New home for voltage standards

Narec will this month open its new calibration laboratory and becomes custodian of the UK’s High Voltage Reference Measurement Standards.
Based in the North East of England, Narec’s high voltage facility has tested high voltage electrical equipment for customers in the UK and abroad for over thirty years. Formerly part of VA Tech Reyrolle, the laboratory has a reputation for service delivery and customer care which it aims to maintain under its new operations as part of Narec.
As custodian of the High Voltage Reference Measurement Standards for the UK, a role formerly held by the National Physical Laboratory, Narec’s new calibration laboratory will issue highest quality in calibration certificates to the transmission and distribution industry. The UK National Grid and other network authorities worldwide must seek out the best electrical components as they carry out network upgrades, and upholding high standards in calibration accuracy is the only way to ensure quality and efficient energy trading.
Fixed, high quality standards for measurement and calibration for electrical components will be especially important for the electrical industry over the next decades as distributed generation plays an increasing role in grid systems around the world.
Energy Centre (Narec) was established in 2002 as a centre for excellence for new and renewable energy technologies. Based in Blyth, Northumberland, Narec is working to enable the move towards a low carbon economy on a national and international scale by assisting the development and market growth of new energy technologies. Narec is one of five centres of excellence set up by the North East’s regional development agency, One Northeast.
Narec facilities offer testing and development of large wind turbine blades, marine renewables, offshore and subsea equipment, micro-renewables and high voltage electrical equipment. It also has facilities and consultancy expertise for the development and integration of large and small-scale renewables into the energy mix including assistance with small scale embedded generation and power systems analysis. Narec also runs an independent photovoltaic R&D laboratory, combining small scale manufacturing and solar cell process development.