Learnings

Outcomes

The success during field trials has been limited with being able to find Open Circuits on the low voltage network. There has been intermittent instability with measuring the signalling that enables the OCF to locate Open Circuit faults. The design finalisation will continue outside of this project, funded in BaU. It is expected that the outcome of the development will transition to Business as Usual (BaU), making the OCF available to all DNOs (Distributed Network Operator).

The signal injection method, frequency, and Pseudo Random Number (PRN) codes was also demonstrated successfully.

Successful use of the OCF for a new application/tool, the Feeder Finder has been demonstrated on the SMITN project and could also be developed further to a TRL9 level.

Lessons Learnt

During the project, the OCF was also able to be used as a low voltage Feeder Finder from a secondary sub-station low volage pillar – allowing feeder identification to be achieved at street level. The OCF was used successfully used on the SMITN NIA Project (Detailed below), to validate the operation of several new algorithms developed under that project. The Feeder Finder was developed to TRL6 and has been identified as a worthy candidate for a future project, to increase the TRL to level 9.

The technology developed and deployed in the OCF allows the accurate TOA to be measured at various points on a buried cable. It is believed that this technology can be adopted for additional use cases and projects.

Smart Meter Innovations and Test Network (SMITN) NIA_WPD_066

SMITN uses aggregated half hourly load data and MPAN specific voltage data within algorithms to determine customer phase and feeder connectivity, detect Low Carbon Technologies (LCTs) and generate feeder and substation profiles for planning purposes. The algorithms are applied on a test network where phase and feeder connectivity has been validated by a physical survey using an existing phase identification unit and a feeder finder developed as part of the project. As smart meter data availability improves this offers a means to improve LV network data, improving the accuracy of planning and enabling better use of monitoring equipment.