e-News for power industry leaders

Issue 30 - June 2022

Dear Reader,

Welcome to this thirtieth edition of In The Loop (ITL).

We now have over 830 subscribers and have published in excess of 90 technical articles related to CIGRE work within the region and internationally.

In this edition, we present recently completed reports from Working Groups D2.43, C2.24 and Joint Working Group C6/C1.33.

We also have the biennial Paris Session only 55 days away. Currently we have 82 Australian delegates attending and we are informed from the Paris Office that the exhibition space is close to sold out. There are already over 2600 delegates registered, so a final attendance of over 3000 delegates is quite achievable.

However, if you are not able to get to the Paris Session (or even if you do) you can schedule our 2023 International Cairns Symposium (4th -7th September) into your diaries.

We have ten of the sixteen global Study Committees attending over the four day event, so whilst not quite as large as a Paris Session, this Symposium will present an excellent opportunity to view and experience an international CIGRE event on Australian soil.

We are still developing the official website and promotional material however the sponsor prospectus has been released. (please note that the event website referred to is still under construction and not yet published. In the interim, basic information on the Symposium can be viewed HERE). A two minute promotional video can be viewed HERE.

Best Regards

Terry Killen
Chief Executive
CIGRE Australia

Technical Editor - Phil Southwell

===============================================

Working Group (WG) D2.43, Enabling software defined networking for electric power utilities

Agile telecommunications networks in power utilities are particularly important to address new systems integration challenges brought by renewables and distributed energy resources as part of the energy transition. WG D2.43 has recently produced Technical Brochure (TB) 866 which examines increasing the agility of telecommunications networks through software defined network (SDN) and network function virtualisation (NFV). These technologies may provide benefits to some areas of power utility operations where flexibility is required. The Australian Convenor was Victor Tan.

MORE >

Working Group (WG) C2.24, “Mitigating the risk of fire starts and the consequences of fires near overhead lines for System Operations”

With forecasts that Climate Change will increase the number of days of extreme fire danger, as well as the duration and intensity of such days, the imperative for mitigating the risk of fires starting from powerlines, and understanding the impacts that wildfires have on distribution and transmission lines has never been greater. In addition, the significant risk to life and infrastructure is compounded by the potential costs imposed on utilities to rebuild damaged networks and provide compensation where liability can be proven. Recent bushfire events in Australia have dramatically illustrated this challenge. In this context, Working Group (WG) C2.24, has produced Technical Brochure (TB) 868, “Mitigating the risk of fire starts and the consequences of fires near overhead lines for System Operations”. The Australian Convenor of this work was Frank Crisci.

MORE >

Joint Working Group (JWG) C6/C1.33, “Multi-energy system interactions in a distribution grid.”

Multi-energy systems (MES) couple various energy sectors and networks such as electricity, gas, heating, cooling, transport, water, waste, etc. to unlock energy flexibility and provisions for cost-effective operation while realizing low-carbon smart electricity grids. These systems are the key for generating new types of energy flexibility as well as techno-economic and environmental opportunities for the future complex energy system. This issue is discussed in Technical Brochure (TB) 863 which was produced by JWG C6/C1.33. The Australian members of this working group were Alex Baitch and Kerim Mekki.

MORE >