ESIC Seminar Series: Technology and policy requirements to deliver resiliency to power system networks

About the event

Dr. Mani Vadari, Modern Grid Solutions

Informed people can disagree about impact of climate change and its relationship to storms. The Weather Channel identified 2017 Atlantic hurricane season as among the top-ten most active in recorded history and that these storms are increasing in intensity every year. Resilience has been defined as the “robustness and recovery characteristics of utility infrastructure and operations, which avoid or minimize interruptions of service during an extraordinary and hazardous event.”Resiliency is not about preventing damage when a storm hits. It isabout minimizing the impact of the damage to the electric grid to enable a rapid return to normal operations.  Power System Resiliency starts with three major aspects: bringing new technologies into the grid, changing the design of the grid all supported by adequate policy support. Automation allows detection of problem areas, blocks power flows to affected area, and reroutes power to keep more customers energized. It is also advantageous to split the macrogrid into smaller circuits and reexamine the circuit capabilities to repair feeders quickly.  Dr. Vadari focuses on the need for technologies, supported by policy to make Power System networks more resilient and, if damaged, how to restore them as fast as possible.