New £2.6m project to help reduce power outages

UK Power Networks (UKPN) has partnered with a supplier of smart infrastructure technologies in bid to reduce the length and frequency of power outages by locating faults faster. The £2.6 […]

UK Power Networks (UKPN) has partnered with a supplier of smart infrastructure technologies in bid to reduce the length and frequency of power outages by locating faults faster.

The £2.6 million project, funded by Ofgem, will see Aclara use its grid monitoring platform and sensors to collect and analyse data related to transient faults – short variations of fault current that do not produce sustained power interruptions.

Transient events are caused by severe weather conditions, tree contact and malfunctioning assets.

UKPN, which distributes around 27% of the nation’s power to more than eight million homes and businesses, has installed 400 Aclara power sensors, part of the Grid Monitoring platform, to monitor 45 feeders on its overhead networks.

Data collected as part of the project will be used in algorithms to give near real-time visibility and improved awareness of what is happening on the distribution network.

Peter Land, UKPN Project Manager said: “Our goal is to reduce the duration of supply interruptions by directing linesmen to the most likely fault locations. The trial will demonstrate Aclara’s ‘distance to fault’ algorithm to improve restoration times.”

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