The OpenLV project achieved an important milestone at the end of January when LV CAPTM technology in two pairs of substations in the Plymouth area took full autonomous control of load.
Low Voltage (LV) networks typically connect customers’ homes to a single transformer situated in a local distribution substation. A mesh configuration allows customers to be supplied from cables connected to two or more substations.
Sharing the load across multiple transformers in this way reduces the chance of overloading any one transformer and helps prolong their lives.
Autonomous Network meshing is controlled by distributed intelligence embedded in the LV CAPTM units. The next step is to fully commission the technology in more substations over the coming weeks.
Sam Rossi Ashton, the OpenLV Project Manager at Western Power Distribution (WPD), said: “Being able to automatically mesh LV feeders using low cost hardware allows WPD to better use the capacity of our distribution transformers, which helps extend their lifespan.”
OpenLV is a ground-breaking project that’s also making local electricity data openly available for the first time to benefit local communities and the wider energy industry.
It’s led by project partners Western Power Distribution and EA Technology and is taking place in Low Voltage (LV) distribution substations located in WPD’s licence areas – the Midlands, the South West and South Wales. It is funded by Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition.
Businesses and communities taking part in the OpenLV project are, in most cases, developing apps to access data from the networks. Case studies are available for many of the projects here.
The latest project report, ‘Specific Learning from Deployment and App Development’ is now available on the OpenLV website. It documents the project team’s learning from the site selection, installation in substations and early app development phase of the project. The report can be downloaded from www.openlv.net/resources. Find out more at www.openlv.net.
