Whole energy system resilience vulnerability assessment

Climate change is increasingly exposing energy systems to severe weather events. It is essential to understand the climate risks and to build resilience into both the power system’s design and the planning of adaptive flexibility. This paper presents an approach for assessing the resilience of power transmission and distribution systems under varying climatic conditions and risks. The approach includes modelling extreme events, quantifying system-wide impacts, and incorporating distribution system flexibility to mitigate these impacts. A case study demonstrates the application of this approach in assessing and enhancing the resilience of the UK’s National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) network against windstorms. The results highlight the importance of resilience-oriented investment strategies to ensure service continuity and reduce demand losses during extreme events. The methodologies developed in this paper offer energy stakeholders a practical tool to incorporate resilience as a measurable factor in decision-making processes, supporting long-term system resilience and adaptability in the changing climate.