RP7 Stakeholder Consultation WEB - Flipbook - Page 38
Climate change resilience
As our climate continues to change, we,
alongside our industry colleagues, are
keen to understand how our networks
need to adapt. In March 2021, the ENA
Adaptation to Climate Change Task
Group, published its 3rd Round Climate
Change Adaptation Report, which
is intended to provide a response to
climate change adaptation on behalf of
the Energy Networks.
Within the report, eight hazards have
been identified as having the biggest
impact on UK electricity networks due
to climate change.
•
Temperature – predicted increase.
•Precipitation – predicted increase in
winter rainfall and summer droughts.
•
Sea level rise – predicted increase.
•
Storm surge – predicted increase.
•
Increasing wet – dry cycles.
•Increasing windstorm frequency
(particularly when following high
intensity precipitation).
•Significant cold spells – predicted
decrease but more severe.
•
Wildfire.
Whilst some uncertainty remains
regarding the likelihood and impact
of these hazards, as of 2021, five
specific network risks scored highest
within the Climate Change Adaption
Report. These relate to the likelihood
of increased flooding due to increased
precipitation, impact of warmer weather
on various assets and increased
vegetation growth due to warmer
and wetter conditions. In line with our
colleagues in GB we feel that it is
appropriate to take the following actions
in RP7:
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Northern Ireland Electricty Networks
•Increased flooding due to increased
precipitation: Flooding can have
a catastrophic impact on our
electricity network, in particular our
substations. Utilising flood maps
and following industry best practise
in RP5 and RP6 we have delivered
permanent flood enforcements at
approximately 100 substations.
In RP7 we plan on continuing to
install appropriate flood mitigation
to the next six most at-risk major
substations and 84 secondary
distribution substations.
•Impact of warmer weather on
various assets: Most of our assets
are designed to international
standards and consequently are
designed to operate safely in
greater maximum and minimum
temperature ranges than those
found in the UK. However, we will
continue to monitor for any impact
over the RP7 period and beyond.
•Increased vegetation growth due
to warmer and wetter conditions:
Enhancing our current vegetation
management programme for our
HV network and introduce a new
programme for our LV network
to reduce the impact of nearby
vegetation interfering with our
network during storms such as
Storm Arwen and Barra. Moreover,
targeted removal of lower strength,
lower capacity 25mm2 overhead
line conductor to facilitate LCT
uptake as well as reduce the impact
of storms on our network.
Q18. Do you think we are going
far enough to adapt our network
for climate change in RP7?
