Distribution automation: Applications to move from today's distribution system to tomorrow's smartgrid
In 2008 the Hydro-Québec Distribution roadmap was completed. The resulting roadmap is based on customers' expectations, Hydro-Québec's business drivers, available technologies, Hydro-Québec's context and electrical distribution industry trends. This paper will present the distribution roadmap and then will focus on application and technology strategy to move from today's distribution network to tomorrow's Smartgrid.
Voltage Control in Active-Adaptive Electric Networks
The process of creating smart energy system in a normative regulation form is fixed in the Energy strategy of Russia for the period up to 2030. Innovative development of energy leads to its intellectualization, the main element of which is an active-adaptive network. Creation of an active-adaptive network is one of the main elements of building an intellectual power system in Russia. New materials, equipment, digital technologies and electronic equipment are being introduced. As a result, the structure of electrical networks is changed, their new properties appear. They include distributed generation, an active consumer, an abundance of the network with active elements, electrical networks monitoring and management in real time, self-test and self-recovery. These properties lead to the aggravation of the power quality problem not only as a result of the emergence of new sources of quality distortion, but also to a change in approaches to voltage regulation. The paper proposes a new approach to voltage regulation in active-adaptive electric networks, taking into account both traditional hierarchical voltage control and distributed control. The technique of optimum means choice and methods of voltage regulation in active-adaptive electric networks is offered.
Plan ahead for substation automation
Technological improvements to intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) and the communication facilities and protocols that enable their integration are occurring at a rapid pace. To ensure that ongoing internal efforts to integrate the IEDs has proper direction given industry developments, MidAmerican Energy Company developed a substation automation (SA) plan and is in the process of implementing it at two pilot substations. Before proceeding with system implementation activities, MidAmerican elected to develop a business case to ensure that the operational and strategic benefits that would be achieved and the costs to achieve these benefits were well understood ahead of time. Lack of a solid business case has always been one of the leading obstacles to the successful implementation of electric utility automation projects. Building a business case for the automation project will ensure that the costs and the benefits, both monetary and strategic, are well understood ahead of time and are supportive of company business drivers. This article describes the methodology used to develop the business case for expanding the implementation of SA technologies at MidAmerican's substations and summarizes the results of this analysis.