Optimising Power Distribution: Power System Monitoring and Protection Solutions for Modern Utilities

May 23, 2024

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The distribution utilities sector is undergoing rapid evolution, spurred by technological advancements, evolving customer needs and the rising adoption of renewable energy. To ensure the reliable and safe operation of assets, whilst continuing to meet these existing and emerging demands, distribution utilities require sound supporting power system monitoring and protection technologies, teamed with expert support.

Maintaining ageing infrastructure throughout primary plants, such as transformers, bushings, and circuit breakers, and secondary plants, such as protection relays, substation LAN equipment and gateways, and RTUs, while minimising operating costs and ensuring reliability has long been a challenge for distribution utilities.

In addition, the integration of distributed energy resources into the distribution network – such as solar panels and small-scale generators – has added another layer of complexity. Increased generation within the distribution network can lead to issues like reverse power flow and voltage regulation challenges.

For instance, excessive solar generation on a residential feeder can cause over-voltages, triggering solar inverters to disconnect due to overvoltage protection. This not only incurs costs for distribution utilities’ customers but can also result in a sudden loss of generation in an area that utilities must manage.

In the face of these challenges, CSE Uniserve is working in partnership with some of the world’s leading technology providers – including GE, Siemens, Elspec and SWI – to deliver innovative, industry-leading solutions to meet the needs of our customers.

Protection Relays (GE)

GE’s distribution feeder protection systems provide advanced protection with flexibility, programmable logic that can easily be tailored to suit any application and versatile communications for maximum system reliability.

GE Multilin Protection Relays, including the Multilin Agile series, are renowned for their advanced automation and communication capabilities. These feeder protection relays offer high I/O density in a compact design, ideal for space-constrained switchgear installations. They are ideal for protecting medium voltage distribution feeders with embedded generation and for renewable applications like collector feeders.

CSE Uniserve offers comprehensive support for GE protection relays, assisting customers from the initial pre-sales phase to procurement, configuration and testing. This support extends throughout the entire lifecycle of the device, including recommendations for replacement programs for obsolete equipment.

Power Quality Meters (Elspec)

In partnership with Elspec, CSE Uniserve provides world-leading solutions for power system monitoring and protection support as well as associated design, implementation and support services.

Two of Elspec’s power quality analysers – the Black Box G4400 and G4500 – are some of the best on the market today, both equipped with the revolutionary PQZIP patented compression algorithm to enable continuous waveform recording. The G4400 enables you to predict, prevent and troubleshoot an incident easily, without the need to set any trigger or threshold to capture a specific event. The G4500 is a portable system which enables you to measure, store and analyse waveform signals and other power quality metrics. Both systems record a wide range of power quality data in addition to recording the waveforms, such as harmonics, flicker, THD, frequency and many other measurements.

The PQSCADA Sapphire software serves as a comprehensive, vendor-agnostic platform, integrating data from various sources such as protection relays, PQ meters, fault recorders and revenue meters into a single database for easy management and analysis.

Thermal Asset Monitoring (Systems With Intelligence)

Systems With Intelligence (SWI) enables remote inspection and visualisation of critical assets across hundreds of sites. It can detect issues in primary plant assets early so that corrective action can be taken before the issues lead to failure of the equipment and possible loss of supply.

The SWI Industrial IoT Monitoring Platform is a flexible, self-managed, cloud-based analytics platform. Utilising the SM500 sensor module, monitoring and collecting asset health data from remote sites is made simple with simultaneous connectivity to multiple sensors via Modbus.

Additionally, the implementation of the IM500 industrial IoT module provides thermal and visual inspection capability, combined with configurable parameters to detect anomalies and provide automatic warnings.

When integrated with a dedicated cloud monitoring platform, it is the perfect tool for preventive and predictive maintenance results.

Online Condition Monitoring (GE)

Utilising condition monitoring to extend asset life allows customers to prolong the operational lifespan of their assets. By providing a detailed overview of the condition of assets in real-time, customers can implement condition-based maintenance strategies instead of relying on scheduled maintenance. This not only enhances asset management but also reduces operating expenses significantly.

GE’s Online Condition Monitoring systems are well suited to use in transmission substations. They excel at detecting potential issues in critical primary plant assets, including power transformers, HV bushings and circuit breakers. By identifying problems early, these systems enable utilities to take corrective action proactively, mitigating the risk of equipment failure and ensuring uninterrupted power supply.

Industrial Ethernet switches and routers (Siemens Ruggedcom)

CSE Uniserve supplies ethernet switches and routers that are rated for use in the harsh operating environments found in utility substations.

Delivering utility-grade performance, reliability, and versatility that maximizes cost savings over the entire product lifecycle, Siemens Ruggedcom ethernet switches and routers provide powerful, integrated, communications. Ruggedcom switches and routers comply with IEC 61850-3 and feature zero packet loss technology. The edge computing capability on the routers enables advanced Cybersecurity applications such as secure access management, intrusion detection and next generation firewalls. The latest rack-mounted switches and routers feature high port density with modular with field replaceable modules (hot swappable for the routers) and switches and routers are also available in compact DIN rail-mounted form factors.

Cellular and Licensed Routers (GE)

GE’s industrial wireless communications support a wide range of communication options including 4G/ LTE cellular routers, licensed narrowband in various bands, high performance unlicensed and WiFi interfaces. GE’s wireless network equipment carries serial and IP/Ethernet traffic enabling connectivity to critical applications while minimising network downtime and improving application availability.

Supporting a rigid enterprise-class security framework, GE’s cellular and licensed routers enable operators to securely transport data and advanced protection of network and assets while maximizing integration and deployment flexibility.

CSE Uniserve: Powering Customer Success

At CSE Uniserve, we pride ourselves on providing highly tailored power system monitoring and protection solutions. We start by understanding our customers’ challenges, enabling us to propose effective solutions that meet their specific needs. Our team conducts thorough audits of protection, communication and automation assets, offering recommendations for upgrades and replacements throughout the assets’ lifecycle.

We can design, supply, manufacture, test, and deliver solutions, ensuring seamless integration and operation.

Our support extends beyond the initial sale. We offer comprehensive application support before purchase and technical assistance after sale, ensuring our customers have the guidance they need at every stage.

We conduct proof of concept testing for protection relays, Ethernet switches and routers, and Substation Gateways, providing customers with confidence in their equipment before deployment. We regularly host free training workshops on selected technical topics, both at our lab and at customer premises.

We also offer crucial Cybersecurity software to provide secure remote access to devices in substations, protecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats.