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Aclara Sensors | WPD | Transitioning to a Low Carbon Future with Smart Grid Sensors
December 15th, 2021
Transitioning To A Low Carbon Future
Aclara
Case Study: Distributed Generation
Medium & High Voltage Electricity Networks
Western Power Distribution, UK
Western Power Distribution is one of six electricity Distribution Network Operators in the United Kingdom responsible for the Midlands, South Wales, and the South West, delivering
electricity to more than 7.7 million customers over a 55,300 square kilometer service area.
THE LOW-CARBON NETWORK FUND
The company is leading a number of innovative, low carbon projects as part of the Low Carbon Network Fund, introduced by UK energy regulator, the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), to prepare for the electricity network of tomorrow – assisting the uptake of low carbon technologies, helping provide affordable and reliable solutions for energy users.
“Our distribution network is the backbone of how we deliver electricity to homes and businesses.” BEN GODFREY – Innovation and Low Carbon Networks Engineer at WPD
IMPROVING RELIABILITY AND OPTIMIZE NETWORK PLANNING
With this deployment, the Aclara grid monitoring platform is providing WPD with real-time visibility into its distribution grid, allowing the network operator to improve reliability and optimize network planning as it eases its transition to a low carbon future.
Distribution Network Operators such as WPD are expecting changes in the way electricity flows around the network as consumers adopt low carbon technologies including electric vehicles and heat pumps.
PROJECT FALCON
One initiative addressing this concern before it becomes reality is the Flexible Approaches to Low Carbon Optimised Networks (FALCON) project, a U.K. regulator-funded program that aims to improve the industry’s understanding of infrastructure needs in a low-carbon environment. WPD is working with innovative smart grid leaders such as Aclara to find the best ways to manage network problems expected to arise from low carbon technologies and generation.
“We selected Aclara’s grid monitoring platform because it provides us with better information for network planning, which will help us improve grid reliability and enable
the transition to a low-carbon future.” BEN GODFREY Innovation and Low Carbon Networks Engineer at WPD
Aclara partnered with Powerline Technologies Limited, a leading U.K. supplier of smart grid equipment, to deliver the Aclara platform to WPD as a part of Project FALCON.
REAL-TIME VISIBILITY WITH ACLARA’S SMART GRID SENSORS
Aclara leads the industry in providing inductively powered, low-current Smart Grid Sensors that give utilities real-time visibility into the distribution grid down to three amps. They are lightweight, easy to install and provide immediate real-time data about grid conditions.
Unlike first-generation fault indicators, Aclara line sensors are combined with predictive analytics software to provide the ideal combination of realtime load and power quality monitoring with outage and fault detection. Within the software, customizable rules alert utilities to inefficient operating conditions that indicate future outages, load imbalances, or technical loss.
These events are linked to map-view displays that make it easy for utilities to pinpoint the locations of problems for quick response and solution. The Aclara platform easily integrates with Data Historians, SCADA, OMS, and DMS systems or can run as its own stand-alone solution hosted by Aclara or within a utility’s own data center.
Aclara
At Aclara, we help utilities manage change, seek new approaches and harness data and new technologies to supply more efficient and reliable services to their customers. We offer a comprehensive suite of solutions comprised of meters and edge devices, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), software, installation services and provision of labor with a single point of accountability. As an end-to-end, smart infrastructure solutions (SIS) partner we couple innovative technology with data-driven solutions to predict, plan and respond to system conditions across electric, gas or water distribution networks.
