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Utility Automation January,
2003
by Ed Finamore, Valutech Solutions
When a well-known utility
first contemplated installation of its advanced automatic meter
reading (AMR) network, the usual reasons were given: improved operating
efficiencies, error reduction, reduced theft of service and availability
of new value-added services permitted under the state's rapidly
approaching competitive deregulated environment. Already willing
to accept the technology risk associated with advanced AMR installation,
this utility was confident the system could be justified solely
on its meter data collection merits.
But it wanted more.
The company believed that under utility deregulation
a new set of performance metrics would emerge, steering companies
away from the traditional "cost to serve" ratemaking philosophy
and into a new era of performance-based ratemaking. In this new
regulatory environment, it was believed that retail as well as wholesale
competition would drive energy prices down, and that a restructured
utility industry would begin to separate companies into regulated
vs. deregulated entities. The regulated utilities, or wires companies,
would live under a new set of rules, which would include unbundled
rate structures. Efficiency, system reliability and customer satisfaction
would become the critical parameters by which regulated utilities
would be measured and rate increases evaluated.
This utility's goal, therefore, was to achieve much
more than the traditional and often stated benefits of AMR. It also
wanted to bring about improvements in system reliability and customer
satisfaction to satisfy increased regulatory scrutiny in these areas,
and to mitigate the continuing effects of high energy rates. The
utility's decision makers believed that advanced AMR could benefit
the company further by delivering on several other fronts, most
notably in the area of improved outage response, and they succeeded
in carrying out their plan.
Outage Notification Benefits
Next to the cost of energy, customers often cite reliable,
uninterrupted power as the most important consideration when evaluating
their utility's performance. An effective outage management system
(OMS) that provides rapid notification and timely response can shorten
a utility's outage restoration time and create a positive impact
on customer satisfaction, a key utility performance measure. Advanced
AMR systems with outage detection capabilities can improve on the
notification side of the overall outage management equation as well.
An effective OMS does more than improve customer satisfaction,
it also can improve the bottom line. Shortening outage time will
increase revenue. Documenting specific times and locations of power
outages can support a company's system-wide analysis of distribution
circuit performance, which is needed to identify weaknesses and
improve overall distribution system reliability. While utility SCADA
systems play an important role in this effort, AMR systems can pinpoint
outages down to the customer level and provide additional information
necessary to evaluate distribution network secondary wiring and
transformer problems. This type of information frequently falls
below a SCADA system's radar screen. When integrated with a company's
geographic information system (GIS), the result can produce an even
more powerful, endpoint-driven network analysis capability that
could drive the company's asset management and capital allocation
processes to even higher performance levels.
Outage Support Components
For utility AMR systems to support outage management,
they should contain features that are typically associated with
advanced forms of AMR:
- Advanced metering functions. The metering device must
be capable of detecting power outages and delivering outage and
restoration alarms with associated time stamps.
- Advanced communications capabilities. The AMR network
should be capable of communicating unscheduled outage and restoration
alarms and restoration events in addition to normal energy consumption
information.
- Real-time communications. A network communications medium
capable of delivering actionable outage information in real time,
or near real time, upon receipt of an alarm from the meter should
be used.
- Utility data processing capabilities. A company should
employ a data gathering and management system capable of separating
out outage alarms and delivering them to its operations center
for use with SCADA and mapping systems to quickly pinpoint and
respond to customer outages
- Power outage restoration. The processing of restoration
alarms is critical in verifying that power to individual customers
has been restored and helping with prediction of restoration times
for other customers who are still without power.
While these requirements may seem like a tall order,
a number of advanced metering systems and devices are becoming available
with the necessary functions to achieve this goal. Inbound telephone
and some wireless communications solutions are available that can
deliver alarms in near real time, though on-peak pricing costs for
outage data delivered during peak usage periods could become an
issue for some communications alternatives. Increased use of the
Internet may also become a viable alternative as more systems become
Internet-enabled, as utilities expand Ethernet availability in their
substations, and as more advanced meters are equipped with Ethernet
capability under glass.
