How technology collaborates in the Operation and Maintenance of electrical systems

It may be that science has not yet managed to go as far as the inventions of the movie "Back to the Future" or the series "Jetsons", but the new technologies adopted in recent decades have already proven to be a great ally of people and companies. It is no different in the area of operation and maintenance of generation, transmission and distribution assets in the electricity sector and innovations contribute to the advancement of productivity and efficiency.

If previously it was necessary to mobilize a team of technicians to carry out an inspection on the transmission line, today a drone device provides more quality information for analysis in a shorter time, also reducing the chance of risks for professionals.

We list some innovations that have brought more speed and safety to O&M work, allied to a cost reduction.

Operation

Technology 4.0 seeks to use advanced computing resources to automate industrial processes. One of the examples is the PMU (Phasor  Measurement Unit), a measurement system that makes it possible to measure phasor quantities in geographically distant installations, at a rate of up to 60 measurements per second and with angular precision suited to the requirements of the applications.

This technological evolution in communication systems makes the transfer of data possible, both in the feeding of databases and in real-time actions, streamlining processes and enabling correct decision-making by operators.

ONS (National System Operator) resources, such as: load relief systems, special protection systems (SEP), computer systems for data collection, real-time simulators, among others, increased the operational safety of the National Interconnected System (SIN). 

In the control and protection systems, digital technology provided technological resources that allow remote operation, through Operation Centers, electric power plants and substations, including with greater efficiency, better assertiveness and with the reduction of operating costs.

Cotesa Engenharia's operation centers, for example, have LED panels, where diagrams of the operated systems are projected, indicating status and electrical magnitudes, operational events and other software that allow operators to simulate occurrences, evaluate events with greater precision and adopt the necessary actions to restore normal conditions, in the shortest possible time, reducing the impacts of occurrences.

Maintenance

In the maintenance area, computational resources allow accessing the protection relays at a distance, through communication systems, both to evaluate performance and to perform adjustments and parameterizations. Event records stored in oscillographs are accessed remotely, allowing a better understanding of events, facilitating analysis and necessary solutions.

Nas manutenções de campo, o avanço na tecnologia dos instrumentos disponíveis às intervenções, como termo visores, oscilógrafos, analisadores de relés de proteção e malas de testes multifuncionais, vem melhorando a qualidade das avaliações de performance dos equipamentos, com

The alerts of these equipment allow the identification of failure risks, through preventive maintenance, and by anticipating failures, they are able to maximize the availability of assets. High-resolution cameras strategically installed at the facilities also allow remote monitoring of the physical conditions of equipment installed in transmission and generation assets.

The use of computer-equipped drones for inspection and maintenance on transmission lines is becoming more frequent. Such resources allow reducing inspection time, adding quality and reducing operating costs, in addition to facilitating inspections in hard-to-reach places. 

However, it should be noted that the use of automated and intelligent systems brought new risks to the operation of the systems, such as failures of control systems and vulnerabilities to cyber attacks. Risks are mitigated by the adoption of protection systems developed and permanently updated for this purpose and adequate management and user awareness policies.