Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has completed a nine month project to install an Automated Power Restoration System (APRS) serving more than 150,000 customers across three areas of Oxfordshire, the distribution network operator announced on 20 June 20221. The company invested nearly £176,000 in the system, which it says will restore supplies faster than before in the event of a power cut, generally in less than three minutes1.
The APRS allows the network to "self-restore". According to SSEN, the system detects when and where a fault has occurred and then, if it is safe to do so, either switches supplies to the most suitable alternative cable circuit or signals the main control room, where engineers can restore power at the push of a button1. SSEN states that the process takes a matter of minutes, so many customers are unaware of the temporary interruption1. The company adds that automation also allows its engineers to investigate the underlying fault faster and resolve network issues while power continues to flow through alternative circuits1.
The areas covered by the project are Wantage, West Wantage and West Grove, together with surrounding villages1:
| Area | Surrounding villages named by SSEN |
|---|---|
| Wantage | None listed |
| West Wantage | East Challow, Childrey, Sparsholt, Westcot, Kingston Lisle, West Challow |
| West Grove | East and West Hanney, Lyford, Charney Bassett, Denchworth, Goosey, Callow |
SSEN says APRS also reduces the need for engineers to switch power back on at source, cutting unnecessary travel and freeing engineers and resources for other network maintenance1. Alex King, who oversees the operator's automation planning, said:
SSEN cites projected local uptake in Wantage alone of an estimated 22,573 electric vehicle charge points by 2030, nearly 7,500 heat pumps and nearly 2,500 solar panels, and says it is developing supplies to suit residents and businesses now and in future1. Over the 2022 business year, SSEN plans to invest some £3 million in automated systems across its central southern England distribution area1.
Why it matters for households
For a household, the practical effect of automation on this part of the national supply network is measured in minutes rather than hours: SSEN says supplies are generally restored in less than three minutes, and that many customers do not notice the interruption at all1. That shortens the window in which a home depends on torches, standby batteries or its own backup arrangements, and reduces the disruption to heating controls, broadband routers, alarms and refrigeration that a longer outage can cause.
The project also speaks to a shift in what the local network is being asked to carry. SSEN's figures for Wantage assume thousands of electric vehicle charge points, heat pumps and solar panels arriving by 20301. Homes adopting those technologies draw more electricity, and in the case of solar, sometimes export it. A network that can reroute supplies automatically around a fault is one way of absorbing that growth without a corresponding rise in the number of interruptions. The company frames the investment as adding resilience rather than adding capacity, and the announcement does not state how much additional load the automated arrangements themselves can accommodate1.
What happens next
SSEN says it plans to invest some £3 million in automated systems across its central southern England distribution area over the 2022 business year1. No further completion dates for specific areas have been reported.