R&D Providers Wilson Transformers and Arup

40

Automated LTDS Diagrams


Currently the Long Term Development Statement (LTDS) and Week 28 (annual report to National Grid) reports are being generated using a variety of software tools, including the network modelling tools Distribution Network Information System (DINIS) and Power System Simulator for Engineering (PSS/E). Information was extracted from these tools and processed in Excel to prepare the final report. This project was initiated to investigate if automating the production of LTDS and week 28 reports is possible with the same structure for all the DNO licence areas. As part of this project, a set of professional schematics for the LTDS, and an automatic report for Week 28 are developed within the existing modelling tool – Digsilent PowerFactory.


EPN LPN SPN

External £77,360 £49,438 £49,471

Internal £6,996 £4,471 £4,474

Total £84,356 £53,909 £53,945







Technological area and / or issue addressed by project

This project addressed the following issues: Multiple tools for LTDS and Week 28 reporting The complex calculations involved are prone to human errors Takes a two person-year effort for the production of reports

once a year


Incremental




7 -2 9


The benefits are expected to include: Faster production of LTDS and Week 28 reports Improved consistency of data models Enables UK Power Networks to address the various queries

from National Grid and general public on demand Automated Reports will enable more accurate reporting and

reduce manual work Infrastructure planners no longer have to produce the Fault

Level tables in the LTDS manually Schematics would no longer need to be maintained in Microsoft

Visio A single source of data removes the need to align and check

data from separate sources

41



5 years



£ 300,000


The project was successfully delivered in December 2011.


The LTDS reporting team is currently using the output of the project in the production of LTDS and week 28 reports for 2012-2013. This has reduced the resource requirements for the preparation of these reports, and has enabled UK Power Networks to generate LTDS diagrams more frequently if required by stakeholders. An additional benefit is that a reduction in effort for staff otherwise required by infrastructure planning and the LTDS reporting staff, has also been realised.

Collaborative Partners NA

R&D Provider Tata Consultancy Services

42



43

Supergen 3 – HiDEF Highly Distributed Energy Futures


The HiDEF programme, funded by the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) researches the essential elements of a decentralised system that could be implemented over the period 2025 to 2050, to enable all end users to participate in system operation and real-time energy markets.


EPN LPN SPN

External £17,555 £11,219 £11,226

Internal £1,588 £1,015 £1,015

Total £19,143 £12,233 £12,241

The costs have been allocated in proportion to the number of customers in each licence area.


External £21,000

Internal £2,086

Total £23,086


£4,500,000




The HiDEF programme has 5 workstreams: Decentralised Energy, Decentralised Control, Decentralised Network Infrastructure, Decentralised Participation, Decentralised Policy and Macro Impact Assessment.


Radical




7.2 -2 9.2


Outputs from the HiDEF workstreams will inform debates that are current in the industry and enable the following benefits to be realised: Models of single and multiple DER (Distributed Energy

Resource) units have been developed to assess the thermodynamic analysis, life cycle assessment and environmental cost benefit analysis, providing a quantification of performance

Development of control solutions for single units, cells containing multiple DERs, and multiple cells, with a focus on security and resilience of communications and control systems

Support and investment guidance for future decentralised network operation through the development of MV/LV architectures and planning tools

Design of a distributed market place, to enable the investigation of market based response, trading contracts and products, defining the components essential to market realisation

Inform future policy decisions by reviewing current policy delivery mechanisms in the UK, comparing market structures & examining the potential for alignment with various market aggregations

44


Year 2012 onwards


20 Years



£2,000,000


Project progress over the last year has been good, and the completion of tasks and deliverables have been reported at the project management meetings.


The Decentralised Energy Workstream open source models of DERs and buildings are being deployed and used by IEA (International Energy Agency) and Distribution Network Operator (DNO) partners. A further domestic load synthesis model has been released. A mixture of simulation environments and live project studies (e.g. photovoltaic clusters) are being used by the Decentralised Control Workstream to advance new cell control solutions for DER management. The planning tools from the Decentralised Network Infrastructure Workstream have supported ENA smart metering initiatives and DNO electric vehicle and flexible demand deployments. A Decentralised Participation hardware platform is now supporting the assessment of a frequency response function for smart meters. The software framework for analysing domestic load data has been used by Sustainable Blacon (a local community in Cheshire, England), and the results reported to the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The Decentralised Policy and Macro Impact Assessment team have assessed the effectiveness of alternative policy measures in Glasgow, Brighton & Hove, and Milton Keynes. Implications for local authorities and the impact on the wider economy were identified. The number of engagement and impact case studies continues to grow, with the team supporting various industry-led initiatives including a number of LCNF projects. These projects are giving opportunities to test and demonstrate the effectiveness of the tools and models that have been developed, and will give utility engineers direct experience of the value of the work. One of these outputs is a DER connection tool which has already been used by a DNO team to appraise hundreds of connection enquiries. Wider dissemination of results is supported by the publication of a further 59 conference/journal/book contributions in the last year, as well as project briefing papers.

Collaborative Partners

EPSRC and the following industrialists: Community Energy Scotland, Delta Energy & Environment, Intelligent Power Systems, National Grid, Western Power Distribution, Scottish Power Energy Networks, Scottish and Southern Energy.

R&D Provider University of Strathclyde supported by: University of Bath, Cardiff University, University of Oxford, Loughborough University, Imperial College London.

45

Active Distribution networks with full integration of Demand and distributed energy RESourceS (ADDRESS)


The project aims to deliver a comprehensive commercial and technical framework for the development of “Active Demand” in the smart grids of the future. ADDRESS started in June 2008 and is investigating how to effectively stimulate the participation of domestic and small commercial consumers in the power system markets. The project also addresses the provision of services to different power system participants. ADDRESS is European Commission funded FP7 project.


EPN LPN SPN

External -£2,135 -£1,364 -£1,365

Internal £193 £123 £123

Total -£1,942 -£1,241 -£1,242

The costs have been allocated in proportion to the number of customers connected in each licence area. The figure for this project represents a correction following a financial reconciliation with the European Union.


External £0

Internal £11,590

Total £11,590



External £ 0 Internal £5,000 Total £ 5,000


The project aims to develop new concepts, strategies and architectures for services provided by demand and distributed energy resources (distributed generation and storage) on distribution grids. This entails a full integration and market-based exploitation of the flexibilities of the distributed energy resources of the distribution network.


Incremental




11.2 -2 13.2


ADDRESS will develop technical solutions both for the consumers’ premises and at a power system level. The solutions will enable active demand and allow real-time response to requests from markets and/or other power system participants.



10 Years



This project is expected ultimately to deliver benefits in the order of millions of pounds.

46


A key concept within the project is the “Energy box” which acts as a physical gateway in the home to manage the resources from e.g. white goods. This concept would need to be commercialised in order for the benefits to be realised. Capable partners are involved in the consortium with these commercialisation requirements in mind. The strong presence of DNOs in the consortium means that data interfaces and flows match existing legacy systems as far as possible.


Over the last year preliminary laboratory testing of separate platforms and prototypes to demonstrate the whole value chain of the ADDRESS active demand concepts have been completed. Properties have been rented and the necessary equipment e.g. Electrolux washing machine, Philips smart plugs and the EBox – Meter communication and communications infrastructure have been installed. The Aggregation tool box and DSO algorithms have been installed ready for the field tests in Italy, France and Spain. The results of the trials are expected in early 2013. These will be used to build and verify business cases.

Collaborative Partner ADDRESS is an Integrated Project supported by the European Commission under the 7th framework programme. The project website is www.addressfp7.org

R&D Providers

ENEL Distribuzione S.p.A. Electricité de France S.A. Iberdrola Distribución Electrica ABB Switzerland Ltd. Corporate Research Universidad Pontificia Comillas University of Manchester VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland VITO NV Ericsson España, S.A.U. Alcatel Italia S.p.A. KEMA Nederland B.V. Vattenfall UK Power Networks

Landis & Gyr, Tecnalia RLtec Electrolux Home Products Corporation N.V. Università degli studi di Cassino Universita` degli studi di Siena ZIV Pmas C S.L. Current Technologies International GmbH ENEL Distributie Dobrogea Philips Consentec ENEL Ingegneria e Innovazione

47

Low Carbon Scenario Modelling (Completed)


As part of the Government’s Carbon Plan there is an expectation that there will be a significant increase in the volume of low carbon demand and generation sources connected to the distribution network. The majority of the work undertaken in this area has focused on the GWh impact, rather than the impact on system peak demand. It is the latter which drives investment in new network capacity. In addition the majority of studies in this area have been at a national level rather than at DNO level and hence it has been difficult to understand the regional impacts of low carbon technologies. UK Power Networks has collaborated with Element Energy to develop an integrated top-down scenario planning tool which can be applied at the DNO level. The tool combines the UK Power Networks approach for modelling traditional load growth (i.e. domestic and commercial growth), with a number of low carbon technology models developed by Element Energy. The purpose of the model was to understand the overall impact on system peak demand for a range of economic and low carbon transition scenarios for each of our licence areas. The work is complementary to the Smart Grid Forum work but will provide the more detailed analysis required for investment planning


EPN LPN SPN

External £21,944 £14,023 £14,033

Internal £1,985 £1,268 £1,269

Total £23,928 £15,292 £15,302






Project completed.

