Voltage Matters Forum flags alarming ‘Resilience Gap’ in UK grid

Customers are paying for an electricity system that is less efficient and secure than it could be. But the problems are increasingly understood. And the engineering solutions to fix them are increasingly available.

That was the clear message from January’s online Voltage Matters Forum, hosted by Fundamentals and Threepwood Consulting, focusing on Resilience.

More than 140 delegates from across the UK electricity sector interacted with a wealth of presentations from industry experts, summarised by Threepwood as demonstrating that: “The UK grid is currently being managed with conservative, analogue assumptions, that are no longer fit for a digital, high-LCT age”.

Kathryn Porter’s (Watt-Logic) recorded presentation, The Macro Warning: Voltage is the New Interia, highlighted the Analogue vs Digital gap, citing the Iberian blackout as an example of a low-inertia grid’s inability to react as quickly as those based on synchronous machines – delays that are “the difference between stability and collapse”.

Ramy Ali’s (ESB Networks) The Proof: Active Management Is Scalable showcased the first European deployment of the IEEE 2030.5 protocol for rooftop PV. Control gateways were installed in under 30 minutes per site, proving that distributed resources can be monitored and controlled at scale. But the regulatory mandate to roll it out is missing.

Joseph Nolan’s (GTC) The IDNO “Coal Face”: Trapped at the Top shared a trend in new housing developments. He reported that many IDNO networks used by GTC clients are already on their lowest possible tap, yet customers are still seeing voltage incursions of 253+, due to upstream grid voltage levels and impressed voltage from domestic PV arrays. This results in EV chargers tripping and solar inverters disconnecting.

A widening analogue-digital gap is, indeed, at the heart of the UK’s voltage-related resilience gap.

James Bamborough’s (IET) The Policy Bridge: The OC6 Risk detailed the work of the IET Voltage Management Working Group. The forum’s interactive Slido polling confirmed James’s concerns: 85% of monitored primary substations are operating with fewer than 4 taps of downward range remaining. This doesn’t just block PV connections; it potentially compromises statutory compliance (OC6) during system emergencies.

Summarised as Breaking the Silos & The Robot Apocalypse, the forum identified a Confidence Gap. Network operations are overwhelmed by data and a fear that autonomous solutions (The Robot Apocalypse) will replace human control. However, supply chain partners are ready to deliver whole system performance that bridges the silos between meter operators and networks. We must trust automation to manage the millions of new control points that human engineers simply cannot.

Read the January Voltage Matters Summary & Takeaways

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