Northern Powergrid starts work on modernising its substation controllers

NORTHERN POWERGRID has started the next phase of work on a project looking to modernise and future-proof more than 860 of its substation controllers for the implementation of smart grid solutions and applications.

The company is investing £15m in the next generation of substation controllers to make Smart Substations a possibility.

The Smart Grid Enablers programme will begin this month and is scheduled to complete in 2023.

Mark Nicholson, head of Smart Grid Implementation at Northern Powergrid, said: “This is a significant and technically challenging operation drawing on many of our highly specialist technical functions across the business – it has been an impressive team effort between Northern Powergrid and ZIV Automation UK to get us to this stage.

“The advantage at the end of this work will be infrastructure that will enable us to operate our network in a more flexible way to deliver more value for our customers through smarter, more efficient and cost-effective services.”

The £83m Smart Grid Enablers programme is preparation for rapid growth of electric vehicles, domestic heat pumps and renewable power.

Northern Powergrid recently completed the project’s proof of concept phase.

Northern Powergrid operates 8,000 substations across the North East, Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, delivering power to 3.9 million homes and businesses in the region.