There are two main motivations for grid companies to find quicker ways of localising faults in the grid.

Every minute a grid company is not delivering energy to its customers, it is effectively losing money. This can be referred to as the cost of energy not supplied. Or CENS for short. Also, more time spent localizing a fault will lead to increased costs of labour and sometimes, in the larger picture, the need for more crew, cars and equipment.

CINELDI-partner Elvia is installing approx. 60 fault indicators in the 22kV network. The aim is to see if this reduces the time it takes to find the location of faults and the corresponding reduction in CENS.

Where old fault indicators had to be read manually, new indicators send digital signals allowing a more precise fault location to be performed centrally prior to dispatch of maintenance crew. In addition, increased safety and less strain on the components are expected as fewer test recouplings (to locate the faulty part of the grid) can be performed.

The tests have two purposes; To obtain experience with the operation of the devices and verify that the data can be used to find the fault location. If a grid is to be self-healing, automatic location of faults is a prerequisite. Therefore, self-healing algorithms have been installed at Frogn (decentralized solution) and Oslo (centralized solution). These pilots will give recommendations on what equipment to invest in, in the future and pro/cons for decentralized vs. the centralized solutions. Experience is gained every time there is a fault in the network. The aim of the pilot is at least 30 faults.

This pilot is a continuation of the IPN-project FASAD. 

Contact persons:

and , Elvia