Sessions

Join us for a company spotlight, featuring Owl Cyber Defense. More details to come! 

As utilities adopt a data-driven approach to vegetation management, the need for an accurate, near real-time view of the condition of the network is becoming more and more important.  Leading utilities are turning to satellite-based data and derivative analytics to satisfy needs.  During this panel session, industry leaders will discuss vegetation management use cases supported by satellite-based data analytics.  Attendees will have an opportunity to gain perspective on satellite data products and how utilities are using these products to solve critical vegetation-related use cases.

Today’s utility customers expect access to real-time outage information, and they make important decisions based on this information. However, utilities are often hesitant to provide customers in-depth estimated restoration times (ERT) because if those times are inaccurate, customers may be more frustrated than if the utility had not communicated at all. Utility providers can improve customer experience by implementing an advanced restoration time approach that compartmentalizes restoration times into a four-stage process: estimated, projected, verified, and actual restoration. Each stage in the process has its own set of actions and objectives to make restoration times more accurate during an outage event.  Once an outage event is associated to a device, the initial ERT is calculated based on historical restoration times for that type of device. The first step in an advanced restoration time solution is to automatically modify the initial ERT value based on real-time conditions, such as the number of existing outages and the number of eligible crews.  The second step is when the outage is assigned to a crew where the system combines travel time with the modified initial ERT to create a projected restoration time (PRT). The accuracy is further improved when a first responder arrives at the protection device and assesses the downstream damage.  This third step is known as a verified restoration time.  After the outage has been repaired, the last step in the advanced restoration time process is to document the outcome which is known as the actual restoration time. This final time can then be used as the new historical information, thus creating a self- learning cycle of data to improve accuracy. Advanced restoration time solutions and models have the potential to change how the industry defines requirements for meeting levels of response and performance. By using an advanced restoration time solution, utility providers can deliver their customers more accurate information and create a new customer outage experience that delivers timely information across multiple modes of communication.

Advances in technology continue to provide us with an ever-growing set of options for performing vegetation inspections around critical facilities. Alex Brown from Exelon Clearsight will provide an easy-to-digest overview of the most promising current options, including visual, multi-spectral, satellite, LiDAR, and photogrammetry. He will also discuss the pros and cons of each as well as the challenges associated with translating the information gathered into actionable results.

Vegetation management at distribution utilities has many challenges including diverse plant species and topography. Other challenges that managers of vegetation management programs address are the overgrowth of vegetation, trees in decline, as well as dead and damaged vegetation along rights-of-way due to diseases, insect pests, site changes, and simple old age. A case study for a large electric cooperative’s site in Virginia showed promise in identifying at-risk trees from aerial hyperspectral images identified by sensors onboard fixed-wing aircraft and also from multispectral images from sensors onboard satellites. Approximately 70-90% of the trees identified as healthy or stressed by the satellite data were confirmed by arborists “ground-truthing” a subset of the trees. Additional research is being conducted in California in 2021 to determine how well the developed methodology works to identify at-risk trees in a different types of forest, such as conifers versus hardwoods. Distribution utilities can use the research to improve the performance of reliability and resiliency measures related to the tree-caused outages and improve vegetation management practices. The presentation will illustrate the use of aerial resources to pinpoint at-risk trees, highlight the benefits of using technology to aid vegetation management and reliability practices, and provide the results of a demonstration project in two different ecotypes.

Join us for a company spotlight, featuring Owl Cyber Defense. More details to come! 

This presentation will provide an overview of Entergy's Distribution Automation programwhicht consists of communications network deployment, upgraded SCADA system, and integration of DA devices into DMS for Fault Location, self-healing networks, power delivery efficiencies. The DA program also consists of the deployment of over 1,000 new reclosers across the distribution system creating sectionalization and self-healing network opportunities that will provide an improvementino reliability.

This demonstration project uses a novel hybrid control approach for volt-VAR optimization within an advanced distribution management system (ADMS) to optimally coordinate and control both traditional distribution devices and DER. The control strategy permits the autonomous control of edge-of-grid devices including smart inverters, flexible loads, and traditional grid resources, such as line regulators and switched capacitor banks, with centralized supervision from the ADMS. Distributed monitoring and localized control offer rapid decision-making based on local conditions at the device level, while the centralized intelligence of the ADMS determines the steps needed to achieve higher-level objectives. The ADMS does not directly control the local devices but instead influences their local control objectives to meet the greater purpose of efficient and economical distribution system control. This presentation will detail the implementation of hybrid control logic within an ADMS, document the performance of the hybrid control strategy vs traditional centralized and decentralized methods, illustrate impacts on grid devices and DER, and capture the costs and benefits of the novel approach compared to traditional ones. By sharing the demonstration findings, lessons learned, and recommendations, EPRI and Central Hudson Gas & Electric hope to educate other utilities and the industry on the benefits of transitioning to a hybrid control approach to Volt-VAR management of the distribution grid.

Con Edison, deployed an innovative software solution called STORM (Support Tool for Outage Restoration Management) to help New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) reduce delays and improve the quality of life for New York’s 5.7 million daily subway riders. To better support New York City Transit information needs, Con Edison has installed AMI smart meters and communication infrastructure to over 2,000 of NYCT’s locations and have designed and built a system to detect and address problems before they become delay-causing outages. This presentation will review the STORM program and explain how the initiative is expanding to provide new levels of flexibility in tracking other types of sensitive customers.

In 2020, Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) started the next phase of a Grid Enhancement journey, also known as the OGE Plan. This is a five-year asset deployment plan focused on the upgrade and replacement of aging equipment, hardware, and other assets to improve reliability, resilience, and safety while also focusing on affordability and customer experience. It also involves the installation of new technology, equipment, and communications systems. This presentation will discuss the changes to protection schemes Oklahoma Gas and Electric is making because of deploying smart lateral and feeder switches. The session will cover the following: The business case for Smart Lateral and Feeder Switches and the cost and benefits modeled to justify the investment. Challenges in shifting OG&E’s long-standing fuse saving philosophy when the Smart Lateral and Feeder Switches were deployed. Lessons learned and concerns encountered during the beginning of the deployment. Results are seen to date from the Smart Lateral and Feeder Switch program.