Success story: Retrofit substation automation system (SAS) in 400/220 kV substation

In a previous blog, we introduced SCOPE’s Substation Automation System (SAS) capabilities and underscored the need for thinking beyond OEMs for complex SAS projects. We also discussed 3 crucial parameters to be kept in mind while executing SAS projects and highlighted how the SAS system integrators can effectively implement SAS projects in a manner which address the pain points of the customer.

In this blog post, we will cover how SCOPE T&M Pvt Ltd – India’s leading SCADA & Automation solutions provider – successfully executed SAS project for a Central Transmission Utility at its 400/220 kV substation.

Introduction

A Central Transmission Utility, with widespread presence across the country and comprehensive transmission portfolio consisting of more than 168,000 Circuit km (ckm) of transmission lines and 250 substations, was in need of a SAS replacement to monitor, control and analyze data from all connected IEDs in its 400/220kV substation. As technology advances and automation becomes more central to the power sector, utilities are increasingly in need of such solutions which are interoperable, scalable and robust.

SCOPE’s state of the art SCADA system – Action.NET, designed over .NET framework, effectively met the needs of the customer.

Project Execution

In this project, SCOPE was provided with a mandate for installing and commissioning SCADA software with IEC-61850 protocol along with relevant modules (alarms & events, reports, historian and more) as well as provision for remote access. SCADA software was to be integrated with the existing fibre-optic network of BCU, IEDs, MFM and ethernet switch of existing SAS at 400kV substation having (21 Nos of 400 kV Bays, 8Nos of 220 kV Bays, 1 Nos 33 kV Bay and Auxiliary bay).

After a site survey, SCOPE experts accessed relevant hardware such as protection relays, BCUs and auxiliary system directly through the existing network (Ethernet switch) via IEC 61850 protocol without modifying the existing hardware and SCADA system. Once this preliminary work was completed successfully, SCOPE experts fulfilled the project mandate through a step-by-step process as described below:

• Creation of tags (variables) and associated templates in SCOPE Action.Net SCADA with the help of existing database from previous SAS system and the signal list provided by the Utility
• Creation of all mimics pages of HMI for visualization such as 400kV and 220kV main Single Line Diagram (SLD), bay wise SLDs for all the bays and Auxiliary system
• Linking of tags to the SLD mimics for visualization
• Configuration of objects for every individual bay
• Configuration of the channel (IEC61850) and nodes (IP addresses) for each IED (Relay, BCU) for the database in SCADA
• Configuration of data points and data types in and read/write attributes. IEC 61850 addressing of all tag’s points by online reading of IED’s logical Nodes for all IEDs (400kV, 220kV bays, 33kV bays and Auxiliary bay)
• Creation of Alarms, Events and Trend windows in SCADA
• Configuration of Historian table for storing of Analog data in Utility formats
• Linking of control, analog and digital points (SPS, DPS) in SCOPE SCADA system
• Engineering workstation setup in the main control room.
• All the Binary Inputs, alarms, events have been tested and verified successfully for all 220kV bays

In addition to the above, SCOPE experts also modified the communication configuration such as adding datasets and report control blocks in IEDs with any help from OEMs. Commissioning images can be seen below:

SCOPE Action.NET Advantages

By commissioning a state-of-the-art SCADA system in the 400/220 kV substation, SCOPE provided the Central Transmission Utility with a powerful yet flexible platform to develop and deliver applications managing real-time information, providing a complete set of modules in a unified and intuitive engineering user interface.  SCOPE Action.Net is a 100% .NET managed code application that empowers end-users and system engineers to leverage and take full advantage of the most current technologies.

Furthermore, SCOPE Action.NET is an all-in-one unified solution which enables users to create a very flexible system, yet maintaining the easy to use and intuitive design.

Summary

In this manner, SCOPE executed this critical project and demonstrated its SAS system capabilities at 400kV level by enabling 15000 communication data points with the following communication protocols: IEC-61850 (Ed-1 and Ed-2) protocols, IEC 60870-5-104 (master and slave), IEC 60870-5-101 (master and slave), DNP 3 master and slave and MODBUS. This capability enables the system to be scalable, thereby allowing for any future expansion such as data transmission to NRLDC or NTAMC without any need for external protocol converter.

It should also be noted that SCOPE Action.NET is vertical industry agnostic, with a flexible infra-structure for real-time data management that has applications in power & utilities, renewable energy, data centers, oil & gas industry, machinery, water and waste-water industries and building automation systems.

For more information please contact us at marketing@scopetnm.com or visit our website https://www.scopetnm.com/protection-solutions/substation-automation-system