Automatic load-shedding, a new form of grid protection
In accordance with the rules of the Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE), the Swiss operators of the transmission and distribution network are introducing a coordinated load-shedding scheme that will be fully operational before the end of 2008. The system, also known as automatic load-shedding, helps to protect the grid if there is a major disturbance in the European interconnected network. If the grid frequency falls below a given threshold due to a generation-consumption imbalance, automatic load-shedding will switch off some sections of the grid in order to protect the rest and thus help to restore the original 50 Hz frequency.
Schemes of this kind enable the electricity grid as a whole to be protected and European-scale black-outs to be prevented.
For more information, visit the Swissgrid web page: