The UK’s first smart electricity substation has been installed in Kent, ready to ‘talk’ to other sites and share power to balance loads peak times and freeing up to 50 per cent of additional capacity when it is safe to do so.

UK Power Networks’ innovative Constellation trial is installing powerful computers in existing substations to better analyse power flows, and redirect energy to optimise infrastructure and cater for future needs.

The Maidstone substation is the first in a series to be equipped to communicate ‘smartly’ to other sites which could allow more distributed generators to connect to the network across the South East of England, and the next-generation digital substations will use AI and machine learning to allow more energy to be safely released onto the network.

Allington Energy from Waste has become the first distributed generator to connect to the new system, with a dedicated smart substation installed at its Maidstone site. A further five smart substations are set to be installed throughout the South East of England as part of the ongoing trial.

Luca Grella, head of innovation at UK Power Networks said: “This is a groundbreaking innovation for our network, and the first of a series of smart substations which could make a real difference for our customers and the environment.”

At the same time, UK Power Networks is trialling zero-emission e-diggers that can remove over 200 tonnes of CO2e from the atmosphere.

Together with Falco Construction the companies are using Takeuchi TB20e electric mini-excavators, used on underground assets, offer significant environmental benefits by eliminating CO2e, NOx, and PM2.5 emissions as well as being 75 per cent quieter than diesel versions. If successful, Falco Construction will replace its120 diesel diggers with electric models.

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