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

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.

The authors recommend to change the electrical system from a centralised AC voltage system to a distributed DC voltage system. Besides increasing a city’s resilience it will also provide in normal times, an electrical system that can provide a high degree of energy independence and energy security for all its’ citizens.

This document is an input paper of the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction.