Advanced vulnerability models for power system substation equipment to quantify system resilience to floods

Hydrogeological phenomena may cause severe disruption in power systems. Transmission System Operators (TSOs) in countries exposed to such threat call for methods and models to assess the related risk of load disruption for resilience assessment and enhancement purposes. In this context, the paper proposes advanced vulnerability models to describe substation equipment vulnerability to floods, considering both potential mechanical damages due to waterflow height and speed, and electric flashovers due to reduced clearance to ground. Simulations on a simple case study demonstrate the good tradeoff between accuracy and applicability of the vulnerability models, which – integrated in a risk-based resilience assessment methodology – allow for the quantification of indicators such as related to loss of load risk in operation.