Customers today take power for granted … and that’s a good thing. It’s proof that you’re delivering a steady flow of power whenever and wherever they need it. But we know it’s not always easy. Fortunately, demand response technology that can shave peak load or address power factor issues like is available to make it easier.
In last week’s blog, we reviewed FLISR capabilities that help you more precisely locate faults, isolate them, and reroute power to prevent sustained outages. This week, we’ll discuss the benefits that Dynamic Voltage Regulation (DVR) and Power Factor Control can bring to you and your customers.
Maintain optimal voltage
As every operator knows, the demand for power fluctuates on an hourly, daily, and seasonal basis. If reducing peak demand and addressing power factor issues in your network is part of your mandate, SurvalentONE demand response applications can help you maintain the ideal voltage at all times without the need for manual switching. (Learn how Scottsboro Electric Power Board uses voltage regulation to cut electricity costs and increase the stability of its distribution network.)
SurvalentONE Dynamic Voltage Regulation and Power Factor Control:
- Provide operators with control over functions to improve efficiency and effectiveness
- Improve the accuracy of data to enable more informed decision-making
- Precisely coordinate Dynamic Voltage Regulation and Power Factor Control schedules to optimize performance
Keep your operators focused on critical work
Control centre operators have enough on their plates without having to check the status of regulator groups, determine if they should continue to run in a suspended state, and manually disable them if not. The Suspend Timer capability in SurvalentONE Dynamic Voltage Regulation lets you define the maximum number of minutes a regulator group can be suspended before it is automatically deactivated. The result? Your operators can concentrate on critical tasks without distraction. DVR can determine the optimal voltage level by leveraging the utility’s AMI network or end of line sensors to determine the real-time voltage level in the field. The application can also communicate to these devices through standard industry interfaces, like MultiSpeak. (Learn how Consolidated Electric Cooperative uses SurvalentONE DVR to ensure their field crews are working proactively, rather than reactively.)
Improve network stability
When running DVR, utilities want to ensure that the voltages between phases stay within a certain range as a large phase imbalance can cause feeder stability issues or potentially harm customer equipment. This was the rationale for including an optional maximum phase unbalance to our dynamic voltage regulation capabilities.
Operators can configure a maximum voltage difference between phases to help assess a candidate solution’s viability. The system will automatically discard any candidate solution that would produce a phase voltage imbalance greater than the specified limit. If the regulator group is already unbalanced, Dynamic Voltage Regulation will choose a solution that accomplishes the objective without causing further unbalance.
Take action faster with a better understanding of network conditions
Precision comes into play yet again in the ‘time since last update’ point calculation.
Previously, the point was updated only while the Dynamic Voltage Regulation group was in a running state, which meant that prolonged periods in the suspended state (e.g. from not being able to get readings from any of the meters) would not increment the count. DVR now enables earlier intervention by incrementing the point regardless of whether the Dynamic Voltage Regulation group is running or suspended. As a result, alarms or command sequences are triggered as soon as possible so operators can quickly take corrective action.
Reduce the risk of interference between Dynamic Voltage Regulation & Power Factor Control
SurvalentONE Dynamic Voltage Regulation and Power Factor Control are part of the same family of applications but, just like siblings, sometimes you have to separate them to keep things running smoothly.
Operators can ensure that Power Factor Control and Dynamic Voltage Regulation run through their operations a few minutes apart to mitigate any potential interference between the two. Operators can define intervals for Power Factor Control, but the new hourly offset function will automatically realign the schedule to the top of the hour to eliminate drift. As a result, operators can be confident that Power Factor Control will perform its corrections exactly when specified.
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