Sensor Networks (Smart Dust) - Phase 2 130301122853

Innovation Funding Incentive
Annual Report
Issue 1 – 31st July 2012
IFI Projects
April 11 – March 12
For SP Distribution Ltd, SP Manweb plc and SP Transmission Ltd

IFI Annual Report 2011/12
Foreword
SP Energy Networks (SPEN) welcomes the increasing importance Ofgem

has placed on innovation through both the new RIIO (Revenue =
Incentives + Innovation + Output) TI and ED1 business regulation models
for transmission and distribution networks commencing 1st April 2013
and 2015 respectively.
During the reporting year 2011/12, we realised our ambition of

maintaining a balanced portfolio of forty IFI projects that embraced the
range of Technology Readiness Levels from concept through to trial and
demonstration, which are presented in this annual report.
Once again we have acheived significant leverage of R&D spend through

collaboration and, alongside these projects, we have progressed Low Carbon Network Funded
(LCNF) projects at both Tier 1 and 2 level. For all projects we will maintain our focus to ensure
early adoption and commercialisation, as appropriate.
SPEN has continued its strategic deployment of wide ranging IFI projects including new and
existing projects with academic and industrial partners. Of particular note are two separate
projects aimed at accurately measuring fault level from network disturbances and the
management of fault level through the development and trial of a Super Conducting Fault
Current Limiter. If both prove successful they will enable DNOs to improve network security
without exceeding fault level rating of switchgear and enable optimisation of switchgear
replacement programmes.
Keenly awaited is the opening of the world-class Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC)
at Cumbernauld, adjacent to SPEN’s existing training centre. This is a project that SPEN has been
actively championing for a number of years in recognition of the need to test and demonstrate
new technologies in a controlled and safe environment under a range of operating scenarios
prior to their deployment on the Distribution network. We anticipate this facility will be
completed by the end of 2012.
In addition we are delighted to have become a major partner in the Technology and Innovation
Centre which represents the cornerstone of the University of Strathclyde’s single-biggest
investment in its research capacity. The industry-led research aims to accelerate the pace of
research and development, attracting new jobs and inward investment and will provide
graduates with the necessary knowledge to meet our industry needs.
In a rapidly changing energy sector we continue to scan the technology horizon for innovation
and invest in appropriate research and development activities that will help to realise the low
carbon vision for the benefit of all.
Frank Mitchell
CEO, SP Energy Networks
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SP Power Systems Limited Registered Office: 1 Atlantic Quay Glasgow G2 8SP
Registered in Scotland No. 215841 Vat No. GB 659 3720 08
Contents
FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................... 2
1. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND.................................................................................... 5
1.1 Context...................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI) .............................................................................. 5
2. SP ENERGY NETWORKS STRUCTURE ................................................................................ 6
3. OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 7
3.1 IFI Overview .............................................................................................................. 7
4. SUMMARY TABLES ......................................................................................................... 8
5. ACHIEVEMENTS FOR 2011/12 ......................................................................................... 9
5.1 Development of Partnerships ..................................................................................... 9
5.2 Power Networks Demonstration Centre ..................................................................... 9
6. HIGHLIGHTS FROM 11/12 ............................................................................................. 11
6.1 Prototype Low Voltage Jumpers with Integral Circuit Breaker ................................... 11
6.2 EPRI - High Voltage Direct Current Programme Engagement...................................... 12
6.3 Vegetation Management ......................................................................................... 13
6.4 Remote Engineering Access To Pole Mounted Auto Reclosers ................................... 14
6.5 Outram Fault Level Monitor ..................................................................................... 16
APPENDIX A – EXPENDITURE BREAKDOWN OF PROJECTS BETWEEN LICENCES ....................... 18

Summary Table Notes ........................................................................................................................... 19
Cost Breakdown .................................................................................................................................... 19
Programme Management Costs ........................................................................................................... 19
Net Present Value (NPV) source ........................................................................................................... 19
Project Progress Curves ........................................................................................................................ 20
APPENDIX B – PROJECT REPORTS IFI PROJECTS ..................................................................... 22

IFI 0401 STP 2 Overhead Lines .............................................................................................................. 23
IFI 0401 STP 3 Cable Networks ............................................................................................................. 24
IFI 0401 STP 4 Substations .................................................................................................................... 25
IFI 0401 STP 5 Networks for Distributed Energy Resources ................................................................. 26
IFI 0404 - Alternative Insulating Oils – Phase 1 ..................................................................................... 27
IFI 0409 - LV Fault Location Devices...................................................................................................... 28
IFI 0507 - Sensor Networks (Smart Dust) – Phase 2.............................................................................. 29
IFI 0509 - Superconducting Fault Current Limiter ................................................................................. 31
IFI 0511 - Voltage Control ACTIV (EATL) ............................................................................................... 33
IFI 0515 - Power Network Demonstration Centre (PNDC) .................................................................... 34
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IFI 0526 - PD Monitoring of Cables (11 & 33kV) ................................................................................... 36

IFI 0607 - LV Network Automation ....................................................................................................... 38
IFI 0615 - ScottishPower Advanced Research Centre (SPARC) ............................................................. 40
IFI 0618 - Supergen 1 – FlexNet ............................................................................................................ 44
IFI 0621-2 LV Sure ................................................................................................................................. 46
IFI 0621-3 Live Alert – Energised Alert .................................................................................................. 48
IFI 0621- 4 PURL2 .................................................................................................................................. 49
IFI 0625 - Vegetation Management - ADAS .......................................................................................... 51
IFI 0701 - ENA IFI Projects ..................................................................................................................... 53
rd
IFI 0711 - 3 Party ROEP Risk Assessment ............................................................................................ 55
st
IFI 0712 - BT 21 Century Protection Solutions (BT21CN) .................................................................... 57
IFI 0713 - Wide Area Monitoring, Protection & Control (WAMPAC) for GB and IRL ............................ 59
IFI 0801 - IEC 61850 Application in SP - Transmission .......................................................................... 61
IFI 1001 – Offline Planning Tool for Dynamic Thermal Rating .............................................................. 63
IFI 1002 - Supergen HiDEF ..................................................................................................................... 65
IFI 1003 - Strategic Asset Lifecycle Value Optimisation "SALVO" ......................................................... 67
IFI 1004 - Remote Access to Pole Mounted Auto Reclosers ................................................................. 69
IFI 1005 - GIS Impedence Mapping - zMap ........................................................................................... 71
IFI 1007 – Outram Fault Level Monitor ................................................................................................. 72
IFI 1101 – EPRI....................................................................................................................................... 74
IFI 1102 – Energy Storage Project ......................................................................................................... 76
IFI 1103 – PD Monitoring in Supergrid Transformers ........................................................................... 78
IFI 1107 –Cable Identification Devices .................................................................................................. 79
IFI 1108 –ESRI Powerfactory ................................................................................................................. 80
IFI 1201 –Lynx Kelvatek LV Switch ........................................................................................................ 81
IFI 1202 – Nanodielectrics ..................................................................................................................... 82
IFI 1203 – Psymetrix ACAM Phase 1 ..................................................................................................... 83
IFI 1204 – LV Jumpers with Integral CB ................................................................................................. 84
IFI 1209 - Substation Earth Integrity Monitoring System...................................................................... 85
IFI 1210 –Transmission SSR & Harmonics ............................................................................................. 86
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1. Introduction & Background

1.1 Context
Ofgem introduced the Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI) as a mechanism to promote and
encourage network related Research & Development (R&D). The primary aim of the incentive is
to encourage the electricity network operators to apply innovation in the way they pursue the
technical development of their networks.
Ofgem recognised that innovation has a different risk/reward balance compared with a network
operators’ core business. The incentive provided by the IFI mechanism is designed to create a
risk/reward balance that is consistent with research, development and innovation. The two
main business drivers for providing this incentive at this time are the growing need to efficiently
manage the renewal of network assets and to provide connections for an increasing capacity of
renewable generation at all voltage levels. These are significant challenges that will both benefit
from innovation.
1.2 Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI)

The IFI is intended to provide funding for projects focused on the technical development of
distribution and transmission networks, to deliver value (i.e. financial, supply quality,
environmental, safety) to end consumers. IFI projects can embrace any aspect of the
distribution / transmission system asset management from design through to construction,
commissioning, operation, maintenance and decommissioning. The detail of the DNO IFI
mechanism is set out in the Special Licence Condition C3, Standard Licence Condition 51 (for the
Distribution Licences), the Electricity Transmission Licensees’ IFI mechanism is set out in the
special licence condition J5 Part 3 or special licence condition D5 part 2, and standard licence
condition B16 Part C.
With the extension of IFI to the transmission licences, agreement at the ENA R&D Working
Group was given to the creation of a common Good Practice Guide (GPG) considering IFI for
electricity distribution, transmission and gas transmission networks; Version 2 of Engineering
Recommendation G85 issued in December 07.
Page 5 of 86
2. SP Energy Networks Structure

SP Energy Networks (SPEN) is the part of ScottishPower UK Ltd, which owns and operates the
electricity transmission and distribution network of southern Scotland and the electricity
distribution network of Merseyside and North Wales. Day-to-day operation of our network,
approaching 112,000 km, is conducted by SP Energy Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of
ScottishPower Ltd. Since April 2007 ScottishPower has been part of the Iberdrola Group.
Our transmission and distribution licence assets come under three wholly owned subsidiaries:
• SP Distribution: The electricity network of 33kV and below in southern Scotland

• SP Manweb: The electricity network of 132kV and below in Merseyside and North Wales
• SP Transmission: The electricity network of 132kV and above in southern Scotland
IFI activity is co-ordinated centrally on behalf of these licences, this report relates to R&D activity
undertaken on:
• SP Distribution Ltd, referred to as SP-D in this report

• SP Manweb plc, referred to as SP-M in this report
• SP Transmission Ltd, referred to as SP-T in this report
(a) (b)
Figure 1: UK Map showing the territory of (a) SP Distribution & SP Transmission and (b) SP
Manweb
Page 6 of 86
3. Overview
3.1 IFI Overview
A total of 40 IFI projects are being reported by SP Energy Networks on behalf of the three
ScottishPower Network licence areas for the period 1st April 11 – 31st March 12.
At time of writing SPEN has a total of c.£5.5m authorised IFI projects, representing a levered
portfolio of over £35m. The projects cover a breadth of R&D providers from academia, to
consultants, to manufacturers with projects ranging in investment from £4k to £250k IFI input,
and development timescales of between 6 months and 4 years.
Our R&D activity has increased significantly since the introduction of the IFI. We have continued
to focus on leveraging our programme through collaboration with funding bodies, other network
operators or external suppliers / manufacturers. In 2011/12 every £1 of SP IFI money invested in
a project was levered by c.£5 from other sources:
R&D growth in SPEN (SP-D, SP-M and SP-T) since the introduction of the IFI
Expenditure No. Of Yearly
SP-D, SP-M and SP-T (Internal + Reported Programme
External) Projects Leverage
2004/05 (Early Start) £223k 12 c. £1.5m
2005/06 £546k 36 c. £3m
2006/07 £1,282k 41 c. £5m
2007/08 £1,793k 50 c. £7m
2008/09 £1,978k 38 c. £9m
2009/10 £1,462k 35 c. £7m
2010/11 £1,621k 27 c. £8m
2011/12 £1,975k 40 c. £11m
12.00
10.00 IFI Leverage

IFI Spend
8.00
IFI Spend £m
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12
(Early
Start)
IFI Year
Figure 2 IFI Spend
Page 7 of 86
4. Summary Tables
The following tables have been adapted from the Regulatory Instructions and Guidance
documents (RIGs).
IFI Summary - SP Distribution Ltd Licence Area 11/12

SP Distribution Ltd Network Revenue £346,000,000
IFI Allowance £1,730,000
Unused IFI Carry Forward to 2011/12 £968,400
Number of Active IFI Projects 28
Summary of benefits anticipated from IFI projects 2011/12 1
External expenditure [2011/12] on IFI projects £680,674

Internal expenditure [2011/12] on IFI projects £218,955
Total expenditure [2011/12] on IFI projects £899,629
IFI Summary - SP Manweb plc Licence Area 11/12

SP Manweb plc Distribution Network Revenue £301,270,000

IFI Summary - SP Transmission Ltd Licence Area 11/12

SP Transmission Ltd Distribution Network Revenue £207,380,000

Further detail on these tables is provided in Appendix A of this report.
1
Summary of benefits are available in Section 6 “Highlights from 11/12”
Page 8 of 86
5. Achievements for 2011/12

At the end of 2011/12 the highlights from the SPEN IFI portfolio included:
• Every IFI project undertaken by SP is taken before a panel of senior experts from across the
business. Through this process we have:
o 40 live projects
o 11 new projects were authorised during the 2011/12
o Of the 40 projects, 7 are now complete and either awaiting adoption or formal
closure
• Over £11m of leverage obtained
5.1 Development of Partnerships

The current programme consists of the following collaborative projects:
• EPSRC – 2x industry roles in Supergen programmes: Supergen 1 - Flexnet; HiDef.
• DNO specific – 25 collaborative projects with some / all UK DNOs via EA Technology, ENA or
through direct collaboration (see Appendix B for details).
• Direct university partnership – 1x ScottishPower Advanced Research Centre (SPARC) with
the University of Strathclyde.
• Capenhurst Energy Innovation Centre – A non-profit trust that over sees the management of
the centre in collaboration with ScottishPower, Electricity North West, CE Electric, Scottish &
Southern Energy and the North West Development Agency.
• Entering into our 3rd year of participation in the Electrical Power and Research Institute
which has been strategically positioned to engage with our western link HVDC project.
5.2 Power Networks Demonstration Centre
This project initially proposed and led by SPEN, was to develop the first of its kind, in the UK, a
full scale 11kV and LV prototyping network as a test-bed for active network management
techniques and other ‘high risk’ technologies.
Whilst not a technological development in itself, this project is a fundamental enabler of

technology, with significant potential to accelerate adoption of significant / radical
developments across a range of IFI projects. The centre can be used to investigate the impact of
intermittent generation and penetration of EV technologies on the LV network as well as testing
of new tools and training.
Since late 2008, SPEN have been working with collaborative partners (University of Strathclyde,
Scottish & Southern Energy and Scottish Enterprise) to develop the design.
The building of the Centre commenced in 2011 and handover of the facility to the University of
Strathclyde will occur in November 2012. The University will then finish equipment installation
with the aim of officially opening the building for business early January 2013.
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Figure 3 Artists Impression of the Demonstration Facility
Figure 4 Construction Progress March 2012
Page 10 of 86
6. Highlights from 11/12

Whilst not all benefits have a direct monitory value, we
L1
have indicated the benefits brought to SPEN in

improvements to customer service, reductions to capital L2
cost of equipment and the reduction in energy

usage/carbon emissions.
L3
6.1 Prototype Low Voltage Jumpers with Integral Circuit

