With SCADA, long power outage is now a passé

Hanamkonda: The advent of technology has indeed revolutionised the human life. Outage detection and management has been a longstanding problem the power distribution networks have been encountering. In a first-of-its-kind in two Telugu-speaking States Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) project that not only allows quicker detection of power outage accurately determining the location of the fault but also helps in reducing losses through monitoring power usage is now introduced in Warangal.

It may be mentioned here that SCADA project is a part of the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) formerly under the Restructured Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme (R-APDRP) of the Centre aimed at covering urban areas with population of more than 30,000. Warangal city is one among the 22 towns selected in the Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (NPDCL) for introducing SCADA monitoring/ Distribution Management (DMS) in 2012.

How it works:

The real-time automated remote monitoring of power is possible with Ring Main Units (RMU), Auto Reclosers, Sectionalisers and Fault Passage Indicators (FPI) installed at all feeders integrated to SCADA/DMS systems at the control room.

Speaking to The Hans India, the General Manager (IT), NPDCL Corporate Office, G Srinivas said: "RMUs allow power to be supplied to consumers from alternative sources when the main source of supply fails. The FPIs installed at strategic points communicate with the control centre when a fault occurs. The FPIs transmit the exact position of the faulty section of the network to the control centre allowing the staff to reach the location quickly. The autoreclosers which work in conjunction with sectionalisers ensure reliable power supply and helps avert permanent blackouts due to transmission faults."

The beauty of the system is that it isolates the problem area and restores power supply to rest of the area, he added. "To ensure hassle-free power supply, the authorities installed 54 autoreclosers, 65 RMUs, 95 sectionalisers and 190 FPIs covering entire tri-cities of Warangal-Hanamkonda-Kazipet," the IT general manager said, asserting that power supply will be restored within no time in case of any outage in the city.

The Transco Chairman and Managing Director D Prabhakar Rao who inaugurated the SCADA monitoring centre at the NPDCL Corporate Office here on Monday said: "The SCADA project which costs Rs 12.47 crore is a big asset for the Transco as it averts power outages due to technical glitches in the 11kV network besides providing quality electricity to the consumers."