EDP Spain Improves Power Availability and Response Time with New Network Architecture

JUMP TO: Customer  |  Challenge  |  Discovery  |  Solution  |  Results

Customer

More than 1.5 million people across Spain rely on energy distribution from EDP Spain, a subsidiary of multinational group EDP and an electrical power utility focused on power generation and distribution.

Part of EDP Spain, E-REDES manages a network made up of more than 20,000 km of aerial and underground power lines, 149 substations and 6,700 low-voltage stations (secondary transformers) that provide electricity to 650,000+ industrial and residential consumers.

It leverages the smart grid and digitalization to improve the quality of the electricity it supplies. E-REDES also implements advanced digital communications technologies and intelligent devices that allow monitoring and control of electrical assets and remote network management for improved downtime prevention.

As a result, it has become one of the best electrical utilities in Spain when it comes to quality of service and the customer experience.

Challenge

Across the globe, the energy sector is transforming, becoming increasingly more intelligent and relying more heavily on digital technologies to improve operations.

In addition to handling massive increases in data coming from intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) that monitor low-, medium- and high-voltage networks, distribution system operators like E-REDES also need to move toward IT/OT convergence to eliminate data siloes andimprove analytics capabilities.

The industry’s next-generation SCADA systems are also becoming more flexible, scalable and intelligent as they integrate with distribution management, outage management, market management and geographical information systems to improve efficiency.

Like many electric power utilities, E-REDES wanted to keep up with these changes to better serve its customers. To do this, it needed a network infrastructure solution that would enhance interoperability, support remote operations and real-time monitoring to improve power availability, and boost efficiency through data driven decision-making.

E-REDES also needed network infrastructure that would allow it to deploy advanced fault locator technologies to reduce maintenance and repair time. When faults occurred, crews had to travel to substations at both ends of a power line to download IED registers, make calculations and address the segment containing the fault. In some situations, crews manually followed power lines to identify fault locations and proceed with infrastructure repair. The utility wanted to streamline this process and decrease the amount of time its maintenance staff spent on these tasks to improve electrical service uptime.

Discovery

Although the utility had specific performance goals in mind, it needed guidance on how to make them happen. The E-REDES team needed advice on how to upgrade and design the network, which products to use to build the system they needed and how to connect and configure the selected products to create the right network architectures.

Because many of its competitors already partner with Belden and Hirschmann (a Belden brand) on utility network installations, E-REDES was familiar with Belden’s expertise and technical capabilities. It also knew about the company’s reputation for helping utilities accelerate digitization and achieve heightened reliability,
efficiency, safety and sustainability.

After learning more about Belden’s approach to making the digital journey simpler, smarter and more secure, and due to Hirschmann’s exertise in network topologies and the specific functionalities required in utility applications, E-REDES decided to partner with Belden to take the next step toward its digital transformation. 

Solution

By taking time to understand E-REDES’ needs, pain points and expectations, Belden was able to carry a deep level of knowledge forward and manage the utility’s project from the very start to ensure success.

Experts from Belden’s Customer Innovation Center helped E-REDES implement the network requirements and topologies it needed to support functionalities of today without limiting future growth potential.

During the design and concept phases of the project, Belden provided tailored system choices to meet the utility’s short-term and long-term goals based on what was learned from initial conversations and analyses. Working as a team, solutions were selected to address organizational, technical and environmental objectives while keeping budgets and schedules in mind.

After a solution was chosen, the team tested proofs of concept and helped E-REDES configure and test different architectures implemented throughout substations so the utility could confidently deploy a network that would enhance interoperability, support remote operations and real-time monitoring, improve power availability, boost efficiency and reduce maintenance time and risks. Performance was validated within the utility’s unique environment, and adjustments were made based on what the proofs of concept revealed.

E-REDES’ tailored system integrates Hirschmann Ethernet switches and routers designed for utilities. They support PTP (precision time protocol, as defined in the IEEE 1588 standard) and PRP (parallel redundancy protocol) to ensure hitless recovery in case of network link failure.

All switches and routers use the same HiOS operating system, which reduces the amount of time E-REDES spends learning about, supporting, maintaining and ensuring seamless compatibility between devices. All network elements are identified, monitored and configured to provide real-time insight into network status, alerts and changes through HiVision 8 network management software.

With its new network infrastructure in place, E-REDES was able to implement an advanced fault locator system to identify faults across power lines with reliable accuracy and reduce fault resolution time. Data from IEDs and fault recorders is now automatically retrieved and transmitted to the disturbance recorder data management system in real time using PTP synchronization across PRP networks, allowing E-REDES to collect reliable and trusted data it can use to make informed decisions.

The new communication network, which supports the distribution substations, also connects protection and control IEDs, power meters with RTUs (remote terminal units), the SCADA and distribution management system at the dispatching center, and the centralized network management system. This eliminates siloed designs and brings data from different business units together.

Results

With its new network architecture in place, E-REDES is experiencing many positive changes that reduce time and costs, as well as improve the customer experience.

First, the utility has drastically reduced the amount of time that maintenance crews spend on fault location. In the past, it took crews an average of more than two hours to locate a fault. The new system reduces response time to approximately 40 minutes on average, allowing workers to restore power to customers hours faster and avoid lost revenue.

Because they can locate faults remotely and spend less time on the road, the utility also reduced travel costs, decreased carbon emissions generated from travel and improved worker safety.

By establishing network architecture that supports advanced fault location, network availability has also improved. Availability is measured through SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) or TIEPI (Interruption Time Equivalent to Installed Power) metrics. These represent the average outage duration on a per-customer basis and are measured in units of time. To confirm the quality of service that utilities provide to customers, SAIDI/TIEPI metrics must be reported to the government regularly. Today, E-REDES’ SAIDI/TIEPI metric indicates steady availability improvement.

Finally, this new network infrastructure allows the utility to practice predictive maintenance. Crews receive early warnings about potential problems so they can make informed decisions about what actions to take. This avoids downtime, extends asset lifecycle and helps E-REDES improve customer satisfaction.

The partnership between Belden and E-REDES continues today as Belden’s Customer Innovation Center acts as a trusted consultant, helping E-REDES create and test new proofs of concept for upcoming projects to move the utility further along in its digital journey.