Technological Area and / or Issue Addressed by Project If applicable only

Understanding the impact on future network capacity as result of the penetration of low carbon technologies.


Significant




7 2 5


Benefits are expected to include: DNO specific projections for the penetration of low carbon

technologies Understanding of the impact of low carbon technologies on each

of our networks across a range of economic scenarios Provide a mechanism for demonstrating the network capacity

impact of low carbon technologies to a range of stakeholders


Adopted Duration of benefit once achieved

5 years

48



£100k


A model has been developed which we are now using as part of our business as usual planning process.


The following was considered whilst developing the model: Three key drivers for growth of demand on the networks were

identified: Rate of economic growth / Impact of deployment of low-carbon technologies / Impact of changes in electricity market mechanisms (e.g. increase in demand-side response)

Through combinations of high and low assumptions for these key drivers, five scenarios of interest were identified:

Scenarios Rate of

economic growth

Impact of low carbon

technologies

Impact of electricity

market mechanisms

Engaged Green Society High High High

Green Tech Revolution High High Low

Green Stimulus Low High High

Business As Usual High Low Low

Economic Concern Low Low High

Table 5: Scenarios

The scenario model has been adopted by UK Power Networks and now forms a key input into our load forecasting process. An example output of the model is shown on figure 12.

Figure 12: Model output

The outputs of the model have also been used to explain the impacts of low carbon technologies on our network and the output of this engagement has helped shape our business planning scenarios.


R&D Provider Element Energy

49



50

Increased Capacity from Existing Overhead Line Routes


Re-conductoring overhead lines to increase their capacity can often be intrusive, requiring new structures, and as such may be less viable than installing the equivalent (but more expensive) cable circuit. This project is consolidating techniques for maintaining existing line routes and structures but providing greater ratings.


EPN LPN SPN

External £71,328 £0 £25,578

Internal £6,764 £0 £2,426

Total £78,092 £0 £28,004



This is a new project for 2011/12





Novel conductors for 33kV lines as well as 132kV lines Re-tensioning and minor modifications to structures Review of operating regimes (such as post-fault regimes)


Incremental




13 -4 17


The project aims to identify alternative, cheaper interventions which defer eventual reinforcement / re-build of the line

In particular, the project is tasked with developing a manual and training which articulates design options and trade-offs so that alternative options can be identified at an earlier stage in future projects


2-3 years Duration of benefit once achieved

The project is intended to deliver a lasting benefit by documenting new design options.



£200,000


The project is progressing well, but at this stage design options are still subject to a full technical design review.

51


For the pilot the study, two overhead line routes have been chosen form amongst a longer list of relevant circuits which would otherwise require reinforcement. A collaborative team has been brought together from across our engineering standards, capital projects, and network planning teams and from external consultants with significant overhead line (including overseas) experience. Initial alternative interventions have been identified. The project is proceeding with surveys being conducted to validate the current clearances with simulation work being undertaken to validate the proposals.


R&D Providers

Mott McDonald and Manchester University (The project also builds on work carried out by EA Technology Ltd over recent years in the Strategic Technology Programme Module 2)

52

Urban Transformer Substation


It is often difficult to reinforce circuits in densely populated areas mainly because there is limited physical space available. London substations are commonly built underground, are therefore expensive to build, and can cause disruption during construction. The project will evaluate if an urban distribution substation developed by a Spanish company (Twelcon) could help address these issues. The urban substation houses an LV panel, Ring Main Unit (RMU), Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) and Transformer (up to 1,000 kVA). Twelcon currently use continental equipment in the substation; hence development and further testing may be required to ensure that components meet UK Power Networks specifications and perform efficiently and safely within the urban substation environment. The Twelcon substation also has 4 backlit advertising panels that could be used for public information.


EPN LPN SPN

External £8,508 £4,548 £5,749

Internal £898 £480 £607

Total £9,406 £5,028 £6,356

The costs have been allocated in proportion to number of substations in each licence area.





UK Power Networks is currently deciding whether to proceed to the next stage.


Reinforcement of stressed areas of the distribution network at 11KV

Relocation of substations which are currently difficult to access, especially where asset replacement is likely to be expensive

Provide the means to serve urban electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure (including rapid charge units)

Potential solution for locations where aesthetics are important such as airports


Technological Substitution




15 -4 19


Benefits are expected to include: A reduction in street works disruptions Provision of additional support for the network; the additional

headroom could enable electric vehicle charging points to connect to the distribution network

The purchase of the urban substation could be partially offset by revenue generated from the sale of its advertising space



20 Years

53



The major benefits of the project are its visual impact, possibly unlocking new locations for substations


The following areas are currently under investigation and will affect the outcome of the project: Safety considerations Suitability of the electrical equipment for a UK electricity

distribution network Additional testing that may be required if the equipment inside

the enclosure is changed Cost of the substation


An assessment is currently ongoing to establish whether suitable and approved UK Power Networks equipment can be used inside the enclosure. Some of the main points considered to date include: A transformer power increase from 650kVA (currently used in

Spain) to 800kVA can be achieved keeping the enclosure heat dissipation as per original design

An Efacec motorized ring main unit not used previously in our enclosure can be housed. This requires alterations to the internal enclosure without aesthetic changes to the external element

A remote terminal unit can be used without alterations to other internal equipment

The inclusion of an air circuit breaker (ACB) for the LV interconnected area of London: This last point is currently being assessed

A sample substation has been installed in a public area for a period of six weeks in Redhill (Figure 13) The objective was to gain feedback from the public, Local authorities, the HSE, UK Power Networks engineers and any other interested party. Feedback has been positive overall, and is currently under consideration.

Figure 13: Substation installed in Redhill


R&D Provider Twelcon

54

Strategic Technology Programme (STP) Module 2 – Overhead Networks

Description of Project A DNO research and development collaboration hosted by EA Technology.


EPN LPN SPN

External £21,246 £13,578 £13,587

Internal £1,921 £1,228 £1,229

Total £23,167 £14,805 £14,815



External £248,454

Internal £29,382

Total £277,836





Overhead networks represent both an electrical and a mechanical system which must provide strength and support in the face of all foreseeable weather conditions. The module 2 programme looked at a number of issues with individual overhead components, either of the line or the structures supporting it, as well as the performance of the overall overhead line system, such as its current-carrying capacity. A full list of projects within the programme can be made available on request.


Incremental, Tech Transfer, Significant, Radical




16 -9 25


The projects have the potential to deliver a number of benefits: Reduce levels of premature failure of assets Increase scientific understanding of processes and climatic conditions

leading to icing Improve our methodology for determining conductor ratings which will

provide greater confidence A better understanding of novel conductors for new-build or re-

conductoring lines that gives lower capital cost, minimises visual impact, and improves environmental acceptance


Range 1-5 years – dependent on project


Range 3-5 years –dependent on project

Probability of Success Range 50-95% – dependent on project

Project NPV = (PV Benefits – PV Costs) x Probability of Success

£40,000

55


A number of projects involve new technical development, for example software design tools, and will therefore take some time to come to fruition. Other projects are investigating better ways of improving the operational performance, management and reliability of overhead networks, in a manner that could be implemented straight away.

Project Progress to March 2012

A particular highlight this year has been to take the work that is re-examining the original rating methodology for calculating the current-carrying capacity of overhead lines, and to incorporate its findings in an internal UK Power Networks improvement project for review. This wider project is report on page 50. We continue to work with the rest of the industry on a new probabilistic wind and ice map of the UK, but recognise that this will have the most benefit in optimising the design of overhead lines in the harsher Scottish climate.

