Correlations of Shocks and Stresses with Distribution Network Outages

Distribution network outages have significant socioeconomic impacts, and potentially pose a threat to life when critical infrastructures are affected. Shocks and stresses, such as climate change, extreme weather or intentional attacks, in combination with an expected rise in electricity demand, pose an increasing risk to power network reliability. Detailed data on distribution network outages can be used for further research in prevention and mitigation of such outages. This paper presents and describes a unique and comprehensive dataset of UK distribution network outages. The dataset for 2020 is analyzed to identify correlations with shocks and stresses, such as demand, extreme weather, and COVID-19 lockdown. The results justify
further research in prevention and mitigation of distribution network outages, support the industry in future planning of distribution networks, and can feed into models for operational planning in face of upcoming shocks and stresses.