Risk Of Cable Overheating And Premature Ageing Due To Load Control Measures

Cyclic ratings are dependent on the load curve present on an underground cable. If the load curve changes the cable rating must be adjusted or the operator risks overheating and damaging the cable. Many have suggested using demand response or energy storage to allow networks to remain within ratings during contingencies. Unfortunately the resulting load profiles could cause the real circuit ratings to be lower than expected. This paper will show that without updating ratings to allow for manipulated load curves network operators risk overheating and damaging cables if demand response is used on a network. However, a case study shows that the demand response required to cause overheating incidents is very significant and may not occur in reality.