Snow and mass emergencies – can they be prevented?
Winter brings us afternoon twilight and cooler temperatures, but also white powder and the opportunity to spend long evenings at home with our loved ones. In addition, the first winter months see a peak in demand for electricity. Energy for which the transmission technology is unreliable and exposed to the weather. Imagine sitting in your rocking chair at home, reading your child a favourite bedtime book, when suddenly the light goes out. You won't finish reading or watch your favourite TV series. You can't take a shower because the well pump isn't working. Imagine that people in your entire city, county or province have a similar problem! That's even several million homes plunged into darkness. Sounds unbelievable? It has already happened, even on a much larger scale, and you never know when you will be affected.
Massive power grid failures cannot be completely prevented. This is confirmed by expert analyses and annual statistics of incidents caused by the impact of weather conditions on the infrastructure of energy suppliers. Similarly, we cannot avoid heavy snowfalls or other weather anomalies, which are constantly increasing in our region of the world. Unfortunately, the number of power cuts increases with them.
Nearly 3,000 electricians worked on removing the effects of storms in Pomerania in 2018. Power producers drew teams from all over the country and helped each other. Later, at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, they signed an agreement to maintain this good practice in order to act faster and more effectively in case it happens again.
The number of unnecessary outages can be minimised - this is the great responsibility of energy distributors. How can this be done? Firstly, by taking action to modernise the infrastructure, and secondly (as the first one may take many years), by applying preventive measures.The poor state of infrastructure in our country means that electricity consumers have to reckon with power cuts lasting around 200 minutes a year. Comparatively, in Germany it is 23 minutes, in Denmark 19 minutes. More than 70 percent of high and medium voltage lines are over 25 years old, and nearly 40 percent are even over 40 years old. These are the backbone of the transmission and distribution infrastructure. The data shows that approximately 30 percent of medium voltage lines are cabled, i.e. they are underground. The remainder are piled higher, so they can be destroyed or damaged by heavy snowfall or tornadoes. Network failures mostly affect medium voltage lines. It is estimated that it takes about 50 years to reach the optimum level of modernisation of medium voltage networks. This is a long time, taking into account that today's modern infrastructure will grow older every day and the frequency of weather anomalies will increase.
When working in protected areas, it is also important to use aboveground machines powered by biodegradable oil to clean the area under the line. Quickly and without harm to the environment. And, most importantly, for the benefit of energy security reading bedtime books to children and watching the Champions League on Wednesdays. It's a common cause, so it will be good to play on the same team.
