Grid operators: dimming blind, peak tariffs, optimisation gaps

Optimisation of system operation needs an owner

What happens. Transmission operators make many decisions every day about power flows, redispatch and reserves. The tools for optimising these decisions exist, but someone has to own them, tune them and explain the results to the control room.

What it costs. The seat for this work stays open for months. Meanwhile decisions rely on rules of thumb and on the experience of a few shift leaders.

Why the usual fix fails. Hiring a generalist data scientist does not give the grid knowledge, and a power engineer without optimisation training cannot run the solver. Vendor tools alone do not know the operator’s own constraints.

How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. I can look at one decision process, for example the redispatch or voltage schedule, with the operator’s data. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you what an optimisation could improve, what it would need to run reliably in the control room, and what the owner of the tool would have to do.

Decision support for voltage and current control in the transmission grid

What happens. Operators keep voltages and currents in the transmission grid inside limits by switching and by adjusting transformers, reactive-power plants and generators. With more renewable feed-in, the number of options grows and the right setting changes more often.

What it costs. Operators lean on experience to pick a setting, and it is not always the cheapest or the one that leaves the most margin. Unplanned interventions in a bad hour are costly.

Why the usual fix fails. A rule list covers known situations and fails on new ones. A full optimisation tool nobody trusts is not used.

How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From the grid model and operating records, I check what an optimisation would suggest in past situations and compare it with what was done. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you whether operator support can be built on your data, and how the proposals could be presented to the shift.

Grid automation, digital substations and energy management need specialists

What happens. Utilities modernise their substations and add automation, energy management and a data layer. The people who have to do this are asked to combine protection, communication and control know-how.

What it costs. Roles in utility research and development stay open. Projects drift, and the pilot installed in one substation is not rolled out to the next.

Why the usual fix fails. Buying a vendor package fixes the first installation but leaves the customer unable to adapt it. Splitting the work between the information-technology department and the control room creates gaps in between.

How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. I review a concept or a pilot with its data, as an outside look. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you what a supervisory control and data layer would do in your grid, and which parts your own team can build.

Operators may dim heat pumps and wallboxes without knowing the local grid state

What happens. Grid operators may reduce the power of heat pumps and charging points in the low-voltage grid when it is overloaded (Federal Network Agency). But the low-voltage grid is hardly measured, and in many places smart meters are not yet widespread.

What it costs. Dimming too much costs customers comfort and trust. Dimming too little leaves overloads in the cable or the transformer. Without a local picture, the operator dims by area, not by need.

Why the usual fix fails. Adding measurement at every cabinet is slow and expensive. Waiting for full meter rollout leaves the problem unsolved for years.

How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From the few measurements at hand (transformers, some meters, load profiles), I check whether the low-voltage state can be estimated well enough to tell where dimming is really needed. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you what accuracy is achievable and which measurement would add the most.

Grid tariffs move from energy to peak power

What happens. In Austria, the regulator’s draft tariff regulation under the new Electricity Act builds network charges from a capacity price, billed on the highest quarter-hour value of the month, and a working price, with a low night-time working price from October to March (E-Control draft regulation). The act itself sets a framework for flexibility (Austrian Parliament).

What it costs. A plant whose load peaks briefly pays for it all year. Operators who need flexibility need a way to find it and to pay for it.

Why the usual fix fails. Switching off equipment when the peak approaches interrupts production. A simple peak limit in the energy meter does not know what can wait.

How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From load records and the production schedule, I check which peaks can be avoided by shifting work or using storage. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you what peak shaving can bring for your customer base or your plant, and what schedules it needs.

Long superconducting cable lines need cooling loops over long distances

What happens. Superconducting cables in cities carry a lot of power in a thin line, but only if they are kept very cold along the whole length. A closed nitrogen loop with cooling stations in between has to hold the temperature over many kilometres.

What it costs. If the loop warms up, the cable loses its superconductivity and the line must be taken out. Load changes make the temperature move along the line with long delays.

Why the usual fix fails. Designing the cooling for the worst case makes the cooling plant large. Short test lengths used so far say little about long ones.

How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From the thermal design and the planned load profile, I check how the loop reacts to changes. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you whether predictive control of the long cooling loop can hold the margin with less cooling capacity, and what the model would need.

Small plants join congestion management

What happens. More small generating plants are being brought into congestion management. Grid operators will need forecasts and coordination across grid levels for many more units than before.

What it costs. Operators have to plan for many more controllable units, and the rules on compensation and on how much generation they can ask to reduce are not settled everywhere.

Why the usual fix fails. Individual commands to thousands of small plants do not scale. Forecasts per plant are poor, but forecasts for groups behind a transformer are much better.

How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. From generation, load and grid data, I check how well groups of small plants can be forecast and aggregated for congestion management. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you what forecast quality is realistic and how an aggregated command would work in your grid.

Manual grid operation cannot keep up with the grid's dynamics

What happens. Distribution operators run grids that change faster than their processes: more feed-in, more heat pumps and chargers, more switching. Many tasks are still done by hand, and a part of the staff with switching authority is nearing retirement.

What it costs. Manual processes cost time and leave the grid less well used. When experienced people leave, rules they carried in their heads go with them. New cybersecurity duties add to the load.

Why the usual fix fails. Adding staff does not fix it, since they are hard to find. Adding systems without a clear process only adds more screens.

How a fixed-price remote diagnosis checks it. I look at one process, for instance switching planning or fault handling, and its data. The fixed-price remote diagnosis tells you what could be automated with a state estimate and clear rules, and what must stay with a person.