The smart transition of Power Transmission Network needed for the sustainable development of Bucharest City

Abstract

Large cities around the world continue to grow larger. This is also the case of Bucharest, the capital city of Romania and one of the largest and most densely populated locations in Eastern Europe. In this article authors present an overview of the development of Bucharest as the largest electricity consumer amongst the Romanian municipalities and analyse possible solutions for the refurbishment of the HV (High Voltage) grid. This process needs to help the city development and its transition to a Smart City. At first authors present the strategy of local authorities for improving the living standard and decrease the environmental pollution. The impact of this strategy on the electrical energy demand is further analysed. Possible technologies are presented for substations and electrical lines starting from the current situation of the transmission network. All these can contribute to a decrease of the environmental impact and to an increase in the continuity of the power supply. Technical and economical evaluation of the refurbished grid is further presented along with a sensitivity analysis. The evaluation of the investment is made by taking into consideration the demand forecast. Lines and transformers are sized and chosen with the best available technology. For the economic analysis authors used criteria accepted by funding sources, banks especially, such as NPV and IRR. The sensitivity of the project economics is tested and discussed. As conclusions authors present the environmental benefits of gradually changing the technology used for electricity transmission in a large city such as Bucharest, mainly regarding land occupancy with switchgear and line routes and soil pollution.