ElectriCities; Raleigh, NC

Profile:
Formed in 1965, ElectriCities of North Carolina is a non-profit government service organization representing 32 cities that own electric distribution systems. They purchase electricity and manage co-ownership of base load generation for member cities.

Issue:
Purchasing electricity on the open market could potentially cost millions of dollars per year. To combat these high prices, ElectriCities has developed an extensive load management system. Generators are geographically dispersed and peak load demands typically average 2-4 hours at a time (occurring 15-20 hours per month). In addition, they also shed non-essential power consumption with equipment such as water heaters, air conditioners, strip heat and voltage regulators. While load management is significantly more cost effective than purchasing power on the open market, managing the generators presented a challenge. An automation solution was necessary.

Applications:
Often needing to operate equipment located up to150 miles away, ElectriCities has found several applications in electrical load management for Telemetric products.

1. Remote Control of Distributed Generators – In lieu of costly communication lines and conventional SCADA RTUs, ElectriCities deployed Telemetric MicroRTUs to remotely operate small to medium sized generators during heavy power usage. Using the Telemetric Intelligent Web Server, units are “grouped” together so a single command will turn on or off all the generators. Accordingly, the MicroRTU provides prompt acknowledgement that the peak-shaving generators have been activated or deactivated.

2. Remote Control of Substation Voltage Regulators – Where SCADA control is not available or is cost prohibitive, ElectriCities members have found the Telemetric MicroRTU to be a viable alternative to control voltage regulators during peak usage periods. Along with the remote control benefits, the wireless communications feature is ideal for substation applications. Wireless communication eliminates the time and expense of installing cables, conduits, and surge protection for communication circuits in the substation.

3. Remote Interface with other Control Systems – Instead of member cities needing a live person to operate the city’s load management system during high usage periods, ElectriCities provides the service from miles away at a minimal cost. ElectriCities incorporates Telemetric MicroRTUs to remotely interface with load management control systems which are located in their members’ towns. These load management systems typically control water heaters, air conditioners, strip heaters, and generators, which are located in the members’ town or service area. In addition, the remote monitoring and paging capability of Telemetric MicroRTU provides ElectricCities and its members valuable feedback. Electricities has configured the interface so that a text page is automatically sent to the Town’s personnel confirming the load management system has been activated by Electricities and is operating.

4. Automatic Paging from SCADA System – Expanding on the Telemetric devices monitoring and paging capability, ElectiCities is providing it’s load management operator with automatic paging to assist in determining load management periods. Not having direct paging capability from their SCADA system, Electricities has connected a Telemetric unit directly to their load management SCADA system. The Telemetric unit monitors a SCADA controlled relay. When the SCADA system senses that the electrical usage has exceeded predetermined levels it closes the relay. Once the Telemetric MicroRTU senses that the relay is closed, a page is automatically sent to the load management operator. This automatic notification reduces the need to physically watch graphs and numbers in order to determine load management periods. Thus, the automatic notification provides the operator more flexibility to perform other tasks during the workday and on weekends.

Other Applications:
Working with several of their member clients, ElectriCities has assisted in the installation of units to provide city personnel with automatic notifications via pager when high-level alarms or power outages occur at wastewater lift stations.

Communication Solution:
ElectriCities evaluated several technologies to automate their remotely located equipment including leased lines, satellite, paging and cellular. They examined each site for signal strength, reliability coverage and availability as well as installation and monthly costs. ElectiCities selected a cellular control solution, used by Telemetric, based on cost, functionality and ease of use.

Benefits:
Prior to deploying the Telemetric units, ElectriCities used dial up connections to send commands to load management equipment. This method proved timely and cumbersome, as each unit required its own designated phone line to send a command. Utilizing the Telemetric Intelligent Web Server, MicroRTUs can be grouped, so a single command can open or close relays in field units. This conversion to Telemetric units saved ElectriCities about 50 man-hours per year during critical periods when load management is needed. An added feature to the Telemetric Intelligent Web Server allows ElectriCities to view history of their equipment. Information gained from the history page allows them to track control periods, outage durations, and troubleshoot reoccurring problems.