reports
conference
83
CIGRE 2006
Paris,
France
page 82
WPRC 2006
Spokane,
USA
page 90
PAC conferences
around the world
Protection, Automation
and Control conferences
around the world provide
forums for discussions and
exchanges of ideas that
help the participants in
resolving the challenges
that our industry faces
today.
South African
PSPC 2006
Johannesburg, South
Africa
page 88
CIDEL 2006
Buenos Aires,
Argentina
page 87
PAC.SUMMER.2007
by Albertino J. Cerejo Meneses, Rede Eléctrica Nacional, Portugal
from around the world
conference reports
84
The exhibition plays an
important
role for
information
exchange
85
The Biennial Session
of CIGRE is held in Paris
The Biennial Session of
CIGRE in Paris brings
together more than 2500
delegates from all over the
world. Nearly 400 papers are
discussed at the conference.
The conference, as usual,
was held in Palais de Congres
– a 41 thousand square meter
building located at the crossroads
of Parisian life. Since its creation by
the Paris Chamber of Commerce
and Industry in 1974, it has played
an important role in the economic
life and cultural development of
the French capital. It was expanded
and renovated in 1999 and offers
the perfect setting for the CIGRE
Sessions.
The 2006 Paris Session was
attended by 2630 specialists
from around the world – evenly
representing utilities, manufacturers,
PAC.SUMMER.2007
consultants and educators. A total
of 390 papers on 45 preferential
subjects submitted from member
countries' National Committees
were accepted for inclusion in the
conference program. Considering
everything that Paris can offer to
a visitor in the summer, one can
imagine the dedication and love of
the attendees of their work to make
them spend many hours attending
working group meetings, paper
sessions or talking with industry
experts on the exhibition floor.
As part of the 41st CIGRE
Session, Study Committee B5
“Protection and Automation”
Palais de
Congres in
Paris
organized an open technical
discussion based on two preferential
subjects:
The Impact of IEC 61850 on
Protection and Automation
Protection Systems and Substation
Automation for Major Disturbances
For each preferential subject,
specialists from around the world
had submitted papers that were
reviewed by a member of the Study
Committee (the so-called Special
Reporter). They then prepared and
posted questions to the public, before
the session, aimed at promoting
clarifications and inviting additional
input on the topics from paper
authors, specialists and the public
at large for discussion at the session.
Participants in the conference are
encouraged to submit before each
session a written contribution.
The authors of the papers can also
present a very short update on any
further developments that followed
the submission of their paper.
Summaries of the Special
Reports on both preferential
subjects are published in this issue
of PAC World.
The Protection and Automation
session was attended by 350
experts who participated in active
discussions of the papers and the
reports. A major part of the CIGRE
Session is the vendors exhibition that
Biography
brings all leading manufacturers of
electric power systems transmission
technology and allows the attendees
of the conference to experience
directly the latest products and
discuss their applications.
An important event at the
e xhibition w a s the se cond
I EC 61850 interoper abilit y
demonstration. More than 15
companies participated with their
IEDs, merging units, testing and
software tools – showing the
benefits of this new technology.
Exchange of GOOSE messages
between all participating vendors
devices supporting the IEC 61850
Station Bus and displayed in realtime in a large display was an
excellent demonstration of the
achieved interoperability.
The UCA International Users
Group annual meeting was also held
in parallel to the CIGRE sessions
on August 30, 2006. The meeting
included a series of informative
presentations and was open to
the public. A general introduction
to the users group was followed
by an IEC 61850 seminar, as well
as presentations of current and
planned applications in projects and
the benefits derived by utilities from
using IEC 61850. The next CIGRE Session in the
summer of 2008 will cover the
following Preferential Subjects:
PS1: Impact of Process-Bus
(IEC61850-9-2) on Protection and
Substation Automation Systems
System reliability
System architecture
Experiences so far
PS2: Life Cycle Management of
Protection and Control Systems
System testing policies
Testing of Protec tion and
Substation Automation Systems
Procedures, tools and experiences
in Life Cycle Management
Experiences/systems for remote
maintenance Albertino J. Cerejo Meneses received his Licenciatura degree
in Electrical Engineering from the Faculdade de Engenharia,
Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal, in 1977.
He has been with Rede Eléctrica Nacional, S.A. (the Portuguese
TSO) since 1980; he was Head of the Operations Department
(South) from 1994 to 1998 and Head of the Telecommunications Department from 1998 to 2001. He has been Head of
the Systems Department since 2001. Mr. Meneses is a member
of the Portuguese Professional Association of Engineers. He is
currently the Portuguese representative in Study Committee
B5 (Protection and Local Control) of CIGRE.
