Utilities
Cellular tech shines in Eskom distribution automation project
Cellular technology is set to help Eskom improve the reliability of its distribution network – with a pilot distribution automation project in Rawsonville already preventing widespread disruption to farmers during the peak fruit harvesting season.
“The goal of distribution automation is to make electricity supply to our customers as consistent and reliable as possible,” says Eskom’s Jan Scholtz. “At Rawsonville, we are monitoring the distribution network and feeding real-time information to an intelligent controller at the substation." When a fault occurs on a line, the faulty section can be isolated so the largest possible section of the network gets back up and running as soon as possible.”
The system proved its worth in March, the peak of the local fruit harvesting season, when a line fault briefly affected power supply to farms and packing houses in the area. Supply was restored to 75% of these customers within 90 seconds. “It took over two hours to locate and repair the fault, so those 75% of customers were spared a much longer and more disruptive power cut,” says Scholtz. “Without the distribution automation system, which narrowed down the area of the network we had to scan to find the fault, it would probably have taken even longer.”
Getting the communications right, however, has been something of a challenge. “When the pilot was first launched in 2003 it used Eskom’s own internal radio network,” says Dieter Gütschow of EON Consulting, a partner in the pilot project. “But there were problems with poor reception. A new repeater partly addressed the reliability problems, but the high cost of ownership jeopardised the business case for the whole project. We couldn’t justify the expense for a system that would operate only when there are faults on the line.”
“The whole point of the pilot is to determine the business case for distribution automation in Eskom as a whole,” adds Gütschow. “We needed an alternative communications system that was both more cost-effective and more reliable than radio.”
GPRS cellular communications, using intelligent modems and network services from local company Metacom, proved to be the winning combination. “The great advantage of GPRS is that there’s already massive GSM infrastructure in place, covering even remote areas” says Metacom’s Jako Winter. “With the right network design, GSM is also highly reliable and secure. It’s an ideal solution for anybody needing to gather information from devices in the field.”
The Rawsonville pilot went live with Metacom’s GPRS communications on February 27, and has performed well so far, says Gütschow. “The communications has worked, and the devices have proven to be robust so far. They’re installed on power line poles where in the height of summer the temperature can easily climb to 40˚C and in winter there may well be snow, so they need to be able to cope.”
“Our equipment is specifically designed to operate for long periods in remote areas under extreme conditions,” says Winter. “We’ve had some devices in the field for several years now without a problem. They’re very low-maintenance, and we can upgrade or change software and firmware remotely. This also helps to keep running costs down.”
Cellular tech shines in Eskom distribution automation project
12 May 09
Cellular technology is set to help Eskom improve the reliability of its distribution network – with a pilot distribution automation project in Rawsonville already preventing widespread disruption to farmers during the peak fruit harvesting season.“The goal of distribution automation is to make electricity supply to our customers as consistent and reliable as possible,” says Eskom’s Jan Scholtz. “At Rawsonville, we are monitoring the distribution network and feeding real-time information to an intelligent controller at the substation." When a fault occurs on a line, the faulty section can be isolated so the largest possible section of the network gets back up and running as soon as possible.”
The system proved its worth in March, the peak of the local fruit harvesting season, when a line fault briefly affected power supply to farms and packing houses in the area. Supply was restored to 75% of these customers within 90 seconds. “It took over two hours to locate and repair the fault, so those 75% of customers were spared a much longer and more disruptive power cut,” says Scholtz. “Without the distribution automation system, which narrowed down the area of the network we had to scan to find the fault, it would probably have taken even longer.”
Getting the communications right, however, has been something of a challenge. “When the pilot was first launched in 2003 it used Eskom’s own internal radio network,” says Dieter Gütschow of EON Consulting, a partner in the pilot project. “But there were problems with poor reception. A new repeater partly addressed the reliability problems, but the high cost of ownership jeopardised the business case for the whole project. We couldn’t justify the expense for a system that would operate only when there are faults on the line.”
“The whole point of the pilot is to determine the business case for distribution automation in Eskom as a whole,” adds Gütschow. “We needed an alternative communications system that was both more cost-effective and more reliable than radio.”
GPRS cellular communications, using intelligent modems and network services from local company Metacom, proved to be the winning combination. “The great advantage of GPRS is that there’s already massive GSM infrastructure in place, covering even remote areas” says Metacom’s Jako Winter. “With the right network design, GSM is also highly reliable and secure. It’s an ideal solution for anybody needing to gather information from devices in the field.”
The Rawsonville pilot went live with Metacom’s GPRS communications on February 27, and has performed well so far, says Gütschow. “The communications has worked, and the devices have proven to be robust so far. They’re installed on power line poles where in the height of summer the temperature can easily climb to 40˚C and in winter there may well be snow, so they need to be able to cope.”
“Our equipment is specifically designed to operate for long periods in remote areas under extreme conditions,” says Winter. “We’ve had some devices in the field for several years now without a problem. They’re very low-maintenance, and we can upgrade or change software and firmware remotely. This also helps to keep running costs down.”
