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Our actions on Losses

Below is a regularly updated, comprehensive list of all the actions we are taking to directly reduce losses. This list does not include innovation projects, but does include where results from innovation projects has become Business-As-Usual (BAU) policy.
 

Actions Completed Before 2017

  • A comprehensive programme of stakeholder engagement including biennial stakeholder consultation events; 
  • The discontinuation of cable tapering on all feeder and service cables
  • Reducing cable lengths.
  • Rationalisation of transformer sizes and application;
  • Voltage reduction.
  • The on-going reduction of variable losses in underground cables by removing the smaller cross-sectional area cables from normal use.

Actions Completed During 2017 and ongoing actions

  • National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) have established a losses engineer within the Policy Section to take into account the losses policies developed within the Network Strategy and Innovation Team; 
  • The continued pro-active replacement of 1,996 distribution transformers;
  • The oversizing of 448 ground-mounted transformers and 575 pole-mounted transformers per annum;
  • The design intervention for losses on new installation of 8,184 distribution transformers and 11,880 kilometres of underground cables;
  • The identification of units lost to supplier side abstraction, unmetered supplies and theft in conveyance throughout the period;
  • A review of the NGED policies to ensure losses are a priority consideration for all of our investment decisions;
  • The update of the existing modelling tool for LV mains of the NGED network, to output direct losses data and be compatible with smart-meter data;
  • A comprehensive programme of stakeholder engagement including biennial stakeholder consultation events; the development of a new losses page on the NGED website.
  • The development of a new losses page on the NGED website.

Plans for 2018 and beyond

  • Continuation of the asset replacement scheme started at the beginning of ED1.
  • Electric Vehicle Charging and Streetlights
  • LV phase imbalance correction
  • Network Optimisation at 11kV
  • Network Meshing
  • Desktop studies of the National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) LV Mains to check if Solar Panels, Electric Vehicles, Battery Storage and Heat Pumps are creating hotspots on the NGED LV Mains network
  • Conversion of legacy networks
  • Conversion of heat generated in transformers to electricity

Two further projects detailed below will investigate how we can take EV charging demand away from domestic installations and use HV connected charging stations, doing this removes demand from the LV network and the total losses effect can be reduced.
 

  • Substation Footprint
  • Car Park Charging


 

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