How to keep lights on when the storm hits?– Smart Grid recovers fast from faults

Success case

Smart Grids and Energy Markets (SGEM) is the fi rst and the biggest program under the CLEEN cluster that develops and implements research connected to smart grids. In practice it means combining old electricity grids with the IT and communications infrastructure to create a new generation of electricity grids. Smart grids’ biggest advantages are its agility and ability to include the end users, like families and households, into the business system.

Big part of smart grids is to build fast and automated control systems that can have numerous implementations. As one of such applications, ABB, Elenia, Fortum, Helen, Viola Systems, Emtele, Nokia Siemens Networks, VTT and Tampere University of Technology joined their forces to create a solution that would address electricity outages due to extreme weather conditions. The result is an automated system that uses Smart Grid to speed up electric lines’ recovery from unpredictable faults.

During extreme weather conditions like storms, trees fall and lines get broken. One cannot prevent trees from falling but it is possible to make the recovery of electric lines faster and the aff ected areas smaller. The system developed under the SGEM program can quickly identify where in the electricity lines the faults have occurred, getting a head start in fi xing the problematic areas. Moreover, the system can identify how much time it would take to fi x the fault and communicate that to the end consumer, which is important particularly when faced with extreme weather conditions like storms.

The only alternative solution to reduce power cuts due to extreme weather conditions is to replace overhead lines with underground cabling. However, burying cables underground is expensive and time-consuming, while SGEM’s automation solution can deliver

quick results with smaller investments. The main advantage of SGEM solution is that it saves money while ensuring that people have electricity in their homes even in extreme weather conditions. Grid automation makes power cuts shorter and smaller in scale, which means fewer resources are needed to identify and fi x problems. The solution still needs some planning and enhancements but early pilots are already operating in real life networks in Finland.

SGEM’s solution is not about any individual piece of technology but it is rather an overarching system of systems. No single entity or company is capable of delivering a system of this kind by themselves: it requires equipment manufacturers, electricity operators, IT companies, research institutions and communication providers to come together. SGEM program has enabled the collaboration between this complex network of partners to take place.

Bringing traditional power companies and IT providers together in this way enables the evolution of automation and helps to build the future of Smart Grids. Controlling production and consumption of energy is the key problem that smart grids address and SGEM’s solution demonstrates how this innovation can benefi t the society while keeping down costs for companies.

How to keep lights on when the storm hits?– Smart Grid recovers fast from faults

For more information: SGEM Program Manager Jani Valtari, jani.valtari@cleen.fi

Smart grids’ biggest advantages are its agility and ability to include the end users, like families and households, into the business system.