Electric Utility Expands Ignition System To Oversee Entire Transmission & Distribution Infrastructure

Project Summary:

Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District (NWCPUD) had an existing Ignition installation with several projects built by OS Engineering for reporting meter data and operating two hydroelectric power generation projects. To complete their SCADA system, OS Engineering was selected to expand this Ignition installation to include monitoring for over 80 Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) across nine substations. NWCPUD wanted a single SCADA application to oversee all aspects of their transmission and distribution infrastructure, including KPIs and real-time data, along with reporting, alarming, and trending to aid in day-to-day operations.

Problem:

NWCPUD wanted the ability to monitor all IEDs at nine substations and key field reclosers across its 87-square-mile coverage area. These IEDs included protection relays for transformers, feeder breakers, voltage regulators, reclosers, and power quality monitors. There was no existing communication infrastructure between sites, and limited real-time visibility of the transmission system for operations.

Solution:

Utilizing the new TosiBox network infrastructure, OS Engineering began development of the Substation Monitoring project, starting with the IED configuration and data mapping to SEL real-time automation controllers (RTACs) located at each substation that Ignition would communicate with using the DNP3 driver. OS Engineering defined a tag structure and UDT definitions for all devices to make full use of Ignition’s object-oriented tools. They additionally developed a set of standard templates, faceplates, and windows for each object type using ISA-101 standards. This high-performance HMI had a modern approach on the UI, making it approachable and intuitive for operations.

All substation screens have a consistent build, with dashboards for key substation parameters along with one-line diagrams, coverage area maps, and RTAC and IED dashboards for status and monitoring. Every IED has a corresponding faceplate for additional status from the over 23,000 tags monitored in the application. A custom tagging system allows operators to place informational tags on equipment, flagging them for maintenance and other purposes. These tags are visible on the corresponding device within the one-line diagram, with the full history available on the object’s faceplate.

OS Engineering completed the full system development, configuration of the SEL RTACs and IEDs for data mapping, and commissioning of the system remotely, thanks in large part to the TosiBox network infrastructure.

Results:

The Substation Monitoring project brought new visibility to NWCPUD’s electric transmission and distribution infrastructure. Outages and other system statuses can now easily be identified, and operations can be alerted through email and SMS alarms. Additionally, the influx of available data has made automated reporting possible.

Ignition’s DNP3 driver allows for event-based polling of end devices, reducing data usage at remote sites. It also allows for easy integration with SEL RTAC controllers to consolidate IED data at each site with a reliable connection that includes event buffering.

Additionally, as OS Engineering designed the project to make full use of Ignition’s UDT and template capabilities, additional devices can be added to the system with ease using a full complement of templates, faceplates, and other objects created to suit the needs of NWCPUD.

Start Date: May 2022

Deploy Date: August 2023