Powering Ohms (SIF Round 5 - Discovery)

Project Overview

Powering Ohms

Description

Powering Ohms looks at smarter ways to upgrade local electricity networks so they can support more electric vehicles, heat pumps, and other low‑carbon technologies.
Today, networks are often reinforced by digging up streets to lay new cables or build large substations, which is expensive, slow, and disruptive for communities. Powering Ohms explores alternatives, including smaller pavement‑based substations and compact devices that manage voltage at the customer connection point. By using advanced power‑electronics, the project aims to deliver more network capacity faster, at lower cost, and with much less disruption to customers and communities.

Expected Benefits

If adopted as business as usual, the Powering Ohms approach increases the usable capacity of existing assets, reducing reliance on full cable replacement and large substations. This can significantly lower reinforcement costs per kVA uplift and provide capacity faster, reducing the risk of constraint‑driven delays. Benefits will be assessed using cost per kVA, avoided reinforcement expenditure, and delivery timescales, with further definition developed in Discovery (WP5).

Capex Cost Benefits

The method reduces the scale and frequency of physical works. Fewer excavations, smaller civil works, and reduced land acquisition lower upfront costs. By improving the utilisation of existing assets, the need for expensive reinforcement is avoided or deferred, providing a more cost‑efficient route to capacity delivery.

Opex Cost Benefits

Operational expenditure falls through reduced overload-driven faults, fewer repeat street works, and improved voltage compliance. By maintaining the point of connection at a lower, controlled voltage, consumer energy consumption decreases, reducing bills while creating additional network headroom.

Whole Life Cost Benefits

The approach extends the useful life of LV cables, defers full asset replacement, reduces losses and improves power quality for consumers. Faster delivery times further lower the indirect costs associated with delays and repeated mobilisation.

Environmental Benefits

Reduced excavation, smaller asset footprints and avoiding cable replacement lower material use, waste generation and embodied carbon. Additional indirect carbon savings arise from avoiding the manufacture, transport and disposal of new cable and reinstatement materials. Environmental benefits will be tracked using reduced excavation volumes, material usage, and estimated carbon savings compared with BAU.

Other Benefits

Consumers experience fewer disruptions, fewer repeat roadworks and reduced visual impact—improving public acceptability of upgrades and overall confidence in the network. Wider system benefits include lower congestion around works, improved safety, and enhanced support for rapid grid expansion at the scale required for a net‑zero energy system.