Collaborative Partners Scottish Power Energy Networks, Scottish and Southern Energy, Electricity North West, Western Power Distribution, Northern Power Grid

R&D Provider EA Technology Ltd

56

Strategic Technology Programme (STP) Module 5 – Networks for Distributed Energy Resources



EPN LPN SPN

External £22,573 £14,426 £14,435

Internal £2,041 £1,305 £1,306

Total £24,615 £15,730 £15,741



External £271,496

Internal £27,035

Total £298,531





The ‘module 5’ programme aims to facilitate access to low carbon technologies, ranging from on-shore wind generation connected at 33kV, large distributed generators connected at 132kV and electric vehicles being charged from the Low Voltage (LV) network.

A full list of projects within the programme can be made available on request.






13.5 -8.5 22


The projects have the potential to deliver a number of benefits: Investigate distributed generation connection methods avoiding undue

reinforcement Increased understanding between all member companies on technical,

commercial and regulatory issues and to develop effective solutions Developing understanding of the implications of connecting low carbon

technologies to the distribution network in terms of safety, design, reliability, security and power quality




Range 2-5 years –dependent on project


Project NPV = (PV Benefits – PV Costs) x Probability of Success

£30,000

57


A number of the projects are at concept feasibility stage and will need further research and development before they can be deployed. Other projects are looking at better ways of working and productivity for network planners, in a manner that could be implemented straight away.


One project which holds particular promise is looking at applying an increased rating to tee-offs or branch lines on overhead lines, where these are being constructed to provide a connection for a wind generator. Given the strong synergy between the cooling effect on the line and the times when the generator will be generating, there may be scope to build a line with smaller cross-section conductor (or potentially avoid the need to reinforce an existing line). If the technical feasibility is proven, this could reduce the cost of network access for wind generator.

Collaborative Partners Scottish Power Energy Networks, Scottish and Southern Energy, Electricity North West, Western Power Distribution, Northern Power Grid, ESB Networks, Manx Electricity Authority


58

Transformer Design for FR3


This project is assessing the use of FR3 vegetable oil, manufactured by Coopers, as an alternative to mineral oil in large power transformers. FR3 is biodegradable and has a considerably higher flash-point than mineral oil, however its increased viscosity and oxidisation rate means that additional design work is needed in the manufacture of the transformer.


EPN LPN SPN

External £27,625 £0 £0

Internal £2,498 £0 £0

Total £30,123 £0 £0

The costs have been allocated to the EPN licence area where the transformer is in service.


External £1,183,522

Internal £111,899

Total £1,295,421





The demonstration aims to: Evaluate the use of FR3 as an environmentally-friendly and

safer alternative to mineral-oil insulation of 132kV transformers Assess the reaction of the plant components to FR3 and the

comparative ageing of transformers with FR3 versus mineral oil


Incremental




11.2 3 8.2


Expected benefits include: Improved safety for staff and public in the event of failures Reduced clean-up / disposal costs of insulating oil Reduced carbon-footprint of operations Life-extension of transformer insulating paper



20 years


Small

59


FR3 has been shown to have a good potential, as design changes to accommodate the oil are relatively straightforward. The transformers have now been in operation for over 36 months with no abnormal operation observed. The potential performance and life-extension improvements of FR3 needs further research in operational environments to be defined. The UK Power Networks transformer will remain in operation and contribute to this body of research where possible. Further work is also required to develop asset management methodologies alongside traditional oil analysis. For example, industry agreed ranges of dissolved gases and other FR3 characteristics are needed to provide asset engineers with confidence in evaluating the condition of FR3-filled units.


A 90MVA FR3-filled transformer has been operating alongside an identical mineral-oil filled transformer for over 36 months. A MS2000 remote monitoring system has been used to collect a range of metrics on transformer operation and performance. Quarterly analysis of the remotely collected data has identified continued normal operation, with no observed issues in the use of FR3. Confirming previous research and findings, top oil temperature has been approximately 5ºC higher and core temperatures around 10ºC higher in the FR3-filled transformer compared with the mineral-oil transformer under similar load due to the higher viscosity of the medium. Continued comparison of manual oil samples with other FR3 units under trial by Monash has shown similar characteristics in terms of moisture and acidity levels. Investigations into the implications for the supply-chain and safety-case have revealed that there would be limited savings from handling and containment costs in using FR3 under current regulations. Benefits would therefore be limited to reduced risk of fire damage and other consequences of failure for FR3-filled units.


R&D Provider Areva; University of Manchester; Coopers Power Systems; Monash University and Brush Transformers

60

Radio Frequency (RF) Mesh for Smart Grid Communications (Completed)


This project is evaluating the use of RF-mesh communications technologies for distribution automation and monitoring applications. The project aims to investigate the technical performance characteristics when used for secondary SCADA communications and explore the comparative total cost of ownership with the alternatives.


EPN LPN SPN

External £27,538 £31,216 £12,244

Internal £2,491 £2,823 £1,107

Total £30,028 £34,039 £13,351

The costs have been allocated based on the number of remote terminal units installed in each licence area.





Project completed.


Existing operational communications technologies broadly meet current requirements for telecontrol and protection. However, the need for future functionality such as demand-side management, deeper monitoring and dynamic tariffs is expected to drive a significant increase in the number of sensors, monitoring, distribution automation (DA) equipment and volt/VAR optimisation devices on the network increasing both the volume and criticality of data flowing through the communications network. Wireless RF mesh technology is an alternative approach to operational communications that is being investigated in this project.


Significant




10 -6 16


The benefits of the project are: Robust assessment of the performance of an alternative,

potentially lower cost communication solution capable of supporting future smart-grid applications

Greater understanding of the design, installation and operational considerations of RF mesh technology

Robust evaluation of the total cost of ownership of alternative smart-grid communications solution versus alternatives

The benefits of wider adoption of wireless RF-mesh communications technologies include: Reduce communications costs (total cost of ownership) Reduced reliance on public communications services Improved communications reliability ensuring the stability of the

core business goal of grid reliability (reduced frequency, duration and magnitude of adverse affects through enhanced instrumentation and control)

Ability to more easily support new applications and device types

61



Ongoing



This will be fully assessed as part of the LCNF Tier 2 project Flexible Plug and Play


Valuable learning has been captured around the installation, operation and performance of RF mesh communications technology. The network has been fully operational for several months, with performance data being captured on an ongoing basis.


A network design and architecture was developed for the RF mesh network that covered twelve secondary substations in the urban centre of Ipswich. End-point radio devices were installed trouble-free in the RTUs in November 2011; the work was completed in around five days. Some delays were experienced in installation of radio relays at other locations in Ipswich to provide improved meshed connectivity, which meant the network was not fully operational until February 2012. A simulator that polled DNP3 traffic over the network has been set up to load the network, and operational data continues to be collected on the performance and reliability of the network. The technology is now being rolled out at larger scale for use in active network management and other primary applications within UK Power Networks’ LCNF Tier 2 project – Flexible Plug and Play – which will incorporate learning from this trial and the use of the trial system.


R&D Provider SilverSpring Networks

62

AURA NMS – Autonomous Regional Active Network Management System (Completed)


The project has developed a distributed control system to deliver: Real-time automated reconfiguration, initially to a regional network

of up to four primary substations Methods to economically, efficiently and effectively integrate large

amounts of small scale distributed generation (DG) taking into account legacy infrastructure and renewal programmes

Network optimisation taking into account DG and electrical energy storage


EPN LPN SPN

External £166,069 £106,129 £106,199

Internal £20,699 £13,228 £13,237

Total £186,768 £119,357 £119,436




Internal £303,209

Total £3,434,990



Project completed.


The scoping and development of three major areas. Measurement of distributed generation and demand side

management to facilitate the connection of DG to the network Develop a controller that will monitor electricity networks, isolate

faults quickly and allow distributed generation to remain connected and operating

Optimise the network with respect to losses, where distributed generation is concerned


Radical


Project Residual

Risk


11.8 5 6.8


The technologies under review have potential to deliver benefits in a number of areas: Maximisation of the contribution of DG to the electricity network Reduction in carbon emissions and help towards the UK

government’s climate change targets Reduction in network losses by having the source of generation

close to the load and through optimisation of network open points Improvement in quality and security of supply Improvement in network resilience Reducing the current market failures to increase network capacity

for DG



20 Years

Probability of Success 25% Project NPV Implementation of the

63

(Present Benefits – Present Costs) x Probability of Success

technologies developed as part of this project could deliver benefits in the order of millions of pounds.


Further development and validation work is required in order to allow control system manufacturers to integrate the novel algorithms into control systems that can be deployed on real distribution networks.