Breaker N
When work is undertaken on Low Voltage (LV) busbars it

often necessitates that an outage is taken on the whole Radial LV Circuit
LV board and in most circumstances this will result in an unable to be back

fed, requires
outage of diesel
outage for the customers supplied by the circuits off the LV Circuits
generator
board. In these circumstances the DNO will energise as Energised from

adjacent
many of the LV circuits as possible via either a mobile

substations via
Interconected LV
network
generator or a back feed from an LV interconnected

substation. Unfortunately these solutions are not always
feasible and some circuits will have to remain de- Figure 5 LV Board with Fuse removed
energised during the work even when adjacent circuits
are energised as shown opposite in Figure 5.
This project is looking to develop a safe and simple

solution that will reduce the number of outages and
L1 requirement for mobile generators in the aforementioned
scenario.
L2
Based on a technical specification drawn up by operational
field staff SPEN have developed a prototype LV Jumper
that will safely energise an LV circuit by linking it to the
spill of an adjacent circuit that is energised by a back feed,
L3
as shown in Figure 6.
N
The prototype includes an integrated 200A 3-phase LV

circuit breaker enclosed in a ruggedized housing and
utilises industry standard connectors that will enable the
device to be connected securely and in a short space of
LV Jumper Box
with 200A
Circuit Breaker
time.
LV Circuits
Over the next 6-12
months SPEN working
Energised from
adjacent substations
via Interconected LV
network
alongside the
Figure 6 LV Board Feeding Radial Circuit manufacturer Ten47
expect to further
refine the design of the LV Jumper (shown in Figure 7) and
carry out the necessary safety tests. This will be followed by
live tests of the jumper in a controlled environment enabling
guidelines for its usage to be drawn up. Assuming this goes
to plan the project will be extended to include the
Figure 7 LV Jumper Applied
Page 11 of 86
widespread testing of several units in real outage scenarios.
6.2 EPRI - High Voltage Direct Current Programme Engagement
The power industry is faced with the difficulty of acquiring rights-of-way for new transmission
lines, the need to improve the reliability of the power grid, and the challenges of integrating
renewable power sources into power networks. High voltage direct current (HVDC) and flexible
ac transmission system (FACTS) technologies offer some effective schemes to meet these
demands.
SPEN is currently engaged in two significant HVDC deployments, the Western and Eastern Links.
The Western Link, which is by far the most progressed, will link Scotland and Wales with a 2GW
HVDC interconnector. The northern converter station will be located at Hunterston, adjacent to
EDF Energy’s nuclear site, with the southern convertor station planned for Deeside. The options
for an Eastern Link are currently being developed by SPEN in conjunction with Scottish Hydro
Electric Transmission Ltd (SHETL) and National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET). This link will
be around 2GW and will further increase the transfer capability between Scotland and England.
With this increasing focus on HVDC technology SPEN has been able to benefit from the research
work undertaken by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in this area.
HVDC connections perform differently to ac connections during steady-state, dynamic, and

transient conditions, and EPRI has a project studying these differences. This project will consider
the coordination between HVDC links and ac lines in parallel for the most effective utilisation of
these assets. System planning studies will be performed as a first step before considering HVDC
interconnections in the existing ac grid to assess the impacts of HVDC. There is a growing need
for systematic evaluation of the impacts of HVDC on the ac grid using the HVDC models for the
latest convertor technologies. This project will address the HVDC impact evaluation studies using
benchmark test systems and the necessary model developments. The project is coordinated
with a supplemental project on the same topic in which application studies are conducted for
the Great Britain Network for National Grid and Scottish Power.
Given EPRI’s global reach and extensive research programme SPEN has been able to significantly
leverage its research investment.
EPRI’s current year HVDC and FACTS activities include:
• Providing a technology watch newsletter with the latest developments in HVDC and
FACTS technologies
• Updating the leading reference guide for the design and operation of HVDC systems
• Resolving operational concerns of owners and operators of existing HVDC and FACTS
systems, and those considering the addition of HVDC or FACTS to their systems
• Evaluating HVDC system performance and conduct component testing
• Evaluating HVDC electrical effects such as electromagnetic interference, fields, and
corona in laboratory test settings
Page 12 of 86
• Developing conversion of ac lines to dc lines to increase transfer capability on existing

transmission corridors, including hybrid solutions where ac and dc lines share corridors
or structures
• Developing schemes for power flow management using FACTS
• Demonstrating HVDC and FACTS technology options at utility sites
6.3 Vegetation Management
Effective vegetation management is a critical component in assuring a safe and reliable

electricity supply and represents a significant maintenance requirement and associated budget
spend. Long term analysis of networks faults shows a significantly increasing trend in vegetation
related faults in the UK electrical network. Given this trend a four year project was set up to gain
an improved understanding of utility space (US) degradation, that is the physical volume
occupied by overhead lines and additional space required to ensure safe and reliable operation.
ScottishPower along with other utility companies engaged in a vegetation management project
with the aim of gaining an improved understanding of vegetation growth, in the UK, and in
particular the closure of the safety space around electrical equipment over time. As part of this
project meteorological record covering the UK for the past 40 years were analysed to create a
complete set of bioclimatic zone maps for the UK. A network of approximately 1300 sites
participated in the study and US closure in the spring and autumn of 2008, 2009 and 2010 was
measured at all sites and a substantial database created that describes the spatial variation of
vegetation growth across the UK during this period.
From the analysis of the results a national annual average change in US was determined. There
was considerable variation by electrical distribution company and therefore by geographic
region. In broad terms the project found that sites located in the warmer areas of southern
England, experienced the average highest rates of growth with the lowest observed at relatively
cooler Scottish Power Scotland sites.
Page 13 of 86
Future climate predictions from the United Kingdom Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP, 2009)
were combined with US observations to predict future growth rates in the period 2020-2080 for
a variety of climate impact scenarios. Results indicate a substantial change in bioclimatic zones
in the UK for all UKCIP scenarios. It was predicted that the high vegetation growth rates
associated with rapid US degradation that were observed in the warmer southern areas of
England, including the south coast, parts of Cornwall and Devon will extend much further north
and may reach as far as the North Midlands within the next decade or so. This indicates that
climate change could have a substantial impact on the cost of vegetation management over the
next 10 years if current levels of safety and reliability are to be maintained in a period of
increasing growth rates.
A utility company has a duty to maintain safe clearances from overhead lines and the findings
from this project can be used to help shape future vegetation management practices including
the frequency and depth of cut used in maintenance regimes.
6.4 Remote Engineering Access To Pole Mounted Auto Reclosers
SPEN has a population of Noja pole mounted auto reclosers (PMAR) that are monitored and
controlled via their SCADA system using a radio system. Limitations within the SCADA system
mean that only a small number of data points can be monitored and controlled on the Recloser
controller.
SPEN is working with Nortech to implement a system using GPRS that allows much more data to
be returned from the Noja units. This data will provide further information about both
ScottishPower’s network and the Noja units themselves.
The Noja device incorporates a protection module which can be accessed to retrieve active and
historical data relating to both protection activity and statistical metering.
Page 14 of 86
This can only be accessed via an RS232 port within the Noja Control Panel that is mounted below
the Main Tank, out with the Safety Distance, and above the Anti-climber. Consequently, there
are several benefits that can be gained from this project including:
• The Health and Safety benefit of not having to climb the pole to access PMAR
information;
• Ability to record short time interruptions (<1min);
• Current and voltage values could be taken from the Noja during a fault event and
incorporated into impedance maps for speedier fault locations; and
• Negating the need to visit each PMAR twice a year with subsequent OPEX savings.
Remote access via iHost will provide a dashboard screen showing key performance figures for
the population of Noja PMAR.
Event logs from all PMARs will be collected automatically, removing the need to drive to site, so
that there are no delays in getting data. There will be central storage of event logs and a
summary analysis of PMAR activity with the dashboard showing a league table of operations.
Page 15 of 86
6.5 Outram Fault Level Monitor
If the fault current passing through any network ever exceeds its designed fault level there is a
possibility that the switchgear will fail disruptively. This is highly undesirable, at best the failure
will necessitate the switchgear is replaced which will likely result in prolonged customer outages,
however, of even greater concern is the potential for the failure to impact upon the health and
safety of persons within the proximity of the substation.
Because of these reasons it is vital that DNOs ensure the network fault level is not exceeded. At
present this is done using established connection rules and more often through network
modelling packages such as IPSA and DigSILENT. These fairly complex models are built by
experienced engineers and can take several days to build, however, despite their complexity
every model will have some assumed parameters, particularly regarding the fault level
contribution customers have. Whilst this approach will continue to serve DNOs well, due to the
expected challenges faced by the network in the future it would be prudent to have an
alternative method, particularly one that would complement existing models.
Through existing relations with Outram

Research Ltd, SPEN discussed the possibility
of developing an existing power quality
instrument to measure / calculate fault
level from naturally occurring network
disturbances. These discussions lead to the
demonstration of a single phase low voltage
device that proved the feasibility of the
approach. Subsequently SPEN and Outram
have spent the last 18 months developing a
portable Fault Level Monitor (FLM) that is
applicable to every network voltage.
To date SPEN have deployed six FLMs on

the network and through the analysis of the results obtained the FLM firmware has been revised
several times. The results obtained are also extremely encouraging as they in the range expected
and consistently within 5-10% of the fault level result produced by the network model.
The remaining stage of the project will concentrate on the revision of the final version of the
FLMs firmware, the development of its user interface and the production of support literature. It
is also hoped that a suitable test facility can be identified to complete definitive tests on the FLM
against a known fault level.
FLMs have two immediate uses to DNOs:
• To validate and refine existing system analytical models by obtaining visibility of actual
system fault levels and contributions from customer equipment under a wide range of
real-world scenarios
• The identification of the fault level in areas of network where network modelling may be
difficult or problematic, e.g. sections of the 11kV or Low Voltage network.
The potential benefits associated with the above are as follows:
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• The Health and Safety benefits of identifying and subsequently managing fault level
issues which were previously unknown due to inaccurate or non-existent models.
• Operational benefits that are gained from the ability for optimal operation or
interconnection of the network which could be restricted due to a perceived fault level
issue.
• Financial rewards associated with an improved Regulatory Performance rectifying fault
level issues, e.g. removal of perceived fault level issues by accurate monitoring as
opposed to conventional equipment-based solutions.
• New Connection – the benefits associated with facilitating new network connections
which previously may have been problematic or financially prohibitive due to modelling,
scenario and data inaccuracies.
• Environmental benefits associated with the connection of renewable generation as
detailed above and the moth-balling of equipment ahead of its end of life due to fault
level upgrades.
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Appendix A – Expenditure Breakdown of Projects between Licences
Page 18 of 86
Summary Table Notes

During the collation of the 05/06 report we revised our methodology for NPV assessments
for IFI projects. It is noted that the figures described in the tables should be interpreted with
caution, as the figures quoted in the NPVs will only be realised upon completion of the
project, and once fully adopted into the business.
Cost Breakdown
As SP Energy Networks operate distribution and transmission licenses for the SP-D, SP-M and
SP-T areas, successful developments relating to distribution and/or transmission assets
undertaken in one part of the business will equally apply to the other. In line with this, costs
have been split against each licence based on the turnover and hence size of each network
area.
Cost Breakdown between Licence Areas

Percentage Split Percentage Split
Licence Area Annual Turnover (11/12)
Distribution Transmission
SP-Distribution £346.00 million ~60% NA
SP-Manweb £301.27 million ~40% ~15%
SP-Transmission £207.38 million NA ~85%
Projects identified as only applying to one licence, or ones that apply in favour of one, two or
all three licences have been scaled accordingly (See Table A1). This is defined when the
project inception document is developed.
Programme Management Costs

Internal costs for projects detailed in Appendix B are based on SP’s input to a project
through meetings, correspondence, trials, etc scaled by the appropriate hourly rate for an
individual’s grade.
Net Present Value (NPV) source

It is noted that IFI projects address a range of issues, and the benefits achieved, and those
accounted for in the NPV can be categorised into the following areas:
• Avoided cost – A successful development may negate the need to spend money on
network components. As an example the development of a high capacity circuit,
would avoid the need for duplicate traditional circuits for a given network
application.
• Direct savings – Successful development could result in a direct financial benefit, e.g.
through reductions in operating costs, reduced exposure to Regulatory penalties,
etc.
• Managing risk – A successful development would assist in reducing the risk profile of
the company, either through greater understanding of causes / effects of actions on,
or as a result of, network operation (equipment failure, etc.)
• Strategic – These projects impact on the longevity of the network, either through
external influences such as changes in load / generation patterns, the impact of
climate change or even skills / resources.
NB. Whilst an NPV calculation if possible for any project, and across any of these areas, it is
recognised that as the assessment looks further to the future (as is the case for strategic
projects), the benefits are more susceptible to risk, more uncertain, and consequently less
robust.
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As of 31st March 2012 the status of the 40 projects reported as well as those that have
stopped is detailed below.
IFI Project Status

No. Phase Definition External Cost
None Direct (small
Agreeing scope /
Proposals in external £ associated
6 objectives, setting up
development with management
contracts, etc.
cost)
Yes (if milestones
27 Live projects Projects in progress
have been met)
Projects which have
2 Completed projects completed their trial Yes
phase
This breakdown accounts for reasons why not all projects have significant external spend.
Project Progress Curves

Expenditure profiles are described below to give an appreciation of costs that will be
required prior to a project realising a stated benefit through the development cycle. Figure
A1 shows a hypothetical expenditure profile for a development project. Expenditure is
defined as:
• External – Money paid to 3rd parties for work (consultancy, purchase of equipment,
monitoring, etc)
• Internal – SP Energy Networks’ staff time on eligible IFI development work
multiplied by the appropriate hourly rate. The success of a project is highly
dependent on the levels of internal support a project is given.
• Overall investment - The total cost of a project (predominantly external cost) of
which the company is accessing through collaborative or external funding leverage.
This is the combined investment from SP Energy Networks and other collaborative
partners.
In line with sound project management, all IFI projects have been staged into milestones, i.e.
the R&D provider will only receive payment upon successful completion of a defined stage.
Project Research & Advanced Field Testing Adoption

Conception Development Development End of IFI
Expenditure
Overall
£ Investment
External
Internal
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Time
Figure A1: Example Expenditure Profile for an IFI Project
Page 20 of 86
Table A1 is ordered chronologically.
Table A1: Overview of 11/12 projects showing application between licences
Page 21 of 86
Appendix B – Project Reports IFI Projects

April 11 – March 12
Page 22 of 86
Project Title IFI 0401 STP 2 Overhead Lines
Description of project A DNO research and development collaboration hosted by EA Technology
Internal £15,623 Expenditure in Internal £43,178

Expenditure for 11/12
External £50,526 previous (IFI) External £275,028
financial year
Total £66,149 financial years Total £318,206
Project Cost Internal £10,000

Projected 12/13
(Collaborative + external £288,650 External £50,000
costs
+ [DNO]) Total £60,000
The Module 2 programme for budget year 2011/12 aimed to improve

Technological area and /
operational performance, maximise potential benefits, improve financial
or issue addressed by
performance, and minimise risk associated with overhead lines. A full list of
project
projects and deliverables are available from SPEN or EA Technology
Project Benefits Overall Project

Project Residual Risk
Rating Score
Type(s) of innovation
Incremental
involved
16 9 25
Expected Benefits of If successful projects in this Module may increase the performance and
Project reliability of cable networks
Expected Timescale to Range 1-5 years - Duration of benefit Range 3-5 years -
adoption dependent on project once achieved dependent on project
Project NPV = (PV

Range 49-95% - dependent
Probability of Success Benefits – PV Costs) x £42,652
on project
Probability of Success
Collectively, the 11/12 work programme demonstrates the development of

Potential for achieving innovative products, processes and techniques that improve the management
expected benefits of overhead lines. A full list of projects and deliverables are available from SPEN
or EA Technology
Only a small number of projects or project stages started in the Module during
Project Progress to
11/12 have been completed since the majority are multi-stage projects that
March 12
span more than one year
Collaborative Partners Other DNOs
R&D Providers EA Technology
Page 23 of 86
Project Title IFI 0401 STP 3 Cable Networks

financial year

Projected 12/13
costs
+ [DNO]) Total £70,000

performance, and minimise risk associated with cable networks. A full list of
project

Rating Score
Incremental
involved
14 8 22
Project reliability of cable networks
Project NPV = (PV

on project

expected benefits of cable Networks. A full list of projects and deliverables are available from
SPEN or EA Technology
Project Progress to
March 12
Page 24 of 86
Project Title IFI 0401 STP 4 Substations

financial year

Projected 12/13
costs
+ [DNO]) Total £50,000

performance, and minimise risk associated with substations. A full list of
project

Rating Score
Incremental
involved
16.5 9.5 26.0
Project reliability of substations
Project NPV = (PV

on project

expected benefits of substations. A full list of projects and deliverables are available from SPEN or
EA Technology
Project Progress to
March 12
Page 25 of 86
Project Title IFI 0401 STP 5 Networks for Distributed Energy Resources

financial year

Projected 12/13
costs
+ [DNO]) Total £60,000
Technological area and / operational performance, maximise potential benefits, improve financial
or issue addressed by performance, and minimise risk associated with networks for distributed energy
project resources. A full list of projects and deliverables are available from SPEN or EA
Technology

Rating Score
Incremental
involved
13.5 8.5 22.0
Project reliability of substations
Project NPV = (PV

on project

expected benefits of networks for distributed energy resources. A full list of projects and
deliverables are available from SPEN or EA Technology
Project Progress to
March 12
Page 26 of 86
Project Title IFI 0404 - Alternative Insulating Oils – Phase 1

Applied research programme consisting of a series of investigations designed to make
Description of project a thorough evaluation of the electrical/ageing properties of alternative fluids for use
in both aged power transformers and new plant.
Expenditure for
External £23,519 previous (IFI) financial External £77,668
financial year
Total £34,932 years Total £97,664
Project Cost Internal £0
Projected 12/13 costs
(Collaborative + £142,290 External £0
for SPEN
external + SPEN) Total £0
Technological area Evaluation of the Characteristics of Alternative Fluids is being undertaken to access
and / or issue the relative merits for Retro-Filling Power Transformers and filling New Transformers
addressed by project with alternative fluids have over using standard mineral oils.
Technological
Incremental Significant Radical
Type(s) of innovation substitution
involved
No No Yes No
• Reduced environmental risk associated with oil/fluid spills and fires.

