POWER February 2022 - 17

SMART GRID
Improving Power Networks:
How Smarter Grids and a
New Generation of Electricity
Can Prevent Blackouts
Power networks today face two major challenges: aging infrastructure and complex
intermittent power flows caused by the worldwide transition from fossil-based fuels
to zero-carbon resources. With some of the world's oldest energy networks and
demand for electricity expected to increase 20% by 2030, the need to modernize
U.S. grids has never been more critical.
Frédéric Lesur
D
ue to the increasing occurrences of
extreme weather conditions, winter
and summer months are now major
tests for power networks and grid reliability.
The National Centers for Environmental
Information, part of the U.S. Department
of Commerce's National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
reported that the U.S. experienced 18
" weather/climate disaster events with
losses exceeding $1 billion each " during
the first nine months of 2021. These incidents
included the Texas freeze, Western
wildfires, several hurricanes and other severe
storms, flooding, and drought, with
many resulting in widespread blackouts.
Additionally, power networks are being
further strained as global demand for electricity
increases to meet society's changing
needs, such as supplying electric
vehicle (EV) charging, year-round air conditioning,
and constantly expanding data
centers. Let's look at the challenges and
solutions to improving power networks,
the main causes of disruption, and how
smarter power grids and new generation
of electricity can prevent blackouts.
The Challenges and Solutions to
Improving Power Networks
As we enter a new year, power networks
continue to face incredible challenges.
These include the ever-increasing risk of
the power grid's obsolescence, the inadequate
interconnection with neighboring
states and countries, an imbalance between
production and consumption, and
the lack of underground power cables.
There are various options available to
improve power networks. First, let's explore
mutualization through synchronous
February 2022 | POWER
zones: the stability of grids is a quality
of their regulation by which moderately
disturbed situations gradually return to
an equilibrium state. A large area operating
at the same frequency, all alternators
being synchronized, can absorb a local
disturbance more easily. The benefit of
pooling quantities goes beyond mutual
assistance when disturbances occur:
generation with lower costs and more security
for the provisioning of reserves. It is
also useful for better management of the
load and has significant equalizing effects
to avoid critical peaks. An attractive part
of the large neutralization is it opens the
market with greater offers and greater demand.
It can combine long-term contracts
and short-term power exchanges to meet
the increasing variability of demand.
It has very few cons. There is higher
complexity to manage due to physics on
the larger area and calculating phenomenon.
In case of blackouts, the impacted
area is wider and longer, and more difficult
to restart. The opposite position may
be found in recommending to learn to live
without power grids. It may be achieved
in an " Act locally! " way of life, based on
renewable energies and a storage capacity.
However, it is more difficult to up-scale
this option for larger purposes such as
manufacturers and industrial applications.
Building power lines underground is a significant
preventative measure to consider in
improving power networks. This can reduce
grid sensitivity due to atmospheric disturbances
such as lightning, ice, sticky snow,
and storms. Another measure to consider
is keeping a power reserve in plants. This
allows for dynamic increases in generation
that can be more strategically leveraged
with the increase of intermittent renewable
www.powermag.com
1. Smart grids help to optimize the available
resources and flexibilities in real time according
to technical, financial, and environmental
demands. Courtesy: Nexans
energies. Interconnection with neighboring
countries and use of specific power electronics
systems are other ways to improve
grid stability and power networks.
Main Causes of Blackouts
Total loss of power to an area-a blackout-is
the most severe type of power
outage. This may result from power stations
tripping and has the risk of affecting
surrounding areas. Deploying smarter
power grids and a new generation of electricity
can prevent blackouts. Let's take a
closer look at their four main causes.
The Cascade and Triggering of Transmission
Line Overloads. The " Joule effect "
occurs when a metal conductor
transmits an electrical current and its
temperature
increases. The generated
losses are roughly proportional to the
square of the current rating; so, if the current
is doubled, the losses are multiplied
by four. The temperature rise follows the
same trend, as seen in the 2003 blackout
in the Northeastern U.S. when several
transmission lines in Ohio failed suddenly.
Significant heating and damage to the
components of the power link (overhead
line or underground cable) may happen
if the transmitted intensity is too high. In
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POWER February 2022

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