2006 CIGRE Session Special Report
Protection Systems and Substation
Automation for Major Disturbances
For the preferential subject “Protection Systems and Substation Automation for Major
Disturbances” 16 papers by authors from 14
countries were submitted and 4 main topics
for discussion were identified:
1. Special Protection Schemes
2. Wide Area Protection Principles
3. Preventive Measures to mitigate Large
Disturbances
4. Service Restoration Practices
In r esponse to t he 1 2
questions posed by the Special
Reporter, 38 prepared contributions
were received, of which 35 were
presented at the session.
The following briefly summarizes
the findings, the discussions and the
conclusions of the discussion.
Special Protection Schemes
Concerning the questions about
costs, risks and telecommunications
issues, contributions focused on
the importance of availability and
reliability of the communication
systems and mentioned the need to
carefully design communications
architectures in order to meet the
requirements for performance
and security (e.g. ensuring system
redundancy and implementing
voting schemes and self-healing
solutions). On cost issues, there
are expectations that economical
gains from improved operational
performance should outweigh high
construction costs.
Regarding the question on
cooperation issues, all contributions
recognised the importance of close
cooperation between countries,
institutions such as CIGRE and EPRI,
and also between manufacturers and
utilities.
Concerning different approaches
used in implementing network
defense plans, some examples
were given of the use of loss-ofsynchronism detection (Brazil,
Japan, France, and Western North
American Power System), using
either local or wide-area signals, as
well as adaptive or non-adaptive
methods.
Regarding future developments
and trends, while some contributions
saw definite advantages in the
use of centralized solutions, one
contribution from the USA sees a
need for hierarchical SPS, combining
centralized and local decision, to
ensure the implementation of
adaptive solutions. Nevertheless,
all contributions stressed that
communication protocols will
play a major role in the successful
implementation of SPS.
Wide Area Protection
Principles
In response to question nº 6,
which addressed the comparison
between traditional and new
approaches to load shedding, there
PAC.SUMMER.2007
by Marco C. Janssen, UTInnovation, The Netherlands
from around the world
conference reports
86
87
was a general consensus among
all contributors that new voltagedependent Wide Area Measurement
(WAM) Systems resulted in a lesser
amount of load shed, when compared
with traditional under-frequency
load shedding schemes.
Concerning the integration of
Phasor Measurement Units (PMU)
from different manufacturers
and experiences on controlled
tests with effective switching,
the contributions mentioned
the difficulties encountered in
the integration process, stressing
the need for a standard format of
phasor measurement data. New
PMU/WAMS projects (Brazil) and
evolution in existing ones towards
including WAM in closed-loop
operation, aiming at an increased
number of “meshed” WAM Systems
in Europe.
Preventive Measures to
Mitigate Large Disturbances
This question addressed the
event ual influence of recent
blackouts on the regulator y
environment, as well as new system
protection requirements resulting
from regulatory or public opinion
pressure. Two contributions (Brazil
and USA) described the publication
of more stringent protection
requirements following recent
blackouts. Actual implementation
will take time, as the need for
accurate time-synchronization of all
IEDs and recording of waveforms,
voltage and frequency profiles is
recognized.
Concerning the implementation
of system-wide common criteria
for protection and control systems,
and critical fault clearing times,
contributions reported the need
to apply unit protection concepts,
with redundant communication
schemes.
In response to question nº 10,
concerning decision-aid software
tools, the contribution from
the Netherlands described the
development of a measuring device
to complement the software tool
PAC.SUMMER.2007
– aiming to improve safety and
reliability.
Question nº 11 addressed
experiences in the specification and
use of Line Differential Protections.
Although some concerns were
expressed, regarding the use of
optical repeaters (Brazil) or personnel
training issues (Spain), the majority
of contributions reported that, with
the availability of more powerful
communication infrastructures, Line
Differential Protections are now part
of most national / utility guidelines
for transmission line protection.
The advantages mentioned include
detection of very high resistance faults
and immunity to power swings. Line
differential protections are also seen
as the best solution for the protection
of series compensated lines. It must
be noted that even in the cases where
concerns were expressed, use of line
differential protection is growing and
the results are seen as very positive.
Service Restoration
Practices
Only one paper was published
under this category, discussing
the service restoration part of the
Brazilian Defense Plan, emphasizing
a decentralized approach taken
towards the optimization of the
process.
