Analyzing Failure Severity and Trends in Italian Power Grid Transmission Lines

Power grid failures represent a significant challenge to grid reliability, with far-reaching impacts on both the economy and society. In Italy, thousands of these failures occur annually, differing widely in severity, the number of affected user sites, and associated costs. Gaining a detailed understanding of these failures at the component level and identifying their underlying causes is crucial for enhancing grid resilience. This paper focuses on overhead transmission lines (OTL), the most expansive and critical components of the power grid. Due to their large geographical coverage, OTL are highly vulnerable to environmental conditions, aging infrastructure, and accidental damage. This study offers a detailed analysis of failure severity and reliability for Italian OTL, utilizing different metrics categorizing failures by transmission line voltage levels and causes. A refined severity factor is introduced to quantify and generalize the impact of failures, enabling the identification of trends and vulnerabilities. The findings highlight the most vulnerable components within OTL and emphasize the importance of implementing targeted maintenance strategies to address failures driven by environmental factors and infrastructure aging. By examining failure causes and their consequences, this work provides valuable insights for enhancing grid reliability, optimizing resource allocation, and supporting a more resilient and efficient power transmission system.