Heterogeneous Data-merging Platform for Improved Risk Management in Power Grids

SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONSVegetation-related and wind-induced outages are two primary causes for disruption in electricity transmission and distribution networks. Wind can either be a direct cause of disruption, e.g. by over-constraining infrastructures, leading to cracks and ruptures, or indirectly, e.g. when leading to trees falling on power lines. The ability to efficiently address such hazards remains limited, despite the considerable increase in relevant data over recent years to help mitigate risk. Moreover, to our knowledge, no platform exists that addresses wind and vegetation hazards in combination for power-grid management. The development of such a solution is a timely exercise, as recent and predicted climate change can lead to more extreme weather events and difficulties to forecasting them.In this paper, we develop and present a platform to elevate situation awareness in the context of vegetation- and wind-induced risk near power lines, which can improve power network resilience and reduce cost of electricity outages. In this process, we demonstrate how heterogeneous data sources with variable temporal and spatial scales (e.g. satellite imagery, ground surveys, outage reports, and weather data) can be exploited to generate end-user-oriented applications.We apply the developed strategy to a case study in western Norway, where we develop a support product to assist grid operators. The final product can enhance reliable vegetation status awareness and predictions of weather-related outages to enable effective resource allocation and ensure safety of ground crews.