16th December 2020 11:25 am 16th December 2020 11:25 am
National Grid and regional network operators are integrating more closely to accommodate increased decentralised and renewable generation.
(Credit: National Grid)
Part of National Grid’s Regional Development Plan (RDP), the first step in the overhaul, has seen a new system introduced to manage electricity flows between the national system and South East England’s regional system, which is run by UK Power Networks (UKPN). Up to 600MW of distributed energy resources (DERs) in the South East – which up until now have not been fully integrated with the national system – can now link to UK’s primary grid even under difficult conditions such as when faults occur on the network. This is facilitated by a new system that links the local control room of UKPN to the centralised control room of National Grid, providing better visibility and helping to keep a balanced electricity supply.