IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2015 - 33

There is an ever stronger need
for a robust pan-European transmission backbone
for cross-border trading.
in a timely manner. The planning challenges also include anticipating future evolutions of generation patterns and being
ready to accommodate new generation capacities: this will
require Tsos to integrate new grid architectures smoothly
into existing grid configurations. overall, transmission grids
will need to retain their ability to accept new generation infeeds and balance new demand.
Distribution planning challenges are driven by various
parameters. The most influential ones are the regime of asset
ownership, possible changes to the economic environment and
regulatory models, new climate patterns, multiple customer
choices, the use of novel technologies, and the transition from
passive to active distribution networks. intensive load growth
implies changes in energy supply models, forcing distribution
planners to accommodate new techniques and planning methodologies that will allow future networks to be more efficient.
Both Tsos and Dsos also have to comply with grid
access frameworks, in which the electricity network connection arrangements seek to facilitate the universal provision
of network connection services. The intent of regulators is
to establish balanced connection arrangements that are not
overly prescriptive, i.e., only regulating when it is deemed
necessary and recognizing incentives to gain new customers
under price regulation.

Asset Management
asset management is a critical component of an overall network management strategy. The strategic management of
physical system assets supports the best possible network
service delivery. The primary asset management objectives
shared by Tsos and Dsos include:
✔✔ establishing priorities in line with organizational
objectives and statutory obligations, namely, safety,
reliability, and sustainability
✔✔ planning and controlling financing and expenditure in
accordance with these priorities
✔✔ ensuring that invested resources provide the most
value for money
✔✔ optimizing maintenance activities, i.e., maximizing
life exploitation and availability rates while minimizing global costs (operating expense, capital expense,
and fault repairs) and risks.
Better management of assets has a direct short-term impact
on operating expense and mid- to long-term impacts on capital expense. overall, the upgraded version of the road map
stresses the importance of operating expense-driven innovations for both Tsos and Dsos while covering planning,
january/february 2015

operations, and market optimization within the respective
obligations of regulated operators.

Power Technologies
current technological advances offer Tsos many opportunities to implement new solutions to cope with future network
development and operating challenges. on the one hand,
innovative technologies must be wisely embedded into the
existing infrastructure. on the other hand, the challenge is
to integrate the new technology with the existing assets in a
compatible and safe manner. other aspects to be considered
include the need to deploy information and communications
technology (icT) and storage technologies and to develop
expertise in hybrid ac/dc power systems and multiterminal,
vendor-independent hVdc voltage-source converter (Vsc)
technologies, including hVdc breakers.
These technologies have their own learning curves and
innovation cycles. Tsos must question their investment costs,
reliability, expected lifetimes, and service behavior under difficult operating conditions or when disturbances or major faults
occur. Provided their performance can be predicted using suitable simulation tools and network models, new technologies
must be demonstrated to validate their performance and specify real-life implementation procedures. Demonstration leads
to final product specifications and product implementation
plans as well as new network management rules.

Operation
Tsos deal every instant with the operational uncertainties of
the pan-european transmission grid. operation requires planning and ensuring broad availability of the so-called ancillary
services, which in turn enable Tsos to cope, among other
things, with balancing challenges, keeping voltages and frequency at appropriate levels, guaranteeing system security, and
restoration planning, as well as covering transmission losses.
commercial exchanges between market areas have considerably evolved over the past ten years. at present they are quite
able to fluctuate in accordance with price signals that reflect
electricity scarcity or excess within the pan-european system.
such commercial exchanges can introduce congestion on tie
lines between control zones and, sometimes, internal congestion within the zones themselves. These constraints must be
taken into account by Tsos in the operational planning phase
and communicated to the market in the form of transmission
capacity allocation rules and procedures.
for Dsos, Der units are small in size and connected to
the distribution grid. electric power is thus generated closer to
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2015