IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2014 - 68

Application integration is at the center
of control room improvements to enhance
operational tools.
tracing function identifies normal, open devices
connected to contiguous
circuits, helping determine possible alternate
sources for restoring service. the single-model
solution provides a pointand-click function for
Outage Traced from
selecting devices to be
Open Breaker to
End of Circuit
added to the electronic
switching order. if necessary, and as operational
needs dictate, the singlemodel solution provides
ready access to any substation or distribution
figure 4. An outage event, traced from the open (locked-out) substation breaker to the end
line device within alaof the line that is out of service.
bama Power's 44,500-mi2
service territory. operators
can
back
each
other
up
in
the
control room and across
functional for wide-area service restoration. the citrix client
solution provides a method of hosting the iDms application the service territory. every action is normally performed
on a server so that the desktop can be presented on multiple on the desktop at the operator's console and can be commuclients wherever there is network connectivity available in a nicated to field personnel by means of radio, which remains
secure manner requiring a user account and password. the an integral tool in the control room.
the single-model solution provides the ability to peroperator responds to actual conditions while working closely
form a switching order in a study mode that is based on the
with the storm restoration team.
extraction of real-time data from the online operational system. the operator can check and verify a switching order
One Model
at the operator's desktop, iDms takes the form of a "one- before performing the actual steps; this process is now being
model," single-user environment as the basis for electric sys- applied during actual restoration events.
the desktop console is now more functional and efficient.
tem operations with improved visibility of the entire electric
distribution system. it facilitates the seamless operating envi- the relationship of devices along the distribution circuit to
ronment, providing actionable operational intelligence to the the source substation is readily apparent to the operator. the
operator. the iDms solution is the operational nucleus of the single-model operating environment brings additional efficiencies to the control room. these include:
electric utility.
outage events and scaDa measurements are now pre✔ visibility of the overhead facilities and the connected
sented to the operator in a connected, traceable switching
underground facilities
diagram supported by the single-model solution. naviga✔ tracing to the end of the line and to all normally function from the outage event record to the geographic locationing open devices
tion requires only a single click. the scaDa display is
✔ display techniques to facilitate the identification of
linked to the geographic display, establishing connectivisolating points in order to establish clearance for a
ity between the scaDa substation switching diagram and
portion of the electric system
the geographic switching diagram. Figure 4 illustrates an
✔ the integration of applications into a virtual single
outage event traced from the open (locked-out) substation
system, so that scaDa interruption events become
breaker to the end of the line that is out of service. the
confirmed outage management records without
halo image designates out-of-service facilities while the
operator intervention; actual representation of the
68

ieee power & energy magazine

january/february 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2014
