ABB: “Smart Planning” by “Consultancy Light”

Many advanced technologies for managing electric power delivery systems are implemented for high voltage transmission systems operated by big utilities. The smaller utilities (mainly distribution system operators) usually just follow the “rules” set by the big utilities. To this end: the power and the technology are “flowing top-down”.

The power is now flowing “top-down” and “bottom-up”. The technology needed in the future power system automation requires more than just “copying” the technologies from the big utilities. May requirements are very unique to the power delivery automation – the tools and approaches to keep the power reliably flowing at distribution level are under high pressure.

ABB has started a new group in Germany to offer a three step “Smart Planning” to meet the new challenges in distribution networks:

1. Classification of a distribution network
2. If the load limits are almost reached, the network monitoring phase starts
3. Voltage control and other technologies (e.g., smart Transformers) are considered

This prevents to start with expensive and detailed network calculations as applied in high voltage transmission systems.

Click HERE for the ABB press release on “Smart Planning” [PDF, German, 12 KB].

This “Smart Planning” requires a huge amount of new process measurements (3 phase voltage and current, temperature, power quality measurements, etc) and calculated values. IEC 61850 has the right “smart” international solution that backs this new planning approach.

Get all your data engineered,configured and communicated with IEC 61850. Start now with the basic information shared between the process and the applications to feed control, protection and optimization software with “smart” information. Prevent exchanging tons of data – look for useful and crucial information and not for data. Prevent flooding your control center with useless data flowing “bottom-up” – distributed control will extend the centralized systems of today. It is a combination of centralized and de-centralized monitoring and control that will keep the system stable.

Cooperate with “smart people” to get “smart”" power distribution systems”.

Click on the following links if you want to learn how to get there:

TÜV SÜD Seminars [DE], NettedAutomation hands-on Training [EN], Beck IPC Workshop [EN, DE]

The future of power distribution networks needs Teamwork – to make the Dream work … the dream of a sustainable power system. This team is more than just the experts of a huge manufacturer. Utility experts and consultants need to work together with the vendors’ experts.