The power industry is undergoing tremendous change and reinvention, with the main drivers being decarbonization, digitization and decentralization. These paradigm shifts come with their own challenges and opportunities. Moving away from coal, for example, requires a balance between keeping capital costs low, enabling reliable alternative supplies, and environmental goals and compliance. The operational challenges of renewable energy are also an important consideration, and achieving sustainable supply and grid integration of renewable energy will require solutions that go beyond traditional practices.
Automation provides an important solution for creating a future-ready grid. Smart grid technology creates a more efficient and reliable system. In fact, the smart grid market, which was valued at over $30 billion in 2017, will grow at a CAGR of over 11% to reach $70 billion by 2024 (Aditya Gupta, 2017).
Current Scenario
Growing demand, electricity transport, fluctuations in peak hours, the integration of renewable energy, smart meters at the consumer level, and the interconnectedness of operating and generating information are driving a fundamental transformation of the grid.
Compliance with environmental and regulatory requirements, as well as the need for reliable power sources, is driving secondary grid automation. This level of automation will ensure better control, better data management and efficient smart grid implementation, which will benefit not only distribution system operators (DSOs) but also end consumers.
Automation in Secondary Grids
While the digitization of asset data is increasingly the norm, the larger and critical aspect of a smarter, more resilient grid lies in the integration of renewable energy sources, so investing in the automation of secondary grids is important.
DSOs face backfeed or reverse power flow due to power from various distributed energy sources (DERs) such as wind turbines and solar farms. Therefore, the need to maintain and protect the circuit results.
Intelligent automation devices such as digital sensors and switches with advanced control and communication technologies improve fault location, isolation and service restoration. They can also improve resilience in extreme weather situations. Automation significantly improves device monitoring and service recovery. It also aids in preventive maintenance, ensuring lower operating costs, efficient use of service personnel and reduced environmental emissions. All of these help create operational and maintenance efficiencies for operators.
Data from EU countries show that failures in distribution networks are mainly caused by natural factors such as fallen trees or overhead lines. Also, in the medium voltage portion of the grid, the isolator has poor insulation almost 70% of the time. Distribution automation reduces the frequency, duration, and cost of such events, which has a direct impact on reliability metrics.
Network automation technologies provide grid operators with advanced capabilities to accurately diagnose, detect and locate faults. Feeder-based Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) or Service Restoration (FLISR) technologies can automatically restore power within minutes by isolating a failed feeder and switching to an adjacent feeder, reducing the number and disruption to affected customers time. With fully automated handover and validation, reliability is a greater improvement than operator-based remote handover, which improves metrics such as System Average Interruption Index (SAIDI) and Customer Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI). Reducing outage rates plays an important role in minimizing penalties and increasing end customer satisfaction.
Network automation increases the reliability of the grid, thereby reducing the economic cost and inconvenience of power outages to customers. In the United States, power outages cost the economy nearly $44 billion annually (KrisTIna Hamachi, 2018).
These technologies can also improve operational and maintenance efficiency, resulting in savings for utility companies. Using automatic voltage regulation and power factor correction can help utilities monitor and reduce peak demand, utilize existing assets more efficiently, and allocate investments more efficiently.
Secondary grid automation in Switzerland
The automation of secondary distribution network is a key factor and prerequisite for building a smart grid. In a recent project, we partnered with one of the largest energy companies in Switzerland to extend automated control to the secondary distribution grid of low-voltage networks in rural areas.
With the installation of the new 134kW solar power plant, a maximum +/-10% fluctuation is allowed to ensure power quality, violating voltage limits within the low voltage network. With the introduction of the RTU450, our smart solution for distribution automation combined with monitoring capabilities, we are able to better control line voltage.
This enables our customers to improve power quality through distributed energy sources on their networks and avoid greater financial outlays for new transformers and rewiring of low voltage networks with higher rated cables.
The installation also provides utility operators with a secure VPN and helps the company improve operational efficiency and costs by remotely monitoring and controlling the voltage, load status and temperature of line voltage regulators.
in conclusion
Deploying automation to the secondary grid offers many benefits, including:
Energy Efficient: Optimizing energy use reduces losses and better manages demand during peak hours.
Power Quality: Reductions in the number and duration of outages lead to improved reliability metrics and customer satisfaction.
Cost-benefit: Stable costs provide consumers with pricing options and, of course, savings due to operational efficiencies.
Environmental benefits: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions leads to cleaner, greener grids.
In conclusion, the application of smart grid solutions enables operators to see inside the grid and make faster, smarter and safer decisions. This becomes imperative for making the grid smart and responsive to future outages.