Electricity is so deeply ingrained in everyday life that when it is not available many things, essential and simply pleasurable, cease working. Finding ways to better manage faults in electricity distribution systems is a key way of improving the quality of supply offered to customers. Society also faces choices about its sources of energy and we need to find ways to remove technical barriers to the connection of small scale renewable generation without large cost penalties. The reasons that both of these tasks are difficult are (i) that the low voltage part of the distribution system was designed for simple operation without active control and (ii) the distribution system is very large and overall central control is not realistic. Solutions are also constrained by the large amount of existing equipment that is only part way through a long service life and is too expensive to replace prematurely. This project will explore a means to gradually devolving control authority from the existing central control room (which is semi-automated and semi-manual) and use a peer-to-peer network of controllers/decision-makers placed at each substation. The controllers can open and close remotely controlled switches to reallocate loads to different parts of the network and take various voltage correction actions. There is a strong need for communication to obtain feedback information and to allow a controller with only a partial view of the system to cooperate in finding an optimal set of actions to take in the event of a fault, an out-of-tolerance voltage or a generator whose output is being limited by network constraints. The project is challenging because it requires integration of research in distributed control, decision making, network analysis and communications. For this reason we have assembled a team drawn from 7 universities and 3 major international companies in the power industry.

Electricity transmission and distribution companies in the UK face serious challenges in continuing to provide high reliability from ageing networks. This is made more difficult by increasing economic and environmental pressures. The problems will become worse as the operating conditions of the networks are changed, to allow for the production of more electricity from renewable sources.To meet this challenge, network owners and operators need better knowledge of plant ageing and improved techniques to monitor its condition.As power is generated in different locations, so the pattern of current flow through the network changes. This alters the temperature of plant items (like transformers, overhead lines and underground cables), which make up the network. Other changes in operating conditions, such as when switches are operated, will affect the stresses seen by plant. We will investigate the effect of the new operating demands on individual items of plant in order to predict their effect on the reliability of the network.We will also investigate some innovative techniques for monitoring plant condition. These will range from techniques which give a general indication of the health of an entire substation, down to those which give detailed information on a specific item of plant. The work will look at new sensors, data capture, data management and data interpretation. Network owners and operators also need improved methods of protecting and controlling the network. New software tools will help them plan replacements as parts of the network wear out. Our work will help get the most power through the ageing network and allow owners to invest in new or replacement plant in a cost-effective way. All this has to be done while maintaining or improving the security of supply and taking into account interactions between gas and electricity networks. Software tools will be developed to calculate the optimum size and location of new generating plant and to calculate the cost that should be charged to transport electricity from a particular location.Finally, research into electrical plant with reduced environmental impact will allow the use of environmentally friendly replacements. There are three main aspects to this work: exploring methods of reducing the use of SF6 (a greenhouse gas), examining techniques for transmitting more power down existing lines and investigating methods of reducing environmental impacts (for example, oil leaks) from underground cable.EPSRC has assembled a team of six universities, which have the skills needed to tackle these challenges. These universities have worked closely with major electric utilities and equipment manufacturers to prepare this proposal. The industrial partners will provide a valuable contribution, both through funding and also by supplying their technical expertise and guidance.Our work will benefit electricity utilities, which will spend less on maintenance and get more for their money when buying new plant. Consumers will gain through improved reliability of their electricity supply. UK manufacturers will be able to exploit the new condition monitoring and diagnostic techniques. Society in general will benefit through reductions in environmental impact.

