Energy management system-an integrated part of plant automation

As energy import becomes more expensive and restrictive worldwide, it is increasingly necessary today to plan for the optimum use of available capacities in the industrial sector as well. In the past, there have often been different points of view on how to keep a check on the actual amount of energy imported. To preclude the possibility of importing over the specified limits-and thus purchasing extremely expensive peak-load power-the operator was often forced to switch off entire sections of a plant by means of load shedding. Production stoppages, problems with restarting and increased wear were just some of the results. The authors describe how, as part of an integrated control and protection system, a modern energy management system can offer a solution to this problem by providing a “look-ahead” process control system which allows energy imports to be planned and improved. How such a system can be created is described in this paper