Power network operator Electricity North West is set to launch a new pioneering trial to help meet the future demand in electricity without the need to build costly new infrastructure.
The Respond trial, which has won £5.5m funding, including £4.5m from the government’s energy regulator, Ofgem, will help make sure that customers in the North West continue to enjoy a reliable power supply to their homes and businesses and keep bills as low as possible.
As we move to a low carbon future, demand for electricity is set to grow which will increase the potential fault current on the network. Fault current is an instantaneous surge of energy which flows under fault conditions. Respond is a solution to this problem which will ensure the network is fully prepared for the increase in solar panels, electric vehicles and heat pumps.
Steve Johnson, CEO of Electricity North West, said: “The Respond trial will allow us to explore new technical and commercial solutions to get more from our existing network. This will ensure customers continue to get the power they need and give them the flexibility to connect renewable energy sources such as combined heat and power plants, without us having to invest in new expensive infrastructure. And by using these techniques to intelligently manage fault current, customers could see lower bills.”
Respond will deliver a ‘Fault Level Assessment Tool’ which calculates potential fault current in real time and utilises one of three innovative techniques, designed to manage fault current safely.
Electricity North West will work on the project with partners including ABB, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Schneider Electric, Impact Research, ENER-G and Combined Heat and Power Association.
Peter Jones, ABB’s technology strategy manager, said, “We look forward to working with the project partners on this important trial and the opportunity to demonstrate how cost effective technologies are able to help reduce the costs of electricity network operation. If successful, wider implementation of these technologies and systems has the potential to deliver significant value for customers in the North West and the rest of the UK.”
