A New Technology for Maintaining Power Grids

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A New Technology for Maintaining Power Grids

• Paul Bielowicz, Maj Gen, USAF (Ret.)
• Vice President, Kell-Star Services, LLC
• Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business
• Dr. John F. Ayala, PE, PMP
• President, Falcona Management Technology, LLC
• SBA Small Disadvantaged Business
• Texas Historically Underutilized Business
• San Antonio Small Minority Business Enterprise
• July 12, 2011
  

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Todays Overview
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The Opportunity
Situational Awareness/Military Readiness

• DoDs objective is to have the most
  reliable source of energy possible, especially to
  support critical operational capabilities.
• Looking for the most cost effective solutions to
  meet their objectives while operating within the
  constraints levied on the Department.
• New technologies capable of providing monitoring
  and fault detection prior to failure providing
  a predictive tool set to enhance maintenance and
  support capabilities.

The cost of energy is contained in the
Operations and Maintenance
(OM) account.
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Smart Grid Aspects

• What are the key components?
• What are the costs drivers?
• What are the long term prospects?
• What actions can be taken to reduce costs while
  not compromising services?

Energy Source
Bulk Power Distribution
Energy Storage
Power Grid Reliability
Central Station Generation
Energy Facilities
Renewable Energy
Power grid reliability impacts all aspects
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Operations and Maintenance
Programmatic Support 70/30 Rule
Smart Grid is a modernization of the electricity
delivery system so that it monitors, protects,
and automatically optimizes the operation of its
interconnected elements from the central and
distributed generator through the high-voltage
transmission network and the distribution system,
to industrial users and building automation
systems, to energy storage installations, and to
end-use consumers and their thermostats, electric
vehicles, appliances, and other household devices.
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Benefits of the Smart Grid

• Provides Power Quality for the Digital Economy.
  The Smart Grid provides reliable power that is
  relatively interruption-free.
• Optimizes Asset Utilization and Operational
  Efficiently. The Smart Grid optimizes assets and
  operates efficiently.
• Anticipates and Responds to System Disturbances
  (Self-heal). The Smart Grid independently
  identifies and reacts to system disturbances and
  performs mitigation efforts to correct them.
• Operates Resiliently against Attack and Natural
  Disaster. The Smart Grid resists attacks on both
  the physical infrastructure (substations, poles,
  transformers, etc.) and the cyber-structure
  (markets, systems, software, communications).

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Benefits of the Smart Grid
(Continued)

• Allows Direct Participation by Consumers. The
  smart grid consumer is informed, modifying the
  way they use and purchase electricity. They have
  choices, incentives, and disincentives.
• Accommodates all Generation and Storage Options.
  The Smart Grid accommodates all generation and
  storage options.
• Enables New Products, Services, and Markets. The
  Smart Grid enables a market system that provides
  cost-benefit tradeoffs to consumers by creating
  opportunities to bid for competing services.

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An Innovative Technology
Distribution Fault Anticipation (DFA)

• System utilizing digital signal processing
  methods to extract feature vectors (electrical
  signatures), in conjunction with pattern-matching
  technologies to report specific anticipated and
  current failure modes.
• Continuously monitors distribution feeders using
  intelligent automated algorithms to detect,
  characterize, and predict failures or faults in
  electrical power.
• Enables advanced situational awareness and
  decision processes to improve reliability by
  detecting, alerting, and enabling repairs before
  equipment failures and outages occur.
• Works autonomously without the need for personnel
  to spend time analyzing waveforms.

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Electric Power Reliability Methods
Distribution Fault Anticipation (DFA) Proposed
Technology
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Distribution Fault Anticipation Map
Condition-Based Maintenance of Electric Power
Map of feeder 48836.
Measuring fault current at substation
and putting it in feeder model
reduces search area to sections
Recognizing recloser
shown in red.
characteristics and putting
them in model further
reduces search to two
circled areas (still based on
substation measurements
only).
DFA detects failures and
incipient failures in order to
locate them for proactive
Distributed measurements
corrective actions.
further reduce search to
single area.
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Distribution Fault Anticipation
Technology Ready for Military Applications
Current Utility Demonstrations

• Alabama Power/Southern Company
• Oncor Electric Delivery
• TVA/Pickwick Electric
• Bryan Texas Utilities
• Arizona Public Service project starting
• CenterPoint Energy (Houston) project starting
• Others in negotiation

We can set up a meetings at your location or via
Web-X with the inventors from Texas AM
University and Power Solutions, Inc. at your
convenience.
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The Inventors
Distribution Fault Anticipation

• B. Don Russell, PhD, PE
• Texas AM University
  
  Electrical and Computing
  Engineering Department
  Regents
  Professor and Harry E. Bovray Jr., Endowed Chair
• Texas Engineering Experiment Station
  
  Director, Power Systems Automation Lab
• Power Solutions, Inc. Director and President
• Carl L. Benner, PE.
• Texas AM University
  
  Electrical and Computing
  Engineering Department
  Senior Research
  Engineer
• Texas Engineering Experiment Station
  
  Assistant Director, Power Systems Automation
  Lab
• Power Solutions, Inc. Director

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Summary

• Power grid
• Reliability is agnostic to the energy source
• OM Costs will be reduced using DFA
• Improved situational awareness using DFA
• Focuses on predictive-preventative maintenance
  than corrective
• Lower occurrences in power outages
• Lower occurrences in catastrophic failures
• Reduction in troubleshooting and analysis
• Restores power to customers sooner
• Follow on meetings
• Contact Kell-Star and Falcona to set up meetings
  with the inventors

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Questions Answers
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Points of Contact