Expected Benefits of • Potential to up-rate transformers at strategic sites.
Project • Opportunity to improve SPEN credibility with SEPA and other governing bodies
and reputation with regards environmental awareness.
Expected Timescale Duration of benefit
4 years 20 years
to adoption once achieved
TRL Development (Start – Current)
Probability of Success 50% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
(Present Benefits x Probability of Success) – Present

Project NPV £98,922
Costs
The output of the project indicates that differences in electrical strength between
ester liquids and mineral oil are clearly shown in non-uniform electric fields. The
observation that the lightning impulse and AC strengths of ester liquids are
comparable with the mineral oil in a quasi-uniform field certainly moves the
application of ester liquids in large power transformers a step forward. It implies that
the designed operation electric stresses and therefore the basic size and configuration
of an ester-filled transformer can be similar to that of a mineral oil filled unit.
Nevertheless, additional considerations should be given to ester-filled power
Project Progress
transformers. First, since streamers in the ester liquids, once incepted, propagate
March 12
faster and further, the avoidance of streamer/discharge inception is more important
for design and construction of an ester-filled power transformer so as to avoid
breakdown, particularly under the factory test stresses; second, to compensate for
the lower breakdown strength of the ester liquids in a large divergent field gap,
additional pressboard barriers (in a direction perpendicular to the field) may be
required to partition large oil gaps in an ester-filled power transformer.
30 journal and conference papers have been published out of the research project
‘Applications of Alternative Oils in Large Power Transformers’.
This project has given confidence in the deployment of ester based oils. SPEN has
Potential for used Midel in 33kV transformers and the work undertaken in this project has
achieving expected reinforced SPEN’s understanding that alternative fluids can be used in large power
benefits transformers, as long as it is considered at the design stage due to the difference in
clearance, insulation and cooling requirements.
Collaborative
National Grid, EDF Energy, Areva T&D, TJH2B, M&I Materials, EPSRC, TJH2B
Partners
R&D Provider University of Manchester
Page 27 of 86
Project Title IFI 0409 - LV Fault Location Devices

Description of A device for use on the Low Voltage networks to capture transient fault information
project and correlate to an associated fault location.
Internal £ 14,075 Internal £53,729
Expenditure for Expenditure in previous
External £ 12,186 External £101,439
financial year (IFI) financial years
Total £ 26,261 Total £155,168
Projected 12/13 costs for
SP-EN
external + SP-EN) Total £0
Technological area
The device is being developed preliminary for transient/intermittent LV cable fault
and / or issue
location.
addressed by project
Technological
involved
Yes No No No
Preliminary use of the device for fault location on persistent LV faults is expected to:
• Reduce the number of repeated fuse replacements
Expected Benefits of
• Minimise the number of joint holes
Project
• Remove the fault from the system in a shorter timescale than traditional ‘cut-and-
test’ methods
Typically 8-10 years

Expected Timescale Duration of benefit once
1 Year depending on technology
to adoption achieved
development
Probability of
50% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Success
Project NPV (Present Benefits x Probability of Success) – Present Costs £349,240
Project Progress The final stage of the project has now been completed with the units being rolled out
March 12 into the business
Potential for
achieving expected This project has now closed
benefits
Collaborative
Uk PowerNetworks, Electricity North West
Partners
R&D Providers Kehui (UK) Ltd, Nortech
Page 28 of 86
Project Title IFI 0507 - Sensor Networks (Smart Dust) – Phase 2

“Smartdust” is a concept developed by the University of California that is based on a
self-configuring wireless sensor network, capable of transmitting low bandwidth
information in a series of short hops. Data acquired and transmitted from sensors is
relayed through a gateway for data interpretation. ScottishPower led a feasibility
Description of study into the use of this technology for detecting the passage of fault currents on
project 11kV overhead line networks.
Following on from this work, a collaborative project has been scoped between EDF-
Energy, Central Networks and SPEN to develop a product based on this principle for
the remote signalling of fault passage indication on OH networks.
Internal £12,415 Internal £77,907

External £15,186 External £192,098
Total £27,600 Total £270,005
Phase 1 = £16k Projected 12/13 costs for
(Collaborative + External £19,000
Phase 2 = £191k SPEN
external + SPEN) Total £34,000
A cheap and reliable method of collection of fault passage indication data a
centralised location for Overhead Line Faults would significantly reduce the time
required to resolve faults on the network and consequently reduce CML associated
penalties. This technology would be especially suited to transitory fault location.
Significant analysis has been undertaken on the deployment characteristics of

GSM/GPRS Fault Passage Indicators Vs Radio communicating sensors, using SP-D fault
histories. The analysis considering the relationship between sensor cost, deployment
Technological area
penetration and improvement to CML figures. The key conclusion is that a cheap, low
and / or issue
power semi-mesh radio based system:
• Allows a much higher percentage of locations of be monitored economically
than any other option, across all price points and time savings
• Offers SP a much higher NPV than any other option
Owing to these factors, a significantly higher percentage of network can be monitored

(from 10% for GSM devices to above 70% coverage for radio sensors), increasing the
likelihood that they will be targeting faults (rather than solely focussing on worst
performing circuits).
Technological
involved
No No No Yes
Sensor Networks implemented as a method of fault passage indication (FPI) could

Expected Benefits of have an enormous effect on how faults on the overhead network are located. They
Project could have a huge impact on CI/CML figures as the technology would be effectively
pin pointing faults on the network. This results in a significant financial saving

5 Years 10 Years

Page 29 of 86

Project NPV £554.5k
Costs
Progress in 2011/2012:
Phase B has now started and final adjustments are being made to the devices to
enable the construction of field ready trial devices.
Project Progress
March 12
There have been some technical difficulties adapting the prototype lab part of the
project into a device that can be trialled on the DNO’s networks. This will hopefully be
rectified Q3 of 2012 to enable a field trial early 2013.
This new approach will allow control engineer’s to identify the location of a fault more
quickly than is presently possible and hence rapidly deduce the best supply
restoration strategy. It will also allow linesmen to be sent directly to the source of the
Potential for
fault to identify and fix the problem. Whilst the overall effect should be a reduction in
achieving expected
Customer-Minutes-Lost for permanent faults, it will more importantly be able to
benefits
capture the source of transient fault activity that can cause multiple supply
interruptions. In the longer term, this system can become duplex, allowing control
commands to be sent to specific wFPI locations.
Collaborative
Central Networks
Partners
R&D Providers Willow, E.ON Power Technology
Page 30 of 86
Project Title IFI 0509 - Superconducting Fault Current Limiter
This project aims to design, develop and trial three 12kV Superconducting Fault
Description of project
Current Limiting (SFCL) devices on three different UK networks.
Total £85,190 Total £430,395
(Collaborative + £2,345,967 External £12,000
SPEN
The development of a non-linear ‘high-temperature’ superconducting ceramic in
series with a circuit breaker for the clamping and clearance of fault energy.
When the material is operated at below its critical temperature it loses all electrical
resistance, thereby allowing load current to flow with negligible losses. Either the
increased current density caused by fault current, or the loss of cooling medium
(liquid nitrogen) causes the temperature of the superconducting material to rise and it
reverts to a normal resistive state.
Technological area
and / or issue Being a solid state device, the SFCL has been proven to operate in a few milliseconds,
addressed by project after which the impedance remains high until the fault is cleared by conventional
means (protection operated circuit breakers, fuses, etc.). The SFCL’s operation is
sufficiently fast to ensure that the first peak of the fault current is limited. The
subsequent limited current can be set to suit a specific application.
Three devices (one per DNO) will be constructed and installed covering a range of
applications: transformer tails, bus section, interconnected network connection. The
successful completion of this project is likely to pave the way for higher voltage
devices.
Technological
Type(s) of innovation Incremental Significant Radical
substitution
involved
No Yes No No
To develop, understand and address the issues associated with the connection of an
11kV fault current limiting device to the network.
Expected Benefits of Successful trials will result in the development of commercially available devices that
Project are capable of clamping fault levels to within network design limits. Once proven, this
will open up another option for tackling network fault level, potentially providing an
alternative to network reinforcement.

3 years 20 years
to Adoption achieved
£-267,191
(Present Benefits x Probability of Success) – Project NPV is negative due to the
Project NPV
Present Costs low TRL / high costs upon
commencement
Page 31 of 86
Project Progress Work has now been carried out at Ainsworth Lane to install the FCL. The energisation
March 12 date is now going to be August 2012
Potential for
Learning from this project will be able to help SPEN make strategic decisions on the
achieving expected
future of fault level management
benefits
Collaborative
Electricity North West, CE Electric UK, Applied Superconductor Ltd
Partners
R&D Providers Applied Superconductor Ltd
Page 32 of 86
Project Title IFI 0511 - Voltage Control ACTIV (EATL)
This project is to investigate active voltage control to increase the efficiency of the
network and facilitate the connection of distributed generation. More specifically
it is to undertake field trials of the Fundamentals SuperTAPP n+ automatic voltage
control (AVC) relay and develop associated modelling criteria for network planners.
Expenditure for financial External £996 Expenditure in previous
External £97,944
year (IFI) financial years
Total £14,405 Total £138,013
Projected 12/13 costs for External £0
(Collaborative + external £254,206
SPEN
+ SPEN) Total £0

It is proposed that this relay could provide a viable alternative for voltage control
across SP-M / SP-D in areas where the ratios of generation to load is high.
project
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes No No No
• Enabling the connection of distributed generation using a simple solution
which requires minimal network modification;
• Improving the voltage profile of supply;
• Reducing the requirement for network extensions or reinforcement and
Project
increasing the capacity for the connection of distributed generation; and
• Reducing the risk of voltage being outside statutory limits and thus damaging
equipment and injuring personnel.
Expected Timescale to Duration of benefit once
<2 Years 10 Years
adoption achieved

Costs
Project Progress March

This project has now closed
12
Potential for achieving

This project has now closed
expected benefits
Collaborative Partners Central Networks, Scottish & Southern Energy, Electricity North West
R&D Providers EATL, Fundamentals
Page 33 of 86
Project Title IFI 0515 - Power Network Demonstration Centre (PNDC)

Development of a full scale 11kV and LV prototyping network as a test-bed / proving
ground for active network management techniques and other ‘high risk’ technologies.
Description of
Whilst not a technological development in itself, this project is a fundamental enabler
project
of technology, with significant potential to accelerate adoption of significant / radical
developments across a range of IFI projects.
Expenditure for
financial year
(Collaborative + £7,200,000 External £250,000
for SPEN
In partnership with collaborators, this project aims to:
• Provide a demonstration network to allow the testing of new technologies on a
‘real’ network
• Offer a real network that will incorporate 11kV and low voltage equipment,
containing real loads, real generation and test real technologies
• Create a facility which will be open to Academia, R&D Establishments,
Manufacturers, and Network Operators
Technological area The vision is to create a physical scale model that can represent different urban,
and / or issue suburban and rural electrical networks. The proposed system will incorporate real
addressed by project network components: cables, overhead lines, switchgear, transformers, protection
and control equipment, in order to ensure it is both representative and credible to the
real thing. Real Time Digital Simulators (RTDSs) will be used in parallel to model an
underlying, more comprehensive network, effectively expanding the scale of the
system.
Technologies coming more prominently into play over the next 15 years, e.g. micro-
generation, storage, fault current limiters, etc., will be included on the test network so
as to test their effect, and vice-versa, on both marine and distribution systems.
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Benefits to DNOs from such a facility include:

Safety – A test network with dedicated staff will offer a facility to train staff in the
operation of a more complicated network. Specific what-if scenario courses can be
run through repeatable simulation, in the same manner as flight simulators are used
to train pilots.
Risk mitigation – A real time simulator, with likely penetrations of high volume DG
Project
and microGen will indicate the technologies that will need to be developed in order to
manage the increased risk this might pose to the network and/or our customers.
Acceleration of trials / increased adoption rate – The ability to operate the whole
network through a vast range of loading conditions in a short period of time, will lead
to the end of long duration (12-24mth) network trials of new technologies.

1 Years 20 Years

Probability of
25% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Success
Page 34 of 86
Activity Apr 2011 - March 2012

• The main building is completed. Work on the network has commenced.
• Initial research Agenda completed, three projects are now underway.
• One Director has been appointed as well as one full-time research manager.
Project Progress • Value proposition and growth plan has been proposed to the board.
March 12
Timescales for completion
• Handover of the facility to the University will occur in November 2012.
The University will then finish equipment installation with the aim of
officially opening the building for business early January 2013.
Facility – Operation and SP role

Overall governance will be carried run by the PNDC Directors, Operational
and Research (UoS staff).
The Core Research Programme, will be planned and approved by the PNDC
board which comprises of the PNDC directors, UoS finance director and Tier 1
members.
Potential for
achieving expected There are three classes of membership: Founder Tier 1, Tier 1 and Tier 2,
benefits each having different voting rights on the PNDC board.
For SPEN to get maximum value out of the PNDC we will be seeking to use
our place on the PNDC board to our maximum advantage in guiding the PNDC
core programme to benefit our IFI programme.
We also anticipate that SPEN will have various projects that will require the use of the
Centre to reduce their time to adoption within SP.
Collaborative
Scottish & Southern Energy, Scottish Enterprise and University of Strathclyde
Partners
R&D Providers See Collaborative Partners
Page 35 of 86
Project Title IFI 0526 - PD Monitoring of Cables (11 & 33kV)

Partial discharge (PD) monitoring technology is a tool often used for identifying HV cable
sections that are at risk of failing in the near future. There are two distinct methods of
testing for PD:
• Long term monitoring to identify the degradation of the cable which signals the
increase in risk of failure; and
• PD mapping which pinpoints the location of any discharge along the route of the
Description of
cable.
project
Developing the technology to apply these methods gives a network operator the
evidence required to assist in targeting investment / cable replacement, with a net
improvement in network performance.
This project will develop a portable PD monitoring product that can be moved around
the network, as tool in the prioritisation in cable replacement.
Total £69,359 Total £92,676
Internal £5,000
Project Cost
(Collaborative + £160,000 External £13,000
SPEN
external + SPEN)
Total £47,650
This project will develop partial discharge monitoring hardware which will initially be
tested on the SP 11kV network with the following aims:
• To develop a suitable portable monitoring solution with the ability to identify any
cable sections which are emitting a level of discharge, which could lead to faults in
the short term. The portable monitor will allow SP to test for a period of a few
minutes to many weeks.
Technological area
• Following initial testing in 10 primary substations, partial discharge mapping of
and / or issue
those cable sections, which are registering the highest level of discharge, will be
addressed by
undertaken.
project
• Based on the PD maps obtained, any areas of concentrated PD activity, which are
identified as critical, will be subject to review and selected cable sections will be
replaced. The cable/joints removed will then be tested to validate PD test results.
It is planned that the test results will be collated in a database, which, in conjunction
with results from the testing carried out by other UK DNOs, will allow for advancements
in the knowledge rules for future PD testing technology.
Technological
Type(s) of Incremental Significant Radical
substitution
innovation
involved No Yes No No
• Developing PD monitoring techniques and understanding of PD activity with respect
to cable degradation will assist with cable replacement decision-making. It will also
Expected Benefits
aid justification and prioritising of capital spend.
of Project
• Anticipated key benefits will be in the area of CML and CI improvements and cost
savings through targeted cable section replacement programmes.
Expected
Duration of benefit
Timescale to 1-2 Years 5 Years
once achieved
adoption
Probability of
50% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Success
Page 36 of 86

Costs
Work is been carried out to analyse the top 20 worst performing circuits in SPM and SPD
Project Progress
for faulted cable section so that a more targeted application of cable monitoring can be
March 12
carried out.
Having correctly verified sources of PD in cable and identified cables with PD in the area
of concern, the next stage is to monitor the top 20 most problematic circuits in both
Potential for
SPM and SPD.
achieving expected
benefits
If these cable sections are found to have high levels of PD it is planned to identify
location of PD section, expose cable section and replace with healthy cable.
Collaborative
N/A
Partners
R&D Providers HVPD (Formally IPEC HV)
Page 37 of 86
Project Title IFI 0607 - LV Network Automation
The aim of a Low Voltage Automation (LVA) project is to provide a trial system on
Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN’s) LV network, which will prove the benefits of
implementing a larger scale LVA system across the LV networks. The trial system will
Description of consist of one LVA CCU (modified old CCU) and one phase LVA switch.
project It is two major parts that will be validated in the project. The first one is the
communication from the control point to the LVA switch. The communication
technique will be the Power Line Communication (PLC). The second part is the
mechanical behaviour and the control of the Magnetic vacuum Switch from EPS.