Utility system operations personnel frequently point
out that SCADA provides them with early, accurate notification of
circuit outages and restorations. However, they will also note that
the restoration process is not so precise, particularly in storm
conditions when widespread outages cause extensive damage to street
secondary services. Under these conditions, restoration notification
at the meter level can support a critical filtering process that
monitors individual outages and advises utility personnel of which
customers remain without power.
Emerging Meter Technologies
More companies are beginning to produce metering devices
with outage detection capabilities. In addition to time and date
stamping of outage events, devices should be capable of initiating
alarms under loss of power conditions, storing information in non-volatile
memory, and employing a clock mechanism that maintains and restores
time intervals for accurate application of time-of-use rates. Some
examples:
- Power Measurement. PM's ION 8000 Series of meters provides
advanced metering capabilities including outage alarm delivery
through use of its Outage Dialback feature. It is also Ethernet-enabled.
The meter's internal modem is powered by an independent power
source for communicating outage information during outage periods.
- Comverge Technologies. This company's Maingate C&I
and Home gateway solutions can provide outage information using
wireless cellular digital packet data (CDPD), CDMA and inbound
telephone. When integrated with its PowerCAMP software, the systems
can process outage data through to a company's CIS and OMS.
- Distribution Control Systems Inc. DCSI's TWACS system
can monitor transponder status, including outage and restoration
state, to assist a utility in managing the overall power restoration
process. The outage information could be integrated with a utility's
mapping systems and tied to GPS coordinates to provide precise
locational information.
- Global Data. Utilities looking for a communications interface
device that can deliver metering data, including outage alarms,
from most available meters could consider GD's StarStream multi-port
product line, which communicates with most meter manufacturers'
advanced meters, and can transmit data using AMPS, CDPD and more
recently CDMA wireless technology, powered by an internal power
supply.
Communications is Key
Regardless of a meter device's outage detection capabilities,
its ability to support a utility's OMS is only as good as the communications
link that transmits the data. A range of options using telephony,
wireless analog and digital technologies, licensed vs. unlicensed
frequencies and paging systems is available in the marketplace today.
A utility should look at cost vs. coverage, as well as pre-existing
company resources such as licensed frequencies, and evaluate the
strategic importance of the system to its overall corporate objectives
before making a final communications decision.
For systems requiring Internet-based access and minimal
system latency, companies such as BlueSpan and AES-IntelliNet Services
now offer near real-time data delivery capabilities using licensed
frequencies as well as public networks. Internet systems offer widespread
accessibility with reduced overall transport cost, and they can
also be supportive of a utility's data storage needs and other critical
systems such as billing and CIS by using open system formats and
protocols such as ASCII and XML.
Utility Automation Lines Beginning to Blur
Advances in software and communications technology,
including the pervasive use of Internet-based systems and open protocols,
are creating opportunities for utilities to integrate their networks
in a manner that leverages costs and blurs the lines between individual
systems. Advanced geospatial technology, for example, has produced
mapping systems, with GPS coordinates frequently included, that
if linked to a utility's SCADA and AMR systems could significantly
improve utility operations. Indeed, some advanced meters today are
already enabled for open SCADA and control system protocols such
as Modbus and DNP. And the increasing availability of multi-use
fiber backbone and Ethernet communications in utility substations
can provide still other opportunities and access points for delivery
of outage data and certain broadband applications, such as video.
Enlarge image
Utilities are just beginning to appreciate the
outage detection potential of advanced metering systems as they
continues to refine the business case for AMR. As metering technology
continues to evolve, it can be expected to play an even greater
role in a utility's overall network automation portfolio.
Ed Finamore is founder and president of
ValuTech Solutions, a management consulting firm specializing in
utility automation systems and applications, including demand response
and AMR. He can be reached at (412) 299-5684.
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