Operating Experience With Automatic Stations Part I--Columbia Engineering and Management Corporation

The only proper way to test automatic and supervisory control equipment is to submit it to actual service conditions over a period of time. Since no one operating company can possibly serve as a proving ground for all types of automatic and supervisory equipment under all service conditions, the alternative is the interchange of operating experiences and ideas between the several companies using this equipment. The Columbia Gas and Electric Corporation has had automatic and semi-automatic stations of various types in operation during the last ten years. It is found that the class of service secured from any type of automatic station is directly dependent upon the excellence of inspection and maintenance. The chief items of trouble experienced in these automatic stations listed in the order of frequency of their occurrence are: graphic meter pens and clocks, circuit breaker auxiliary switches and closing mechanisms, grounds on control circuits, and relays due to obsolescence and loss of adjustment. The Toronto Hydro-Electric System has long realized the advantages and economies of automatic and supervisory control. As a result, all new stations built since 1920 have been designed for either automatic or supervisory control. The present policy is to design the railway converter stations for automatic control and the distribution stations for supervisory control. The automatic controls have given fairly satisfactory results and the supervisory controls have given excellent results, especially the cable type supervisory. The chief source of trouble experienced with all this equipment has been relay failures.