Question nº 12 tried to raise some
discussion on restoration practices,
comparing the requirement to
keep manned substations to aid
restoration with the implementation
of redund ant telecontrol ,
telecommunication or automation
infrastructure / equipments. The
only contribution to this question
was received from the paper’s
authors, who explained the perceived
Contributions
reported the need
for unit protection
with redundant
communications
Biography
need to keep at least some manned
substations, especially in generation
substations in “fluent” restoration
corridors.
Conclusions
From the contributions received
and the discussions in the session, a
number of conclusions can be drawn.
The main conclusions are grouped
by discussion topic as follows:
1.Special Protection Schemes
R eliable communications are
essential
F or implementation of new
SPS, close cooperation between
manufacturers, integrators and
utilities will be crucial
There are definite advantages in
using centralized / hierarchical
SPS
Communication protocols will
play a major role in the successful
implementation of SPS
E xtensions of IEC61850 to
cover communication between
substations and to central levels are
already being considered
2. Wide Area Protection Principles
Both WAP-based and voltagedependent applications show
improvements over traditional
under-frequency load shedding
(UFLS), regarding the amount of
load shed
PMU implementation is in its 1st
phase, evolving into “meshed”
WAMS in Europe
Improvements in integration
expected with newer equipment
3. Preventive Measures to mitigate
Large Disturbances
S p e c i f i c , mo r e s t r i n g e nt
requirements and regulations in
place following recent blackouts
Some of those requirements imply
de facto unit protection concepts
Most utilities already use redundant
teleprotection schemes
Critical clearing times are defined
in most national / utility guidelines
for transmission line protection
L ine Differential protections
come of age as more powerful
communication infrastructures
become available. Marco C. Janssen is a utility industry professional with more than 16 years’ experience. He
graduated in 1983 from the Polytechnic in Arnhem, The Netherlands and has followed
many additional educational programs and training courses to develop further skills
to support his professional activities. He is President and Chief Commercial Officer of
UTInnovation LLC – a company that provides consulting and training services in the
traditional areas of protection, control, substation automation and data acquisition, as
well as provide insight, training, and support on the new international standard IEC 61850,
advanced metering infrastructures and power quality. He is a member of WG 10, 17, 18,
and 19 of IEC TC57, the IEEE-PES and the UCA International Users Group.
2006 CIGRE Session Special Report
The Impact of IEC 61850
on Protection and Automation
For the preferential subject “The Impact of
IEC 61850 on Protection and Automation”,
12 papers were received and they fell into
four main categories:
1. Configurations and architectures
2. Reliability and testing
3. Implementation experiences
4. Migration strategies
61 contributions were
presented at the session in
response to the 12 questions posted
by the Special Reporter.
The following is a short summary
of the findings, the discussions and
the conclusions of the session.
Configurations
and Architectures
When discussing configurations
and architectures of substation
automation systems we need to
consider the fact that during their life
there will be changes or upgrades to
hardware or software. The question
therefore becomes how to apply
automation systems in substation
that will have a total life time of over
25 years?
The main approach today is to
standardize the substation. This
however leads to a need for more
detailed specifications that shall:
i dentif y the f unctionalit y,
performance, security, availability,
etc.
define a robust logical architecture
and map it on real devices
define the communication and
related aspects
define the data model and related
aspects
i niti ally consider v ar iou s
architectures until a well scoped
one is found that is backed up by
comprehensive tests
An advant age of moder n
automation systems is that hardware
and software are becoming more
and more independent. This leads
to new possibilities such as adding
functionality to existing systems.
Since hardware and software are
never fully independent, caution
is advised. It is important that the
performance and availability must
be guaranteed during the system
lifecycle and this can only be fulfilled
through tested and certified products.
A major benefit of IEC 61850 is that
this can be supported by coordinating
the possible IEDs and systems offered
through the import and export of
the standardized file formats in the
System Configuration description
Language (SCL).
Reliability and Testing
Fault tolerant systems will provide
means to increase the reliability of our
systems in a cost effective way. An
example of such an approach could be
the replacement of the “main 1 and
main 2” for protection schemes by
single IEDs in a fault tolerant system.
Some utilities may be opposed
to this based on the requirement
for independence of main and
backup protections (N-1 criterion).
An argument is that omitting
redundancy in protection is limited
because of the limitations given by
the current network technologies.
Main questions to be answered are
what happens to the performance,
reliability, security, availability, single
points of failure, and redundancy?
What if multiple IEDs fail or an IED
has to be repaired or tested? In this
environment the communication
bus behavior and performance will
be critical.
