Northern Powergrid (NPg) and UDlive are working together on SAFEGRID, an 18-month project to modernise how flood risk is assessed and managed across substations. Using new climate data, a quantified risk matrix and targeted flood monitoring, the project aims to move away from carbon-intensive physical defences towards a dynamic, data-driven approach that improves resilience for customers and communities.
The Challenge
NPg has already invested in flood mitigation at their grid and primary substations that comply with the national flood resilience standard ETR138. This has mainly relied on physical measures such as concrete flood walls, relocating assets, or elevating equipment. While effective, these options are carbon-intensive, can disrupt local environments and communities, plus are difficult to adapt as climate risks evolve.
Flood risk at many distribution substations is not currently covered by ETR138, despite their importance to customers, local services and other infrastructure networks. Stakeholders have highlighted the need for a more flexible, risk-led approach that can respond to changing climate projections.
SAFEGRID addresses this by shifting from reactive, capital-heavy engineering solutions to proactive, intelligence-led flood risk management using up-to-date datasets, structured risk assessment and remote monitoring across NPg’s network.
Who’s the Innovator?
UDlive is an award-winning technology company specialising in advanced environmental monitoring and digital innovation. It designs and manufactures sensor technologies that support asset risk modelling, mapping and detection for critical national infrastructure.
They combine hardware, analytics and cloud platforms to provide high-quality, real-time data that underpins operational decision-making. Their experience in integrating sensing, data and visualisation tools will support NPg in developing and deploying a robust, scalable flood risk management solution.
What’s Next?
SAFEGRID aim to develop and prove a dynamic, risk-based approach to flood mitigation across grid, primary and selected distribution substations.
The project will:
- Reassess current and future flood risk using the latest Environment Agency datasets and climate change projections
- Create a quantified risk matrix that brings together asset criticality, societal impact and interdependencies with other infrastructure providers
- Deploy advanced flood monitoring devices at priority sites to capture real-time data and provide predictive alerts.
Data from the devices will feed into NPg’s iHost Innovation system, supporting more informed operational decisions. The project will also explore how the approach could be extended to other climate-related risks and asset types, laying the groundwork for future business-as-usual rollout.