External £186 External £205,950
Total £22,451 Total £359,308
Internal £15,000
Project Cost
SP-EN
external + SP-EN)
Total £110,000
The Low Voltage networks contribute ~11% CI and ~15.5% CML between the SP-D /
SP-M networks (taken from 2003/04 NaFIRs report).
Technological area • Both proposals aim to produce, install and test prototype systems on a trial
and / or issue network, providing a proof of concept and evaluating performance of the
addressed by project installation on the LV distribution network.
• Application will be to focus on high customer density, worst performing LV
circuits.
Technological
involved
No Yes No No
Application of the technology should provide the following benefits:

• Reduction of CMLs on the LV network
• Increased asset life of circuit elements by the reduction of both fault currents and
stresses during fault location
Project
• Reduced cost and time of fault location through rapid identification of faults
location
• Elimination of repeated intermittent faults

3 Years 10 Years
Probability of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
50%
Success

Project NPV £526,7k
Costs
Page 38 of 86
Due to problems with the supplier Radius, this project has been delayed. Work has
continued with the switching device through EPS.
Project Progress
March 12
A production run of 9 units have been manufactured and are awaiting installation on
the network on a trial basis.
Having proved the LVA could perform in this environment, coupled with the control
Potential for
and network behaviour data capability, we have now embarked on a continuation IFI
achieving expected
project to further develop this prototype into a final product that will enable the
benefits
Smart Grid concept.
Collaborative
None
Partners
R&D Providers RADIUS
Page 39 of 86
Project Title IFI 0615 - ScottishPower Advanced Research Centre (SPARC)
Three workstreams have been proposed:

• Asset Engineering: Field based activities, concentrating on the technologies used
to gather and interpret data then control and manage individual assets.
• Asset Strategy: Office, desktop, PC based analytical activities including the
analysis of data, concentrating on underlying trends of asset populations (from
Description of asset ageing to network performance).
project • System Development: Forward looking network design activities considering the
connectivity between the assets. It should consider both the medium term (5
years) and longer-term trends (>10 years), which will affect the design of the
network (e.g. load, generation, standards, regulations, Ofgem
incentives/penalties).
A number of related projects will be developed within each workstream.

Total £199,136 Total £511,750
SP-EN
external + SP-EN) Total £170,000
• Asset Engineering research stream focuses on methods and technologies that

enable better use of individual assets.
Technological area
• Asset Strategy research stream focuses on methods and tools that enable better
and / or issue
management of populations of assets.
• System Development research stream focuses on analytical techniques that
provide SP with better capability to plan and design the power system.
Project Benefits Project Residual Overall Project

Type(s) of innovation Rating Risk Score
Significant
involved
18 1 17
Research activities will seek to realise business benefits across a range of areas
Expected Benefits of including system performance, OPEX and CAPEX. Key areas have been identified in
Project the SPARC proposal, which are being used to form the basis of a more comprehensive
programme of deliverable projects.

3 Years 10 Years
Probability of
Varies per project 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Success
TBC
(Present Benefits x Probability of
Project NPV In development for the core projects in each
Success) – Present Costs
workstream
Page 40 of 86
‘Investment Strategy’ Theme: Automated analysis of SCADA data and digital fault
records for analysis of power system protection performance
• Develop, implement and test a prototype Post-Fault Protection Performance
Analysis Suite:
1. The prototype is currently within the final testing stage with testing
conducted on an ongoing basis. The storms of January 2012 have become the
final case studies and the preliminary results produced by the prototype are
currently available for validation.
2. Updates carried out to web-front end to improve performance and carry out
general view improvements.
3. Writing and drafting of journal paper for submission in March/April 2012.
‘Investment Strategy’ Theme: Smart Power Network Asset Management Strategies
and Tools
• Develop a method to optimise targeting of investment for asset replacement over
a given period of time.
1. Investigated existing approach to asset investment planning, including
identification of constraints.
2. Investigated Markov Chain asset deterioration modelling technique.
3. Investigated optimization techniques for application to investment planning.
Project Progress
4. Selected, applied and evaluated suitable optimisation technique to specified
March 12
assets.
5. Developed and tested ‘proof of concept’ application of selected optimisation
approach for asset investment planning. This involves development of
spreadsheet tools to test the ‘proof of concept’.
‘System Development’ Theme: Optimal Distribution Network Architectures
• Develop algorithm and tool for network reconfiguration for loss and reliability
optimisation prototype:
1. Produced a document detailing the reconfiguration arrangements output by

the loss minimisation algorithm. This was sent to Geoff Murphy to obtain
feedback from network planners on how closely this matches existing
running arrangements and how practically feasible these switching
arrangements would be to implement.
2. Developed a software user interface by using QT. (QT is a open source gui
tool).
3. Developed a report function which can generate a report of the
optimization results.
4. Developed reliability analysis function using FMEA method and optimised
for CI and CML analysis.
Page 41 of 86
‘Asset Technology’ Theme: PD Diagnostics in MV Cables

Develop firmware and hardware for double sided PD monitoring system and signal
processing algorithms:
1. Firmware developed for the double sided PD monitoring system previously
developed has been improved to increase the accuracy of PD location and
has been verified in laboratory tests. Also, additional circuitry was
incorporated in the double-ended system to provide immunity to external
interferences so that the system can be installed in harsh environments.
2. EMD and SGWT based de-noising algorithms has been developed using novel
thresholding methods. These algorithms were tested with analytical and on-
site data. Accuracy of these methods has been compared with existing de-
noising methods in terms of PD magnitude and PD location accuracies and
the results are encouraging.
Additional (non-PhD) research projects:
Project Progress Anglesey PV Penetration Study:
March 12
• The study established a generic methodology for assessing threshold levels for PV
generating capacity connecting to the LV network, indicating where voltage
quality and phase imbalance issues become problematic for the LV network. The
study involved:
1. The development of a methodology for modelling the PV system and
analysing the voltage profile along the feeder based on limited measuring
data (phase connection, PV output, customer consumption).
2. The development of a network case study to assess the voltage level along a
feeder, using DIgSILENT PowerFactory software.
3. The development of an ‘easy to use’ voltage assessment tool in MS-Excel
(based on a simplified model derived from the observations made from the
more sophisticated network study).
4. A final report detailing the approach taken to the network modelling,
simulations (including assumptions) and PV penetration assessment tool
development.
Page 42 of 86
• The ‘Automated analysis of SCADA data and digital fault records for analysis of
power system protection performance’ PhD project of the Investment Strategy
theme is expected to deliver significant enhancements to the PEDA system
developed from previous research conducted by the University of Strathclyde in
collaboration with SPEN protection engineers. Following discussions with SPEN
and Iberdrola, the focus of this work changed from that originally defined to
ensure that the proposed system leverages the network and protection scheme
information now available from the newly developed ‘Protection Database’. The
use of accurate representations of network and scheme connectivity will
significantly improve the reliability and accuracy of the protection assessment
output delivered and offer valuable decision support to protection engineers.
• The ‘Smart Power Network Asset Management Strategies and Tools’ PhD project
of the Investment Strategy theme will develop a methodology involving asset
deterioration modelling and optimisation techniques to enable asset managers to
establish desirable optima balancing of asset health, risk and investment,
providing a more robust scientific basis for justifying asset investment. In addition
to optimizing the level of investment required to manage risk satisfactorily, the
methodology will also attempt to identify which assets provide the best return on
investment, in terms of risk management.
• The ‘Optimal Distribution Network Architectures’ PhD project of the System
Development theme is expected to deliver a method of minimising network losses
Potential for
by actively managing power flow through network reconfiguration within
achieving expected
operational, planning and design timescales. The research will search for an
benefits
optimal solution that respects multiple objectives, i.e. the need to minimise losses
without compromising reliability, while respecting network constraints, e.g. fault
levels. This will allow SPEN to implement operationally ‘smarter’ and more cost
effective solutions to minimise active power losses as an alternative to costly
network reinforcement.
• The ‘PD Diagnostics in MV Cables’ PhD project of the Asset Technology theme is
expected to deliver a cost effective method of detecting partial discharge present
in medium voltage cables. This phenomenon is responsible for the degradation of
cable insulation and ultimately failure. Using existing protection CTs to also
perform a secondary function as PD cable sensors affords asset managers with an
unprecedented level of cable PD monitoring capability across the network,
without the need to develop or install dedicated PD cable sensors. It is expected
that this PhD will prove this concept while further work will be required to assess
the robustness and commercialisation prospects of this approach.
• Key SPEN personnel are engaged at technical and strategic levels though regular
project meetings and SPARC strategy meetings to ensure that research is
progresses along the TRL development scale towards deployment within the
organisation. In addition, a key function of these strategy meetings (involving all
SPARC personnel, and held bi-annually) is to ensure that the pipeline of
prospective research projects is maintained and that they remain relevant to the
strategic objectives of SPEN.
Collaborative
N/A
Partners
R&D Providers University of Strathclyde
Page 43 of 86
Project Title IFI 0618 - Supergen 1 – FlexNet
FlexNet is a four-year EPSRC funded programme that takes forward the process of
preparing electricity networks for a low carbon future and builds on an initial
programme of works, FutureNet that is nearing completion.
Description of The programme recognises the interdependence of many factors in achieving change
project through its integration of the work of internationally recognised researchers from
disciplines such as social psychology, economics, power systems analysis, power
systems technology and public policy and the long-term, radical nature of the changes
needed and is not dependant on any particular form of generation

Total £29,448 Total £87,214
Internal £0
Project Cost
(Collaborative + £7.4m External £0
SP-EN
external + SP-EN)
Total £0
FlexNet's intention is to put in place a substantial body of work that will build on the
achievements of FutureNet and lay out the major steps, technical, economic, market
design, public acceptance and others, that will lead to flexible networks, including
starting to showcase these so that they can be taken up by the commercial sector,
Government and Regulators for practical implementation.
Technological area
and / or issue Some of the key issues to be addressed by the programme include:
addressed by How can we judge the degree of flexibility needed?
project How can flexibility be achieved?
How much flexibility should come from primary plant giving margin and how much from
secondary plant giving enhanced controllability?
What constrains or encourages flexibility, what technologies are acceptable and what
economic frameworks and public policies provide flexibility at the least overall long-
term cost?
Type(s) of Rating Risk Score
Radical
innovation involved
7.2 -2 9.2
Understanding of flexible network requirements able to cost-effectively deal with a
wide range of possible futures
Develop networks that can 'think' for themselves
Expected Benefits
Engagement with stakeholders in progressing the research ideas toward deployment
of Project
Research that forms the basis of policy advice
Inputs to the UK government's Energy Review, the UKERC assessment of Intermittency,
evidence to select committees of parliament and submissions to OFGEM consultations.
2012 onwards 20 Years
Probability of
25% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Success
Project NPV (Present Benefits – Present Costs) x Probability of Success £2M
Page 44 of 86
The project has completed its 4-year programme (plus an extension period to close out
a small number of the PhD projects). All work streams essentially completed their
programme of work. As with any large R&D project, some task were modified in the
light of results that emerged including the termination of unpromising avenues of
Project Progress research and the refocusing onto others. Conclusions have been drawn in all areas and
March 12 the work written up for academic use and presented and demonstrated for research
users. The training programme completed a series of discipline crossing training courses
and industrial placements undertaken for researchers. The annual report to RCUK gives
a more detailed account of progress and outcomes. Many outcomes are written up at
www.supergen-networks.org.uk
The breadth of FlexNet gives confidence that several of its activities will have enduring
Potential for benefits. All the research partners have strong relationships with the DNOs/TSOs
achieving expected through which to pursue the ideas to higher TRLs and make them part of the network
benefits planning option set of the future. The ideas will also be pursued with
equipment/software vendors and be subject of further research.
Collaborative EPSRC, National Grid, Scottish and Southern Energy, Central Networks, EDF Energy
Partners Networks, SP Energy Networks and CE Electric UK
University of Bath, University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge, Cardiff
R&D Providers University, University of Durham, University of Edinburgh, University of Exeter,
University of Manchester, University of Strathclyde and Imperial College London.
Page 45 of 86
Project Title IFI 0621-2 LV Sure

The development of LV Sure will take the SignalSure concept of circuit restoration and
consider whether it could be applied to low voltage distribution networks. The
project’s objectives are to:
• Produce functional specification, detailed product development project plan &
test plan for the LVSure system
Description of project • Production of a prototype LVSure System and laboratory testing of the system
• Installation and testing of prototype on a representative test circuit
• Monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the performance of the trial system
against functional specification
• Installation and demonstration of a number of prototypes on a selection of LV
Networks
Internal £7,419 Expenditure in Internal £0
Expenditure for
External £12,556 previous (IFI) financial External £0
financial year
Total £19,974 years Total £0
Internal £4,000
Projected 2012/13
Project Cost £260,980 External £26,380
costs for SPEN
Total £30,380
The LVSure system comprises a source breaker, the Intelligent Fuse Unit (IFU); plus a
number of mechanical isolating switches, or Intelligent Link Units (ILUs) installed at
strategic positions along the LV circuit.
Isolation of the faulted section and restoration of supply to un-faulted sections of the
circuit is fully automated and does not require communication between the devices
which comprise the LVSure system.
Technological area When a fault occurs on the LV network the IFU disconnects supply to the entire
and / or issue circuit. The ILUs along the route, sense no voltage and automatically open, in effect
addressed by project sectioning the circuit. Both the IFU and the ILU incorporate sensing circuitry which
tests for the presence of a fault on the electrical section downstream of each Unit.
The IFU would commence the restoration process by testing downstream and if
healthy would restore supply to the first section. Each ILU in turn would initially sense
it has an incoming voltage, then test downstream and again, if healthy, restore
supply. This would continue until the faulted section was reached when testing would
inhibit the ILU from closure. Circuits with an alternative supply from a remote end
could complete the restoration process until all sections had supply restored except
the faulted section.

