NEWMAN Project: IoT sensors for overhead MV line real-time monitoring

Due to climate change, during the last years a significant increase of extreme meteorological events has been recorded in Italy. In order to deal with the strong impact that these phenomena have, directly or indirectly, on the electricity distribution network, E-Distribuzione has developed the NEWMAN project: the aim is to improve emergency management and minimize recovery time on medium voltage lines thanks to a near real-time analysis of extreme weather condition events, using innovative forecasting models able to predict the affected area, the intensity of the event and possible failures on the grid.The present paper gives evidence of the mentioned approach based on data collected from IoT sensors equipped on overhead medium voltage lines. In the initial phase of the project, E-Distribuzione proceeded with the activation of three pilot projects, installing different types of IoT sensor technologies in different Italian areas and studying their behavior towards the real-time recognition of meteorological hazards impact on the network. An analysis of the data recorded by the IoT sensors was performed by comparing them with the operating parameters of the network and meteorological external data. The goal is to understand which are the crucial parameters that IoT sensors have to monitor and what are the desirable working principles and logics to tackle every specific weather event.