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18
ESB NETWORKS LTD
August/September 2012 www.esb.ie/em
LIVE WORKING IN ESB NETWORKS
IN ESB, WE ALL KNOW that our customers judge us on cost and customer service. A critical part of customer service is that customers expect the lights to come on every time they flick a switch. ESB Networks strives to meet customer expectations in this regard and to keep supply interruptions to a minimum. This is an ongoing challenge.
There are two main types of supply interruptions - fault and planned.
Faults occur because of factors like bad weather, ageing networks, timber growing into lines etc. In Ireland, our population density is low and our lines are long. This historically meant that a one fault could easily affect customers a long distance away.
We have 75,000km of 10kV and 20kV lines, enough to go almost twice around the world, which are exposed to the elements constantly.
ESB Networks has invested huge efforts in the last 10 years to make our networks as robust as anywhere else, through programmes including Network Renewal (NRP), conversion of 10kV lines to 20kV, timber cutting, network automation and planned maintenance.
In order to do this work safely, the networks must be switched off and earthed, leading to planned outages. It is, however, often possible to carry out certain critical tasks live. Live-working programmes are therefore very important to us.
ESB has carried out live work at low voltage (LV) for many years. Indeed it is almost unheard off to switch off a customer in some locations in order to carry out low-voltage work.
In 1993, ESB started to train crews to work live on the medium voltage (MV) networks. The initial training and procedures came from Hydro Quebec. We are now regarded as a leading company in live-line work in Western Europe. Indeed, other utilities have learnt the procedures from us. The ESB staff involved in this work have not had a single lost time incident to date, which is a great achievement. This is due to a number of controls:
- Training
- Approvals
- Auditing
- Clear work procedures
- Regular testing of equipment
- Tailboard conferences (This is where the team write down exactly how to do the job. One crew member is then tasked to observe all work to ensure no deviations occur.)
Of course we can not be complacent. In the last two years our livework specialists and Networks Training Centre (NTC) have carried out a root and branch review of how we carry out this work. This involved a wide range of ESB staff and representatives from other utilities and resulted in a new document called Live Working Policies and Procedures.
These are new and developing policies and procedures that are being implemented nationally and have been briefed to all managers and crews. The document outlines and explains:
- Roles and responsibilities
- How to maintain skills so that staff are protected
- Standards for equipment testing
- How to carry out the work
- How to manage the work
- How to approve new work methods.
CPD re-accreditation award from Engineers Ireland
ESB NETWORKS WAS recently awarded Continuous Professional Development (CPD) re-accreditation by Engineers Ireland for the period up to May 2015. This followed a comprehensive audit by Engineers Ireland in April, during which compliance against ten set criteria was evaluated. The criteria included evaluation of items such as our CPD policy, the number of CPD days, mentoring practices, our links with professional bodies and our knowledge sharing.
In order to gain accreditation, ESB Networks submitted a detailed report on how we meet the 10 criteria. A panel from Engineers Ireland then met with ESB Networks senior mangers, HR personnel and a number of engineers, all of whom were interviewed about their experience of the ten criteria.
The awarding of the re-accreditation for the next three years recognises good organisational practice in the area of professional development for engineers and receives the formal backing of the Department of Education & Skills. Congratulations to everyone involved in retaining this prestigious award.
Self Healing Smart Networks come to the North West
THE TECHNICAL SERVICES Manager in Sligo, Pat Kelly, teamed up with Trevor Walsh, National Training Services Centre Portlaoise, to successfully implement ESBN’s second smart ‘self healing network’. Significant team work was also required from the SCADA control room in ESB Leopardstown Road.
All of this follows on from the first self healing network which went live in ESB Killarney in 2010. It is estimated that this scheme has produced €120,000 in continuity savings over its initial two years of operation.
The ESB name for self healing networks is ‘Loop Automation’. Other companies use the term ‘Virtual Operator’ so you can quickly get lost in terminology. But the real idea behind the technology is a simple one.
What is Loop Automation?
If the electricity line, which brings power to you as a customer, has a fault then normally you would suffer a power outage. The new Loop Automation simply and automatically changes over to the standby power line. So whereas a fault may have given the customer a loss of supply for several hours, this is now reduced to less than one minute.
Another clever thing about Loop Automation schemes is that they are a smart way of getting more value, for our customers, out of the assets we have already invested in.
The first stage of achieving Loop Automation is to have automatically and remotely controllable switches (Reclosers) installed on our 20kV Networks. We have already been doing this for the past seven years. The new step is to get the Reclosers smartly working to automatically restore supply when a fault occurs.
What’s been going on in the North West?
Five new 20kV Reclosers, on two separate 20kV lines have been installed to work together intelligently during a fault, in order to minimise the number of customers affected.
Ciarán McBrien is seen in the foreground of the photograph working with colleagues Stephen Powel (left) and Peter Brady commissioning one of the five Reclosers in the Loop Automation scheme. Other work involved the upgrading of the Reclosers and the all important installation of a new ‘Tie’ Recloser at the circuit Normally Open Point.
As a result a fault on the circuit loop between Castlerea and Roscommon 38 kV stations will affect only the smallest number of customers possible. Most customers who lose supply, will be automatically restored within one minute. The 20kV network involved, shown in the diagram, extends to 65km in length with 12,600 customers connected.
A measure of commitment and pride in the work is evident in the fact that the system was tested live at 5.00am on a Sunday morning in May. The early hour was in order to avoid any disruption to customers. Staff involved were Adrian Gallen, Letterkenny Area; Liam McGlynn, Letterkenny Area; Cathal Shivnen, System Protection Specialist NW; Eamonn McWalter, SCADA Leopardstown Rd.; John Clarke CSS Longford / Roscommon; Tom Guckian CS Longford / Roscommon and Peter Quinn E.O. Longford.
What next for Smart Networks and Loop Automation?
ESB Networks has invested heavily in Distribution Automation and Reclosers. So it makes sense to leverage that investment. With this in mind our Planners in Networks Investment have identified 60 Loop Automation Schemes for implementation over the next three years.
This is another progressive development for Networks and another piece of the jigsaw puzzle of completing Smart Networks.