A 200kWh energy storage device has been installed and commissioned at Hemsby, Norfolk and the installation is now being used to demonstrate the value of energy storage as a Low Carbon Networks Fund tier 1 project. The energy storage device has been used as a STATCOM since it was commissioned in April 2011, and exchanges of real power have been recently started (see highlight on page 18). Research has continued to be developed in subsequent projects like the Energy Networks ‘Grand Challenge’. Papers have been published at international conferences referencing the work from this project. The COM600 monitoring devices have remained connected in the primary substations and able to collect detailed network information that could be used in future work.

Collaborative Partners This was a Strategic Partnership between the EPSRC; ABB; UK Power Networks and Scottish Power Energy Networks.

R&D Providers Aura NMS is led by Imperial College London and supported by the Universities of Bath; Cardiff; Durham; Edinburgh; Loughborough; Manchester and Strathclyde.

64

Growth in City Centres (Completed)

Description of Project The Growth in City Centres project is aimed at evaluating innovative ways of dealing with the increasing load demand in cities in a timely, efficient and cost effective manner.


EPN LPN SPN

External £0 £506 £0

Internal £0 £6,252 £0

Total £0 £6,758 £0

The costs have been allocated to LPN as the project will have most applicability to this network.


External £332,719

Internal £31,757

Total £364,476



Project Completed


Power electronics Technologies to increase power flows (DC cables,

superconducting cables, water cooling of cables in ducts, dynamic cable ratings)


Radical




9.6 3 6.6


The primary benefits associated with this project are expected to include an improved understanding of the techniques for increasing network capacity, performance, utilisation of space and operational resilience.



10



Whilst the studies have been, the NPV of this project is negative


The areas investigated within this project explored new devices or installations at a relatively early stage of development.

65


The project has served to provide a range of interesting concepts and possibilities which remain under consideration by the business. However practical barriers and a variety of alternative solutions not considered within this project mean that no specific follow-up trials are currently planned.

Collaborative Partners PPA Energy and Schneider Electric

R&D Providers Imperial College, Strathclyde University and Southampton University

66

Supergen 1 – FlexNet (Completed)


FlexNet is a four year (2007-11) programme focused on seven themes. Of these ‘Intermittency’, ‘System Operation’ and ‘Multi-terminal High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Systems’ are particular challenges for the UK Government’s Carbon Plan and the earlier Low Carbon Transition Plan (LCTP). The other themes: ‘A More Electric Future’, ‘Visions and Scenario’, ‘Customer Participation’ and ‘Active Distribution’ are topics that prepare for the 2030 onwards agenda. The uncertainty of the future means that flexibility continues to be an important objective. The programme aims, where possible, to showcase its insights and achievements so that these can be taken up by the commercial sector, government and regulators for practical implementation.


EPN LPN SPN

External £8,778 £5,609 £5,613

Internal £794 £507 £508

Total £9,572 £6,116 £6,121



External £60,000

Internal £18,579

Total £78,579


£7,500,000


Project completed.


Intermittency – adaption of T&D networks to accommodate a high penetration of intermittent renewables

System operation – focus on modelling and analysis for increased boundary transfer limits and of corrective post-fault control

Multi-Terminal HVDC Systems – realisation of DC networks through research into both control methodologies and hardware

More Electric Futures – addresses the demand placed on the electricity system in UK from the increased use of electricity as the long-term primary vector for energy transmission and distribution

Visions and Scenarios – support for the earlier Long-term Electricity Network Scenarios (LENS) project

Customer Participation – engaging consumers about the necessary transition towards the 2020 objectives

Active Distribution – formulation of distribution planning problems as a stochastic maths programme and active power distribution network using power electronics elements


Radical




7.2 -2 9.2

67


Each area of FlexNet’s work is delivering benefits and expected to deliver further benefits as highlighted below: Specific control technologies have been demonstrated in

laboratory conditions for TSO/DNOs to now pursue with vendors Grid models, demand-side data sets and renewables resource

descriptions have been made available to researchers and research users

Demonstrations have been given of the efficacy of control and converter station designs for multi-terminal HVDC networks as a means to build expertise in this key technology

LENS scenarios have been used in the fifth Distribution Price Control Review; the OFGEM ‘RPI-X@20’ project; National Grid in their ‘Operating the Electricity Transmission Networks in 2020’ consultation, and will prove useful for other studies and further refinement

A deepened understanding and evidence of efficacy of customer participation has been achieved. The value of demand services, the displacement of traditional reinforcement, the means to achieve participation in building energy systems, and market designs catering for flexible demand have been demonstrated


Year 2012 onwards Duration of benefit once achieved

20 Years



The project is delivering benefits by informing policy


The breadth of FlexNet gives confidence that several of its activities will have enduring benefits. All the research partners have strong relationships with the DNOs/TSOs through which to pursue the ideas to higher technology readiness levels (TRL) and make them part of the network planning option set of the future. The ideas will also be pursued with equipment/software vendors and will be the subject of further research.


The project has completed its four-year programme (plus an extension period to close out a small number of the PhD projects). All work streams have essentially completed their programme of work. As with any large R&D project, some task were modified in the light of results that emerged including the termination of unpromising avenues of research and the refocusing onto others. Conclusions have been drawn in all areas with the work written up for academic use and presented and demonstrated for research users. The training programme completed a series of discipline-crossing training courses and industrial placements undertaken for researchers. The annual report to RCUK gives a more detailed account of progress and outcomes. More information can be found on www.supergen-networks.org.uk

Collaborative Partners EPSRC; Northern Powergrid; Western Power Distribution; National Grid; Scottish Power Energy Networks and Scottish and Southern Energy

R&D Provider

University of Bath; University of Birmingham; University of Cambridge; Cardiff University; University of Durham; University of Edinburgh; University of Exeter; University of Manchester; University of Strathclyde and Imperial College London

68



69

High Performance Computing Technologies for Smart Distributed Network Operation (HiPerDNO)


The mass deployment of network equipment sensors and instrumentation, millions of smart meters, small-scale embedded generation, and responsive load will generate vast amounts of data which potentially could be analysed in real-time to identify trends or incipient faults. So-called cloud and grid computing could enable scalable data mining, feature extraction, and near to real-time state estimation. These and other High Performance Computing (HPC) tools and techniques have been recently developed to cost-effectively solve large scale computational challenges in areas such as genomics, biomedicine, particle physics and other major scientific and engineering fields that require similarly scalable communications, computation and data analysis. HiPerDNO is a European Commission funded FP7 ICT Energy STREP (Specific Targeted Research Projects) project which plans to develop solutions to address future electricity distribution networks.


EPN LPN SPN

External £28 £18 £18

Internal £144 £92 £92

Total £172 £110 £110



External £275

Internal £10,123

Total £10,398


£5,100.000 Projected 2012/13 costs for UK Power Networks

External £0 Internal £1,200 Total £1,200


Development and testing of novel high performance computing information and communications technology for active distribution networks

Development and testing of data mining features that extract relevant information

Development and testing of a high-speed messaging layer Calculation and utilisation of a typical measurement data set for

large amounts of smart meter data in future low and medium voltage networks

Customer integration in active network operation Development and testing of a real-time distribution state

estimator Identification and analysis of new generation DMS functionalities Development and testing of a new generation network service

restoration algorithm Development of novel state estimation algorithms for distribution

networks

70


Incremental




8.6 -1 9.6


This research project will develop a new generation of distribution network management systems that will exploit novel near to real-time HPC solutions. The solutions are expected to have inherent security and intelligent communications for smart distribution network operation and management. Cost effective scalable HPC solutions will be developed and initially demonstrated for realistic distribution network data traffic and management scenarios. The demonstrations will be via off-line field trials involving several distribution network owners and operators.



10 Years



This project is expected to deliver benefits in the order of millions of pounds. As part of the project the real value will be calculated.


The project is currently proceeding as planned, and successfully completed the first annual external review in February 2011. At present no issues or problems are envisaged for the remainder of the project and therefore the project has very good potential to achieve the expected benefits.


The outcome of the Year 2 external review confirmed that good progress was being made. The project has achieved most of its objectives and technical goals for the period with relatively minor deviations. Most deliverables for Year 2 have now been accepted by the reviewers and the EC (European Commission) project officers. Amendments were suggested for those deliverables that were not accepted, and these will be reviewed at the Year 3 mid-term review meeting convened for June 2012 in Brussels.

