The use of direct current voltage systems to increase a city’s resilience and reduce the vulnerability of economic activity from a disaster

Kinn, Moshe ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2641-4837 and Abbott, Carl (2014) The use of direct current voltage systems to increase a city’s resilience and reduce the vulnerability of economic activity from a disaster. Discussion Paper. University of Salford.

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Abstract

Purpose: The overarching purpose of this paper is to address the challenges facing the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 in a holistic way. The emphasis will be on Thematic Research Area 8, which concentrates on what can be done to mitigate the adverse economic effects of a disaster. The electrical system is seen as pivotal to many economic aspects of disaster risk reduction (DRR). The objective of this paper is to show how distributed electricity systems, coupled with direct current (DC) voltage offer a solution to increasing resilience against the effects of a disaster, thus reducing the impact on both the economy and the people who facilitate its smooth operation. Design/methodology/approach: This paper looks at the lifeblood of any modern economic system as being the electricity needed to operate most functions of economic activity. Economic activity requires a workforce and consumers, therefore this research will look at the economic system as being a socio-technical system. The whole economic value chain is the technical system and the workforce and consumers are the social system. Electricity underpins the functionality of the whole socio-technical system. Data from case study literature is used to build a picture of how both people and economic activity are impacted by the loss of electricity. Diagrams will be made of the different subsets of the economic activity that will be adversely affected by the loss of electricity, and of the subsets that surround the wellbeing of the workforce that will enable them to continue working. Findings: There is a gap in the resilience literature with regard to the importance of electricity to DRR. Some literature, especially that about the loss of electricity to intensive care units in hospitals, has focused on educating clinicians as to how to overcome such challenges, but only offers limited solutions. It was found that by analysing information about the effects of a disaster from the point of view of reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes, it is possible to gain a clearer picture of some of the higher–order aspects of a disaster that were affected due to the loss of electricity, but not the actual details for each loss factor. This therefore only gives us higher order socio-technical implications. Social implications For the workforce to be able to work they must be able to sustain a reasonable level of living standard. For this to happen, all support activities that enable this must be able to function. These support activities may include; a operational home to live in, a school for the children, a functioning healthcare system, and functioning public services- including utilities. All these support activities require electricity to function. The social impact of the loss of electricity include; forced relocation, loss of functionality of all public services, breakdown in law and order, loss of job and therefore means of income, breakup of communities and relationships, 4 and a longer time to get back to pre-disaster living standards, all of which exacerbate the psychological trauma on individuals and families. By having to move from their community and/or having their means of financial income disrupted, the local economy will lose a proportion of its customers and therefore its income. Technical and economic implications The supply chain for economic activity should be looked at as the provision of the products or services from raw materials to consumption. Economic activities should therefore include, procurements of raw materials, excluding workforce skills, production, transportation, wholesaling, retailing, and consumption. At each stage there may be the need for storage, and when it comes to perishables freezing or refrigeration. All these activities require electricity, the loss of which, even in any part of the economic value chain can increase the vulnerability of the whole chain. Originality and value Although the importance of the continuation of the electric system in times of disaster is known, this research has been first to focus on the electrical system as being pivotal to the economic impact of a disaster. Based on work carried out during this research which indicated that there is a gap in the DRR literature, some case studies have been used to understand the negative economic impacts of the loss of electricity. They focused on subjects like, post disaster reconstruction and what anesthesiologist should know about healthcare in blackout situations, which are not subjects about electricity. By highlighting the importance of electricity in DRR, it is hoped that this will increase awareness among all DRR professionals that more emphasis should be placed on gathering data, and working towards a more robust electrical system. Distributed energy systems, lead to energy ind