In just about every area of business operations, the Internet is proving to be a great leveler. What the Web has been able to deliver in recent months has been nothing less than spectacular. With the phenomenal increases in bandwidth and transmission rates, the substantially reduced cost of ISP (Internet Service Provider) services, the advances in network security, and the global acceptance of the Web as an enabling tool, the functionality of Web-based services continues to grow to encompass increasingly complex business requirements.
Most importantly, the Web is allowing vendors to deliver a broad range of services to smaller operations at a fraction of the cost of implementing in-house solutions. For an affordable monthly fee, any number of users can subscribe to a whole range of services to help them run their businesses, regardless of their technology infrastructure or size of operations.
This means that smaller or more specialized operations that were once excluded from taking advantage of high-end enterprise management systems can compete more effectively with their larger, better equipped counterparts.
In the deregulated utility world, the ability to tap into the benefits of Web-enabled substation monitoring and control will be en especially critical competitive weapon for municipal utilities and rural co-operatives. This is a market that has largely been ignored by vendors, because until recently, a comprehensive utility enterprise management system has only been available using expensive proprietary software and custom software programming. The dilemma facing tens of thousands of utilities around the world unable to reach that level of sophistication, has been finding an effective and secure means of getting critical information out of the substation for full-scale automation and control, without the high price tag associated with implementing a SCADA system.
The old way
By way of comparison, a typical large scale power system has a group of substations linked to a regional control centre. The status of devices and alarms can be monitored at each site using dedicated communication circuits linked to the control centre. When an alarm is triggered, operators at the control centre can immediately access the necessary information. The dedicated circuits are typically leased telephone lines.
At the other end of the spectrum lie the small distribution substations. In many cases, these are not even monitored because it has not been cost-effective or technologically feasible. (A full scale SCADA system could run from US $1 million to $2 million for a regional electric co-operative, which is a prohibitive amount for cash-strapped utilities with limited capital resources.) Where they have been put on a monitoring system, the onus is on the utility to have a person monitoring the system from the control centre and calling crews to investigate incidents as they arise.
In most cases, however, there are simply not the financial and human resources to have these systems monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is not uncommon for smaller utilities to have an individual monitoring the system during the day and to have a security guard at night phoning whoever is on call in the event of an emergency to go to the site to observe readings and take the appropriate action.
More often than not, the first notification these utilities receive of a power outage is a call from an irate customer. This lack of information can considerably hamper a technicianÕs efforts in identifying line problems and implementing timely repairs.
The new way
However, the convergence of Internet access from PCs, servers and Internet-ready IEDs (Intelligent Elec-tronic Devices) has made it possible to overcome all these problems for effective power management at an affordable rate. Whereas automation solutions were typically aimed at bigger utilities with the systems, budgets and the manpower, the potential that the Internet can bring to the equation is already being realized in a number of sites in Ontario and the U.S.
GE Power Management is among the first vendors in the world to address this challenge with the launch of our enerVista.com service. A GE-hosted, Web-enabled service, enerVista.com is made up of a number of service 'modules' to which users can subscribe. Monthly costs vary depending on the types of services required and number of substations. Information can be accessed using any PC-based device, from desktop and laptop systems to cell phones and other handheld devices.
Collectively, these offerings provide many of the services of a complex enterprise management system at a fraction of the cost. They can range from the simple (document storage and retrieval, report generation, scheduling and asset tracking), to the complex (eSCADA functions which include monitoring, analysis and future control).
Whether seeking out additional information, responding to an alarm or checking the status of a particular problem at a specific site, utilities can gather useful information by simply logging onto the site, entering a password and observing or downloading the available information.
With the exception of eSCADA which requires interface hardware at the substation and connection to an ISP (Internet Service Provider), all other functions of enerVista.com are available immediately by simply signing onto the Internet. All that is required at the utility's end is access to a Web browser.
Achieving SCADA online
The eSCADA service utilizes GE Power Management's Universal Relay (UR) IED installed with a modem in an enclosure at the site as an Internet appliance for 24/7 monitoring, optional protection and control (future) of all substations. Connection is made via a telephone, cable or wireless modem. enerVista.com servers housed at GE Power Management continually monitor customer configured alarms and warning conditions at each station, and will automatically send a pager alert message immediately upon detection. Engineers can access real time status, fault reports and sequence of events etc. from a PC-enabled device at any location, any time of day or night.