Tech Transfer Rating Score
involved
Radical
16 -1 17
Successful completion of the project will result in:

• Knowledge of how to reconfigure and redesign LV networks to obtain optimum
performance will be developed and transferred to the DNO.
• Avoid potential hazard of operator installing a replacement fuse of a live LV board
with a faulted circuit.
• Assuming installation on worst performing (Rogue) LV circuits avoiding CML and CI
Project
associated with up to 5 transient interruptions per year per LV circuit would
substantially and sustainably improve network performance for worst served
customers.
• Reduction in potential risks from loss of traffic controls, street lighting, general
lighting in public areas etc.
Page 46 of 86

1 years 15 years
Project NPV = (PV

Probability of Success 10% Benefits – PV Costs) x £245,517
During the initial Stage 2 phase it was agreed that the project had delivered successful
functional results but issues of thermal dissipation due to the use of power electronic
switching components in a very small device envelope represented an additional
Potential for design challenge.
achieving expected
benefits An alternative operational technology has been identified which will allow the use of
a much smaller contractor to switch off the residual current. If this technology is
tested and is confirmed as being suitable for use on LV networks the next steps will be
to test the technology at high power laboratories and to develop a prototype.
• The initial prototype design and testing as outlined in Stage 2 was completed in
June 2011
• An extension to Stage 2 (Stage 2a) was proposed. The proposal was to carry out a
Project Progress to feasibility study to investigate if reducing the physical size of the power electronics
March 12 device was possible, by applying alternative technologies.
• Stage 2a was completed successfully and has led to the next stage being about to
start which is to design a fault current limiter based on the alternative operational
technology which has already been identified as part of Stage 2a.
Collaborative
Scottish Power, SSE, Surenet Technology Ltd, Energy Innovation Centre
Partners
R&D Providers Surenet Technology Ltd
Page 47 of 86
Project Title IFI 0621-3 Live Alert – Energised Alert

The Energised Alert is a high voltage detection device, currently capable of detecting
voltages of above 2kV. The project’s objectives are to:
• To extend the voltage sensing range downwards from 2000 Volts
• To undertake a full market appraisal
• To undertake full evaluation of technology whilst in operation
• This project aims to take the Energised Alert from TRL 4 to 8.
Expenditure for
External £186 previous IFI financial External £17,382
financial year

(Collaborative + £ 65,815 External £0
for SPEN
external + [DNO]) Total £0
The Energised Alert senses any increase in electrical potential, above a predetermined
threshold, of devices to which it is attached. Once triggered it is linked to an audible
Technological area
alarm, allowing the recognition and management of this potentially deadly hazard in a
and / or issue
controlled manner. Its use will, therefore protect the operator, other employees and
any members of the public in the vicinity from casual, but more importantly,
avoidable electrocution.
e.g. Project Benefits Overall Project
Incremental Project Residual Risk
Rating Score
Type(s) of innovation Tech
involved Transfer
Significant 14 -5 19
Radical
Successful development of the Energised Alert would:
Expected Benefits of • Help prevent electrocution accidents and fatalities
Project • Ensure ‘live line’ maintenance can be carried out in a safe manner
• Allow operators to proactively respond to incidents on their network

1 Year 25 Years
Project NPV = (PV

Potential for
achieving expected The project is on target to achieve the expected benefits.
benefits
• Stage One of the project, to design and develop the sensing system was
completed successfully and met the deliverable set at the start of the
project.
• Stage Two, to design and develop a refined was completed successfully and
Project Progress to
met the deliverable set at the start of the project.
March 12
• Stage Three, to manufacture and evaluate 10 energised alerts units is nearing
completion. All units have now been manufactured however Stage Three
can’t be completed until the pilot sites for Stage Four have been agreed.
• The scope of Stage 4 is currently under review.
Collaborative Northern PowerGrid, Electricity North West, Scottish Power, SSE, Energy Innovation
Partners Centre, Live Alert
R&D Providers Live Alert
Page 48 of 86
Project Title IFI 0621- 4 PURL2
EA Technology currently offers the PURL instrument to allow condition assessment of

wooden poles and while the instrument performs this function well it is slow and
complex to use and only makes use of a single measurement technique to make the
assessment. Other instruments are currently available, however, these also base the
estimate of pole strength on a single measured parameter; a few instruments use two
(for example moisture content and fibre strength). A further major disadvantage with
many of these instruments is that they physically damage the pole in order to make
the measurement, therefore requiring ongoing maintenance e.g. annual Boron
treatment.
PURL2 will make use of four measured parameters to increase measurement accuracy
and reduce uncertainty. The techniques used for all measurements will have no more
effect on the surface of the pole than standard climbing spikes so minimising ongoing
maintenance requirements. All measurements will also be time and location stamped
which, when combined with wired and wireless connectivity, will allow integration
into field and office based asset management systems.

Expenditure for
External £142,186 previous (IFI) financial External £0
financial year

Projected 2012/13
(Collaborative + £ 284,000 External £120,000
costs for SPEN
The new PURL will combine the existing ultrasonic attenuation measurement
technique with measurements of ultrasonic time of flight, water content and surface
Technological area
hardness to provide a more accurate and reliable assessment over a wider range of
and / or issue
degradation types and environmental conditions. More advanced coupling
techniques would be used to speed up and simplify the measurement process
compared to the current instrument.

Rating Score
Type(s) of innovation Significant
involved
16 3 19
PURL 2 will represent a real advance on the current technology available and should
result in more efficient, more accurate and less damaging condition assessment of
wood poles. The benefits of this should be:
• Better use of inspection team resource
Project
• More effective identification of failing poles and therefore:-
• Reduced failure of wood poles which will result in:-
• Reduced CMIs/CLs, which in combination with the above will result in:-
reduction in overall cost

1 Year 10 Years
Project NPV = (PV

Page 49 of 86
Potential for
Project started in September 2011, potential for achieving expected benefits as per
achieving expected
above probability of success.
benefits
Project Progress to Stage One of the project to develop a PURL2 prototype has started. Four of the six
March 12 tasks of stage one have been started.
Collaborative
SP Power Systems, SHEPD, Energy Innovation Centre
Partners
R&D Providers EA Technology Limited
Page 50 of 86
Project Title IFI 0625 - Vegetation Management - ADAS

Vegetation management in the vicinity of overhead lines represents a significant
maintenance requirement and associated budget spend. While there is an on-going
commitment to this issue, it is recognised that a better understanding of vegetation
growth rates would greatly assist in vegetation management strategies and decision
making; helping direct the focus of activity.
The project will seek to develop a software model that will analyse the relationships
between key environmental variables (including the potential impact of climate
change) and vegetation growth rate, for different vegetation types. The model will be
used to consider the costs and benefits of undertaking vegetation management to
different specifications.
Following tree cutting at selected sites the model will be validated against the first
year of growth data, which will be determined by laser measurement. The model will
subsequently be optimised based on annual growth rates determined over a further
three-year period.
Total £18,710 Total £371,914
(Collaborative + £1,744,000 External £0
SPEN
• This project is a UK wide study into the differing growth rates experienced in the
26 “bio-climatic” zones that are found across the country.
• It will involve cuts made to 2000 sample areas across the identified zones to a
Technological area
common specification, followed by monitoring to confirm growth.
and / or issue
• The output is expected to lead to modelling software that can portray different
cut cycles.
• The common UK project should provide further evidence / justification in future
Price Control Reviews.
Technological
substitution
involved
No Yes No No
• The model developed will identify areas that will require more frequent tree
cutting to maintain safe clearance distances and meet legal requirements.
• Evidence-based decisions on the frequency and location of tree cutting will
enhance network resilience and therefore improve security of supply and
Project
associated regulatory performance (CI and CML savings).
• Improved targeting of OPEX may be realised through proactive cutting and
extending the cutting cycle in high and low growth areas respectively.
2 Years 20 Years

Project NPV £681.3k
Costs
Potential for The software model is now available for application by the project partners. The
achieving expected developed software model will help to inform decision making with regard to current
benefits and future vegetation management optimisation.
Page 51 of 86
A full report describing this four year project and its findings was issued in February
2012. The work undertaken determined the average annual growth rate of vegetation
with respect to utility space, the physical volume occupied by a utilities facilities and
the additional space required to ensure its safe and reliable operation, degradation
(USD). Regional variations in USD where calculated with sites located in the warmer
Project Progress
areas of southern England, experiencing the average highest rates of vegetation
March 12
growth and the lowest observed at relatively cooler ScottishPower sites in Scotland.
The impact of Climate change predictions out to 2080 on USD across the UK were
considered along with different species growth rates. These and other variables that
impact the vegetation growth rates were included in a software model that can be
used to shape future vegetation strategies in utility areas.
Collaborative Electricity North West, Scottish and Southern Energy, Central Networks and National
Partners Grid.
R&D Providers ADAS
Page 52 of 86
Project Title IFI 0701 - ENA IFI Projects

The Energy Networks Association (ENA) represents all the UK network operators.
Description of
Several projects have been initiated by the ENA R&D Working Group and have been
project
funded through the IFI.
Expenditure for
financial year
Internal £7,500
Projected 2012/13
Project Cost c£50,000 External £35,000
costs for SP-EN
Total £42,500
• Harmonic Impedance Modelling – The project addresses the detailed modelling of
cable and overhead line components, to develop cable models appropriate for
distribution networks.
• Earthing Project – The aim is to develop new techniques to assess the impact of
lower voltage earth electrodes on higher voltage ‘hot zones’ and to measure the
resistance of distribution substation earth systems.
• KEMA "Cool Use of Energy" Reports 1 and 2 - Support a number of ENA/ERA
(Energy UK) joint Demand Response workshops which developed a list of
requirements that can be considered as key tasks to transform the traditional
power sector.
• KEMA Smart Grids Standards Review – Aim to focus on the impact of
developments of the above standards (excluding commercial standards), on the
UK electricity networks community, which will be affected profoundly by these
activities.
• KEMA Cyber Security Report - Provide an approach and management framework
to address the cyber security challenges face nationally by the Distribution
Network Operators (DNOs) as the current network infrastructure is developed
with new Smart Grid systems and technologies.
• Redpoint Scenarios - Survey the studies of future energy provision in the UK
currently in the public domain and produce a common stance on investment
Technological area requirements.
and / or issue • Engage Access to Data - Identify the key smart metering and smart grid benefits
addressed by that network operators will need to deliver to support the Government’s low
project carbon agenda efficiently.
• Engage Privacy Impact Assessment - Assess the privacy issues surrounding the use
of smart meter data by NOs and identify measures that can be taken to mitigate
stakeholder concerns.
• Telent Smart Grid Communications - Survey the DNO communications managers
to understand both the extent of existing communications
deployment/penetration on electricity networks and their aspirations for
extending that deployment.
• KEMA LCNF Catalogue – Develop the first stages of a GB Smart Grid Coverage
Catalogue, focussing on Low Carbon Network Fund (LCNF) Tier 1 and Tier 2, and
the Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI) funded Registered Power Zones (RPZ)
projects.
• KEMA OTEG Report - Explore a number of innovative Web based solutions to
presenting the progress of LCNF projects including video recordings by engineers
and managers involved in the process.
• Smart Grid Forum Workstream 3 Phase 1 & 2 – Takes the impact of UK’s future
energy scenarios into key strategic directions for network development,
identifying the needs for network expansion and the opportunities for smart grid
techniques to drive cost-efficiency and deliver new services. It considers the
enablers for change, including the necessary development of commercial and
regulatory frameworks.
Page 53 of 86
Technological
Type(s) of substitution
innovation involved
Yes Yes No No
Earthing Project:
High. The results from tests and simulations can be used to propose a recommended
procedure for measuring transfer potential between HV and LV systems, suitable for
inclusion in a DNO policy document.
Climate Change and Network Resilience Project:

Expected Benefits The result of this project and subsequent benefits will inform Licensee's strategy with
of Project regard to IIP performance incentives which impact on Price Controls, system planning
studies and operational preparedness for extreme weather events.
Smart metering studies:

Analysis work by Imperial College into the expectation of demand increases due to the
penetration of Electric Vehicles and Heat Pumps and impact on the network and the
benefits of a smart grid.
1 - 10 Years 10 – 40 Years
Probability of
25 - 75% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Success
£255,876
(Present Benefits x Probability Note – Project costs include implementation and
Project NPV
of Success) – Present Costs have been calculated by the ENA assuming a typical
distribution license area.
Project Progress Project progress is available on the ENA website or by emailing

March 12 [email protected]
Work on the Harmonic Impedance Modelling (G5/4) will help DNOs understand
harmonics issues on distributed networks and produce a revised revision of G5/4. The
Potential for Earthing Transfer Potential projects will assist transmission operators to understand
achieving expected earthing issues in differing situation.
benefits
The remaining projects are still in progress and it is hoped they will demonstrate the
benefits explained.
Collaborative National Grid, ScottishPower Energy Networks, Scottish and Southern Energy, Electricity
Partners North West, Western Power Distribution, Northern Powergrid
TNEI, Engage Consulting Limited, Imperial College London, Met Office,
R&D Providers
EA Technology Ltd, Earthing Solutions, KEMA, Redpoint Energy
Page 54 of 86
rd
Project Title IFI 0711 - 3 Party ROEP Risk Assessment
The development of the so-called ‘Stage I’ for risk assessment of earthing systems,
using a new concept of safety limit curves, where standard fault clearance times
are used, was achieved under National Grid research project NSETS180 in
collaboration with Scottish Power, and was completed in Autumn 2006. The Stage
I risk assessment enables broad classification of substations into low/high risk
categories for Rise of Earth Potential (ROEP). The theoretical studies to develop a
Stage II probabilistic-based risk assessment, which includes the use of historical
operational clearance times, are now under development at Cardiff University.
In this project, it is proposed to conduct pilot studies, which allow initial
implementation of the developed ‘Stage I’ technique at identified key National
Grid substations (4 to 5 sites). This will allow a refined quantification of risk in
relation to the ALARP levels. In addition, a user-friendly procedure will be
developed to allow easy and quick assessment of sites. The ultimate purpose of
the research is to provide better information to engineers making decisions on
investment for earthing reinforcement schemes.
Internal £ 9,218 Internal £ 30,018

Expenditure in
Expenditure for financial
External £ 186 previous (IFI) External £ 88,890
year
financial years
Total £ 9,403 Total £ 118,909
Internal £ 10,000
Projected
Stage 1 - £100,000
Total Project Costs 2012/13 costs External £40,000
Stage 2 - £150,000
for SPEN
Total £ 50,000
Technological area and / This software package will allow SPEN to assess current sites to determine
or issue addressed by whether or not there is a touch/step issues within the substation and a danger of
project third party exposure to ROEP.
Incremental
involved
7 -3 10
There are many sites in Scotland and Manweb where the existing sites do not have
earthing that has been installed to the current standard. System fault levels have
been increasing due to the significant amounts of renewable generation that has
been connected (with bigger schemes in the construction and planning stages). If
current system fault levels are applied to these sites there is a potential that the
touch/step voltage levels will be too high to allow work to commence without
further costly mitigation measure being implemented. This tool would allow an
Expected Benefits of assessment to be made of what the probability would be of a life-threatening fault
Project appearing at the substation so that the appropriate corrective action can be taken.
The user friendly interface package will allow SPEN staff to carry out assessments
of earthing systems using statistical fault levels and clearance times values as
opposed to worst case.
By being better equipped to assess the potential risk posed by existing substation
earthing arrangements appropriate steps can be taken, which could be the
avoidance of unnecessary expenditure on inappropriate mitigation measures.
The software analysis will help to justify Third party mitigation measures.

