Self Healing Grid More Like A Splint

The words "self healing grid" are an instant lure, but grid experts would be happier if we stopped throwing the term around. What actually happens is lighter on the magic, heavier on the helpful.

In recent years, utilities added distributed automation systems that pick up on problems and respond. One, called a closed loop distribution automation control system, relies on radio communication along the lines when there's a problem. All the devices report to a controller, which studies the situation and then isolates the problem to minimize an outage.

Even more advanced is an "automatic network reconfiguration" system that involves putting fiber optics and communication devices along the grid that can control circuit breakers. In a matter of milliseconds, the devices can identify a fault--say a tree falling on the power line--and isolate it. Then the system allows energy to keep flowing normally if the line is still intact.

"Most engineers say you design the system never to do that," says Dave Dolezilek, technology director at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, which makes devices for this kind of system. "That was before we had really smart communications and sophisticated devices. You can make better decisions." While this system is pricey, far fewer people lose power, saving money and hassle. New Jersey utility Public Service Electric and Gas is incorporating this system into its smart grid plan.

In North America, General Electric, Cooper Industries, and S&C Electric Company are also developing promising smart grid technology. I think the most interesting leaps are likely to come out of Australia, though, where the government is investing $43 billion (AU) over eight years in a national broadband network that could be linked to the grid. Broadband or no, it's all about the smartest workaround.

Photo: Power lines gone awry in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Credit: Tammra McCauley.