Improve your network’s bottom line
The high cost of living and increasing energy bills are leading networks to improve efficiency and to find additional savings.
The solution from Utonomy reduces both operating and capital costs. It eliminates the need for governor stations to be manually adjusted – which typically happens four times per year in line with seasonal demand. It reduces reported gas escapes – resulting in lower operating costs and greater efficiency. It increases the viability of insertion– a more cost-efficient mains replacement method than open cut and reduces the need for reinforcement. Additionally, remote monitoring and control enables earlier detection of issues with a faster resolution and better service levels.
Did you know…
50%
is the reduction in cost from open cut mains replacement to insertion
4x
Many district governors are adjusted by hand 4 times per year
The majority of district governors are adjusted by hand
This means that if a set point needs to be adjusted, a team of technicians must be sent to site to carry it out. Many governors are adjusted by hand four times/ year with a different pressure for each season. This is a large operational expenditure. The timing is also difficult to judge due to the variability of the weather e.g. the network may have gone onto spring pressures when there is a sudden cold snap and all the governors need to be switched back to higher winter pressures.
Reduce reported escapes
A significant part of the network’s operational budget can be spent responding to reported escapes. With the Utonomy pressure management solution, there is only high pressure when you need it. The average pressures in the network are lower and the incidence of reported escapes falls leading to lower operating costs.
Faster detection and resolution of network faults
Today, if a consumer calls in to report low gas pressure in their home, resolving the issue is a case of trial and error. The fault may be caused by any one of many governors feeding the network. Each one will need to be visited until the problem is tracked down. With the Utonomy solution, the cause of the problem can be found quickly and the necessary adjustments made remotely. This not only saves cost but improves customer service.
Mains replacement or Repex
In mains replacement programmes, the decision whether to use insertion or open cut is an important one as insertion is around 50% cheaper than open cut. However, sometimes, the reduced capacity of the network caused by insertion may require higher governor settings than is ideal to cope with one in twenty winter demand.
Using Utonomy’s pressure management solution, the higher pressures needed for a one in twenty winter would be used very occasionally and would be at lower levels for the rest of the time. This could lead to insertion being viable, reducing the cost of mains replacement by half.
Avoid reinforcement capex
Could an optimised pressure management strategy enable the networks to meet increased demand caused by new connections instead of requiring reinforcement activity? The problem is that following an increase in demand, higher pressures may be required to meet a one in twenty winter. It may not be desirable for the network to be kept at these high pressures all the time, leading to the need for reinforcement. By implementing Utonomy’s pressure management solution, the higher pressures needed for a one in twenty winter would be implemented very occasionally and would be at lower levels for the rest of the time. This could lead to costly reinforcement no longer being needed.