Further Reading
Aclara Sensors | UKPN | Detecting Transient Faults on Overhead Networks
LV MV HV Jointing, Earthing, Substation & Electrical Eqpt
Key Product Categories: Duct Seals | Cable Cleats | Cable Glands | Electrical Safety | Arc Flash Protection | Cable Jointing Tools | Cable Pulling | Earthing | Feeder Pillars | Cable Joints LV | Joints & Terminations MV
Aclara Sensors | UKPN | Detecting Transient Faults on Overhead Networks
December 15th, 2021
Detecting Transient Faults on Overhead Networks
Aclara
Case Study: Grid Monitoring
Medium & High Voltage Electricity Networks
UK Power Networks, United Kingdom
UK Power Networks is the United Kingdom’s biggest distribution network operator (DNO) and delivers electricity to more than 8 million homes in London, the East and South East of
England. It is transforming itself from a Distribution Network Operator, which simply delivers electricity, to a Distribution System Operator (DSO), which enables a smart, flexible
system that responds to customers’ needs.
The company says its vision for the future proposes significant changes to enable medium voltage electricity networks to enable consumers to use new and emerging technologies.
Transient Fault Outages
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
As part of its effort to continuously improve, UK Power Networks is constantly assessing ways to reduce the number of power outages and their duration. UK Power Networks has more than 46,000 km, or 28,500 miles, of overhead line networks that can occasionally be damaged by high winds, bird strikes or tree contact.
These can result in short power interruptions known as transient fault outages. Transient events typically include short variations of fault current without causing a sustained power outage. Transient events that are cleared automatically by very short interruptions from breakers or reclosers are referred to as momentary fault events.
It can take 6 to 10 hours, on average, to identify the exact location of a transient fault on overhead lines, especially when the outage occurs at night, is in a hard to reach location, or takes place during a storm. Once a fault it located it can then take an additional 1-2 hours to fix it. Reducing the expense and time associated with finding and repairing faults is an important component of reducing customer minutes lost.
Today, the company uses traditional fault passage indicators (FPIs), known as fault current indicators (FCIs) in the United States, to help them identify when faults occur on its overhead electrical system. However, there are several challenges with using FPIs.
While FPI alarms integrate with UK Power Networks’ GE PowerOn™ advanced distribution management system, they lack capabilities to help locate transient faults. They are not effective at detecting momentary line disturbances or developing faults and do not capture fault waveforms.
Due to less sophisticated triggering and classification methods, they may also generate false indications of actual outages or the true location of faults. As a result, operational staff then must be sent out to search for the fault location. This is done through a systematic process of opening the manually operated OHL switches installed along the route, energizing segments and ‘walking the line’ until the fault location is found.
This is a time consuming process.
Reduce Power Interruptions
SOLUTION OVERVIEW
UK Power Networks has recently undertaken a ground breaking project to improve customer service and was looking for new technology to help reduce power interruptions and customer minutes lost on its overhead networks. Funded by the Network Innovation Allowance (NIA), an incentive of the United Kingdom’s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), part of the project’s objective is to develop algorithms that can predict fault location on overhead circuits and that distinguish false alarms from true outages.
To accomplish its goal, UK Power Networks selected the Aclara Grid Monitoring platform comprised of smart grid sensors and Predictive Grid® analytics software. The power sensors are easily deployed on overhead lines via hot stick, even in remote locations. The data they provide, including voltages, will allow the company to develop a real-time impedance model at the time of a fault, allowing precise location of the faults without having to ‘walk the line’.
“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. ‘We are regularly reviewing Aclara power sensor input as part of UK Power Networks’ overall quality of supply improvement program and hope to make more strides in preventing network failure conditions.” PETER LANG – UK Power Networks’ Project Manager
UK Power Networks has installed over 400 power sensors on 11kV overhead lines on 45 feeders as part of an implementation of the Aclara Grid Monitoring platform in two of its three geographical regions – its East and South East areas.
The Aclara Grid Monitoring platform will continuously monitor load and power quality in places where troublesome overhead circuits have caused many supply interruptions. They are battery-free smart grid sensors capable of monitoring real-time voltage on distribution networks to within 0.5% accuracy.
Power sensors are installed on overhead lines with hot sticks and require no calibration or additional, pole mounted equipment.