The ever increasing demand for electricity consumption accompanied by environmental pressures impose a continuing need for electrical systems modification and growth, partly because of changing operational practices resulting from de-regulation and, partly, due to the increased use of distributed generation, which is changing the demands on transmission and, especially, distribution lines. But for many years now, the opportunities for installation of new lines have become very limited because of public concern over visual and other environmental impacts, and it is clear that extensions to system capacity will have to be met substantially without new lines.The voltage rating and the insulation coordination of transmission and distribution lines is determined by a combined consideration of the voltage stress applied to the line and its electrical strength. The stress arises from overvoltages due to switching transients or lightning surges. The magnitude of the switching overvoltage is controlled by the characteristics of the system components, and is more critical at the highest operating voltages. Lightning overvoltages, on the other hand, are of much larger magnitudes and are more onerous to distribution systems.IEC 60071 makes recommendations for the gaps and clearances to be used for specific voltage levels, and individual operators will then adopt safety factors above and beyond these recommendations, depending upon local conditions. Pollution, for instance, may reduce the breakdown voltage by up to 50%. These adopted clearances are usually very generous and can be optimised using modern equipment and practice.The investigators have researched for many years the possibilities for compact lines and substations through improved co-ordination of insulation and the use of polymeric insulators and more effective protective devices such as ZnO surge arresters. This programme, therefore, proposes to apply the compact line concepts to the up-rating of existing lines. It will involve statistical studies of switching and lightning surges that account for various parameters which affect the overvoltage magnitudes, such as closing times for circuit breakers and analysis of the possible state of the line in order to minimize the risk of re-closing onto trapped charge. The statistical variations of stress and strength of the system will be combined in a voltage-frequency plot to determine the risk of failure, which has to be minimized within economic constraints. The stress will be presented as the probability of a certain overvoltage occurring, and its distribution along a line will be controlled by the judicious placement of modern ZnO surge arresters. Electrical strength, on the other hand, can be presented as a probabilistic breakdown curve. It will be primarily derived from consideration of the breakdown curves taking into account the critical clearances at the tower and along the line. These principles have been studied over the years, but present-day pressures are causing a re-evaluation of the conventional limits and methodology. This is also supported by the excellent performance of modern ZnO surge arresters in controlling overvoltages and the superior pollution performance of new polymeric insulators. The programme will also include laboratory and field experimental programmes to test and characterise the new devices and configurations to be used for the compact design of the uprated lines. The main output of the programme is to establish well researched fundamental principles that will allow an efficient and safe design for the future transmission and distribution lines.The basis of this programme has been proposed by HIVES, Cardiff University and then moderated by discussions with an industry group involving National Grid, four UK DNOs, ESB and three line construction companies, whose views are embedded in the proposed programme.

The RUGGEDISED project will create urban spaces powered by secure, affordable and clean energy, smart electro-mobility, smart tools and services. The overall aims are: 1. Improving the quality of life of the citizens, by offering the citizens a clean, safe, attractive, inclusive and affordable living environment. 2. Reducing the environmental impacts of activities, by achieving a significant reduction of CO2 emissions, a major increase in the investment and usage of RES and an increase in the deployment of electric vehicles. 3. Creating a stimulating environment for sustainable economic development, by generating more sustainable jobs, stimulating community involvement in smart solutions and to boost start-up and existing companies to exploit the opportunities of the green digital economy and Internet of Things. To achieve the aims, a key innovation challenge in all three lighthouse cities of RUGGEDISED is to arrange successful combinations of integrated smart solutions for energy and e-mobility (enabled by ICT platforms and open data protocols) and business models with the right incentives for stakeholders to invest and participate in a smart society. Specific challenges relevant for the lighthouse cities are: - to manage peak load variation in thermal and electrical energy supply and demand; - to develop appropriate cooperation structures and business models for exchange of energy; - to develop Smart City (open) data platforms and energy management systems RUGGEDISED has derived 10 specific objectives and planned 32 smart solutions to meet the challenges. The development of solutions in the lighthouse cities is not the primary goal of the project, but a necessary means to find the right incentives and to create validated business cases to enable large scale deployment and replication of solutions. Three follower cities Brno, Parma and Gdansk have selected 27 smart follower solutions to follow the lighthouse cities and to prepare for implementation in the future