OPERATION & MAINTENANCE OF POWER PLANTS
SCADA enables superior monitoring even for small utilities
AUTOMATION OVERHAUL
A small utility in Texas installed a complete monitoring and control system that rivals systems installed at much larger utilities
T
raditionally, small municipal electrical utilities like the one in the City of Seguin, Texas have believed that implementing a SCADA was
simply out of reach, due to the perceived high initial costs, high licensing fees and complexity of such systems. However, advancements in web- based SCADA systems have transformed the process of installing, configuring and managing such systems to manage substation performance. Modern web- based systems streamline installation and maintenance and provide engineers with a modern user interface they can easily configure – a factor that now allows even smaller cities to operate like large investor-owned utilities with hundreds of substations.
Case in point is the city of Seguin,
Texas. Te utility embarked on an ambitious plan to integrate a new SCADA system with outage management system
software, citywide WiFi, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technology, GIS mapping and energy efficiency software to improve customer reliability and education. Te system was designed to enable utility engineering teams to manage a dispersed network and more efficiently support the cooperative’s mission for reliable, cost- effective service. Te City of Seguin had no trouble justifying the SCADA investment even though there are only three substations. Te system provides the same degree of monitoring and control system as implemented by larger utilities. Te city has a population of 25,090.
Approximately 8,200 residential customers, as well as several large industrial facilities rely on power from the electrical system. Te utility operates three substations with 14 circuits, which requires 19 employees to manage 110 miles of overhead and 26 miles of underground electric lines.
To complete this ambitious SCADA implementation, the city turned to M&S Engineering to develop all the specifications outlined in the initial bid. For the physical infrastructure and sensors, M&S Engineering specified an AMI system from Aclara, which includes nine collectors that gather smart meter readings. AMI systems enable electric utilities to collect and harness the power of smart meters, edge devices and data to meet challenges such as substation monitoring, load monitoring, load control/ demand response, fault detection/outage management, distributed generation, conservation voltage reduction and customer engagement.
Te data is then transmitted over a
newly installed, citywide Strix WiFi system to a central network, which allows multiple users and departments to access the information. To enhance communication and decision making, assets such as electric poles and meters are now mapped and coordinated through ESRI, a geographic information system (GIS) mapping company. Te GPS technology coordinates facilitate more efficient dispatching of utility trucks and service crews, when needed.
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