Collaborative Partner HiPerDNO is an Integrated Project and is supported by the European Commission under the 7th framework programme. www.hiperdno.eu

R&D Providers

Brunel University Electricité de France Elektro Gorenjska (Slovenia) Fraunhofer- IWES GTD Spain

IBM Haifa Indra Korona Union Fenosa Group University of Oxford

71

Distribution Network Visibility


The project proposes to develop a solution that will allow UK Power Networks to evaluate the benefits that can be derived from improved utilisation of existing data sources (RTUs), better visualisation of this data and enhanced monitoring of the distribution network where RTU installation is not plausible, using optical current sensors. The demonstration will be carried out in the LPN area as the population of RTUs is much greater than in the EPN and SPN areas.


EPN LPN SPN

External £0 £61,366 £0

Internal £0 £5,550 £0

Total £0 £66,916 £0

The costs have been allocated to LPN as the trial is being carried out in this licence area.







To develop an innovative monitoring solution: Increase data collection, upgrade operational data store (data warehouse – Pi), develop visualisations, and improve interaction between business systems. Demonstrate the benefits of an improved visibility of power flows: Maximise utilisation of the distribution network Accommodate higher levels of distributed generation Better understand network behaviour: load profiles, power factor

and imbalances Ability to automatically detect asset defect (e.g. tap changers) Evaluate a range of non invasive optical fibre based sensors: Main features: directional power flows, current, voltage, fault

current measurement

Application: Sites with no RTU (LPN, EPN and SPN areas), monitoring of complex networks


Incremental, Significant




14.6 -2 16.6

72


Benefits are expected to include: Detection of the areas where the distribution system is operating

outside normal boundaries through the visualisation of real-time power flow on the 11kV system in terms of circuit status and loading

Detection of incipient faults and events on LV networks Improved switching and load transfers using historical load and

voltage trends Assist in network reinforcement schemes and particularly with

new customer load connections by providing an overview to planning engineers in respect of load demands and profiles

Easier planning processes to determine options for load growth and new load e.g. transfer or upgrade circuits

Improved management of secondary substation ventilation Validation of existing tap changer maintenance policy leading to

better more cost effective maintenance Enable a higher penetration of renewable generation Visualisation of the load on the system, which should lead to

improvements in the rebalancing of circuits following a system disturbance such as a fault

Expected Timescale to adoption


20



£3.6m


The project is currently proceeding as planned, having successfully completed the ‘Scoping Phase’ which was the first stage of the project. The only issue identified is the delay that an IT embargo during the Olympic period might cause to the upgrade of RTUs. The remainder of the project will proceed as planned and therefore the project has very good potential to achieve the expected benefits.


Visualisation tool development A full assessment has been carried out of the various data visualisation tools available to gauge their suitability for the project. The chosen visualisation tool will be used for displaying data stored in Pi. Upgrade of RTUs An RTU upgrade plan has been developed and approved by the business. The upgrade has been split into two parts – the first part dealing with the upgrade of the additional half-hourly analogues capture, and the second dealing with the upgrade of the additional functionalities (e.g. disturbance recorder). The manufacturer of the RTUs has been fully engaged. GE Distribution Power Flow (DPf) software package trial The plan for the GE DPf trial has been developed and the data required for the trial has been identified. The hardware needed to carry out the trial has also been acquired.

Collaborative Partners PPA Energy and Capula Ltd

R&D Providers Remsdaq Ltd, GE Energy and PowerSense A/S

73

LV Remote Control and Automation


This project aims to provide a complete solution to monitor and automate the low voltage network. Retrofit-able load break/fault make switches for underground link boxes will be developed, as well as fault break / fault make circuit-breakers for low voltage panels in substations. The scope of the LV Remote Control & Automation IFI project which developed prototype devices has been significantly extended to cover the development aspects of the Smart Urban Low Voltage Network LCNF Tier 1 project (both projects will be run in parallel), and will also part fund the Area 2 deployment which will investigate potential quality of supply benefits. Once both projects are completed, approximately 50% of the technology development cost would have been funded by UK Power Networks.


EPN LPN SPN

External £74,506 £42,612 £49,114

Internal £11,788 £6,742 £7,770

Total £86,294 £49,354 £56,884

The costs have been allocated in proportion to length of installed LV cables in each licence area.


External £208,825

Internal £13,266

Total £222,091


£4,300,000

Projected 2012/13 Costs for UK Power Networks

External £1,299,864 Internal £205,658 Total £1,505,523

Technological Area and/or Issue Addressed by Project

Management of the low voltage network


Significant




16.2 -2 18.2


The main benefits expected are as follows: Improved safety for public and utility engineers by using arc-free

switching technology and novel fault-make switching capability Remote and rapid restoration of supplies Reduction of customer minutes lost (CML) and customer interruptions

(CI) Better understanding of power flows, network load monitoring


3 Years Duration of Benefit Once Achieved

10 years

74


Project NPV (Present Benefits – Present Costs) X Probability of Success

£3,100,000


Development for the initial field trials is complete, and a fully functional system providing remote control of devices is available for installation on the LV network. Circuit breaker and switch designs have been subject to acceptance testing (short circuit withstand and load switching tests), and approved for installation on UK Power Networks’ radial LV networks. Initial trial installations have taken place in a circuit comprising two secondary substations and one link box on the LPN LV network. Following the trial installation, successful remote switching and reconfiguration of the LV network from the control centre in Fore Hamlet has been achieved. Switch installations in a minimum of two additional link boxes on the above circuit will be undertaken in Q2 2012. In addition, three CBs and an RTU will be made available to field engineers to install on ‘problem’ circuits suffering repeat fuse operations to enable the CB behaviour under fault conditions to be observed. The current control system is web-based and not scalable; therefore additional development work is required to enable integration of the switching devices with the existing SCADA system. Once fully integrated with existing SCADA systems, automation scripts can be developed to allow implementation of automated switching under fault conditions. In addition, further development of the devices based on feedback from UK Power Networks’ field engineers is required prior to the devices being considered for large scale roll out or adoption to business as usual processes.


System Testing Final hardware prototypes were installed and tested on UK Power Networks’ training network; the system performed as expected: Local operation of CBs and switches was successful Remote operation of switches utilising power line carrier (PLC) was

achieved In addition, the CBs were installed into a variety of LV distribution boards to ensure retrofit compatibility with all indoor LV distribution boards on the LPN network. Acceptance Testing To ensure the safe operation and behaviour of devices under all conditions on the LPN LV network, acceptance testing was undertaken at the MV test lab in CESI, Milan. Final hardware designs were subject to tests designed to replicate the most onerous conditions seen on radial sections of the LPN LV network. The devices passed short-circuit withstand tests (prospective current of 76kA RMS limited by in series JPU fuse), and the system operated as expected during load switching tests. The devices are now approved for installation on the LPN LV network. Additional temperature rise testing and contact resistance tests have been undertaken to ensure the devices meet required standards when installed on the LV network. Software The development of the web-based control system is now complete,

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and additional functionality has been built into the control system based on initial feedback from control engineers. The final software allows a control engineer to log onto RTUs from a dedicated workstation, and commission, interrogate and control the connected devices

An ftp server has been developed and integrated to the RTUs, to enable automated downloading of recorded half hourly analogues

Figure 14: 4-way LB Control Screen

Safety Documentation & Operating Procedures Documentation covering the system overview, device technical

specifications, installation, operating instructions and safety precautions has been produced

A reference engineering operating standard has been compiled from the above documentation and made available to the business

Training material has been produced to enable the safe installation, and operation of the devices on the LV network

Operational & Control Staff training Operational training has been provided to field engineers to ensure

that trained personnel are available to commission, install and operate the devices

All control engineers have received control software training to ensure that devices can be safely remotely operated

Trial & Operational Tests PLC (power line carrier) tests have been undertaken on several

circuits on the LPN network, where a maximum data transmission distance achieved was 300m

Initial installations at two secondary substations in the NE area of the LPN LV network have been undertaken. Three circuit breakers have been installed in each substation (one feeder way in each distribution substation populated) and one link box connecting the two substations has been populated with link box switches

Local and remote switching has been successfully undertaken on the trial network and current/voltage analogues verified from LV control

Half hourly load monitoring data including min/max/avg. voltage and current, and harmonics data (individual harmonics readings up to the 50th harmonic) have been downloaded from both circuit breakers on the outgoing ways of the distribution substation, and the link box switches

76

Figure 15: Early trial installation voltage & current analogues

Figure 16 - CBs installed in distribution substation, LB switch installation & LB control panel

Collaborative Partner TE Connectivity (formerly Tyco)

R&D Provider TE Connectivity (formerly Tyco)

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Strategic Technology Programme (STP) Module 3 – Cable networks



EPN LPN SPN

External £25,744 £16,452 £16,463

Internal £2,328 £1,488 £1,489

Total £28,072 £17,940 £17,952



External £285,902

Internal £29,018

Total £314,920





The Module 3 programme looked at a number of issues with individual cable construction components, such as ducts, sealants, and materials to backfill cable trenches, as well as methods to verify the integrity and condition of cable circuits. A full list of projects within the programme can be made available on request.






