June 23 2018 is International Women in Engineering Day. ffwd decided to celebrate the event by catching up with an engineer who is making her own mark on the energy industry – meet Dr. Biljana Stojkovska, Innovation Manager at National Grid and Chair of Women’s Network CIGRE UK.
What is your role at National Grid?
I am Innovation Manager in the Systems Operation Division with responsibility for the Power Potential project.
How long have you been with National Grid?
I joined in 2010 after completing my PhD in Power Systems Economics at Imperial College.
What set you off on a career in engineering?
I took a slightly unusual career route. I was brought up in Macedonia and was very focused on sport, especially handball. However, I realized that it would be hard to make a living in sport and decided to make a career in electrical engineering. After completing my degree, I moved to Slovenia for my MSc and then came to the UK for my doctorate. I was interested to see some of my former handball team-mates taking the silver medal for Montenegro at the 2012 Olympics in London!
Can you tell us about the Power Potential project?
This project, funded by Ofgem through the Network Innovation Competition (NIC) is exploring how generation resources connected to distribution networks might provide key services to transmission networks, such as dynamic voltage control. This is where reactive power is required at short notice to maintain voltage following a system fault.
Renewable energy, such as from wind turbines and solar panels is becoming an increasingly important feature of our electricity networks. We believe that these Distributed Energy Resources (DER), connected to distribution networks, have the potential to provide important reactive and active power services to the power grid. These vital services help us keep the grid stable and ensure power flows reliably to UK homes and businesses. With this project, we aim to show that large volumes of renewable power can be effectively absorbed into the power network.
Power Potential will last for three years, focusing first on the South East of England, which is a complex and challenging region for us to operate. The reason is that it is currently at the limit of its capacity for both exporting and importing power from the rest of the transmission system.
We believe that by connecting more DERs we can better manage the system constraints. This will make it more stable and affordable to run, while creating new opportunities for distributed energy businesses. If successful, the new model could be rolled out across the country, potentially saving an estimated £412m for UK consumers by 2050.
How did you become involved in CIGRE?
When I attended my first CIGRE conference I was struck by the lack of diversity. When I challenged the organizers about the gender bias I was challenged back to do something about it. Therefore, in 2016 we founded the CIGRE Women’s Network UK (WNUK) that brings together more than 50 women and men, working in the energy sector in the UK.
Our members come from across the breadth of the sector: energy producers and suppliers, network operators, technology companies, academia and researchers. They represent seasoned professionals, as well as new talent. All have the same goal, to actively contribute to a platform for exchange and learning in order to promote women in engineering for energy.
What can UK industry do to help more women enter a career in engineering?
It is not just a question of women. The UK needs more young people to become interested in engineering. We all need to be prepared to provide mentoring and coaching. And critically, we need to provide role models – I always say “we can’t be what we can’t see”.
Is there one piece of advice you would offer to women considering an engineering career?
Be yourself. Be confident in what you believe.
