The loss of power supplies, however brief, at a busy airport could lead to chaos, confusion and seriously delayed journeys for thousands of passengers. Airport business recovery could take a number of hours or even days to return to normal. So it's a source of pride that Britain’s busiest airports rely on EDF Energy to run their private electricity networks.
High voltage electrical infrastructures comprise a complex network of highly sophisticated systems, so they are not easy to understand without specialist knowledge. Finding out if there are weak points in your network may be one thing; doing something about them may be quite another.
Ascertaining whether the system can handle the existing demands can be difficult, but it could be even harder to find out whether it’s robust enough to deliver as the airport expands.
We’ll show you where the pinch points are and highlight potential crisis areas, and we’ll assess your system’s potential for expansion.
A security of supply review (network audit) from EDF Energy assesses every aspect of the high voltage electrical infrastructure including:
- Internal and external network studies
- Network operations
- Strategic asset management
- Asset scheduling
- Records maintenance
- Network compliance management
- Emergency cover succession planning
- Value engineering
At EDF Energy we understand the inherent dangers, security issues and complexities of working in a busy airport – such issues as driving in manoeuvring areas and administering airside passes. It’s also clearly essential to understand compliance with legislation and industry standards.
Our enthusiastic engineering teams are competent, engaged, empowered and appropriately trained to comply with airport operational procedures and can supply a range of services. These include:
- Network studies
- Asset condition
- System performance enhancement
- Staff training
- Safe system of work
- Future network growth capability
Our project managers are experienced in both major and minor site works and can provide design consultancy, risk management and governance, change control management and HSE & Q.
Because our airport operation is part of one of the UK’s biggest energy companies, and because our parent company is one of the world’s largest, we can provide a range of additional services. These include:
- Low voltage distribution
- Lighting systems
- Street lighting
- Metering
- Ground lighting
- Track transit systems
- SCADA
- Control room activities
- Combined heat and power (CHP)
- Fixed electrical ground power (FEGP)
Rather than simply providing routine maintenance on demand, we prefer to care for private network assets on a long-term basis as if they were our own. Our open partnerships with clients enable us to demystify the world of electrical engineering and to share our knowledge, to help them make informed decisions.
EDF Energy undertakes strategic reviews of distribution networks to optimise the balance between future-proofing the network and delivering appropriate asset maintenance and investment to ensure security of supply.
We are able to undertake a variety of services to help monitor and review system performance. Typically we are able to analyse power quality, load balance, power factor and load profile and make recommendations accordingly.
We can provide a consultancy service covering investigation of fault occurrences, protection assurance reviews, fault level studies, assistance with setting policy on holding strategic spares and determining whole life costing of equipment.
We can determine network resilience, assess the risks around the security of supply required, advise on the criticality of load supply arrangements and propose suitable options.
We understand the risks and the importance of managing these critical networks, and can create a tailored flexible solution to suit your needs and level of partnering. This could include:
- Robust security of supply solutions
- Asset stewardship
- Risk management
- Whole life asset planning and optimisation
- Strategic asset management
- Strategic project management to optimise capital works and asset replacement
- Strategic network development to create robust efficient designs
- Compliance with industry and legal standards
- Effective contingency plans
- Optimising operational and capital expenditure to minimise business risks
- 24-hour cover to match airport operations
We can provide a complete end-to-end electrical solution from consultancy and design to construction project management, tailor-made to meet your own individual business requirements and working environment, on time, within cost and always to the best standard.
Our RoSPA Gold status and our partnering awards reflect our desire to provide exemplary levels of service to all of our clients and our commitment to building long term relationships
We can deliver your system development designs from their inception, through feasibility and concept stages, to the production of detailed designs. We can also act as architect engineer for your external and internal interfaces.
We are able to offer a full project management service from the production of specifications and tender return assessment, through the manufacture and construction phases to fit-out and commissioning and testing. Full compliance with CDM and your site-specific regulations is assured.
To ensure our project management activities run smoothly and represent value for money, we conduct robust contract and supply chain management activities. We undertake formal risk management appraisals and identify both project and operational key risks and allocate set contingencies to mitigate.
Our long term partnership with airports owner BAA gives responsibly for the power infrastructure at London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. We also have a similar relationship with the increasingly busy London City Airport. Our reputation has also earned us work at other airports away from the capital.
EDF Energy owns, operates and maintains the HV networks at BAA's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. As we own the infrastructure we undertake all aspects of operation, maintenance, repair, renewal and project works from scheme design through to commissioning. A good example of this would be the delivery of the electrical infrastructure on time and on budget for T5 at Heathrow.We have been operating in this way since 1993 with a 90-year contract and indeed some of our staff are former airport employees, so we know all about airport operations and the associated restrictions on working in such a highly regulated and controlled environment. We additionally undertake specific project, maintenance and call-out works at BAA’s other airports.
EDF Energy owns, operates and maintains the HV and first tier LV distribution networks at London City Airport. We undertake all aspects of operation, maintenance, repair, renewal and project works from scheme design through to commissioning as part of a 30-year contract which started in 2003.
EDF Energy provides HV works and professional services for London Luton Airport. We have undertaken studies to understand the network protection and grading and the compliance of the HV substations. We have also undertaken the replacement of electricity meters and the replacement of switchboards.