14 -8 22


The projects have the potential to deliver a number of benefits: A clearer indication of cable condition Potential reduction in the number of cable faults Alternatives to current design and installation practices which offer

benefits in lower lifetime cost and higher performance (e.g. increased ratings)

Reduced design costs




Range 3-5 years -dependent on project


Project NPV = (PV Benefits – PV Costs)

x Probability of Success

£40,000

78


A number of projects involve new technical development, for example trialling techniques for assessing condition of cables, and will therefore take some time to come to fruition. Other projects have been investigating better ways of improving the operational performance, management and reliability of cable networks in terms of minimising the impact on the environment, and improving the safety of both operators and the public, in a manner that could be implemented through changes to engineering policy. The STP has also delivered a number of notable innovations since its inception, such as the Cable Sniffer, an instrument which ‘smells’ faults in underground cables.


A particular highlight this year has been a study carried out into new resin materials. The report provided an objective view of the advantages and disadvantages of all the types of jointing encapsulation material currently available in the UK market. This project has helped to underpin UK Power Networks decision of which resin to use in future, taking into account the environmental concerns and handling concerns associated with these substances.

Collaborative Partners Scottish Power Energy Networks; Scottish and Southern Energy; Electricity North West; Western Power Distribution and Northern Power Grid


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Strategic Technology Programme (STP) Module 4 – Substations

Description of Project A DNO research and development collaboration hosted by EA Technology


EPN LPN SPN

External £18,810 £12,021 £12,029

Internal £1,701 £1,087 £1,088

Total £20,511 £13,108 £13,117



External £266,859

Internal £27,151

Total £294,010





The module 4 programme looks widely across substation plant including transformers, switchgear and protection equipment. It looks at issues related to maintaining existing assets, including alternative insulating oils and means to assess the condition of equipment, as well as looking at new plant options. A full list of projects within the programme can be made available on request.






16.5 -9.5 26.0


The projects have the potential to deliver a number of benefits: Optimising safety and environmental requirements for management of

insulating oils and SF6 Technical liaison with international utilities to share new technology

and failure modes Development of condition-based assessments, or tests, to determine

asset condition Extended serviceable life of switchgear and transformers


Range 1-4 years –

dependent on project Duration of benefit

once achieved Range 1-6 years –

dependent on project

Probability of Success Range 30-95% –

dependent on project

Project NPV = (PV Benefits – PV Costs)

x Probability of Success

£30,000

80


A number of projects involve new technical development, for example trialling new diagnostic tests, and will therefore take some time to come to fruition. Other projects have been investigating improvement opportunities surrounding: working methods, the performance and reliability of substation plant, and plant maintenance regimes, in a manner that could be implemented through changes to engineering policy.


A highlight within this year’s programme has been the work examining the interaction between a number of British and international standards for both new and reclaimed insulating oil for use in transformers and switchgear. This is enabling us to move to normalised international standards when purchasing whilst ensuring that none of the key performance aspects required for UK equipment have been relaxed.

Collaborative Partners Scottish Power Energy Networks; Scottish and Southern Energy; Electricity North West; Western Power Distribution; Northern Power Grid and ESB Networks


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82

Sustainable Asset Risk and Prioritisation Modelling


UK Power Networks’ asset engineers have been working closely with EA Technology to further develop its ‘Condition Based Risk Management’ (CBRM) tool into a more holistic ‘Asset Risk and Prioritisation’ (ARP) model. The model provides a step forward with respect to the existing CBRM functionality by providing the capability to trade-off the financial and technical consequences of future decisions to replace assets, refurbish assets or introduce an enhanced maintenance regime. The tool has also been developed in a way which foresees that it may in future recognise plant loading as well as condition in the optimisation process.


EPN LPN SPN

External £324,855 £173,635 £219,510

Internal £29,380 £15,703 £19,852

Total £354,235 £189,338 £239,362

The costs have been allocated in proportion to the number of substations in each licence area.







Modelling the future condition of assets and replace/refurbish/maintain decisions on individual components

Inconsistency in asset modelling and information gathering Preparation for an optimisation which might include plant

loading as a parameter


Significant




20 1 19


Benefits are expected to include: Greater consistency of asset health data and forecasts Enhanced trending capability Improved confidence of long term degradation and early

warning of developing faults Integration of risk based approach to asset management



10 years



£4,500,000


The inclusion of plant loading is still at a conceptual stage. The success of the project is highly dependant on the data

warehouse being developed to extract information from various

83

databases and aligning them Data quality shall be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure the

accuracy of model outcome


The project represents the sum of a number of investments into models which model eight of the major asset groups in our EPN licence area, eight in our SPN licence area and six in our LPN licence area. Each of these has involved an interactive process of software development, but more critically, verification of the way in which condition measurements recorded in the field by inspectors are accumulated to represent an asset’s health in line with the latest engineering intelligence. The other key challenge has been to reach agreement on degradation models and refurbishment models which represent, for example, overhead lines and transformers as systems limited by the first component to fail rather than a system which degrades uniformly. This in turn leads to new insights. One particular insight which has come out of the work has been the recognition that the measurement of SF6 gas condition is becoming a key condition point which will need to be measured in future for switchgear operating at the higher voltage levels.



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Helicopter Mounted Partial Discharge Locator


This project aims to mount a radiometric partial discharge (PD) locator to a helicopter and automate the analysis of data to allow fast screening of potential PD defects during normal overhead line patrol flights.


EPN LPN SPN

External £22,042 £0 £7,904

Internal £1,993 £0 £715

Total £24,035 £0 £8,619

The costs have been allocated in proportion to the length of overhead lines in each licence area.


External £28,491

Internal £2,709

Total £31,200



External £9,171Internal £829 Total £10,000


Improved management of assets: detection of overhead line and substation equipment defects.


Incremental




12 -9 21


Benefits are expected to include: Avoidance of major disruptive incidents Ability to carry out surveys on sites before major work

(switchboard replacement, major refurbishment, etc.) commences, hence reducing risk

Overhead line and substation condition assessment Improved productivity by obviating the requirement to fund

separate flights, as the technology will be used during scheduled patrol flights


2012 Duration of benefit once achieved 10 Years


£470,000


The hardware development, approval and testing has been completed resulting in a working PD location system. A trial flight has successfully located PD from above a substation. Further flights involving the PD locator are required to realise the full potential.

85

The project is expected to be completed in line with the project proposal.


The following achievements have been made: A radiometric partial discharge locator has been developed for

use on the AS350/355 helicopter airframes The design of the above has been approved for use in the UK

by EASA An in-flight display allows the observer to monitor PD activity

from the cockpit. Additionally, the hardware automatically records the PD and the helicopter position onto digital storage media for post-flight analysis

A desktop application has been developed which allows the analysis of the PD recorded during the flight

A trial flight has been successfully completed. The PD locator detected significant PD radiating from one area of a 132/33 kV substation. The presence of PD at the substation was subsequently confirmed using ground measurements

Figure 13. EASE approved version of antenna array fitted to helicopter.

Figure 14. Screenshot of in-flight PD locator display.

Collaborative Partners Western Power Distribution and Scottish and Southern Energy

R&D Provider Elimpus

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Online Condition Monitoring (Completed)


The use of partial discharge (PD) measurement is a well known method of checking the condition of electrical insulation. Over the past 10 years, UK Power Networks has been actively involved in the development of online partial discharge monitoring and mapping techniques. Opportunities to improve the existing technology have been identified. This project has developed equipment to continuously monitor PD activity in underground cables and switchgear.


EPN LPN SPN

External £1,293 £13,369 £6,900

Internal £117 £1,209 £624

Total £1,410 £14,578 £7,524

The costs have been allocated in proportion to the number of online condition monitoring equipment installed in each licence area.



Internal £306,369

Total £3,843,415


£3,866,927 Projected 2012/13 Costs for UK Power Networks

Project completed.


