Netze BW tests self-healing grid

22.05.2024

Source: Energie & Management Powernews

Currently, damage to the electricity grid often takes several hours to repair. Netze BW is testing a pilot project in the Allgäu region in which digitalized grids heal themselves in seconds.

For example, if a power line is damaged during construction work, it takes a while for the grid operator's employees to repair the damage. At the medium-voltage grid operator Netze BW, the average time is 54 minutes, said Martin Konermann, Managing Director Technology. However, with more and more producers and consumers in the grid, a stable power supply is becoming increasingly important, including for production facilities.

For this reason, Netze BW wants to develop an automated fault management system that repairs the damage in seconds, for example by rerouting the power flows. From June, the "Allgäu grid laboratory" will be testing around the Leutkirch substation to see whether it is possible to minimize downtimes during power interruptions.

The aim would be for grid customers not to even notice a disruption in the grid. A "self-healing grid" should be able to react independently to power interruptions by automating the steps to rectify faults. The technicians also receive more precise information about the fault and more time to repair it.

Automation for greater grid stability

The system determines the location of the fault as accurately as possible based on various information from sensors in the grid. It then searches for a possible switchover option to bypass the fault location. Netze BW's medium-voltage grids are operated as open rings. In the event of a fault, this makes it possible to switch the supply via the other end of the ring. Switchover commands are automatically sent to intelligent local network stations so that the interruption can be rectified within seconds.

The field test area covers the large district town of Leutkirch in the Allgäu region, including the neighboring Bavarian districts of Fraunzell, Muthmanshofen, Schreiloch and Kimmratshofen to the east. Netze BW already has intelligent local grid stations here. These are necessary in order to cope with the increasing complexity of grid operation, explains the operator. With more and more decentralized feeders such as renewable energy systems and larger consumers, including in private households such as heat pumps and electric cars, the grid must become more flexible.

This requires high investments in the grid, both for more capacity as well as for automation and digitalization. Project manager Linda Sprengholz is hoping for "optimal interaction between the operating personnel and automated switching processes for troubleshooting". Her colleague Christian Lakenbrink wants to use grid automation to relieve the burden on employees in the grid control centers. "I'm excited, because theory is one thing, practice often teaches another," said Lakenbrink. The project is initially scheduled to run for two years.

The project website "Self-healing grids" is available on the Internet.

Author: Susanne Harmsen