Intelligent technologies for stable grids
Automation solutions and remote control technology enhance the reliability of distribution grids
Despite every effort, grid disturbances and faults can never be entirely eliminated. This is why control room personnel must be enabled to work quickly and effectively to resolve problems in a targeted manner. Comprehensive automation and remote-control solutions optimize these capabilities.
Industrial facilities, infrastructures, and households depend fully on electricity to function. Restoring the power supply therefore has the highest priority – a stressful situation for the control room personnel. Yet, high-performance automation components and technologies can efficiently support grid operators. Products and solutions for grid automation, remote monitoring, and remote-control systems are available to minimize the likelihood of grid outages.
Find out more in detail under the following topics
Remote monitoring and control of substations
Advanced outage management requires a detailed overview of the current state of the grid. It must also enable the remote control of substations at the secondary distribution system level. Remote-control technology enables the quicker detection, localization, and isolation of faults and failures. The control center can instantly send maintenance staff to the affected grid segment. This helps to reduce grid operating costs and protects grid operators from incurring blackout penalties.
Benefits for grid operators
- Remotely controlled fault detection equipment with standardized sensors and connections for simple and quick installation
- Quick and effective elimination of fault and failure conditions
- Isolation of affected grid segments
- Reduced operating costs and avoidance of blackout penalties
Highlight products for remote monitoring and control
Automated switching for fault and failure isolation and service restoration
Grid faults and failures always pose major challenges for control center personnel: A broad number of tasks have to be performed simultaneously in order to rapidly restore normal grid operation. Grid solutions for automated switching help to collect and analyze all necessary information, define and initiate appropriate countermeasures, and isolate the fault or failure. They also support in restoring service, informing and coordinating operating personnel, and, once repairs have been completed, restoring normal grid operation.
Benefits for grid operators
- Closed loop automated switching solution for isolation and service restoration with included load management
- Reduced fault localization costs
- Reduction of outage times, improvement of distribution grid reliability indicators (e.g. SAIDI, SAIFI)
- Open solution can flexibly adapt to existing secondary substations
- Extreme workload reduction in the event of several simultaneous faults, e.g. due to rough weather conditions
Product highlights for eliminating grid faults and failures
SCADA/OMS integrated with advanced monitoring fault location applications
When faults or failures occur in the grid, control center personnel must respond rapidly and effectively in a targeted manner – despite the highly complex failure situation. The objective is to quickly restore power in the grid. Doing so means that personnel must collect and analyze all necessary information, undertake appropriate countermeasures, isolate the fault or failure, restore service, inform and coordinate operating personnel, and, once repairs have been completed, restore normal grid operation.
The workload for personnel increases when multiple failures occur simultaneously – caused, for instance, by severe weather conditions. The SCADA/OMS solution from Siemens enables reduction of the workload: It displays precise information on the fault or failure, generates outage reports, and supports initiation of fault isolation and service restoration. This gives control center personnel greater capacity to coordinate service crews and focus on the necessary repairs.
Benefits for grid operators
- Comprehensive data and information on faults and outages instantly available at the control center
- Reduction of maintenance and operating costs
- Increased grid availability
- Increased security for your investments
Highlight products for control centers
Automated switching for dynamic reconfiguration
Power distribution grids are normally operated as individual feeder lines or operated as an intermeshed network. Critical situations can be alleviated by distributing load demand across multiple branch lines.
Intermeshed networks require a more complex algorithm: Automated reconfiguration enables grid optimization through demand load sharing, prevents overload, and reduces the risk of failure and outage.
Benefits for grid operators
- Automated grid reconfiguration for flexible demand load sharing to prevent overloads
- Reduced risk of faults and failures
- Reduced maintenance costs and avoidance of penalties