Because this is a Web-based service, and the UR is a PC-based technology, the possibilities for applications are virtually endless. The pilot projects we have worked on are evolving as we go, and have included everything from implementing remote monitoring and control to pager and voice mail notification and Web cam operations.
A case in point
In developing the enerVista.com concept, we have been fortunate in that we have been able to engage in development work with a number of distribution utilities. Whitby Hydro for one, having recently entered a service agreement with the municipality of Port Perry, Ontario, has been developing a number of Web-based applications to bring the three-substation system to a SCADA-level functionality without having to incur the usual programming and technology costs. Other utilities in Oshawa, Thunder Bay, New York State and Tennessee have also been working with us to develop specific applications that address their unique requirements.
The Whitby project has been especially rewarding, since it is the first utility in the world to pilot the enerVista.com concept. Port Perry proved to be the perfect testing ground, since the three substations served the entire town. Each of the sites had no monitoring capabilities, so a technician would have to drive to the site to troubleshoot any problems. Because transmission and generation is supplied by Ontario Hydro, EHV and HV levels had built-in redundancy and were rarely a problem. Any problems that did occur were at the distribution level where there was no redundancy.
Over the course of the Port Perry project, the engineers and technicians at the sites have gradually been finding an increasing number of ways to capitalize on the power and flexibility of the UR and the Internet beyond the more traditional and obvious functions. Having started with straightforward monitoring, we have evolved into exploring such applications as remote control, automated paging, online perimeter surveillance -- and just about anything else a PC-based system can perform. The set-up also provides the ability to monitor remote operations for circuit load transfers and switching applications. As these various capabilities are developed and tested, Whitby Hydro has been adding them to its arsenal of consulting, design and installation services.
In the Scugog installations, the UR is mounted on the side of the switchgear at each substation in a weathertight, temperature controlled enclosure with a cable modem, heater/fan and UPS. The communications is isolated from the substation via a fiber optic connection. Once installed, it collects and stores information from the substation equipment and devices for the engineers to interrogate from a central site, their laptops or any other PC device.
The first of the three Scugog sites was designed, installed and up and running within a matter of four weeks with the others quickly following suit. Overall, initial installation for the three substations took six weeks. Unlike conventional SCADA, no programming was required -- only simple menu driven configuration. As the team members become more versed in the application, they expect installations will be performed in as little as one to two days.
Reducing costs to stay competitive
There is no question that implementing a SCADA system that could deliver similar functionality as a Web-based set-up would have been incredibly complex, costly and taken months of work. In addition, it would have been specifically tailored for the utility. However, having the communications links over the Web, and the data acquisition hosted by an outside vendor, provides a means by which utilities can have the most up to date equipment at a reduced capital cost, and expand their capabilities to a wider market. In theory, projects half a world away can be monitored over the Internet.
The technicians at Whitby Hydro are finding that the simplicity of the installation and communications link has led to a number of new applications beyond the current roster. What limitations they have encountered have been at the substation level, not with the equipment itself, which involves simply mounting the enclosure and setting it up according to the specified parameters. Anything that can be done over the Internet can be applied to this system with minimal effort at any time.
Some of the plans in the works and currently being tested at Whitby Hydro in conjunction with GE Power Management include detection of overloads, blown feeder fuses, feeder unbalances, and single-phasing.
Another initiative is using a network-based solution to bring two downtown substations onto the system that they were unable to link to the Whitby SCADA system. For utilities such as Whitby Hydro, it's not unusual to have different distribution voltages which supply the town.
As it stands, the utility has two stations supplying a 4.16 Kv line that are not on SCADA. Plans are now underway to have new units installed in these two stations so they can be brought up to the level of Whitby's other sites.
As the utility sets its sights further afield, there is no question that the ability to offer advanced monitoring and control functions at a fraction of the cost, complexity and time of more conventional systems will prove a valuable asset. At the same time, each new application that has been developed can be integrated into the enerVista.com service and made available for use by other utilities as they join the network.
With the high speed, peer-to-peer communications and PC capabilities that are inherent in the UR, and the ease of connectivity that is now available to utilities at any location, Web-based monitoring and control has moved from the realm of the possible to the actual. As a flexible medium, the Web also allows for continued product development without incurring any additional capital outlay on the part of the utility.
By all indications, the Internet will definitely play a critical role in the future of substation automation and control for utilities competing in a global market. The only thing that remains to be seen is how far a utility can go with the applications. So far, there is no limit in sight.
Dale Finney is an Applications Engineer with GE Power Management, in Markham, Ontario. ET