The issues being investigated by the project are: Online fault detection and location Pre-emptive fault repairs Cable replacement and maintenance strategy Quality of supply improvement


Significant




17 -2 19


The project has demonstrated: The ability to target the replacement of cable The ability to identify faults (cable and switchgear) before they

occur, carry out repairs and reduce the number of customer interruptions

Improved asset management


2011 Duration of Benefit Once Achieved

20 years

87


£4,800,000


The project has been completed and the technology has been embedded into business as usual activities.


This project is now complete, and a formal policy has been written to provide guidance on how the technology should be deployed and used: Engineering Design Standard EDS 10-0004: Improved Management of HV Cable and Switchgear Using Online Partial Discharge Technology A contract has been placed with IPEC Ltd for the on-going use of the technology. The main benefits of using the technology are expected to include: Management of high risk switchgear: The online partial

discharge technology can be used to: Detect defects on monitored sites Extend the life and defer the replacement of switchgear

panels with known problems such as GEC VMX (which is known to suffer from partial discharge in damp environments)

Follow up reports of PD activity (following substation inspections and utilisation of portable equipment such as the TEV probe) to confirm that the discharge is genuine

Monitor high profile sites or investigate specific problems Management of HV cable problems: Cable circuits can be

assessed and monitored following repeat HV underground cable faults

Target cable replacements: The web-based analysis interface enables cable circuits affected by incipient faults to be prioritised for subsequent field investigation and testing

The technology is available to be purchased by other DNOs.

Collaborative Partners IPEC Ltd and EPSRC

R&D Providers IPEC Ltd; PPA Energy; HVPD; Southampton University; Cobham Technical Services; Glasgow Caledonian University and University of Strathclyde

88



89

Power Networks Research Academy


The Power Networks Research Academy (PNRA) has been established through a strategic partnership agreement between the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), electricity transmission and distribution companies, and related manufacturers and consultants. The Academy funds and supports PhD researchers in power industry related projects and helps maintain and improve the research and teaching capacity in power engineering subjects.


EPN LPN SPN

External £26,942 £17,218 £17,229

Internal £2,820 £1,802 £1,803

Total £29,762 £19,020 £19,032



External £136,249

Internal £20,602

Total £156,851





The projects of most interest to UK Power Networks are: Overhead lines measurement system Application of artificial immune system algorithm to distribution

networks Protection issues of inverter-interfaced DG Chemical approaches towards intelligent insulation Electrical network fault level measurement for distributed

generation and other applications Reactive power dispatch using distributed generation Influence of oil contamination on the electrical performance of

power transformers Alternatives to Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) as an insulation

medium for distribution equipment Solid state devices for electrical power distribution LV cable monitoring using domestic smart meters (not reported

last year) State estimation for active distribution network (not reported last

year) Protection of future power systems encompassing DG,

converter interfaces and energy storage (not reported last year) Further projects related to the transmission network are also being carried out.

90


Significant, Technological substitution and Radical innovations




9.4 0.0 9.4


Industry, IET and academia have agreed that the projects are beneficial to both the DNOs (through potential breakthroughs that could lead to new practices or products) and to academia by raising the profile of power engineering.


Year 2012 onwards


20 Years


£200,000


Most of the projects are progressing according to plan and are expected to deliver the expected benefits. Some of the highlights are presented below: Overhead lines measurement system There is good confidence that the device will provide a dedicated communication link and have the ability to measure voltage and current of the associated overhead line. However, field trials are necessary to prove that the hardware operates successfully in ‘real world’ conditions.

Application of artificial immune system algorithm to distribution networks Voltage imbalance and state estimation has been modelled on a section of Western Power Distribution’s (WPD’s) distribution network, and it is anticipated that the developed techniques will be directly applicable to the resolution of this specific issue. Reactive power dispatch using distributed generation Present progress indicates that both power system losses and voltage profiles can be enhanced with the involvement of DG, as performed on the IEEE 30 bus system. As such, it is believed that the expected benefits of the project can be realised.

Alternatives to SF6 as an insulation medium for distribution equipment It is expected that the benefits of this project will be accomplished as the work is progressing well. This is backed by the interest shown by switchgear manufacturers, Schneider Electric, and the progress that has been made producing a suitable test rig to test the characteristics of Trifluoroiodomethane (CF3I) alongside the facilities available at Cardiff University.


Only relevant progress for projects of most interest to UK Power Networks is presented below. Overhead lines measurement system (completes in 2012) Two prototypes have been constructed. The basic elements of the system are a coupling capacitor, Rogowski coil, FPGA based modulator / demodulator, time-stamp logic, and a GPS module. Field trials will soon be carried by UK Power Networks.

91

Application of artificial immune system algorithm to distribution networks (completes in 2012) Methodologies have been developed to allow DNOs to optimally monitor their network for voltage sags, imbalance and voltage stability and also intelligently process the information gathered using artificial intelligence techniques. The work on voltage imbalance and state estimation has been applied to a real section of WPD’s distribution network and it is hoped this will be used to help solve a specific issue within their network. Reactive power dispatch using distributed generation A representative network, of the Westray (Orkney Islands, Scotland) network, for detailed study of voltage profile and loss evaluation has been constructed. Several models of wind turbines have been established in DIgSILENT and added to the network model. Models for the heat pumps that are located within the Westray system are currently in preparation. Alternatives to SF6 as an insulation medium for distribution equipment Discussion with switchgear manufacturers Schneider Electric Ltd has resulted in their on-going involvement in the research and has allowed for the identification and provision of low current SF6 switches. Utilising these switch disconnectors and equipment suitable for gassing, de-gassing and filtering the equipment with CF3I and CF3I-CO2 gas mixtures has resulted in the near completion of a novel simple test rig. Solid state devices for electrical power distribution The following topics have been explored in depth to better understand their operation and how they would be implemented in order to increase low voltage power capacity: High frequency transformers, soft normal open points, DC networks, and point of use regulation; with particular focus on low voltage distribution in the UK.

Collaborative Partners EPSRC, The IET and the following industrial partners:- Western Power Distribution; EA Technology Ltd; National Grid and Scottish and Southern Energy

R&D Providers Universities of Cardiff; Manchester; Queens (Belfast); Southampton; Strathclyde, and Imperial College London

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Collaborative ENA R&D Programme

Description of Project The Energy Networks Association (ENA) represents all the UK network operators. Several projects have been initiated by the ENA R&D working group and have been funded through the IFI.


EPN LPN SPN

External £36,906 £23,581 £23,599

Internal £3,560 £2,226 £2,257

Total £40,466 £25,807 £25,856



External £522,199

Internal £74,183

Total £596,382


£798,202 Projected 2012/13 Costs for UK Power Networks



The projects listed below address issues which have been identified by the ENA working groups as significant – requiring technical investigation and development: Harmonic Impedance Modelling: The project addresses the detailed modelling of cable and overhead line components, to develop cable models appropriate for distribution networks Earthing Project: The aim is to develop new techniques to assess the impact of lower voltage earth electrodes on higher voltage ‘hot zones’ and to measure the resistance of distribution substation earth systems KEMA Workshops 11 and 12: Consider potential issues and opportunities presented by Demand Response (DR) and to establish the booklet ‘Cool Use of Energy’ (CUE) and the Terms of Reference for the two reports ‘Cool Use of Energy’ (CUE) 1 and 2. Subsequently the use of the term ‘CUE’ has been changed to Demand Response (DR) and this is the current title of the ongoing work with ERA (Energy UK) KEMA ‘Cool Use of Energy’ Reports 1 and 2: Support a number of ENA/ERA (Energy UK) joint Demand Response (DR) workshops which developed a list of requirements that can be considered as key tasks to transform the traditional power sector KEMA Smart Grids Standards Review: Aim to focus on the impact of developments of the above standards (excluding commercial standards) on the UK electricity networks community which will be affected profoundly by these activities KEMA Cyber Security Report: Provides an approach and management framework to address the cyber security challenges faced nationally by the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) as the current network infrastructure is developed with new Smart Grid systems and technologies

93

Redpoint Scenarios: Survey the studies of future energy provision in the UK currently in the public domain and produce a common stance on investment requirements Engage Access to Data: Identify the key smart metering and smart grid benefits that network operators will need to deliver in order to efficiently support the Government’s low carbon agenda Engage Privacy Impact Assessment: Assess the privacy issues surrounding the use of smart meter data by DNOs and identify measures that can be taken to mitigate stakeholder concerns Telent Smart Grid Communications: Survey the DNO communications managers to understand both the extent of existing communications deployment / penetration on electricity networks and their aspirations for extending that deployment KEMA LCNF Catalogue: Develop the first stages of a GB Smart Grid Coverage Catalogue, focussing on Low Carbon Network Fund (LCNF) Tier 1 and Tier 2, and the Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI) funded Registered Power Zones (RPZ) projects KEMA OTEG Report: Explore a number of innovative web-based solutions to presenting the progress of LCNF projects including video recordings by engineers and managers involved in the process Smart Grid Forum Workstream 3 Phase 1 & 2: Takes the impact of Britain’s future energy scenarios into key strategic directions for network development, identifying the needs for network expansion and the opportunities for smart grid techniques to drive cost-efficiency and deliver new services. It considers the enablers for change, including the necessary development of commercial and regulatory frameworks


Incremental Innovation




6.2 -10 16.2


These projects have the potential to provide a wide range of benefits. In some cases, they will help to understand key asset-related issues and allow designs to be altered to address them. In other cases they will allow us to better understand risks to our network, whether from climate change or changes in demand. The smart metering project is already making a valuable input to the overall smart metering consultations and the development of the national smart metering equipment technical specification (SMETS).


