Electric Power Systems’ SCADA project experience includes:
SCADA System Engineering, Procurement and Construction
The City of Soldotna desired to upgrade their existing control system, which was limited due to age, technology employed, and the number of sites at which it was deployed. EPS teamed with the prime contractor AirTek of Soldotna to provide the City a new SCADA system. EPS performed all of the design engineering for the electrical installation and the UL 508A control panels. In addition, EPS provided the materials for the control system, including a Wonderware HMI (human-machine interface), four GE 90-30 PLC’s for the well sites and reservoir, and the 920 MHz radio system to allow the remote sites to communicate with the HMI at the treatment plant. EPS programmed the PLC’s and HMI, assisted AirTek with construction-related engineering, and provided final startup, commissioning, and training for the Owner. EPS staff worked with the electrical contractor as a subcontractor, while keeping the goals of the owner in mind. The project was completed on time and budget, with only minor changes required from the original design. EPS has maintained a working relationship with both the owner and the contractor in the ensuing years. In fact, EPS continues to work for the City upgrading and adding facilities to their SCADA system. Since the completion of this project, EPS has added two additional wells and one reservoir, and has discussed the costs and requirements for adding the waste water facilities into the system.
Kotzebue Switchgear and SCADA System Upgrades
Kotzebue is a remote hub-community that is electrically isolated from any other system. The community runs predominantly on diesel and windpower. The windpower installation consists of 14 turbines, located on the edge of town. The project consisted of completing a design for the switchgear, SCADA, and mechanical/electrical instrumentation systems. Following completion of the design and acceptance by the Owner, the construction phase of the project commenced, installing all of the switchgear and controls in a phased manner to allow continuing plant operation. The project included system automation to monitor remote equipment and turbine status, automatic control of generation and loads to optimize the economics of the wind integration.
Orca Power Plant Automation
The Orca power plant is the primary control point of Cordova Electric Cooperative’s (CEC) entire generation and distribution system. From the control room at the ORCA plant operations monitor and control 5 diesel units at the ORCA plant, 2 hydro units at the Power Creek plant and 3 hydro units at the Humpback Creek plant. Operations can also monitor and control feeder breakers at the Eyak substation. With this SCADA system operators can manually control all generation units, distribution feeders and dam operations as well as monitor the status of all critical dam, unit and feeder details from one central location. The Cordova SCADA system also features “Demand Control” which allows the SCADA system to make all decisions and necessary adjustments to the electric utility system to maintain a steady, clean and reliable supply of power for the city of Cordova and the surrounding area. The main focus of Demand Control is to provide the most efficient use of the available hydroelectric power, keeping the use of diesel units to an absolute minimum. This control system also allows operations to “unman” the control room after normal working hours. An automatic callout system will alert operations to any deviances from normal operations.
Mountain Top Power Modules
EPS designed and constructed multiple modules to provide power to communications equipment for remote mountaintop microwave facilities in western Alaska for United Utilities. The power module consists of two diesel 10kW generators with two bulk diesel tanks feeding the day tank. The SCADA system is utilized for remote monitoring, control of the generators to charge the battery system and HVAC for the power and communication module. The SCADA architecture consists of one PLC per generator, one PLC for system and ancillary I/O, and redundant servers for data collection and remote access. The PLC’s will maintain the module room temperature and adequate combustion air for the engines. The two generators are redundant units, and the SCADA system will select which unit will run based on availability. The SCADA system will notify UUI in the event of an alarm that requires attention from an operator.