To automate, or not to automate

Bill Carlyle, Business Development Manager for Lucy Switchgear UK, suggests that distribution automation could benefit both utilities and customers by improving the availability and security of power distribution networks.

“Although the use of DA technologies and techniques will not be the panacea for all their problems, if adopted, there is clear evidence that utilities and customers alike can benefit considerably from better supply availability and security”
-Bill Carlyle

I have often come across confusion over the terms ‘remote control’ or ‘automation’ when applied to power distribution networks. In most cases, customers are really advocating remote control (or telecontrol) to this network and this in effect represents the downward migration of the primary telecontrol systems that have been commonplace over three decades. In more recent times, the term distribution automation (DA) seems to have become the industry buzzword for either application. However, words aside, the adoption of this technology worldwide still remains patchy and I wonder why.

In response to the changing requirements from the electricity utilities, manufacturers of power distribution equipment have been very active in developing innovative solutions in the automation arena. In parallel with this, the rapid development of packet data technologies in communications (often IP-based) has offered the industry a real opportunity for improvements in network performance. Nonetheless, there still appears to be reluctance on the part of the industry to embrace the new opportunities that this automation technology provides. The industry, by its very nature, continues to be conservative in its adoption of new technologies and it often requires a sea-change in both the mindset of managers and staff working in the sector.

Experience from the United Kingdom since the early 1990s, in which the adoption of remote control or automation facilities for the medium voltage, power distribution networks is now widely accepted, has been largely driven by a ‘stick and carrot’ approach by the government appointed industry regulator. From the inception of the privatised electricity utilities back in the late 1980s, it was recognised by the incumbent government that a near monopoly provider of the ‘wires’ business would still require strong regulation to deliver real benefits to the customers they served. The transition to the private sector has not been without its critics or difficulties, but, in general, it is accepted that the industry is more customer focused and more efficient in its day-to-day operations. In part, the adoption of automation technologies by the privatised UK electricity utilities (now known as Distribution Network Operators), has contributed to a year on year improvement in the quality of supply experienced by customers. The initial years have shown markedly improved performance with respect to supply availability and security and incremental improvements in more recent years. But, the trends since privatisation have predominantly pointed south.

In parts of Africa, where some utilities have begun their foray in to implementing DA, the benefits from initial pilot schemes have been plain for all to see. In addition to having the ability to remotely switch and sectionalise faulty circuits, the utilities have a better understanding of how the network is operating and vital electrical information for forward planning and capital expenditure. One of the spin-off benefits of automating long overhead feeders has been the ability to limit the amount of load disconnection, known as load-shedding, in order to match available generation and system demand. This application had not been one of the original intentions, but has been an invaluable tool in operating very fragile distribution networks. Poor road infrastructure in many parts of Africa makes gaining access to remote overhead feeders a logistical nightmare; but through the application of DA and modern wireless communications, efforts on restoring faulty networks have been more focused and rapid.

The challenges ahead for the world’s electricity utilities are many and varied, from concerns over global warming and CO2 emissions, dwindling sources of fossil fuels and insufficient generation capacity to meet an ever-growing demand for electrical power. Although the use of DA technologies and techniques will not be the panacea for all their problems, if adopted, there is clear evidence that utilities and customers alike can benefit considerably from better supply availability and security (and reduced costs and tariffs).