1 Year 4 Years
adoption achieved
Page 55 of 86
Project NPV = (PV

Probability of Success 75% Benefits – PV Costs) x £ 15,562
Potential – The project is progressing to a next stage where the following items
will incorporated into the software:
• Set up of fault clearance time database
expected benefits
• Calculate variation in fault current magnitude and its effect on prediction of
individual risk
• Apply extended computer procedure to several case
This project is now complete. Follow up research works have been commissioned
and agreed (April 2012) with Cardiff University to investigate the following:
1. Apply the approach developed in this study to the following situations:
2012
• Potentials exported out with the substation.
• Locations or point within the substation.
2. Update the software for revised IEC/CENELEC standards.
Collaborative Partners National Grid
Cardiff University High Voltage Energy Systems research group (Manu Haddad &
R&D Provider
Huw Griffith).
Page 56 of 86
st
Project Title IFI 0712 - BT 21 Century Protection Solutions (BT21CN)
The change of BT’s network to an IP based system (BT21CN) is posing some significant risks
to the performance reliability of the SP-M and SP-D electricity networks. In particular SP-M
rd
relies heavily on 3 Party leased services from BT as the communications for the 33kV
network protection in rural areas. The strategy to mitigate the problem has been
developed based on the utilisation of a range of communications solutions (fibre, radio,
Description of project power line carrier in addition to technically/commercially suitable BT services) in a
coordinated manner. Whilst this strategy has been agreed in principle, there are several
technical challenges associated with several of the solutions.
This project aims to provide the detailed and engineered communications channels that
underpin the toolbox of solutions to mitigate the problems associated with BT21CN.
Internal £14,408 Internal £ 66,254
Expenditure in
Expenditure for
External £26,305 previous (IFI) financial External £ 197,724
financial year
years
Total £ 40,713 Total £ 264,005
Internal £0
Projected 2012/13
Total Project Costs £114,000 External £0
costs for SPEN
Total £0
This project aims to access the feasibility of using alternative communications solutions to
mitigate the problems associated with BT21CN. Scope currently under consideration
includes:
Technological area
• Power Line Carrier deployment at 33kV combining protection and SCADA signalling
and / or issue
• Small development works to facilitate intra-substation communications
• IP based protection signalling mediums and associated security implications
• Options for alternative communication channels for shared services
• Implications for the network in no cost effective solutions are realised
Project Benefits
Project Residual Risk Overall Project Score
Type(s) of innovation Significant / Rating
involved Technology Transfer
21 2 19
There are many sites in SP-M where there is no Line-of-Site for radio communications and
fibre installations are extremely expensive due to excessive circuit lengths. In such sites
Power Line Carrier (PLC) or Leased services are the only feasible communication mediums
for protection signalling. PLC is typically deployed at higher voltage levels, additionally
some development work facilitated in a trial would be required to accommodate
protection and SCADA data on the same link however this could deliver a more cost
effective alternative to fibre or BT SDH leased services. Power Line Carrier although a viable
Expected Benefits of solution has some limitations, which restrict its use on the network, mainly mid-circuit
Project transitions (OHL – Cable), which cause the signals to reflect. Where PLC cannot be
deployed alternative will require consideration.
Leased services (or no communications at all) are the only alternatives to expensive
infrastructure at some sites. SDH services can be expensive in terms or both CAPEX and
OPEX. BT are likely to offer IP based products in the future (products not currently used
with protection). If development is carried out to facilitate the use of IP based products for
signalling purposes factoring in security considerations then it may be possible to leases
services at significantly reduced CAPEX and OPEX costs.

1.5 Year 15 Years
adoption achieved
Page 57 of 86

In areas of the network where protection signalling cannot be delivered via channels
Potential for currently considered for use with protection devices without significant expense, leased
achieving expected communications are the only option. Should a suitable leased or alternative
benefits communication bearer be unavailable then significant investments in fibre optic installation
will be required.
In accordance with the output from the Desktop and Line-of-Sight Surveys, Airwave has
provided the Teleprotection circuit between substation sites located at Kilbirnie and
Stewarton.
The circuits have been provided by dedicated multiplexed channels offering a bandwidth of
64Kbps. The circuit has been designed such that the expected latency should be not greater
than 30 milliseconds.
At each end of the circuit, a 1.4GHz narrow band radio link was used from the SPEN’s
Project Progress
premises to the most suitable Airwave Base Station, and thenceforth across the Airwave
March 2012
network to the other substation site.
The technical trial of Airwave has concluded however there are significant commercial
issues with the productisation of the service by Airwave that have precluded further
deployment. The next phase of the project is to establish the feasibility of low cost fibre
solutions; so far the use of fibre in sewer pipes has been explored via a desk top exercise
with Scottish Water. Unfortunately only sewer pipes of a significant diameter can be
considered, these are typically within urban areas SPENs BT 21CN requirements are
typically within rural areas and hence there are little or no synergies.
Collaborative Partners N/A
R&D Provider RFL / C & W / Radius / Tait / others TBC, AIRWAVE
Page 58 of 86
Project Title IFI 0713 - Wide Area Monitoring, Protection & Control (WAMPAC) for GB and IRL
Market driven grid management has increased the number of renewable/distributed
generation sources, introduced complexities to address reactive support and
progressively stress transmission networks. This has increased the complexity of
operation, monitoring, control and protection of large interconnected electric power
systems considerably. The penetration of renewable generation is increasing and
there are targets set for connection of future renewable sources. At the same time
the Transmission Owner (TO) is faced with an increasing need for construction
outages to deliver network reinforcement and existing asset replacement which will
result in reduced circuit availability. These factors will lead to much less predictable
operating scenarios and therefore greater dependence on real-time support tools to
observe and manage the condition of the network.
The increase in this uncertainty could result in transmission instability in the near
future, however Wide Area Measurement Systems (WAMS) employing SynchroPhasor
Measurement Units (PMUs) are becoming increasingly deployed world wide as a cost
effective commercially available technology. A trial using the Psymetrix Phasorpoint
Monitoring System will be installed to gather data from up to 15 sites with PMU
capability. This will involve the installation of Psymetrix software on a server that will
connect to the PMU's and recover in real time phasor data. This data will be stored for
post transient evaluation so that system performance can be analysed and determine
the frequency modes present in the network. A WEB interface will be installed at the
Operational Control Centre (OCC), Cambuslang and Bellshill to evaluate the real time
delivery of the data and visualise the system performance in real time and post event.
Internal £ 7,419 Internal £ 16,537
External £ 62,339 External £ 5,060
Total £ 69,757 Total £ 21,597
Internal £5,000
Total Project Costs £ 59,715 External £ 27,000
for SPEN
Total £ 32,000
SPT is obliged under its licence and the Electricity Act to develop an efficient, co-
ordinated and economic system of electricity supply.
Power-grid congestion issues and disturbances worldwide have emphasized the need
Technological area
to enhance power grids with smart applications (SmartGrids, Flexnet, and Intelligrid),
and / or issue
providing decision support to operators and automation to ensure optimum use of
assets, whilst maintaining system security and plant and circuit thermal limits. This
work will support the development of next generation data and communications
infrastructures for smart applications.
Incremental
involved
13 -9 22
Page 59 of 86
• As a safety net for the management in future uncertainties in system stability

particularly on the England-Scotland interface. This is achieved by better
understanding of the current capability and stability of the GB and Irish
transmission networks, considering constraints, intermittent generation and
changing generation and demand patterns.
• Knowledge of the current network conditions will allow future development of
smart protection, control and automation applications and will ensure the
network is ready and able to accommodate new generation in line with
SmartGrid and Intelligrid initiatives.
• The successful application of Wide Area Monitoring is seen to be a major factor in
managing the risks and opportunities and to facilitate the connection of
renewable and intermittent generation.
• A better understanding of system conditions and margins will enable better use
Project
of available network capacity and constraints and ensure that plant operates
safely within its capability and design limits
• This project has the potential to create a cost effective method of predicting and
identifying a very high impact, low probability event and contributes to better
informed asset management.
• The project will support the system reinforcement programme, ensure better use
of existing assets and provide an alternative to Operational Tripping and
Remedial Action schemes, which are required to manage thermal and stability
constraints.
• Typically the Financial Benefits will be achieved through avoided investment in
infrastructure reinforcement and replacement as part of the current Capital
programme.
4 Years 10 Years
(Present Benefits x Probability of Success) –

Project NPV No NPV calculated for this limited trial
Present Costs
Project Progress The University of Manchester project has been extended for a further 6 months, with
March 2012 the PhD thesis summary due in July.
Potential for While existing network development and management is well developed, increasing
achieving expected operating uncertainties due to increasing renewable penetration will lead to a greater
benefits dependence on real-time support tools.
Collaborative National Grid, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Electricity, Northern Ireland
Partners Electricity and ESBI (Ireland).
University of Manchester
R&D Provider
Areva, Siemens and ABB who will supply and install the phasor measurement units.
Page 60 of 86
Project Title IFI 0801 - IEC 61850 Application in SP - Transmission

The key objective of this project is to maximise economic and effective utilisation
of the transmission asset and network. The deployment of the technology
Description of project advocated for this IFI project will allow ongoing substation secondary equipment
retrofitting (refurbishment) projects to proceed whilst limiting the duration and
frequency of circuit outages, required to facilitate the work.
Expenditure for Expenditure in previous (IFI)
financial year financial years
Total £45,612 Total £90,209
Internal £4,000
Total Project Costs £455,000 External £12,000
SPEN
Total £16,000
Project 1 (IFI 0801-1) – Microsol
This proposal is twofold, to develop, test and commission the IEC Protocol on the
Microsol RTU to allow us to trial interfacing to two specific devices at two
specific locations, namely:
a) Busby 275kV Hathaway Fault Recorder.

b) Strathaven 400kV Operational Intertripping Relay.
At Busby 275kV we propose to recover all the Analogue information from the
fault recorder, this will allow us not only to present more information to the
Control Engineers in real time, it will eliminate any issues with faulty transducers,
faulty resistor scaling and faulty wiring.
Technological area and Project 2 (IFI 0801-2) - University of Manchester and NGC
/ or issue addressed by
project This IFI application aims to investigate, quantify and optimise the level of
security, dependability and speed in secondary schemes using IEC 61850. This
project is strategically aligned with Iberdrola Networks and will provide
procurement benefits.
Project3 (IFI 081-3) – “Hardfibre” Process Bus Field Trial & RTDS Testing
GE Multilin are first to market with IEC61850-9-2 products and the proposal is to
undertake a field trial at the new Inverarnan 275kV substation and to perform
RTDS testing of the scheme. This will achieve the following objectives:
Proof that the protection performance of a process bus system is at least equal
to conventional schemes
To gain experience of the installation, configuration and operation of a process
bus system.
To measure the time and cost benefits of process bus.
Incremental Project Benefits Project Residual Overall Project

Tech Transfer
involved
Significant
17 -7 24
Page 61 of 86
In summary, if this protocol is developed, implemented and tested and

commissioned successfully on our Microsol RTU then it gives us some real
flexibility for the future and will fundamentally influence decisions regarding
substation design and choice of relay manufacturer, and will have the added
advantage of allowing us to cease the highly expensive option of flood wiring
with multi-core copper cables within the substation environment and adopting a
LAN approach to comms and data capture.
Project
However, IEC61850 also offers benefits in the protection realm. The use of
GOOSE services has been demonstrated (in the West Coast operational Intertrip
scheme) to provide significant performance benefits over hard-wiring and
significantly reduced installation and testing times as much of the scheme
functionality can be factory tested. Additionally, part 9-2 permits the use of a
process bus which can, in addition to reduced wiring, provide additional
reliability and the future promise of outage-free protection replacement.

1 Year 10 Years
adoption achieved
No NPV calculated
Project NPV (Present Benefits x Probability of Success) – Present Costs
for this limited trial
The University project Evaluation of IEC61850-9-2 Process Bus and Its impact on
Substation Protection and Control Reliability is now coming to a close with the
Potential for achieving final report due mid 2012.
expected benefits
It is hoped than the learning from the project will give guidance on SPs direction
in the use of IEC61850
Project Progress March Project 1 and 3 are now closed and have proven to be successful. There is still
2012 some work to be carried out to fully integrate within SPENs networks
Collaborative Partners Project 1 and 3 none, Project 2 Manchester University, SSE, NGC
R&D Provider Manchester University
Page 62 of 86
Project Title IFI 1001 – Offline Planning Tool for Dynamic Thermal Rating
The dynamic thermal rating (DTR) concept is based on the observation that the first
limit for the current carrying capacity of a circuit is its temperature, influenced by its
ability to dissipate to the environment the heat produced by the joule effect, and by
Description of project external conditions such as ambient temperature, or wind speed, which are
constantly varying. Even though the mechanisms of heat exchange involved are well
understood, determination of the correct value of the circuit temperature is non-
trivial. For this reason, static ratings based on the worst case scenario are often used.
Total £27,724 Total £17,793
Internal £3,000
SPEN
Total £13,000
The implementation of a DTR system in an electrical network could potentially
increases its average rating whilst also reducing, the risk of component thermal
overload. However, successful implementation requires a number of challenges to be
overcome. Not least the measurement, estimation and communication of real time
component temperatures and prevailing weather conditions over a wide geographical
Technological area area containing a significant number of power system components distributed around
and / or issue a complex terrain.
A successful DTR system could be used as a decision support tool for Distribution
Network Operators (DNO). This tool could be used both at the planning stage and in
real time within potential future active network management philosophies in order to
safely increase the utilization of power systems and facilitate distributed generation
(DG).
Technological
involved
No No Yes No
Durham University are already working with Scottish Power and Astrium on a TSB
project to investigate the use of DTRs for electrical distribution networks in order to
accommodate increased levels of DG safely and cost effectively.
The aim of this phase of the work is to carry out further research and development
work to build upon the achievements so far, ensure continuity and to avoid the loss of
vital knowledge gained by the PhD researchers. The primary deliverable will be an
offline tool to:
1. Allow SP planning engineers to evaluate the likely headroom which could be

exploited through the adoption of DTR systems over a wide range of existing SP
distribution networks.
Expected Benefits of 2. Make use of historical power flow and meteorological data as well as terrain and
Project
vegetation information.
3. Estimate the ratings of overhead lines, underground cables and transformers over
a wide area of distribution network and present these estimates in the form of a
probability distribution function. (In this document ‘Distribution Network’ refers
to networks with voltages up to and including 132kV)
4. Carry out thermal estimates for a wide range of types and configurations of
overhead lines, underground cables and power transformers.
5. Allow calculations to be made regarding the potential additional energy that
could be accommodated by the power system when dynamic ratings are
adopted.
Page 63 of 86

4 Years 10 Years
Projects with various
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Probability of Success probabilities of success will
be considered
Costs
Significant simulation work has been carried out so far using state-of-the-art
computational fluid dynamic (CFD) techniques and high resolution terrain topology
mapping (primarily height and surface roughness) in order to model the wind
behaviour. The current work is focussing on developing wind-speed/direction look-up
Project Progress
tables based on the above, with the aim of enhancing the accuracy of the current
March 12
inverse distance interpolation method of wind speed/direction estimation. Further
sensitivity analysis is being carried out to identify the key factors which determine the
accuracy of the new estimation algorithms and further refine the techniques currently
being employed in order to optimise their performance.
Having an offline planning tool for analysing the dynamic ratings of circuits will
enhance our ability in understanding the impact of utilising these technique in real
Potential for
time and power flow analysis. The tool will assist in the analyses and management of
achieving expected
constraints in the network and also support design engineers to make informed
benefits
decisions with regards to enhanced dynamic rating for circuits and their impact on the
network, power flow and constrains on embedded generation.
Collaborative
Astrium, Durham University
Partners
R&D Providers Durham University
Page 64 of 86
Project Title IFI 1002 - Supergen HiDEF

