IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2022 - 63

AusNet Services, together with local renewable generation
and supported by further backup resources, could provide supply
under off-grid operation for up to three days in the event of
future loss of the network connection.
However, although the perspective of community provision
of reliability and resilience may be technically feasible
and fascinating in terms of technological developments, a
suitable framework to assess economic performance and
risk in the presence of extreme events is lacking. The first
steps being undertaken in the context of the Australian
regulatory framework are to allow distribution network
service providers to recoup costs from microgrids in a way
similar to network assets. Evidence is mounting that cultural
and socioeconomic elements, including community
engagement, are as important as the engineering measures.
New sociotechnoeconomic frameworks are needed to
design future resilient power and energy systems that fully
deploy smart grid technologies and integrate DERs.
Concluding Remarks
Australia has been subject to many catastrophic bushfires
in the past, and the continent has evolved to coexist with
fire. However, climate change is increasing bushfire hazards
in Australia and this has important implications for
the resilience of the electricity grid. The Australian grid
was only fully electrified 50 years ago, and the NEM operates
on one of the world's longest interconnected power
systems, its T&D networks highly exposed to damage from
fires. T&D lines can both cause bushfires and are affected
by them either through physical damage to the infrastructure
or when heat and smoke from nearby bushfires cause
phase-to-phase arcing and disconnection. In response to
this threat, the Australian grid has evolved strategies to
reduce the impact of bushfires and include
✔ Physical preventative strategies: These include vegetation
and fuel load management along easement
corridors, targeted asset replacement programs, enhanced
inspection quality and standards, and insulation
of powerlines in the highest consequence areas.
✔ Technological preventative strategies: Policies such as
computer-based systems that increase the transparency
across the network of workload, asset risk modeling, asset
inspection technologies, and enhanced electrical protection
through REFCLs and remote-controlled ACRs.
✔ Cooperation with other services: This is done to facilitate
the rapid reconnection of disconnected lines
and with other distribution of transmission operators
for spare parts and other assistance.
✔ Regulatory changes: These include support for undergrounding
of cables in bushfire-prone areas and STPISs
to align incentives to reduce disruption to the grid.
✔ Emerging strategies: Strategies such as microgrids reduce
the impact of disconnection to remote communities
where the connection is prone to bushfires. These
technologies may ultimately result in options that
january/february 2022
reduce the reliance on extensive powerlines through
high-risk environments.
The observed trends toward more dangerous weather conditions
for bushfires are projected to continue increasing in the
future, leading to even more hazardous bushfire conditions.
Consequently, the Australian electricity grid will need to continue
to identify and evolve strategies to coexist with fire.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Pierluigi Mancarella from the University
of Melbourne for his coordination, input, and feedback.
For Further Reading
J. Eggleston, C. Zuur, and P. Mancarella, " From security to resilience:
Technical and regulatory options to manage extreme
events in low-carbon grids, " IEEE Power Energy Mag., vol.
19, no. 5, Sep./Oct. 2021, doi: 10.1109/MPE.2021.3088958.
" Rapid earth fault current limiter program (REFCL), "
AusNet Services, 2020. https://www.ausnetservices.com
.au/About/Community/Powerline-Bushfire-Safety-Program/
Rapid-Earth-Fault-Current-Limiters
A. J. Dowdy et al., " Future changes in extreme weather
and pyroconvection risk factors for Australian wildfires, "
Scientific Rep., vol. 9, no. 1, p. 10,073, 2019, doi: 10.1038/
s41598-019-46362-x.
J. Dowdy, " Seamless climate change projections and
seasonal predictions for bushfires in Australia, " J. Southern
Hemisphere Earth Syst. Sci., vol. 70, no. 1, pp. 120-138,
2020, doi: 10.1071/ES20001.
" Volume I: The fires and the fire-related deaths, " Victorian
Bushfire Royal Commission (VBRC), Melbourne,
VIC, Final Rep., 2009. http://royalcommission.vic.gov.au/
Commission-Reports/Final-Report/Volume-1.html
" Mallacoota power supply strengthened as AusNet installs
Gippsland's first community battery, " AusNet Services.
https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/en/About/News-Room/
News-Room-2021/Mallacoota-power-supply-strengthened
-as-AusNet-installs-Gippslands-first-community-battery (accessed
May 2021).
Biographies
Dean Sharafi is with the Australian Energy Market Operator,
Perth, 6000, Australia.
Andrew Dowdy is with the Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne,
3000, Australia.
Judith Landsberg with the Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne,
3000, Australia.
Phillip Bryant is with AusNet Services, Melbourne,
3000, Australia.
Dene Ward is with CitiPower & PowerCor, Melbourne,
3000, Australia.
Julian Eggleston is with the DIgSILENT Pacific, Sydney,
2000, Australia.
Guanchi Liu is with the University of Melbourne, Melbourne,
3010, Australia.
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https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/About/Community/Powerline-Bushfire-Safety-Program/ Rapid-Earth-Fault-Current-Limiters https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/About/Community/Powerline-Bushfire-Safety-Program/ Rapid-Earth-Fault-Current-Limiters https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/About/Community/Powerline-Bushfire-Safety-Program/ Rapid-Earth-Fault-Current-Limiters http://royalcommission.vic.gov.au/Commission-Reports/Final-Report/Volume-1.html http://royalcommission.vic.gov.au/Commission-Reports/Final-Report/Volume-1.html https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/en/About/News-Room/News-Room-2021/Mallacoota-power-supply-strengthened -as-AusNet-installs-Gippslands-first-community-battery https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/en/About/News-Room/News-Room-2021/Mallacoota-power-supply-strengthened -as-AusNet-installs-Gippslands-first-community-battery https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/en/About/News-Room/News-Room-2021/Mallacoota-power-supply-strengthened -as-AusNet-installs-Gippslands-first-community-battery

IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2022

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