STUTTGART/LEUTKIRCH (dpa-AFX) - Power outages are to be rectified much faster in future using modern technology. It currently takes an average of 54 minutes for the power supply to be restored, Martin Konermann, Managing Director of Technology at network operator Netze BW, told the German Press Agency. "That should take less than a second."

The magic word here is also digitalization: at present, technicians still have to drive to the various substations in the event of a fault and see which one has the problem - and then flip the switches accordingly. In future, digital sensor (for measuring) and actuator (for executing) options should make this possible fully automatically and at lightning speed. Netze BW calls this "self-healing" grids. The technicians could then take their time to find and repair the exact fault location, said Konermann.

Pilot project in the Allgäu

According to Konermann, statistically there is a power outage about every two to three years - for example as a result of an excavator accident, storms or wear and tear. If it happens at night, sometimes you don't even notice, Konermann admitted. If the supply really is restored within an hour, no freezer compartment will thaw. "But industry in particular can get into real trouble," he made clear.

From June, the EnBW subsidiary Netze BW therefore intends to carry out a field test in the Allgäu in the supply area around the Leutkirch substation, in which an automated partial resupply will be tested. The findings will then be transferred to other regions. There are similar trials in Italy, said Konermann.

"We are reinventing ourselves to a certain extent here," said Dirk Güsewell, EnBW Board Member for System Critical Infrastructure. "There is no blueprint for this." And it is like open-heart surgery because it is being carried out in parallel with ongoing operations.

Energiewende requires intelligent solutions

With a view to the energy transition, such intelligent solutions are important so that the grids can keep up with the growing complexity. A lot is changing for both producers and consumers, for example through the increased use of photovoltaics and wall boxes. The grids act as a bridge between these pillars, said Güsewell. "We assume that 90 percent of the transformer stations and 60 percent of the lines in the distribution grid will have to be expanded and extended." A feat of strength for which costs in the billions will be required.

Konermann made it clear that a grid with around 500 large power plants in the high-voltage range in Germany will become a grid of around 7.5 million weather-dependent smaller plants that feed into the grid in the lower voltage range. This requires digital solutions anyway. "We also want to become faster in the event of disruptions."

According to him, around 80 percent of the effects are due to disruptions in the medium-voltage grid, which is used to distribute electricity to the regions. This is why Netze BW's field trial, which is initially scheduled to run for two years, is starting here. The low-voltage grid is responsible for the remaining transport to the end consumer./kre/DP/he