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Swissgrid AG

swissgrid - Measures to ensure a sustainable and secure supply of electricity

Laufenburg (ots)

Grid stability thanks to solidarity
The situation in Europe is presently
characterised by rising electricity consumption and a growing
shortage of available grid capacity. In order to ensure a secure and
reliable electricity supply in the future, Swiss operators of
transmission and distribution grids aim to create the organisational
and technical basis for automatic, frequency-dependent load shedding
in all substations by the end of this year. These measures are being
implemented in line with European regulations, which are also binding
for Switzerland.
In Switzerland, electricity is delivered via the medium of the
national transmission grid at the high and extra-high voltage level
(220/380 kV). This grid is, in turn, interconnected with the
international grid of the UCTE (Union for the Coordination of
Transmission of Electricity), which guarantees secure grid operation
for 450 million people in 24 countries across Europe. Switzerland
plays a pivotal role as a European electricity hub from which the
entire national economy benefits.
A UCTE directive, which is also binding for Switzerland, decrees
that power stations must have reserve capacity at all times. In an
emergency - for example, if an important power line or a large power
station fails unexpectedly - these reserve power stations, which are
already connected to the system, can be started up in a matter of
seconds or minutes in order to restore the stability of the grid. If
starting up the reserve power station is not sufficient, the
transmission grid must be unloaded without delay. In case of an
incident - in other words, if the frequency drops below the defined
level - individual supply regions are disconnected by automatically
shedding load. This relieves the burden on the system as a whole,
since it reduces the number of electricity consumers. Switzerland's
transmission system and distribution grid operators divide the
country into a series of smaller areas based on non-discriminatory
criteria. This enables load to be shed randomly in an emergency. 
Thanks to this approach, based on the principle of solidarity, the
probability of being affected by a supply failure is identical for
all consumers. Following the application of this "emergency brake",
the original 50 Hz frequency is restored, and within a few hours all
disconnected customers can once more be supplied with electricity.
This measure protects the electricity grid as a whole and prevents
power failures from impacting on large areas of Switzerland or
possibly spreading beyond its borders. If this were to happen, it
would probably take several days to restore stability to the grid,
with grave consequences for Switzerland's economy. Serious damage to
the power stations would also be likely.
Since operators have a very limited amount of time to react, this
frequency-dependent grid recovery procedure is carried out
automatically. The necessary technical equipment - so-called
frequency relays - will be installed by the Swiss electricity
industry at all central points in the grid by the end of 2007. By
introducing this measure, the Swiss electricity sector is making an
important contribution towards maintaining a secure supply to
Switzerland's economy in the event of unforeseen drops in grid
frequency.
This strategy of disconnecting sub-grids in order to facilitate
reduced operation if the grid is jeopardised in the short term
resembles the grid recovery procedures already initiated by the
legislator to manage supply bottlenecks that are predictable in the
medium or long term. The power supply utilities anticipate that the
legal provisions necessary to implement the UCTE directives will be
enacted by the Federal authorities on 1 January 2008.
For more information about load shedding, e-mail 
media@swissgrid.ch or call +41/58/580'24'00.
moving power - swissgrid is the national transmission system
operator. In its capacity as transmission grid operator, it ensures
the secure, reliable and cost-effective operation of the Swiss
high-voltage grid. Headquartered in Laufenburg, swissgrid employs
approximately 130 highly qualified employees. As a member of the
Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE) and
the European Transmission System Operators (ETSO), it is also
responsible for grid monitoring and grid usage with regard to
European electricity exchange. swissgrid is wholly owned by the seven
Swiss grid companies Atel, BKW, CKW, EGL, EOS, EWZ and NOK.

Contact:

swissgrid Media Service
Monika Walser
Werkstrasse 12
5080 Laufenburg
E-Mail: media@swissgrid.ch
Internet: www.swissgrid.ch
Tel.: +41/58/580'24'00
Fax: +41/58/580'24'94

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