Year 2012 Duration of Benefit Once Achieved

10 – 20 Years



£100,000

94


Work on the harmonic impedance modelling (G5/4) will help DNOs understand harmonics issues on distributed networks and produce a revised revision of G5/4. The transfer potential projects will assist with understanding earthing issues in differing situations. The remaining projects are still in progress and it is hoped they will demonstrate the benefits explained.


Harmonic Impedance Modelling The project addresses the detailed modeling of cable and overhead line components, to develop cable models appropriate for distribution networks. These will be incorporated in to a new revision of G5/4 to a new simplified Stage 3A methodology for simple and low harmonic connections. Work is ongoing to establish this simplified stage. Tests have been progressing and will be published in the new G5/4 in due course. Earthing Project – HV/LV Earthing Transfer This project has developed new techniques to assess the impact of lower voltage earth electrodes on higher voltage ‘hot zones’ and to measure the resistance of distribution substation earth systems up to 33kV. It is proposed this is now extended to the 132kV networks with a new calculation method being developed to accurately estimate transfer potential between EHV, HV and LV earthing system. The new calculation method will be designed with different arrangements and soil resistivity in mind. KEMA Workshops 11 and 12 KEMA organised and facilitated two workshops with member companies to consider potential issues and opportunities presented by demand response (DR) and to establish the booklet ‘Cool Use of Energy’ (CUE) and the Terms of Reference for the two reports ‘Cool Use of Energy’ (CUE) 1 and 2. Subsequently the use of the term ‘CUE‘ has been changed to Demand Response (DR) and this is the current title of the ongoing work with ERA. KEMA ‘Cool Use of Energy’ Reports 1 and 2 Demand Response (DR) is expected to bring benefits to customers in terms of cost, carbon, convenience and security, in the future low carbon power sector. These reports are an expansion of the previously issued booklet entitled ‘Cool Use of Energy’ (CUE), produced in the previous year, and summarise the opportunities and challenges for demand response. Report 1 describes the basics in plain language and sets the scene for the more detailed content of Report 2 which makes recommendations for the next steps in implementation. These reports were written to support a number of ENA/ERA joint Demand Response (DR) workshops which developed a list of requirements that can be considered as the key tasks to transform the traditional power sector. This work has an important role in developing industry thinking on Demand Response (DR) and enabling informed discussions with government and Ofgem. KEMA Smart Grids Standards Review There are significant programmes of work being progressed internationally to identify and develop standards for smart grids, some of which are regionally oriented (e.g. in Europe), and others are globally oriented. The main focus of these activities is to identify and develop standards for interoperability, which is seen as a critical success factor for smart grid implementation globally. The report focuses on the impact of developments of the above standards (excluding commercial standards), on the UK electricity

95

networks community, which will be affected profoundly by these activities and make a number of observations/recommendations.

KEMA Cyber Security Report This report provides an approach and management framework to address the cyber security challenges faced nationally by the DNOs as the current network infrastructure is developed with new Smart Grid systems and technologies. It is intended to provide a sound basis upon which detailed and enduring smart grid cyber security efforts can be built through ‘low carbon transition’. Two levels are considered: firstly at national level to provide an overarching approach to smart grid cyber security, and secondly at DNO level to support the development of management systems for smart grid cyber security. Redpoint Scenarios Redpoint were appointed to survey the studies of future energy provision in the UK currently in the public domain. Considering the range that these scenarios described in respect of a number of key metrics, a realistic central scenario was constructed in cooperation with ENA members, with the intention of building consensus within industry, and a common stance on investment requirements. A five stage process was followed to establish the ‘consensus scenario’ and, by doing so, a coherent and internally consistent vision for future energy provision has been produced. Results for consumption were broken down to a regional level, and results for generation capacity were split by connection to the transmission or distribution network. Engage Consulting – Access to Data In April 2011 Engage Consulting produced a data access paper that identified the key smart metering and smart grid benefits that network operators will need to deliver to support the Government’s low carbon agenda efficiently. The delivery of these benefits relies on the availability of data from the installed smart meters. Some of these benefits will be delivered immediately and some will occur as smart metering and smart grids evolve. Engage Consulting – Privacy Impact Assessment In March 2011, the Government published its Smart Metering Prospectus response and confirmed its commitment to the rollout of electricity and gas smart meters to all homes and small businesses in Great Britain by 2019, with mass rollout starting in Q2 of 2014. Engage Consulting were commissioned to undertake a Data Access Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), the purpose of which is to assess the privacy issues surrounding the use of smart meter data by DNOs and identify measures that can be taken to mitigate stakeholder concerns. This work builds on the initial ‘Access to Data’ study. All stakeholder views have been captured, analysed and grouped by area of concern. The detailed feedback and concerns from stakeholders are included and these concerns have then been further considered and recommendations made for addressing them. This work is believed to have been instrumental in informing Government’s ‘minded to’ position in terms of permitting DNOs to have access to half-hourly consumption data – subject to adequate policies for data aggregation and protection.

96

TELENT Smart Grid Communications TELENT were engaged to survey the DNO communications managers to understand both the extent of existing communications deployment/penetration on electricity networks, their aspirations for extending that deployment (i.e. developing a smart grid) and the type of equipment to be used and expected timescales. Using this information TELENT produced a series of outputs: WP1 – Current Networks (asset quantity, type and density; sites

that currently have comms) WP2 – Future Comms Services Requirements (10-year view of

comms needs based on business, control, regulatory and comms strategy; Smart Grid data flows; key comms services)

WP3 – Consolidated Future Comms Services Requirements (Consolidated view across all DNOs of smart grid flows and comms requirements, and architecture options)

KEMA LCNF Catalogue As part of the ENA’s Electricity Networks & Futures Group’s (ENFG) ongoing assessment of smart grid developments, KEMA were requested to undertake the development of a GB Smart Grid Coverage Catalogue, focussing on LCNF Tier 1 and Tier 2, and the IFI funded Registered Power Zones (RPZ) projects. This report documents the approach, analysis and findings to date of the Smart Grid Coverage Catalogue, and is being used as the catalyst to develop a Smart Networks Portal by ENA under the auspices of Smart Grid Forum work stream 5. KEMA OTEG Report This report built on the LCNF Catalogue and explored a number of innovative Web based solutions to presenting the progress of LCNF projects, including video recordings by engineers and managers involved in the process. Smart Grid Forum Workstream 3 Phase 1 & 2 The phase 1 report translates the impact of UK’s future energy scenarios into key strategic directions for network development, identifying the needs for network expansion and the opportunities for smart grid techniques to drive cost-efficiency and deliver new services. It considers the enablers for change, including the necessary development of commercial and regulatory frameworks. It focuses on 2020 and 2030, and casts a forward look towards 2050 to consider the enablers for change, including the necessary development of commercial and regulatory frameworks. Phase 2 will develop a technical model and cost benefit analysis network investment tool for a range of typical network types from EHV to LV. The model will be run against synthetic networks at each voltage level under a range of low carbon uptake scenarios.

Collaborative Partners National Grid; Scottish Power Energy Networks; Scottish and Southern Energy; Electricity North West; Western Power Distribution and Northern Power Grid

R&D Providers TNEI; Engage Consulting Limited; Imperial College London; Met Office; EA Technology Ltd (and partners); Earthing Solutions; KEMA and Redpoint Energy

Documents

IFI Annual Report 2012 V1.0 PXM 310712...2 Foreword Welcome to UK Power Networks’ annual report describing our activities under Ofgem’s Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI). This