Advanced EMS applications employing enhanced substation intelligence & connectivity

Supplementing the traditional analog and status operational data (volts, amps, watts, VArs and switchgear status) exchange between the substations and the energy management system (EMS) can provide the means for additional EMS applications to better operations. Drivers for utilities include: (1) outage minimization/rapid restoration (Improve SAIDI, SAIFI, and other indices); (2) infrastructure preservation; (3) use fewer operations resources; (4) use less skilled operations resources; and (5) step by step migration path from legacy to enhanced applications. The accuracy of decisions and the rate at which they are made may be improved. Additionally, employing intelligence in the substation, communication overhead for this data is relieved, allowing the extra information to pass through without impacting overall refresh rates from the substations