Automation, Metering & instrumentation

24Sep 2020 by aSTS SMART Infrastructure Pvt Ltd

aSTS vision of end to end automation of Electricity Distribution Business and technical process:
 By Pratap Dhumale.

Background:
Power System, mainly consists of Electricity Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Supply and utilization systems. Electric Network availability, Electricity availability, Right Customer Care Mechanism, Robust IT Environment, Utility Data Availability, Financial Conditions, Revenue Management and Better Business Management are the key aspects, enabling utility business viable and sustainable. Monitoring, controlling, short term and long term planning of these aspects are the essential activities for maintaining Standard of Performance, Complying with Regulatory Mandates and efficient smooth operating, maintaining the System.

Currently all above activities related to above aspects are normally executed manually and there is very rare usage and adoption of technologies and automation for above. Following major activities come under Utility Operations.

  1. Electric Network Planning:
    1. Load Forecasting.
    2. Electric Network Route Planning:
    3. Site Selections:
    4. Right of way Management:
    5. Load Flow analysis and Network Design:
      1. Schemes for overload release
      2. Schemes for uninterrupted and quality power supply
      3. Schemes for New Connections, Bulk Connections, Bulk Consumers
      4. Network strengthening and augmentation schemes:
      5. Major Infrastructure Planning Schemes for Electrifications, Separations
  2. Material Planning:
    1. Specifications of Electrical Equipment’s:
    2. OEM & Vendor Management:
    3. Material Scheduling and Cost Data Preparation:
    4. Material stock, logistics and Inventory Management:
    5. Optimization.
  3. Infrastructure Projects and Schemes Implementation:
    1. DPR preparation & Approval.
    2. Finance Arrangement
    3. Tenders Management
    4. Contracts Management
    5. Project Monitoring and Management
    6. Handing over and taking over
    7. Contract Closures
  4. Network Operation:
    1. Switching operations for day to day activities
    2. Shut down arrangements
    3. Load Dispatch
  5. Maintenance:
    1. Break down Maintenance:
      1. Attending faults, failures of network equipment’s, Lines, cables.
      2. Repairing
      3. Testing
    2. Routine Maintenance:
      1. Preventive Maintenance
      2. Predictive majors
      3. Routine inspections
    3. Third Party Calls: Maintenance under contractual arrangements or forced situations at Premises of Stakeholders like Consumers, Generators, Transmission Company, Grid Connectivity points.
  6. Commercial Activities:
    1. Connection Management
    2. Contracts Management
    3. Metering, Billing and Collection
  7. Regulatory Compliance:
    1. Tariff Proposals and Order Implementation
    2. Compliance to Regulations, License Conditions and Orders
    3. Statutory Compliances
  8. Customer Care and Service:
    1. Technical Complaints
    2. Consumer requests
    3. Commercial Complaints
  9. Power Purchase:
  10. Funding arrangements and Finance:

Currently, only commercial activities are being done using Software and IT Systems. However, bringing excellence through Information Technology in all operations is key requirement of Utilities.
Challenges and gaps:

  1. Huge Distribution Losses
  2. Lack of Metering and Energy Accounting.
  3. Power Quality not monitored.
  4. No focus on routine maintenance, resulting technical losses and breakdowns.
  5. Unplanned Electric Network, huge potential for rerouting and optimizing and achieving loss reduction, increasing network availability and reducing planned outages/load shedding.
  6. Poor Asset management; huge scope to optimize and cost cutting.
  7. Bad Metering, billing and Payment Collection Efficiencies.
  8. Scope to improve Consumer Service.
  9. Scope to reduce unsafe installations and accidents.

Roadmap:
Full IT implementation may be done in phases and following may be the Modules of Implementations:

  1. Data preparation:
    1. Map creation or services for utility areas: Region, Zone, Circle, Division, Sub Division, Section
    2. Jurisdiction and Authority Mapping
    3. Substations, HT-LT Lines, Distribution Transformers mapping
    4. Consumer Indexing
    5. Data Creation
  2. GIS Based Asset Mapping and Consumer Indexing:
    1. Software System for representation and analysis of created data.
    2. Electric network overlaid on Vector and Raster background
    3. Network tracing
    4. Delta update provisions
    5. Integration with other applications
  3. Web, GIS and Mobile App based Workflows and business processes/practices:
    1. Customer Care.
      1. New Connection
      2. Shifting
      3. Power failure and quality Complaints
      4. Billing and commercial complaints, disputes
      5. Emergency and abnormalities like fire, shock, unsafe installations, water logging.
    2. Meter Management
      1. Meter abnormalities, irregularities identification
      2. Meter replacement
      3. Meter stock and logistics monitoring
      4. Meter reading monitoring and management.
      5. Meter performance management
      6. Meter Specification management
      7. Meter requirement and purchase management.
      8. Meter testing and Standards.
      9. Meter Accessories management.
      10. Automated Meter Reading Systems.
      11. Meter Communication Systems.
      12. Automated Metering Infrastructure.
    3. Inspections, Technical Audits, and Monitoring.
      1. IoT based Line patrolling and Electrical Assets Inspection for identification abnormalities and scheduling of maintenance activities.
      2. Identification of leakage factors, efficiency improvement factors and arranging inputs for monitoring KPIs.
      3. Measurement of losses and vigilance.
    4. Maintenance Management.
      1. Web based preventive and breakdown maintenance management.
      2. Material and Crew Management
      3. Maintenance record management.
    5. Network Operations.
      1. Outage Management
      2. Inputs to predictive and preventive maintenance.
      3. SCADA & Distribution Automation
  4. Business Intelligence tools, dash boards and Decision Support System using GIS Based applications
    1. Jurisdiction, Officer, Network wise performance tracking.
    2. Macro level and micro level Key parameter regular updates and presenting.
    3. Pending task notifications.
  5. Network Management and Analysis Implementation
    1. Load flow study for Network planning
    2. Technical loss assessment and calculations.
    3. Estimations.
    4. Network Asset Management
    5. Load Forecasting
    6. Short Term and Long Term Network Planning
    7. Demand Side management.
    8. Distributed Generation Management.
    9. Merit order and economic load dispatch and management.
  6. GIS Based Electrical Infrastructure  management
    1. Optimized Schemes preparation
    2. Project Material and Contractor/Labor Management.
    3. Contracts managements
    4. IoT based online Survey and SLD creation.
    5. Preparing schedules and Project Plans.
    6. Material Purchase Inspections for project material.
    7. Online updating of new assets introduced under projects.
    8. Online Joint Measurement Certifications.
    9. Online bill creation
    10. Online PRICE Variation management.
    11. Online Project and Cost Monitoring
    12. Contractor Material and works Management.
    13. Activity Completion and usefulness monitoring
    14. Handing over and taking over management
    15. Contracts, Scheme Closure management.
  7. Power Purchase Management:
    1. Online System for economic power purchase and scheduling.
    2. Balance and settlements
    3. Availability based tariff management.
    4. Online Open Access System management.
    5. Web based compliance management.
  8. Regulatory Information and Compliance Management:
    1. Grid code compliances.
    2. Standard of performance management
    3. Regulatory information publishing and online library, diary to stakeholders.
  9. Energy Utilization Management
    1. Domestic and other Equipment’s output performance Management
    2. Consumption monitoring
    3. Energy Cost monitoring