The Highly Distributed Power Systems Consortium have developed plans for renewal
that will demonstrate a radical vision of a highly distributed energy future that
Description of project enables all end users to participate in system operation and real time energy markets
and thereby more fully exploits the potential of distributed generation and active load
resources to deliver a more sustainable and resilient provision of energy for the future
Total £19,260 Total £21,472
Internal £3,000
Project Cost £4,492,000 External £20,000
SPEN
Total £23,000
This Highly Distributed Energy Future (HiDEF) programme researches the essential
elements of a decentralised system that could be implemented over the period 2025
Technological area & 2050, but at the same time has been structured to support the evidence base
and / or issue relating to key questions of current concern within the stakeholder community and in
addressed by project this way its relevance extends beyond the limits of its decentralised system vision. In
concept, the research vision is one of decentralised resources, control and market
participation extending to include end users at system extremities.
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes No No No
The project has a strong academic and industrial representation and will strengthen
SPEN’s engagement into the future of network systems and the influences of
developments across the supply chain. In general the benefits will entail:
• The engagement with academia and industry into the understanding of the
impact of a future decentralised system.
Project
• The impact of a decentralised system on networks infrastructure, operation
and control.
• The impact of a decentralised system on regulatory and commercial
frameworks.
9 years 7 years

Present Costs
PV Penetration study – a study and working tool has been developed to enable
planners to quickly assess the impact of connecting small scale PV in housing estates
Project Progress
in the Manweb area. This report has now been delivered along with an Excel based PV
March 2012
voltage rise tool that has been used by SP Manweb to allocate >2,000 ‘clustered’ PV
installations.
Page 65 of 86
SP Distribution and SP Manweb networks, and to some extent SP Transmission will

benefit from the insight into a power network well into the future and the challenges
that it might bring. It is envisaged that this applied research project will be useful for
future Price Control discussions, particularly in the areas of smart applications,
regulatory and commercial structures.
Potential for
The project is academic in nature but at the same time taking into consideration
achieving expected
current developments in areas such as smart meters, demand side management and
benefits
micro generation among many others.
Project Addition
The PV report and voltage rise tool has been used by SP Manweb to allocate >2,000
‘clustered’ PV installations delivering significant benefit to SP Manweb and the UKs
energy targets.
Collaborative
EDF, Areva, Rolls Royce and many other SMEs
Partners
University of Strathclyde (Lead), Imperial College, Oxford University, Cardiff
R&D Providers
University, University of Bath
Page 66 of 86
Project Title IFI 1003 - Strategic Asset Lifecycle Value Optimisation "SALVO"
It is estimated that there is £200bn of identified investment requirements in UK core
infrastructure during the next 10-20 years and that evidence suggests up to 30% of
total asset life cycle costs could be avoided by better decision making. SALVO aims to
develop simple, flexible and practical guidance and tools for determining what to
spend and when.
A consortium of "Core Participants" is currently being set up to progress the project

which will have workstreams in the "start of life", "utilisation and maintenance" and
"managing aging assets" phases of the asset life cycle. SP EnergyNetworks is joining
the project as an "Associate". This will allow SP EnergyNetworks early sight of the
outputs of the project and an opportunity to influence them. The cost of this project
membership is £5k.
It is anticipated that the project will provide spin off to SP EnergyNetworks in

improving the optimisation of spend and managing the lifecycle of the assets through
the tools developed by the project consortium.
The project duration is 3 years.

External £186 External £6,700
Total £9,601 Total £18,002
SPEN
The project aims to provide integrated solutions to determining what is worth
spending and when according to optimal whole life cycle criteria:-
- asset population health/ criticality definitions and diagnosis

- specific asset's degradation and risk characteristics
Technological area
- individual intervention justifications (inspection, maintenance, modification,
and / or issue
renewal)
- collectively optimised, total system performance and work programme budgets
and resources
The project will particularly aim at providing integrated solutions across the asset life
cycle and will provide a particular focus in the management of aging assets area.
Technological
involved
No Yes No No
• Collate existing best practice processes and available tools

• Identify the realistic range of scenarios, options, decision types, data, information
and assumption requirements, cost/risk/benefit evaluations and calculations,
results interpretation, decision making and conclusions and implementation
processes
Expected Benefits of • Develop a series of decision templates
Project • Update and integrate suitable decision support tools for the cost/benefit/risk
quantification and optimisation steps, including generic interface design for
different data sources and facilities for export of results into work planning and
management systems
• Develop and publish a series of worked case studies of the application of these
processes and tools
Page 67 of 86

3 years 7 years

Project NPV
Present Costs
Project Progress
This project is now closed
March 12
Potential for Improvement in the management of asset base is likely to lead to a reduction in risks
achieving expected of plant and equipment failure and increase safety for staff and members of the
benefits public.
Core Sponsors: National Grid, ScottishWater, London Underground, Cambridge

Collaborative
University
Partners
Associates: SASOL, Forbo Nairn, Gatwick Airport
R&D Providers The Woodhouse Partnership and Decision Support Tools
Page 68 of 86
Project Title IFI 1004 - Remote Access to Pole Mounted Auto Reclosers
The Noja pole mounted auto recloser incorporates a protection module, the MPM,
which can be accessed to retrieve active and historical data relating to both protection
activity and statistical metering.
This can only be accessed via an RS232 port within the Noja Control Panel that is
mounted below the Main Tank, out with the Safety Distance, and above the Anti-
climber. Access to this panel requires a specialist skill. It would a business and safety
Description of project advantage if additional functions of this equipment could be accessed without having
to ascend the pole.
The proposal from Nortech suggests that by adding an ‘Envoy’ module to a Noja,
remote access of the data within a Noja would be possible.
Nortech has proved that the ENVOY can talk to the NOJA, but this needs to be proved
in an operational situation.
Internal £14,878 Internal £0
External £37,106 External £0
Total £51,984 Total £0
SPEN
The project aims to address the issue of safe and automated remote access to active
and historical data from SPEN’s population of Noja PMAR.
Technological area
and / or issue
The project will enable circuits to be ranked accordingly to agreed performance
indicators e.g. circuits with most trips which could inform operational and
maintenance activities.
Technological
involved
Yes No No No
• Health and Safety benefit realised by negating the need to climb PMAR poles to
access information
• Automatic collection of all Noja PMAR event logs, removing the need to drive to
site and consequent delays in getting data
Project
• Summary analysis of PMAR activity with dashboard showing league table of
operations
• Central storage of event logs
3 years 10 years

Present Costs
Page 69 of 86
There have been some issues around the communication between the Noja controller
and the Nortech envoy.
Project Progress
March 12
This issue should be resolved in early may and the 30 units should then be able to be
installed on the live network.
Potential for By being able to see system events almost real time, this should be able to give
achieving expected operational engineers an enhanced view of any abnormal events without having to go
benefits out on site.
Collaborative
None
Partners
R&D Providers Nortech
Page 70 of 86
Project Title IFI 1005 - GIS Impedence Mapping - zMap

Carrying on from the work that was completed in IFI project – IFI 0709 Network
Monitor using Web Systems, it is proposed to utilise the voltage and current values
obtained from sub.net and PQR during faults and feed them into GeoField, SPEN's GIS
mapping software.
Total £49,118 Total £18,002
Internal £0
Project Cost £130,520 External £0
for SPEN
Total £0
The laborious process of tracing a circuit length will be obsolete with the GIS platform
that we currently use able to trace via impedance based on a table of impedance
values per cable type.
Technological area Currently SP have roughly 200 PQR that are able to record faults, but these units are
and / or issue only polled once a day or on an ad hoc basis. This project will enable fault information
addressed by project to be emailed to a user or iHost which can then deduce and impedance value.
As the new ENMAC is currently some time away its imperative that a frontend for new
IFI projects and current IFI projects is developed to ease the transition into SPENs
SCADA network.
Technological
involved
No Yes No No
• The existing GeoField Network Map Viewer tracing engine will be configured to
allow tracing from a start point to a specified accumulated impedance value. This
will behave in an identical fashion to the existing length-based trace.
• Integration to implement a scheme for SP Power Systems to allow PQRs to trigger
Project
autocomms for retrieval of fault records using email. This is required because SP
current IT policies do not allow modems to answer incoming calls and the only
way to retrieve data from recorders is to use autopoll, automatic or manual.
2 years 10 years

Present Costs
Project Progress This project has now finished, with the impedance mapping software being used
March 2012 within the control rooms.
Scottish Power own and operate 30 substation disturbance recorders from Embedded
Monitoring Systems (EMS) known as a sub.net device. Currently information can be
Potential for retrieved from the sub.net device either by using an inbuilt web interface, or by
achieving expected receiving e-mails sent by the device in response to events occurring on its monitored
benefits inputs.
By using the data from the 30 disturbance monitors we will be able to get a good idea
of the potential.
Collaborative
None
Partners
R&D Providers Sigma7
Page 71 of 86
Project Title IFI 1007 – Outram Fault Level Monitor
The aim of this project is to development of a portable instrument that can

successfully measure fault level on a distribution network with repeatability and
Description of project reliability. The developed instruments will be deployed in at various locations
where there is uncertainty in fault level in Low Voltage, 11kV, 33kV and 132kV
groups on the network.
Expenditure for financial External £4,663 Expenditure in previous External £99,235
Total £33,384 Total £101,084
Internal £7,500
Projected 2012/13 costs External £0
Project Cost £121,196
for SPEN
Total £7,500
It is proposed that the instrument could provide a viable alternative for fault level
assessment to extensive modelling or at locations where upstream and
downstream fault level can vary drastically over a period of time making traditional
project
fault level analysis complex.
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes No No No
• Accurate fault level profiles for 132kV, 33kV and 11kV distribution sites,
showing both downstream and upstream contributions.
• The identification and remedy of fault level conditions previously unidentified.
Expected Benefits of • The release of network capacity previously unavailable due to perceived the
Project fault level.
• The deferment of investment on healthy equipment / network based on
perceived fault level issues.
• Validation and improvement of existing network models.
<2 Years 10 Years
adoption achieved

Costs
• Outram Researched Ltd has provided SPEN with a test bed demonstration of a
single phase fault level monitor (FLM) based on the PM7000 power quality
monitor platform.
• Subsequently a 3-phase version has been developed by Outram incorporating
additional requirements / features requested by SPEN based on DNO
requirements.
Project Progress • SPEN are currently trialling x6 FLM units on the network to refine the FLM
March 2012 algorithm and firmware and assess the instruments capabilities.
• The preliminary results from site are very encouraging and indicate that the FLM
is capable of producing results that are close to those generated by trusted
network models.
• As of March thanks to the variety of locations where the FLMs have been
deployed the firmware has been significantly updated to take account of new
learning and understanding of the observed network phenomenon.
Page 72 of 86
Potential for As of March the FLM is showing a high degree of promise and SPEN has confidence
achieving expected that the device will deliver accurate measurements. The initial results obtained have
benefits consistently been within 10% of the fault level produced from modelling packages.
Collaborative
Outram Research Ltd
Partners
R&D Providers Outram Research Ltd
Page 73 of 86
Project Title IFI 1101 – EPRI
SPEN has taken out membership of the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) in
order to gain technical guidance and expertise to support the 2020 Project. This
project will employ technologies that have not yet been used in GB and
membership of EPRI provides access to a wide range of technical documentation
and expertise covering HVDC, Series Compensation and Wide Area Monitoring &
Control which feature in the 2020 proposals. EPRI provides a wide range of
information in other aspects of power engineering such as smart grids and asset
management.
Expenditure for financial External £97,931 Expenditure in previous External £0
Internal £12,000
£360k for 3 year Projected 2012/13 costs External £120,000
Project Cost
participation for SPEN
Total £132,000
SPEN is one of the principle organisations involved in the Department of Energy

and Climate Change (DECC) Electricity Networks Strategy Group (ENSG) work on
the 2020 vision for the transmission network. This work has set the footprint for
the transmission system in the UK to facilitate the delivery of renewable energy in
Technological area and / Scotland in excess of 10GW by 2020. An essential deliverable of this work is the
or issue addressed by HVDC link between ScottishPower and National Grid. It is proposed for this link to
project be operational by 2016 to facilitate the flow of the expected renewable energy
from Scotland to England. This is the first off many proposed DC links in the UK to
deliver the 2020 vision.
Involvement with EPRI will provide information in the technology areas applicable
to the HVDC link development.
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes Yes Yes Yes
• EPRI membership will give SPEN immediate benefits in terms of surveying the
technologies and application of these technologies in the areas of designing,
monitoring, controlling and operating HVDC links.
• SPEN individually or jointly with NationalGrid, can utilise EPRI expertise in the
assessment of possible designs and solutions provided internally or by external
Project
companies.
• As well as the HVDC module, there are many other modules that can be of
considerable benefit to SPEN, such as in areas of wide area monitoring, losses
minimisation and smart grids.

<2 Years 10 Years
adoption achieved

Costs
2012 • HVDC Technology Surveillance and Reference Guidelines
Page 74 of 86
o Contracts are being placed to work on Reference Book chapters.

HVDC Reference Book will be published with all 24 chapters at the
end of 2012.
• Applications of HVDC Technology and New Developments
o Contracts are being placed to work on AC vs DC Wizard software and
DC cable technology assessment.
• Integrating HVDC in an AC Grid
o This project is coordinated with a supplemental project on the same
topic in which application studies are conducted for the GB network
for National Grid and ScottishPower
• HVDC System Performance and Component Testing
o Full scale live line work tests have started at the Lenox laboratory
o The HVDC insulator dimensioning guide is to be updated for 2012.
o A survey is being formulated to determine the performance of utility
HVDC insulators
o All deliverables are on schedule
• Electrical Effects of HVDC
o Work on the electrical effects software has begun
o Plans are underway for experiments to be performed at the high
voltage laboratory in Lenox.

Work has started on the collaborative project ‘Integrating HVDC in an AC Grid’.
expected benefits
Collaborative Partners NGC ( Integrating HVDC in an AC Grid)
R&D Providers EPRI
Page 75 of 86
Project Title IFI 1102 – Energy Storage Project
The aim of this project is to investigate the role of energy storage systems in smart
grids.
The need to investigate the role of electrical energy storage has been identified at
governmental level. The Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group
Description of project (PRASEG) inquiry into ‘Renewables and the grid: access and management’ cites
storage as a ‘possible solution for addressing variable renewable energy
generation’ and highlights the need for ‘Long- term, further research and
development’ and ‘clear political and regulatory signals’(PRASEG, 2010). In the UK
Low Carbon Transition Plan (HM Government, 2009) storage is included in the list
of key elements of a UK smart grid.
Expenditure for financial External £186 Expenditure in previous External £0
Internal £10,000
Projected 2012/13 costs External £15,000
for SPEN
Total £25,000
• Economic assessment with respect to traditional reinforcement options
• Identification of appropriate locations for energy storage systems
• Consideration of most appropriate sizes and capacities for energy storage
systems.
• Determine appropriate operating strategies for energy storage systems.
or issue addressed by • Understand the effects of operating strategies on the ageing of the energy
project storage systems.
• Evaluate the current and future value of operating an energy storage system
to generate revenue through energy market arbitrage.
• Investigate the regulatory issues surrounding the ownership of energy storage

systems by DNOs.
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes Yes Yes No
• Produce learning outcomes and decision support information which can be

disseminated within the DNO community which will enable the cost effective
Project
and beneficial adoption of energy storage systems.