These specific line sensors were installed for three reasons:
1 – To allow UK Power Networks to gain better network visibility on its overhead circuits and reduce the time it takes to identify permanent faults that are located on specific spurs or between sectionalised points on the main line.
2 – To reliably detect and resolve developing or transient faults caused by events including branches touching power lines, animal incursions, bird strikes, and defective equipment.
3 – To reduce the length of supply interruptions by directing linesmen to the most likely fault locations.
The Aclara power sensor is a highly integrated and rugged solution that is a fraction of the cost of traditional kits of equipment with equivalent functionality. It introduces additional OpEx savings due to its simple installation and highly reduced maintenance costs compared with similar alternatives.
Precise measurements and events captured by Aclara power sensors, combined with the sophisticated analytics in its sensor management system (SMS) software, including an algorithm that identifies the exact location of faults, provide highly accurate, real-time reporting of fault events. Thus, the Grid Monitoring fault location solution greatly improves restoration times.
Additionally, to build intelligence about what might cause a power failure in the future, Aclara’s SMS software classifies faults and disturbances that do not cause immediate outages. For example, incidents like momentary faults or line disturbances are categorized and can be filtered to show trends across a circuit or during certain times of the year.
This Predictive Grid® analytics capability of the Aclara SMS software lets UK Power Networks identify fault locations quicker, allowing engineers to study fault waveforms to better diagnose the true cause of fault events. It can predict and alert engineers and operators to early signs of developing fault conditions based on frequent patterns of transient conditions.
In addition, Aclara smart grid sensors are easily deployed towards the end of feeders and spurs, in locations where currents may be as low as 3A. This is important because battery-powered FPIs and sensors typically require at least 10A – and some up to 30A – to successfully keep the batteries charged. Therefore, the further you get away from the substation, the harder it is to identify faults because previously there were no solutions for low-current areas.
With the continuous reporting of power conditions, the deployment of Aclara’s smart grid sensors has also proven invaluable to help UK Power Networks gain better insight to the true load profile along its circuits. Better visibility of load and voltage conditions aids planners and network operators for both managing switching operations as well as long term network planning.
Grid Monitoring
BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION
Use of Aclara smart grid sensors allows UK Power Networks to have much better visibility of fault Case Study: Grid Monitoring and disturbance conditions along circuits, leading
to changes in methods in working and business practices at the utility.
The company’s engineers now can go directly to the fault location, eliminating the need to ‘walk the line’ to find it. The deployment of Aclara smart grid sensors also demonstrates that transients or pre-faults can be accurately identified on the network. Analysing waveforms allows operational staff to be proactive in trying to identify the cause, allowing preventative maintenance before faults become permanent and cause network failures.
In addition, Aclara technology will help UK Power Networks meet its goals for reducing the number of power interruptions customers have and the length of the power interruption.
This project provides another key tool to support delivery of a more reliable electricity network. The solution enables UK Power Networks to implement improvements in the cost of network operations, replacing expensive manpower intensive processes.
Aclara
At Aclara, we help utilities manage change, seek new approaches and harness data and new technologies to supply more efficient and reliable services to their customers. We offer a comprehensive suite of solutions comprised of meters and edge devices, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), software, installation services and provision of labor with a single point of accountability. As an end-to-end, smart infrastructure solutions (SIS) partner we couple innovative technology with data-driven solutions to predict, plan and respond to system conditions across electric, gas or water distribution networks.
Further Reading
Aclara Sensors | WPD | Transitioning to a Low Carbon Future with Smart Grid Sensors
LV MV HV Jointing, Earthing, Substation & Electrical Eqpt
Key Product Categories: Duct Seals | Cable Cleats | Cable Glands | Electrical Safety | Arc Flash Protection | Cable Jointing Tools | Cable Pulling | Earthing | Feeder Pillars | Cable Joints LV | Joints & Terminations MV
Greenlee Cable Pulling Equipment | Cable Laying Products for LV MV HV Underground Cables
December 14th, 2021
Cable Pulling Equipment | Greenlee
Greenlee
In 1996, Klauke the leading manufacturer of cable cutting and crimping tools expanded its electrical product portfolio with the acquisition of the Greenlee brand – with the focus on punching tools and cable management, Greenlee supports the safe and reliable installation of electrical cables and equipment to provide power distribution at LV MV HV networks.
