#Wales warned of 70s-style #blackouts Experts believe that Wales faces the twin threats of severe weather bringing down old transmission equipment and falling generation capacity Seventies-style blackouts could become a reality as the threat of worsening stormy weather looms over Wales ageing electricity infrastructure. Senior power engineer John Roberts has penned a report for the Royal Academy of Engineering warning of the looming threat of severe weather to Britain’s ageing power structure. And he told WalesOnline that bad weather could cause particular problems in exposed parts of Wales. “We get this stormy weather and that sort of thing in the west,” he said. “It is not to do with power generation but to do with things like trees being blown over into overhead lines and things like that.” According to new Ofgem figures, power cuts across Britain have rocketed. In 2013-2014 3.5 million people were affected by 17,657 blackouts. In 2010-11 just 1,600 cuts affected 180,900 people. This was linked to storms that saw towns like Aberystwyth left with massive repair bills after they were battered by the weather. Only last week Pembrokeshire, Powys and Anglesey faced 70mph winds as Hurricane Gonzalo swept across Wales. “The industry has been investing significant amounts in the distribution networks to make them more resilient,” Mr Roberts said. His report was commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change as the UK enters the most precarious winter for power in decades. There are also fears the nation faces energy cuts because of power station closures and unreliability of wind turbines. “As time goes on, unless people start building power stations the system is going to be more and more at risk,” Mr Roberts said. “And the likelihood of something happening that could cause there to be not sufficient generation increases.” Short term measures can be taken such as mothballed power stations being brought back into use. “There are also arrangements with industrial customers who will be compensated to reduce the amount of power they use,” he said. “These measures should be sufficient to see us through the winter.” However, the problem of severe weather and ageing infrastructure is less easy to resolve. Power supplies are not in danger this winter, says UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey EU anti-pollution directives have forced energy firms to shut numerous coal-fired plants. Almost all are expected to close by 2023. Gas stations have been mothballed or shut because they are not economical. The loss of five others has made things worse. Heysham and Hartlepool have been closed for repair to nuclear reactor cracks. Didcot B gas station and coal-fired Ironbridge and Ferrybridge are all closed because of fires. National Grid’s market operation director Cordi O’Hara insisted things were under control. “Our analysis shows gas supplies to be in a strong position,” she said. “Supply sources are diverse, network capacity is healthy and gas storage is well stocked. “The electricity margin has decreased compared to recent years, but the outlook remains manageable and well within the reliability standard set by Government. “As system operator, we have taken the sensible precaution to secure additional tools to bolster our response to tighter margins. “We will continue to keep a close watching brief across both electricity and gas throughout the winter so that we’re strongly placed to respond to any unanticipated events.” Manweb looks after energy in north and mid Wales. “We’re continually investing in the reliability of our Manweb network area making it more resilient to storms and extreme weather events,” a spokesman said. “We also continue to plan for the future and we’re currently finalising investment plans with Ofgem totalling almost £800m for the next eight years in Manweb.” Swalec distribute power in South Wales but the framework is looked after by Western Power Distribution. A spokeswoman said the firm would do “what we have always done when we have bad weather.” “We put staff on stand by,” she said. “Sometimes leave is cancelled. “It depends what is going on at the time. We always have contingency plans in place.”
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 12:43:17 +0000
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