b'Partner News Summer 2023 23EnterpriseIn traditional Chinese medicine, peoplePlanned vs Unplanned A Model Of Healthpaid their doctors to keep them well, withAn unplanned LV cable repair typicallyBut how can you quantify and reward non-acupuncture, herbs and lifestyle advice.costs 5,000 plus disruption to customerevents i.e. failures averted? This is where If they got sick, they stopped paying untilservice. A planned repair typically coststhe sophistication of COPPsystems ability their health was restored. So what if we1,500, with minimal disruption, and can beto analyse waveforms with its AI algorithm applied something similar to networkscheduled and budgeted for as part of acomes to the fore. Cables were dug out wellbeing? Paying for a positive outcomemeasured asset management strategy. So,in field trials where the system identifiedongoing network healthrather thanif COPPsystem can reduce the number ofpre-faults. In some cases, there was obvious simply forking out for the cost of failures. unplanned outages dramatically, by activelyphysical degradation. In others, there was monitoring the health of networks, howno apparent problem visuallybut splitting We are posing this question nowshould users pay for it? the cable revealed internal issues, exactly as because we believe advances in artificialflagged. Pre-fault events were confirmed in intelligence (AI) have the potential toThe starting point for such a radicallyevery case.flip the existing model from applyingdifferent approach must be for DNOs to solutions to identifying network faults andidentify the outcomes they want fromFar from being a simple find-a-fault failures, to one in which we can accuratelybetter network healthbetter reliabilityinstrument, the real power of COPPsystem identify the early symptoms and causesand uptime, lower costs and predictability,is that it creates a virtual model of whole of problems, long before they developto name a few. Next: what is the value ofnetworks and monitors them continuously, into actual faults. Preventative networkachieving those outcomes? learning and improving in accuracy as it healthcare, rather than find-and-fix faultgoes. It accurately analyses and classifies response, in short. Pay By Results? the type of events. This contrasts with more The conventional approach of buyingbasic fault-finding technologies, where the Prevention vs Cure products and services to achieve certainfault-type may be unidentified, leading to Our COPPsystem (Cable Outage Predictionresults, and allocating costs to capital orrepeated faults. & Prevention system) is a perfect exampleoperational budgets, has its limitations in of active network healthcare in practice this context. So as a thought experiment,COPPsystems ability to classify pre-fault and an early indicator of the game-changingwe propose a different way of looking atactivity can be enhanced in the future power of AI to improve grid management. things and we would very much welcometo include identifying correlation with Field trials of COPPsystem, which usesthe views of customers on this. environmental factors. Its ability to discount advanced AI to analyse waveforms fromactivity with no significant risk of preceding LV cables, have shown that, in complex LVOne option would be to pay for a solutiona fault is obviously of critical importance.network architectures, it can identify, locatesuch as COPPsystem on a results basis, and classify abnormal activity in terms ofwholly or partly. The solution would beThe Future Of AIprobability of failure, with unprecedentedsupplied at minimal upfront cost, possiblyThe exciting aspect of COPPsystem is not accuracy. Not just cables and joints whereon lease, and the supplier rewarded forsimply its application to predicting and failure is imminentalso those where therethe unplanned outages it enables thepreventing faults in LV cables. It is a working are early signs of faults developing that willuser to avoid. Conversely, rewards woulddemonstration of the potential of AI to inexorably develop into failures, long beforebe deducted if the solution was unabledeliver preventative healthcare across whole fuses rupture or protection devices areto predict and prevent a fault. Buyer andnetworks, using the same principle for MV activated. supplier would share risks and rewards. and HV assets. Are we about to enter an era where operators pay technology specialists like Fundamentals to keep their networks healthy, with rewards based on positive outcomes? We welcome your thoughts.If youre interested in a career in power systems, a willingness to develop, and a desire to take on new challenges with a yes we can attitude, we would like to talk with you. Please visit fundamentalsltd.co.uk/careers or contact us oncareers@fundamentalsltd.co.uk.'