An ambitious programme of works by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) to install technology that will help to ‘self-restore’ electricity supplies to its central southern England has reached a major milestone ahead of the winter months.
The distribution operator committed to investing over £3.12 million by 2023 on the automated system that will safely enable customers’ power supplies to be restored faster than ever in the event of a power cut; generally in less than three minutes.
With the investment works scheduled to complete in March of next year, SSEN has already installed the intuitive system to over 65% of the earmarked network sites; enabling a more resilient power supply for homes and businesses across central southern England.
The Automated Power Restoration System (APRS) enables the electricity network powering homes and businesses to ‘self-restore’. The innovative and self-adapting system detects when, and where, there is a fault on the network, then - if safe to do so - either chooses the most suitable alternative cable circuit to switch supplies to or sends a signal to the main control room where engineers can restore power with the push of a button. All of this is done in just a matter of minutes, so many customers are unaware of the temporary interruption to their power supply.
SSEN’s Alex King, oversees the distribution operator’s automation planning. He said:
“As we head into the winter months, I’m delighted that SSEN has already installed this ‘self-restoring’ system to 166 of the 253 sites we had listed to benefit from APRS by the end of this financial year.
“We’re well on the way to completing the £3.17 million programme of works by March 2023, which will benefit hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across SSEN’s central southern England distribution area.
Alex continued:
“SSEN constantly looks for new and innovative ways to improve the electricity infrastructure to meet customers’ needs. As more local homes and businesses take up low carbon technologies – such as electric vehicles, heat pumps and solar panels - SSEN is working to provide a network that is fit for the future.
“By investing in technology, such as APRS, SSEN is building in a further layer of resilience to electricity supplies; keeping power flowing to customers through an efficient and steady supply.”
While dramatically reducing the duration of unplanned power cuts, automation also means SSEN’s engineers can investigate the actual fault faster and resolve any network issues while power is still being supplied via alternative circuits.
As environmental impact and reducing the carbon footprint of the company is a priority for SSEN, APRS also reduces the need for engineers to physically switch power back on at source; thereby cutting unnecessary travel and allowing engineers and resources to be redirected to other areas of network maintenance.
SSEN works in an efficient, reliable and sustainable way which is enhanced through automation and other technologies, and helps the distribution operator to match the pace of customers’ lives while minimising disruption and inconvenience.
While SSEN works year-round to build and maintain a strong and flexible network for its 3.1 million customers in central southern England, severe weather events can still bring the potential for unplanned power cuts. Anyone who has concerns about vulnerability during power cuts is reminded of SSEN’s Priority Services Register.
Customers are eligible for SSEN's free Priority Services Register (PSR) if they:
- Are deaf or hard of hearing
- Have a disability
- Live with children under five
- Are blind or partially sighted
- Have a chronic illness
- Use medical equipment/aids reliant on electricity
- Are over 60
- Temporarily need extra support
To find out more about the PSR, click here or call 0800 294 3259. Additionally, you can access further information on power cuts and how SSEN can assist you during this time, by going to: Power cuts & safety - SSEN
As the distribution operator for central southern England, SSEN invests over £150 million a year in building resilience across its network, through upgrading and reinforcing the electricity infrastructure. In addition to systems such as APRS, this investment includes around £20 million a year on regular tree cutting and maintenance and over £12 million targeted for refurbishing overhead lines. From 2023 to 2028, SSEN is aiming to invest a further £17 million in APRS installation on an additional 426 circuits.
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