Reactive Technologies (RTL) and National Energy System Operator (NESO) have partnered to deploy live oscillation detection and monitoring in Great Britain’s electricity control room, earlier this year, highlighting the critical role of real-time monitoring in safeguarding energy security.
Building on the successful partnership with NESO in delivering a first-of-its-kind real-time inertia measurement system, this capability further strengthens NESO’s efforts to ‘future-proof’ Britain’s power system with continuous insight, advanced analytics, and enhanced resilience.
Oscillations are rapid, repeated swings in a power system’s voltage, current, or operating frequency. While some oscillations are harmless and self-correcting, others can escalate quickly and adversely affect system stability. As Britain connects more renewable and inverter-based resources, the resulting lower levels of inertia create increased sensitivity to rapid changes or disturbances, making real-time oscillation monitoring vital for maintaining system reliability.
RTL has successfully deployed real-time oscillation monitoring capabilities in the control room of NESO. These capabilities are powered by RTL’s data insights platform GridMetrix and the fleet of grid edge measurement devices (XMUs), which are installed across the GB power system. Originally designed to measure system inertia, RTL’s XMUs also enable NESO to detect sub-synchronous oscillations more accurately due to the high frequency sampling rates and system-wide coverage.
NESO can now detect and localise oscillations from multiple locations, allowing for disturbances to be pinpointed and addressed promptly. With all the data collected from multiple points across the network, the automated event analysis module allows NESO to capture a high-definition view of network behaviour and performance, including where new oscillations may be emerging – insights that will enhance both real-time operations and long-term planning.
Marc Borrett, CEO of RTL, said, “With our oscillation monitoring tool now live, we’re proud to support NESO’s leadership in strengthening resilience and futureproofing the GB power system. This is a vital step in ensuring a stable transition to a zero-carbon grid and in meeting the UK’s Net Zero goal, safer and faster.”
Director of System Operations at NESO, Craig Dyke, said, “With this new software allowing our world-leading control room to narrow down any abnormal frequency and take prompt action to tackle the root cause. Whether it be reducing output or disconnecting a generator from the grid, this latest technology gives us even better oversight of frequency across the network, so we can ensure the best response, keeping British homes and business powered safely and reliably around the clock.”
In the months ahead, RTL will be rolling out further enhancements under the oscillation product roadmap. The focus remains on supporting NESO in addressing emerging system challenges while working with other grid operators to ensure our solutions evolve in line with the operational needs and resilience demands of modern power systems.
