The project aims to study and research innovative solutions for components and materials in order to increase the safety and resilience of the electricity system, also through the use of new diagnostic methodologies. This is essential to meet the new needs of the system and the changed environmental stresses to which it is subjected. Among the other topics addressed in the project are meteorological phenomena with snow and ice overloads on overhead power lines and, in particular, the development of an optical system for monitoring the deflection of the conductors and any ice sleeves on high-voltage power lines. The formation of ice sleeves has become more pronounced. This activity responds to the need for greater resilience of the electricity grid. Global climate change has led to a substantial modification of the climate areas as previously defined for the design of the current electricity grid, which implies a greater probability that new climate events will cause damage to the network if not adequately monitored. Furthermore, the need for energy production from renewable sources implies a request for greater flexibility in energy transport. In this context, the resilience of the electricity grid is a hot and fundamental topic to guarantee continuity and security of the service.

It is therefore important to manage the transmission network in a correct and effective way and assess the state of the components in order to identify appropriate intervention strategies. For these reasons, during last year’s activity, following the analysis of market-available systems, the decision was made to start the creation of prototype optical system for monitoring high-voltage electric line conductors. The previous year’s activity made it possible to assemble the main components of the optical device for monitoring the deflection of high-voltage lines and carry out the first tests in an external environment in order to verify the functionality of the device. This year’s activity involved the creation of the complete device to carry out the first field tests. The prototype was successfully tested in the laboratory. The results obtained confirmed the ability of this instrument to provide useful information for power line monitoring. The system is in the final development phase and the first functional tests on a real high-voltage line are expected during next year’s activity.