Speedy Spinner | Cable Pulling Device
Easy Rollers | Cable Drum Rollers
Polyester Butler & Smart Bulter | Fibreglass Cable Pulling System
Fish Tapes | Conduit Rod Tapes
Cable Installation Lubricant | Electrical Cable Lubrication
Contact Thorne & Derrick for competitive prices, stock availability and technical customer support on the complete range of Greenlee products for Pulling & Laying cables.
Thorne & Derrick distribute the most extensive range of Low & High Voltage Cable Installation & Electrical Distribution Equipment to the Power Transmission & Distribution industry in the onshore and offshore wind, solar, rail, oil/gas, data centre, battery storage and utility sectors – this includes the most extensive range of Cable Pulling & Cable Laying Equipment to enable the installation of low, medium and high voltage power cables into underground trench or duct.
We service UK and international clients working on underground cables, overhead lines, substations and electrical construction at LV, 11kV/33kV and up to EHV transmission and distribution voltages.
Key Products: MV-HV Cable Joints & Terminations, Cable Cleats, Duct Seals, Cable Transits, Underground Cable Protection, Copper Earth Tapes, Cable Jointing Tools, Feeder Pillars, Cable Ducting, Earthing & Lightning Protection, Electrical Safety, Cable Glands, Arc Flash Protection & Fusegear.
Distributors for: 3M Electrical, ABB, Alroc, Band-It, Cembre, Centriforce, CMP, Elastimold, Ellis Patents, Emtelle, Furse, Greenlee, Lucy Zodion, Nexans Euromold, Pfisterer, Polypipe, ProGARM, Prysmian, and Roxtec.
Specialist Distributors | LV MV HV Jointing, Earthing, Substation & Electrical Eqpt
NEW Arc Flash Coveralls | ProGARM 3100 Treated Coverall
December 13th, 2021
ProGARM 3100 Treated Coverall
The ProGARM range of protective garments deliver ultimate Arc Flash clothing and protection, conforming with the relevant industry and EN standards ensuring protection from Arc Flash incidents.
Introducing the new 3100 Flame Resistant treated coverall that is certified to last 2x longer than any other competitor product. In stock and ready to ship in Navy, Orange and Royal Blue – contact Thorne & Derrick for more information.
The ProGARM 3100 Arc Flash Coverall provides Category 2 Protection against arc flash with 13cal/cm2 according to IEC 61482-2:2020 ‘open arc’ test method.
With VXT+ 350gsm woven treated antistatic fabric, the coverall is suitable for use in the electrical, petrochemical and utilities industries.
The arc flash coverall also has antistatic properties and provides protection for heat, flame and welding. It has been designed with unrivalled comfort and fit and is certified to 100 x industrial wash cycles capable of up to 75°C, ensuring long lasting protection and product durability. The garment has various pockets for extra and secure storage.
ProGARM 3100 Treated Arc Flash Coverall
Arc Flash Coverall
Features & Benefits
- Mandarin collar shape with hanger loop // Maximum neck protection
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- 2 chest pockets with zipper closure // Secure storage
- 1 radio loop on right chest and 1 radio loop attached on left chest // Extra storage
- 1 sleeve pocket with Velcro® closure // Extra storage
- Internal adjustable waist band // Increased comfort and mobility
- 2 side pockets with inner access opening // Extra storage
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- Ruler Pocket // Extra storage
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- Action back // Wearer comfort
- 50mm double stitched reflective tape // Industrial wash capable up to 100 wash cycles
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- Industrial wash capable up to 75°C // Washing flexibility
Arc Flash Learning & Resources
Thorne and Derrick are proud to be distributors of ProGARM arc flash coveralls and protection.