3 Years 20 Years
adoption achieved

Project NPV Not known at this stage
Costs
Page 76 of 86
Good work has been carried out in identifying relevant network models that can be
Project Progress used to mimic the effects of storage. These networks range from rural networks with
March 2012 historical voltage issues to urban networks with high percentage of embedded
generation.
Potential for
It is hoped that the eventual output of the project will help Scottish Power plan
achieving expected
strategically how and where the optimum use of Energy Storage should be.
benefits
Collaborative
Electricity North West
Partners
R&D Providers Durham University
Page 77 of 86
Project Title IFI 1103 – PD Monitoring in Supergrid Transformers
The aim of this project is to remotely monitor partial discharge (PD) activity on a
275KV / 33KV transformer using a PD monitoring system supplied and installed by
DMS Ltd. After a period of testing the transformer will be inspected to determine
the accuracy of the monitoring system in determining PD location.
Expenditure for financial External £76,421 Expenditure in previous External £0
Internal £7,500
for SPEN
Total £92,500

The issue addressed by this project is the determination of the long term health of
a supergrid transformer by the identification and location of PD activity.
project
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes No No No
• Detection and measurement of PD and logging, reporting and alarming for
continuous health checks on transformer condition.
Expected Benefits of • Research and Development in conjunction with Strathclyde University to
Project model the transformer tank and the internal construction and then using
triangulation techniques using the data from the PD couplers to determine the
location of any PD.
<2 Years 10 Years
adoption achieved

Costs
Project Progress March All partial discharge monitoring equipment has now been installed. Work is now
2012 beginning to pull the data into a 3D model

This project is on target to deliver the benefits.
expected benefits
Collaborative Partners None
R&D Providers University of Strathclyde
Page 78 of 86
Project Title IFI 1107 –Cable Identification Devices

SEBA KMT has produced a device that uses DC pulses to positively identify cables
either live or dead circuits. Identification is via a visual display which shows the rise
and fall in signal strength along the cable length due to the layup of the cores. As
Description of project DC is used there is no current induction in adjacent cables thus avoiding incorrect
identification which other devices can suffer from. This project will be a trial
evaluation of the device through field testing with the device being enhanced as
appropriate.
Internal £7,500
for SPEN
Total £32,500

Every year there are a number of instances where an incorrect cable is opened in
error. This device has the potential to minimise these occurrences.
project
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes No Yes No
• The cable detection device can be used on both live and dead HV and LV
circuits and no current is induced in adjacent circuits.
• The requirement to excavate an LV cable to the nearest known service
location is avoided.
Project
• Unnecessary customer interruptions are avoided.
• The number of open excavations and the associated risk to staff and public is
reduced.
<2 Years 10 Years
adoption achieved

Project NPV £1,123,305
Costs
Project Progress March • The order was placed for five SEBA KMT cable identification devices for
2012 subsequent trial.
Assuming that the trials of the cable identification devices and any required
upgrade work is successful then the potential for achieving the expected benefits is
expected benefits
high.
R&D Providers SEBA KMT
Page 79 of 86
Project Title IFI 1108 –ESRI Powerfactory

ScottishPower uses an enterprise wide Geographic Information System delivered
by Esri UK known as FGIS. This holds electrical plant and circuit data in an ‘ArcFM’
database. The system is used to create and maintain electrical system models on a
geographic basis. ScottishPower also use DIgSILENT PowerFactory for electrical
network modelling and analysis. This tool enables ScottishPower to model and
Description of project simulate electrical loading and size plant to meet given business requirements.
Currently in the ScottishPower area there are no robust 11kV system models and it
will take considerable amount of time to generate such system models to assist in
the design and analysis of the 11kV network. The project will attempt to develop
an interface between ESRI and PowerFactory to enable the quick and efficient
modelling of the 11kV network.
Internal £11,000
for SPEN
Total £89,000
The aim is to develop a demonstrator project to proof the concept of interfacing

the ESRI system with PowerFactory hence enabling the business to quickly develop
Technological area and / network models of the 11kV system and possibly LV system. This will provide
or issue addressed by design engineers with up to date network models that can be utilised and enhance
project the design process and solutions evaluation. Generating 11kV models is laborious,
time consuming and prone to errors. This project will prove the concept of using
GIS information to develop up to date electrical models.
Technological
substitution
involved
No No Yes No
• To provide mechanisms to quickly model the 11kV network in PowerFactory.

Expected Benefits of • Streamline existing business processes for the design and connection on the
Project 11kV network.
• To quickly run 'what if' scenarios to assist in the design process.

<2 Years 10 Years
adoption achieved

Project NPV £1,608
Costs
Project Progress March Project meetings with ESRI and DigSilent are due to take place during March with
2012 the project concluding Mid August
Potential for achieving There is hope that this project can build on the back of the distance to fault work
expected benefits carried out previously.
R&D Providers ESRI UK and DIgSILENT
Page 80 of 86
Project Title IFI 1201 –Lynx Kelvatek LV Switch
The 'Y' type network in Cheshire requires the LV network to be manually

managed/switched during 11kV fault isolation and restoration. The LV network has
to be disconnected in order that there will be no backfeeds onto the fault while
Description of project isolationg. It is then reconnected after the 11kV restoration. Care has to be taken
so that any stage in the process does not overload the LV network This may involve
closing 11kV breakers simultaneously at each end of the fault. Lynx is an
electromechanical device that will automatically during the fault conditions.
Internal £15,000
for SPEN
Total £135,000
This project will develop a system that will allow the 11kV network to be
sectionalised as on a radial system with the LV network automatically opening and
closing depending on the 11kV status thus allowing engineers to focus solely on
project
isolation/restoration. This in turn will improve CML performance.
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes No No No
• Improved CML performance.

Project • Established safeguards to prevent back feeding of HV cables and overloading
of LV cables.
<2 Years 15 Years
adoption achieved

Project NPV £107k
Costs
Currently under negotiation
2012

It is expected that this project will achieve its aim.
expected benefits
R&D Providers Kelvatek
Page 81 of 86
Project Title IFI 1202 – Nanodielectrics
The aim of this project is to gain an understanding and practical experience of the
processing of nanodielectric materials in order to develop a set of materials design
and process rules to achieve the reliable production of high performance insulation
materials.
Internal £7,500
for SPEN
Total £37,929
The understanding gained by this project and the materials design rules developed
will feed into HV equipment design to achieve new high performance equipment
with significantly improved voltage and power ratings and potentially much
project
smaller size for the same rating.
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes Yes Yes Yes
• Increased continuous, switching and emergency current ratings.
• Higher power density equipment or smaller footprint assets.
• Longer insulation lifetime and insulation more tolerant to overloads.
Expected Benefits of • Enhanced flexibility in network operation.
Project • Greater resistance to power electronics system harmonics particularly in
systems containing HVDC technologies.
• Lower capital costs for civil works.
• Higher retained asset value and operational efficiency.
<3 Years 10 Years
adoption achieved

Project NPV Not known at this stage
Costs
Project Progress March Collaboration agreements are awaiting to be signed with kickoff expected on the
st
2012 1 of June

Not known at this stage
expected benefits
Collaborative Partners NGC, SSE
GnoSys UK, University of Southampton and Areva Research & Technology Centre,
R&D Providers
National Physical Laboratory
Page 82 of 86
Project Title IFI 1203 – Psymetrix ACAM Phase 1

The objective of this project is to prove the concept of an Active Network
Management (ANM) approach known as Angle Constraint Active Management
Description of project (ACAM). Then initiate its development into an operational scheme capable of
facilitating the connection and management of additional Distributed Generation
(Phase 2).
Internal £20,000
for SPEN
Total £180,000

The project will contribute to the UK environmental targets by enabling a greater
penetration of renewable generation on to the electrical network.
project
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes No No No
• To prove and quantify the additional capacity that an ACAM scheme could
introduce
• To prove the correlation of modelled ACAM angles against network PMU
measurements
Project
• To identify the operational requirements of an ACAM scheme
• To gain the necessary evidence to justify an operational trial of the ACAM
scheme
2 Years 10 Years
adoption achieved

Costs
• Test site(s) identified and pre-vetted.
Project Progress March • Contract with Psymetrix placed.
2012 • PMU order placed.
• Factory Acceptance Testing scheduled for July 2012.
As this is a proof of concept trial and yet to start in earnest, at this stage, based on
Potential for achieving academic feasibility studies this project has good potential to deliver its benefits.
expected benefits Once the equipment is installed later on in the year the ability to realise expected
benefits will be better understood.
Collaborative Partners Psymetrix
R&D Providers Psymetrix
Page 83 of 86
Project Title IFI 1204 – LV Jumpers with Integral CB
The development of a set of a prototype Low Voltage (LV) jumper set to be used in
conjunction with a suitably graded portable LV circuit breaker. The full
arrangement to be used to energise LV circuits from adjacent live circuits during LV
busbar outages, hence reducing customer outages and mobile generator costs.
Assuming the prototype proves successful the project will be extended to include
evaluation of several units on the network.
Expenditure for financial External £186 External £0
previous (IFI) financial
year
Internal £15,000
Projected 2012/13 External £25,000
Project Cost £60k
costs for SPEN
Total £40,000
The prototype arrangement would provide a technical solution to reduce customer
outages and mobile generator costs / emissions.
project
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes No No No
• Improved customer service via the reduction in the CI and CML associated with
the LV busbar outages.
Expected Benefits of • Reduction in the mobile generation emissions and costs associated with LV
Project busbar outages.
• Additional operational applications and benefits derived from field trials and
business exposure to the device.

<2 Years 10 Years
adoption achieved

Project NPV TBC
Costs
• The initial prototype arrangement of flexible LV jumpers and portable circuit
breaker was manufactured by Ten47 and delivered to SPEN in early March.
• The prototype was installed on a dead LV busbar at the SPEN training
complex shortly afterwards.
Project Progress March • The basic installation tests provided confidence that the arrangement was a
2012 feasible solution and was of suitable construction for a substation
environment.
• Several design improvements were identified during the testing and the
prototype has been subsequently taken back by Ten47 to implement them.
• Version 2 to be trialled in May / June 2012.
As indicated above the initial prototype arrangement has demonstrated it is
Potential for achieving capable of being used in an operational scenario and is of a suitable design. The
expected benefits construction standards of each of the components have also given SPEN the
confidence to implement live testing once Version 2 is delivered.
Collaborative Partners Ten47
R&D Providers SPEN
Page 84 of 86
Project Title IFI 1209 - Substation Earth Integrity Monitoring System

This aim of this project is to develop a system for monitoring the removal/theft of
earth straps from Transmission and Distribution substations or other installations
Expenditure for
External £186 previous (IFI) financial External £0
financial year
Internal £24,697
Projected 2012/13
costs for SPEN
Total £189,347
The project will explore three separate work streams
1) Use of RFID technology using RFID tags bonded to earth straps that are monitored
(pinged) by a monitoring unit on site to detect their presence.
Technological area
and / or issue 2) To prove the concept of using SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) as used in radio/antenna
addressed by project optimisation to provide detection of real time “earth tamper” activity.
3) Develop the Cresatech Copper Theft Sensor (CuTS) protype unit for application at
ScottishPower substations.

Rating Score
Tech Transfer
involved
10 -1 11
There is no off the shelf product available for permanent installation in a substation
which can detect the presence of adequate earthing and real time theft detection.
Project

1 year 15 years
Project NPV = (PV

Potential for
Work streams 1 and 2 are at an early stage and, as commented on below, early results
achieving expected
are not as good as expected. The potential for success is therefore inconclusive.
benefits
The project only started shortly before the year end, so there is very little progress to
Project Progress to
report at this time, other than early experience of work streams 1 and 2 has not given
March 12
encouraging results so far. Work stream 3 has yet to start.
Collaborative
Scottish Power
Partners
R&D Providers Nortech Online Ltd, Cresatech
Page 85 of 86
Project Title IFI 1210 –Transmission SSR & Harmonics

SPT is currently undertaking two projects to improve the visibility of the
transmission network in readiness for the 2020 reinforcement programme. One
project looks to provide essential data on the network harmonics that are required
to be Grid Code compliant and is now required to the design of HVDC filters. The
second project is the monitoring of several generation sites in England and
Scotland that have been identified as being at risk to Sub-Synchronous Resonance
(SSR) as a result of the proposed Series Compensation schemes on the Anglo-
Scottish border.
Expenditure for financial Expenditure in previous £0
External £186 External
Internal £12,500
Projected 2012/13 costs £130,000
Project Cost £140,300 External
for SPEN
Total £142,500
The aims of this project are to enhance both projects using advanced hardware /
Technological area and / software solutions to: (1) Automatically accumulate process and analyse the
or issue addressed by harmonic data to create useful system harmonic information. (2) To advance the
project design of a network fault recorder to accommodate SSR detection as a standard
feature in readiness of the Series Compensation being added to the network.
Technological
substitution
involved
Yes No No No
• Production of automatic harmonic reports that would have otherwise required
several man hours of effort each day to recreate.
• Both projects will decrease the risk to external parties connected to the
transmission network. In particular SSR detection will prevent the mechanical
Expected Benefits of failure of SSR susceptible turbines connected to the network.
Project • SPT will have increased awareness of the SSR phenomena and its detection in
advance of series compensation. SPT will have greater visibility of the
networks harmonic performance and have a greater ability to police it against
the Grid Code, with increasing levels of low carbon technology connecting to
the network.
<2 Years 15 Years
adoption achieved


Project NPV To be determined
Costs
This project has just started, with the majority of costs being internal.
2012
Potential for achieving The potential of this project will be realised once equipment is installed in the field
expected benefits and we start to obtain results.
R&D Providers QUALITROL & PI
Page 86 of 86

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Innovation Funding Incentive

For SP Distribution Ltd, SP Manweb plc and SP Transmission Ltd

SP Energy Networks (SPEN) welcomes the increasing importance Ofgem

During the reporting year 2011/12, we realised our ambition of

Once again we have acheived significant leverage of R&D spend through

1. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND.................................................................................... 5

1.2 Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI) .............................................................................. 5

2. SP ENERGY NETWORKS STRUCTURE ................................................................................ 6

3.1 IFI Overview .............................................................................................................. 7

4. SUMMARY TABLES ......................................................................................................... 8

5. ACHIEVEMENTS FOR 2011/12 ......................................................................................... 9

5.1 Development of Partnerships ..................................................................................... 9

5.2 Power Networks Demonstration Centre ..................................................................... 9

6. HIGHLIGHTS FROM 11/12 ............................................................................................. 11

6.2 EPRI - High Voltage Direct Current Programme Engagement...................................... 12

6.3 Vegetation Management ......................................................................................... 13

6.4 Remote Engineering Access To Pole Mounted Auto Reclosers ................................... 14

6.5 Outram Fault Level Monitor ..................................................................................... 16

APPENDIX A – EXPENDITURE BREAKDOWN OF PROJECTS BETWEEN LICENCES ....................... 18

APPENDIX B – PROJECT REPORTS IFI PROJECTS ..................................................................... 22

IFI 0526 - PD Monitoring of Cables (11 & 33kV) ................................................................................... 36

1. Introduction & Background

1.2 Innovation Funding Incentive (IFI)

2. SP Energy Networks Structure

• SP Distribution: The electricity network of 33kV and below in southern Scotland

• SP Distribution Ltd, referred to as SP-D in this report

10.00 IFI Leverage

Figure 2 IFI Spend

IFI Summary - SP Distribution Ltd Licence Area 11/12

External expenditure [2011/12] on IFI projects £680,674

IFI Summary - SP Manweb plc Licence Area 11/12

External expenditure [2011/12] on IFI projects £453,777

IFI Summary - SP Transmission Ltd Licence Area 11/12

External expenditure [2011/12] on IFI projects £349,281

Further detail on these tables is provided in Appendix A of this report.

5. Achievements for 2011/12

5.1 Development of Partnerships

5.2 Power Networks Demonstration Centre

Whilst not a technological development in itself, this project is a fundamental enabler of

Figure 3 Artists Impression of the Demonstration Facility

Figure 4 Construction Progress March 2012

6. Highlights from 11/12

have indicated the benefits brought to SPEN in

cost of equipment and the reduction in energy

6.1 Prototype Low Voltage Jumpers with Integral Circuit

When work is undertaken on Low Voltage (LV) busbars it

LV board and in most circumstances this will result in an unable to be back

board. In these circumstances the DNO will energise as Energised from

many of the LV circuits as possible via either a mobile

generator or a back feed from an LV interconnected

This project is looking to develop a safe and simple

The prototype includes an integrated 200A 3-phase LV

widespread testing of several units in real outage scenarios.

6.2 EPRI - High Voltage Direct Current Programme Engagement

HVDC connections perform differently to ac connections during steady-state, dynamic, and

EPRI’s current year HVDC and FACTS activities include:

• Developing conversion of ac lines to dc lines to increase transfer capability on existing

6.3 Vegetation Management