Welcome to the SGN Blogs

The smart grid is definitely both an inevitable task and a challenge as well. But there are major problems we are confronted with like the increasing power demand, the increasing power trade, the grid instabilities due to fluctuations caused by feeding in power from renewable energy sources. Moreover the current grid infrastructure is really overdue! Most of the large power transformers are far beyond their design lifetime and their actual lifetime as well. Did anybody really get the fact that ANY breakdown of only ONE big transformer would cause the grid come to its actual safety margins? That´s called (N-1)-safety and it´s meant that only one(!) transformer could break down and the system would be kept stable - in Europe! I don´t know if there are comparable safety rules in the US which should be followed for the maintenance of a seamless grid functioning. But I know that those large transformers with a power output > 40 MVA are in most cases(60% in the US) older than 40 years what means that they are in the "death zone" according to the models of breakdown probabilities of power insurers, that means one of three transformers will(!) have a severe fault! To my knowledge this extraordinary danger for the supply with electrical power is not considered in any of the projects and initiatives for the "Smart Grid". During the upcoming power supply transformation period, i.e. the total change of the infrastructure of power generation, transmission and distribution within the next decade, all efforts have to be undertaken "live", and this is not restricted to the installation of smart meters and communications in/on/about the grid infrastructure and the subsequent services. It must be made clear to all which are actually involved in smart grid initiatives and projects that WITHOUT transformers nothing would work and all the nice business models based on renewable energies would fail in consequence. Blackouts don´t occur because faults would come by chance. They´re a clear result of the aging infrastructure in combination with the problems stated above and thus get more and more to deterministic events. As Obama made clear, there is a damage of 150 Mrd. $ p.a. due to blackouts. But utilities refuse to renew their transformer fleet because of the cost - say 7.000.- € per MVA as a rule of thumb. There are 100.000 large transformers only in the US. Who will and who could pay the exchange of those "zombies" when you have to wait 2 years for delivery?