We can help – should you require arc flash calculators or advice on the type of clothing and protection available please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thorne & Derrick
Thorne & Derrick are national distributors of LV, MV & HV Cable Installation, Jointing, Substation & Electrical Equipment – servicing businesses involved in cabling, jointing, substation earthing, overhead line and electrical construction at LV, 11kV, 33kV, 66kV and EHV. Supplying a complete range of power cable accessories to support the installation and maintenance of low/medium and high voltage power systems:
- Slip-on Cable Terminations
- Cold-shrink Cable Terminations
- Heat-shrink Cable Terminations
- Cable Joints – Heat & Cold-shrink
- Separable Connectors (Euromold)
- Surge Arresters & Switchgear/Transformer Bushings
Key Product Categories: Duct Seals | Cable Cleats | Cable Glands | Electrical Safety | Arc Flash Protection | Cable Jointing Tools | Cable Pulling | Earthing | Feeder Pillars | Cable Joints LV | Joints & Terminations MV
FR Arc Flash Gloves | 2679 Rain Glove
December 10th, 2021
ProGARM delivers ultimate arc flash clothing and protection, including arc flash gloves, conforming with the relevant industry and EN standards ensuring protection from arc flash incidents for workers carrying out installation or maintenance of LV Low Voltage, MV Medium Voltage or HV High Voltage power systems.
Arc Flash Protection
Arc Flash Gloves
ProGARM is the leading UK manufacturer of high-quality, Flame Resistant, Arc Flash clothing, gloves, garments and workwear – they work successfully with their UK Distributor Thorne & Derrick to save lives and reduce arc flash accident effects.
With multiple cable strikes every day in the UK and numerous major Arc Flash incidents, businesses are looking at how best to protect their team with the right Flame Resistant garments and accessories, including arc rated gloves. The correct clothing can significantly reduce injury and save lives.
ProGARM and Thorne & Derrick are committed to continual research and improvement to innovate and develop their range of arc flash clothing as quickly as possible to bring you the best Arc Flash protection for your team.
Product Launch: 2679 FR Arc Flash gloves
Introducing the NEW 2679 FR arc flash rain glove with puncture resistant technology. The flame resistant arc flash gloves are arc rated, cut resistant, and puncture resistant featuring high quality leather that is specially treated for water resistance. Knuckle, palm, and fingertips are reinforced with suede leather for durability and grip. Entirely lined with Kevlar® fibre by DuPont™.
The FR gloves will not drip, melt or ignite when exposed to flames or sparks. The result is increased efficiency, productivity and safety for workers, while in compliance with:
- NFPA 70e-2018 OSHA
- 29 CFR Part 1926
Arc Flash Learning & Resources
Thorne and Derrick are proud to be distributors of ProGARM arc flash coveralls and protection.
We can help – should you require arc flash calculators or advice on the type of clothing and protection available please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thorne & Derrick
Thorne & Derrick are national distributors of LV, MV & HV Cable Installation, Jointing, Substation & Electrical Equipment – servicing businesses involved in cabling, jointing, substation, earthing, overhead line and electrical construction at LV, 11kV, 33kV, 66kV and EHV. Supplying a complete range of power cable accessories to support the installation and maintenance of low/medium and high voltage power systems:
- Slip-on Cable Terminations
- Cold-shrink Cable Terminations
- Heat-shrink Cable Terminations
- Cable Joints – Heat & Cold-shrink
- Separable Connectors (Euromold)
- Surge Arresters & Switchgear/Transformer Bushings
Key Product Categories: Duct Seals | Cable Cleats | Cable Glands | Electrical Safety | Arc Flash Protection | Cable Jointing Tools | Cable Pulling | Earthing | Feeder Pillars | Cable Joints LV | Joints & Terminations MV
