As we decarbonise, reliability of the electricity network is more important than ever. Foresight allowed us to start addressing underground faults before they impacted customers and the natural progression to allow us to address other network types is Polesight. Many of our LV networks are a mixture of underground cable and overhead line. Polesight will allow our linesman to deploy network monitoring and diagnostics at HV pole mounted substations without requiring HV or LV outages, an important consideration for rolling out these devices at scale and allow us to further develop analytical methods for pre-fault detection on these mixed networks. An added benefit is that the devices also act as LV monitors so we can improve our visibility of demand and voltage at pole mounted substations.

I’m excited to see what the Target model can provide. As we transition to a net-zero energy system, reliance on electricity will increase, and so will the consequences of a power cut. We are always pursuing ways to improve our network resilience, and the Target model could be an answer. If we can have a better idea of which sections of the network put the most customers at risk, we can proactively maintain or upgrade before a fault occurs. The consultants at EA Technology have been great at taking our network information and building a model in Target and giving advice as to how to shape the trial for the most accurate results.

The need to manage our energy efficiently has never been more important. That is why the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership is particularly pleased to support this innovative project, which will help unlock some of the energy constraints faced across the region which are a barrier to growth. It is essential that we find better ways of managing the supply of electricity in the country and maximising the input of renewable energy at the same time. This project will do just that.