Vietnam Electrical energy Group’s Ho Chi Minh Metropolis Energy Corp. (EVNHCMC) deployed a distribution automation system that facilitates computerized—and really fast—fault detection and dealing with with a hit fee of greater than 90%. The mission improved EVNHCMC’s reliability immensely, resulting in its choice as POWER’s 2024 Good Grid Award winner.
Vietnam Electrical energy Group (EVN) operates 5 energy distribution firms in Vietnam, together with Ho Chi Minh Metropolis Energy Corp. (EVNHCMC). EVNHCMC is accountable for delivering a steady, protected, and dependable energy provide to Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, which is the main middle for finance, tradition, and companies in Vietnam, taking part in a significant position within the nation’s financial growth. Consequently, EVNHCMC’s efficiency is of significant significance. “We should continuously analysis new applied sciences and promote innovation initiatives to proceed to keep up and improve the good stage of the grid,” Dr. Luan Quoc Hung, deputy common director of EVNHCMC, advised POWER.
A Deal with Enchancment
In 2014, EVNHCMC launched into a grid enchancment program by researching and piloting Distribution Automation System (DAS) expertise on eight medium-voltage feeders, which concerned two overhead traces and 6 underground cables. Following its success, the implementation of DAS expertise was expanded in 2016.
The DAS mission goals to automate EVNHCMC’s complete 22-kV energy distribution community. The DAS software program, offered by Survalent, allows real-time response to faults within the grid via its Fault Location, Isolation, and Service Restoration (FLISR) performance, considerably bettering the reliability of the ability provide in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis.
Previous to FLISR implementation, a big variety of prospects (usually from 6,000 to eight,000) could possibly be affected by {an electrical} fault, with a mean energy outage period of roughly 120 minutes, Dr. Hung defined. This was as a result of EVNHCMC’s restricted medium-voltage grid automation capabilities. For instance, the corporate had just one or two switchgear units geared up with supervisory management and information acquisition (SCADA) performance. It additionally lacked devoted automation software program. Handbook fault troubleshooting required employees to enter the sphere to determine and handle points via visible inspection, guide operations utilizing scorching sticks, and different bodily means.
Now, after the deployment of DAS, when {an electrical} fault happens, the system empowers operators to robotically detect and isolate the affected space, after which restore energy virtually instantaneously to unaffected areas with out guide intervention. “At present, with the DAS in operation, by segmenting traces into three to 5 sections, the variety of affected prospects has been lowered to roughly 1,000 to 1,500,” Dr. Hung proclaimed. “Moreover, the outage period for purchasers in unaffected areas is now lower than one minute. Moreover, the distant operation facilitated by the DAS has considerably enhanced EVNHCMC’s grid employees’ security, significantly throughout extreme climate situations akin to storms, typhoons, and floods.”
In the meantime, EVNHCMC additionally labored in partnership with Alstom (now GE Vernova) to deploy a SCADA/DMS (Distribution Administration System). The SCADA/DMS goals to enhance the administration of Ho Chi Minh Metropolis’s energy grid. The mission was a collaboration with the next primary functions:
- ■ Development of a primary management middle (see opening picture).
- ■ Management and monitoring of the ability grid from 22 kV to 220 kV.
- ■ Deployment of DMS capabilities together with BLA (Bus Load Allocation), DPF (Distribution Energy Circulate), SCC (Quick Circuit Calculation), LVM (Load and Volt/Var Administration), FL (Fault Location), AFR (Automated Feeder Reconfiguration), FLISR, and DOTS (Distribution Operations Coaching Simulator).
“Alstom-GE is a companion with mature expertise in offering SCADA/DMS software program,” Dr. Hung famous. “The SCADA/DMS mission assists EVNHCMC in energy grid administration, significantly within the areas of distant monitoring, management, and operational optimization.”
Regarding Survalent, Dr. Hung mentioned: “Survalent has been a companion with EVNHCMC for the reason that very first DAS pilot mission in 2014 and all through its full implementation. Moreover, Survalent can also be the companion that assisted EVNHCMC in establishing a backup management middle—accomplished in 2021—which operates independently and in parallel with the principle management middle [Figure 1].”
Hundreds of Gadgets
Inside the DAS mission, clever switchgear units, which embody a mix of bodily tools and Clever Digital Gadgets (IEDs), play a vital position in enabling grid automation. EVNHCMC has put in 10,244 switchgear units throughout its 22-kV distribution community. These units embody 1,679 circuit breakers, 4,839 ring primary models (RMUs), 1,510 reclosers, and a pair of,216 load break switches (LBSs). Reclosers and LBSs are primarily utilized for overhead energy traces, whereas RMUs are employed for underground networks.
