Cyclone preparedness strategies for regional power transmission systems in data-scarce coastal regions of India

TL;DR

This paper develops a framework for strengthening power transmission networks in data-scarce coastal regions of India to improve cyclone resilience, emphasizing strategic tower reinforcement based on network orientation and simplicity.

Contribution

It introduces an effective prioritization strategy that combines network orientation and simplicity, outperforming purely property-based methods in resource-limited settings.

Findings

Orientation-aware strategies outperform property-based ones

Simple strategies are more effective despite minor tower fragility variations

Framework applicable to resource-constrained, data-scarce regions

Abstract

As the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones, and the degree of urbanization increase, a systematic strengthening of power transmission networks in the coastal regions becomes imperative. An effective strategy for the same can be to strengthen select transmission towers, which requires consideration of network at holistic scale and its orientation relative to the coastline, the fragility of towers, and properties of cyclones. Since necessary information is often missing, actionable frameworks for prioritization remain elusive. Based on publicly available data, we assess efficacies of strategic interventions in the network that serves 40 million people. After evaluating 72 strategies for prioritization, we find that strategies that consider rather simplistic properties of the network and its orientation with respect to the coastline work much better than those based purely on the network's properties, in spite of minor variations in fragilities of towers. This integrated approach opens avenues for actionable engineering and policy interventions in resource-constrained and data-deprived settings.