Network Economics & Regulatory Environment

This course will introduce you to fundamental concepts that affect power system operation, economics and investments. This includes how networks operate and the evolution of market structure. You'll learn about OPEX and CAPEX costs, impact on system reliability, and the impact of efficiency of sub-systems on system losses. Finally, understanding policies and regulations that are driving changes in market structure will help you recognise some additional challenges facing modern networks.

Course content

  • Major components of power system networks and their operation
  • Introduction to power system operation
  • Tools that are used for assessing power system operation
  • Basic aspects of electricity markets: designs, separation of services and pricing
  • Electricity markets and networks regulation
  • Differences in power markets around the world
  • Understand most important network reinforcement and investment issues

  • Distinguish between CAPEX and OPEX
  • Regulation and management of CAPEX and OPEX budgets for utility companies
  • Through life costing of CAPEX and OPEX programmes and selection of appropriate blend of CAPEX and OPEX
  • Concept of TOTEX and the regulation and management of TOTEX
  • Analyse and construct CAPEX,OPEX and TOTEX programmes

  • Drivers of reliability analysis in electrical distribution networks
  • Reliability measures: CI, CMI, SAIFI and SAIDI 
  • Concept of system reliability 
  • Calculation of reliability of a simple system and the economic impact of reliability

  • Motivation of energy efficiency component classifications
  • Performance efficiency, operation efficiency, equipment efficiency and technology efficiency (POET)
  • Applications of POET applications in energy audit

  • Nature of energy losses within electromechanical systems and their effect on efficiency
  • End-to-end and round-trip efficiency calculations
  • Assess the financial value of reducing energy losses, versus the cost of implementation
  • Appreciate the complexity of assessing special cases (Renewable generation, Electrical storage)
  • Combined heat and power (CHP) and hybrid electrical/heat storage systems
  • Voltage Optimisation for energy saving

  • Changes behind the carbon reduction policies
  • Kyoto protocol and mechanisms proposed to reduce carbon
  • EU emissions trading scheme, and its development over time
  • Other mechanisms designed to support renewables and incentivise low carbon power networks
  • EU and US policy approaches to low carbon emission reductions

  • Three asset-centred maintenance regimes, and the advantages and disadvantages of each
  • Reliability Centred Maintenance, and how an RCM programme may be developed
  • Measurements - difference between accuracy and precision, causes of inaccuracy in a measurement
  • Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
  • Common failure modes of transformers and power electronics and key monitoring techniques
  • Role of intelligent systems in fault diagnosis
  • Difference between aging and faults, and be able to identify the life-limiting component of an asset
  • Health index for asset management decision making
  • Common communications protocols used in power

Modes of delivery

Online flexible training

Each module has approximately 10 hours of content. We run 12 week individual and cohort-based programmes.