EVNHCMC has additionally undertaken a complete community reconfiguration initiative, segmenting medium-voltage feeders into smaller sections. It began in 2016 with every of its feeders being divided into three segments with not less than one tie level. The segmentation standards tried to restrict every section to a load of lower than 100 amps and/or fewer than 3,000 prospects served. Starting in 2021, every feeder was additional segmented into 5 sections with not less than two tie factors. The standards on this endeavor restricted every section to a load of lower than 50 amps and/or fewer than 1,000 prospects served.
To raised perceive how the DAS works, Dr. Hung offered an instance of how a fault could be recognized, remoted, and energy restored to unaffected parts of the system. If a circuit breaker had been to journey, accompanied by a fault indicator sign, he defined, relying on the downstream configuration, operators would possibly have a look at a recloser instantly down the road to see if it additionally had a fault indicator sign. If it didn’t have a sign, the fault can be recognized throughout the section between the circuit breaker and the recloser.
On this case, the DAS would ship a command to open the recloser to isolate the faulted section. It could then ship a command to shut a beforehand open LBS to revive energy to the unaffected space through a unique circuit breaker. The method can be carried out in a short time, often in lower than a minute, thereby minimizing the variety of affected prospects and the period of the ability provide interruption.
The DAS Good Grid mission additionally reduces the frequency, period, and complexity of onsite fieldwork. By specializing in distant automated operations, it elevates the general security stage for workers, significantly these working in extreme climate situations akin to storms or floods.
Mission Challenges
Maybe the most important impediment to EVNHCMC’s good grid improve was deciding what expertise to implement. As beforehand famous, EVNHCMC launched its pilot program in 2014, however its analysis on good grid applied sciences started not less than 4 years earlier. Following a lot evaluation, the corporate in the end outlined an in depth roadmap in 2012.
Cybersecurity ranked very excessive among the many considerations EVNHCMC had outlined. Dr. Hung mentioned info expertise (IT) and operational expertise (OT) community methods have been geared up with specialised safety options, making certain compliance with requirements akin to ISO 27001 for IT networks and ISO 27019 for OT networks. “We additionally give attention to the cooperation with state administration companies on cybersecurity in addition to conducting common drills,” he mentioned.
EVNHCMC additionally positioned a precedence on creating in-house information and understanding of its good grid applied sciences. Coaching and the organizational construction have been paramount to success. “We’ve got established specialised departments to carry out the mastery of recent applied sciences from all phases: design, procurement, set up, configuration, programming, commissioning, restore, and upkeep,” mentioned Dr. Hung. “All core tasks endure a pilot section, adopted by analysis, after which mass deployment,” he defined.
Constructive Outcomes
Metrics present that the DAS mission has markedly improved grid reliability. In 2015, EVNHCMC’s System Common Interruption Period Index (SAIDI) was a whopping 720 minutes. By 2019, it had dropped to 58 minutes, and final 12 months, it got here in at a minuscule 15.2 minutes. Likewise, the corporate’s System Common Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) skilled a big enchancment within the years from 2015 to 2023, going from 6.72 to 0.18 through the timeframe.
For comparability, the U.S. Power Data Administration mentioned in its most up-to-date report that the U.S. distribution system’s common SAIDI worth together with all occasions was 335.5 minutes per buyer in 2022. If main occasion days had been excluded, the determine dropped to 125.7 minutes per buyer, which remains to be a lot worse than EVNHCMC’s rating. The U.S. distribution system’s common SAIFI worth in 2022 together with all occasions was 1.4 energy interruptions per buyer and 1.1 interruptions per buyer with main occasions excluded, a far cry from the 0.18 EVNHCMC tallied.
And EVNHCMC’s prospects have observed the development. “Over time, EVNHCMC’s energy provide ensured has constantly translated into improved buyer satisfaction. Notably, the company has acquired overwhelmingly constructive suggestions from VIP prospects akin to Intel, Samsung, industrial facilities, and industrial parks,” mentioned Dr. Hung. “To objectively assess buyer satisfaction, EVNHCMC yearly conducts surveys via an impartial consultancy agency. In 2019, the shopper satisfaction rating in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis reached a powerful 8.66 out of 10 factors,” he added.
In the meantime, the Singapore Energy Grid’s Good Grid Index acknowledged EVNHCMC with an ideal rating—4 of 4 factors—within the space of grid monitoring and management in 2022. The Vietnamese Ministry of Data and Communications acknowledged EVNHCMC’s digital transformation journey by making it the primary firm in Vietnam to obtain the celebrated “Digital Enterprise” certification. Stated Dr. Hung, “The DAS mission contributes to constructing a tradition of ‘expertise growth and innovation’ inside EVNHCMC.”
In gentle of EVNHCMC’s unbelievable accomplishments, POWER is happy to acknowledge the corporate’s DAS mission because the winner of its 2024 Good Grid Award. Congratulations to everybody concerned!
—Aaron Larson is POWER’s govt editor.
