Blackout Preparation and Prevention
How electrical utilities can avoid serious consequences and ensure a reliable power supply.
Blackouts, or unexpected electrical outages over large areas of a power network, are a major concern for electrical power utilities around the world.
There are several factors that present a risk for blackouts, whether it is severe weather or wildfires that damage important power system infrastructure, the malfunctioning or wrong operation of parts of the power system, or even wars and terrorist activity, such as cyber attacks.
OMICRON application experts Friedrich Almer and Daniel Wiesner talk in this episode about how to reduce the risks and minimize the consequences of blackouts. They both work with power utilities to support them in their mission to ensure a stable and reliable power grid despite the growing complexities of power systems, such as the integration of renewable energy sources and digitalization.
Friedrich and Daniel discuss the various causes for blackouts, and how power utilities not only plan and train for such events in order to respond quickly should they occur, but also what they are doing in terms of prevention, such as the implementation of cybersecurity in their digital networks.
Friedrich and Daniel also highlight the importance of power system diagnostic testing and monitoring to ensure that critical power equipment, backup equipment and emergency systems are performance-ready and available to the power system when needed.
Lastly, Friedrich and Daniel describe how OMICRON helps utilities in this way by providing them with diagnostic and cybersecurity solutions to reduce risk and increase readiness.
“Many utilities plan and train how to respond quickly to blackout situations and become black-start ready to restore power in the grid.”
-Friedrich Almer, Application Expert, OMICRON
“The big challenge is how to prevent grid instabilities that can cause blackouts.”
-Daniel Wiesner, Application Expert, OMICRON