The ESO's Dr Jay Ramachandran explains his role managing GB system operational risk and performance

I have worked for National Grid ESO for eight years, but I have always seen engineering as my life. I hold a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a masters in power systems engineering, both of which I gained in India. After finishing my masters, I worked as a lecturer in India and Malaysia. I then moved to the UK for my PhD and on completion, became a researcher and a lecturer in the UK. 

In my role at National Grid ESO, I work in a team managing GB system operational risk and performance. We know that the energy landscape is changing, particularly with the number of conventional generators decreasing. This brings new challenges to network operations, such as reduced inertia. Day to day, my team and I consider these potential risks and create ways of managing them in the near- and long-term.

I’m lucky because I have the opportunity to collaborate with other huge players in the energy market. Right now, we’re working with SP Energy Networks, ABB, Denmark Technical University and the University of Strathclyde to deploy a device that could save consumers £50 million. You can find out more about this in my video.  

Of all the incredible projects that I’ve worked on, my proudest moment has to be leading the dynamic analysis on a project that focussed on connecting small scale renewable generation to the network. This was the first study of its kind and we identified operational solutions to connect them swiftly, saving consumers £26 million.