With increasing platform
flexibilit y and CP U power,
integration of functions into a single
IED however becomes feasible. New
schemes and functions are being
studied and a possible solution may
be the clustering of redundant IEDs.
The discussion will certainly continue
because modern communication
networks in substation automation
systems provides advantages and can
help to increase the availability of the
system.
The complexity of our next
generation substation automation
systems shall however be managed
PAC.SUMMER.2007
from around the world
conference reports
88
89
in such a way that test results
remain consistent, reproducible,
and comparable. This may partly be
handled through quality assurance
and accreditation procedures for
conformance testing such as the ones
defined and maintained by the UCA
International Users Group.
It is therefore important to keep in
mind that when testing functions in
an open system:
conformance tests are required
to ver i f y systems a g ainst
specifications
performance tests are required on
a reference system with special
attention on mixed configurations
interoperability is mandatory and
should be certified
interactions between functions
increase the number of tests
Future IEC 61850 based test
concepts will be using communication
links for “injection” into an IED or
system. A complicating factor may
however be that test equipment must
be connected directly to the process
bus and station bus and must generate
the input and monitor the output
via the communication link. This
requires that tools with realistic and
coherent test scenarios are available.
Having test features integrated in the
IEDs can further support testing since
it can help to minimize the test effort
and facilitate online testing
System upgrades could be
considered as a different type,
invoking a complete test requirement.
Major question is what is to be
retested? It is clear that our industry
needs effective laboratories for the
validation and diagnosis of systems
and their functionality. At this time
however a lack of network testing
standards exists.
Implementation
Experiences
One of the main questions
for utilities is whether detailed
specifications for IEC 61850 based
systems are needed or is there benefit
in not having it specified in great
detail? One should keep in mind that
systems can very well be described
PAC.SUMMER.2007
using the traditional approach based
on the:
Single line diagram
Functional requirements
Dependability requirements
Performance requirements
Environmental requirements
Project management
Services
Advantages of not having
detailed specifications is that not
only optimized solutions are possible
based on specified functions and
performance, but also that most
manufacturers will be able to offer
a solution complying with the
specification. On the other hand a
detailed specification supports the
standardization of substations.
No matter what approach is
chosen during the project design
phase the described functionality has
to be mapped by the system integrator
to the IEC61850 data model and
implementation agreements on the
modeling of multifunctional IEDs
will help in the development of tools
for automatic processing of SCL files
and IEC 61850 based user interfaces.
There is a controversy today
whether the role of the integrator can
be outsourced by utilities or not? The
answer is neither easy, nor without
controversy, but the main topics
influencing the answer are:
the business model that the utility
has irrespective of the solutions that
are chosen
the fact that a system integrator
needs a lot of expertise with the
specific utility systems
that there is a requirement for a
technical think-tank to deal with
new and enabling technologies
what to do if you have multiple
projects?
IEC 61850 already
has and will continue
to have significant
impact on protection
and automation
It is expected that pure integrators
will emerge and the role of the
integrator will evolve. New roles,
such as that of the system architect,
are envisioned.
Another controversial topic is
that of project specific extensions
of existing standards. It is clear that
such approaches lead to an exact
fit for a single project, but also to
uncontrollable test efforts and
specific conformance tests and test
equipment. The flexible IEC 61850
toolbox and the possibility to extend
the Data Model is a big seduction
for experts wishing to implement
their ideas and knowledge into a
standardized framework. Therefore
improvements and extensions must
be discussed in IEC TC 57 in order to
integrate them into IEC 61850 but
not every wish may be fulfilled.
Migration Strategies
One of the effects of the
evolution in technology and utility
philosophy is that migration will be
a natural phenomena over the life
time of substations. System wide
replacement programs for protection
and control equipment will become
necessary and will require many
different migration solutions based
on local situations. The first step
in such a process should be the
definition of the possible use cases as
well as application of a common base
of references for functionality on all
levels. One of the goals of migration
should be to limit the impact of the
migration of substation systems on
the network level.
Fast migration strategies are
possible for smaller substations
by accepting constraint operation
conditions. However, the issue
that remains when replacing many
systems per year is to preserve a high
quality. This requires optimization of
engineering, FAT, SAT, maintenance,
etc. A major step forward would be
if new systems are “maintenance
free”.
The u se of st and ard i zed
communication protocols such as
IEC 61850 will result in a decrease
in the need for gateways and
protocol converters, and should
make migration easier. However for
applications that require gateways,
standardized mappings will be
needed to support interoperability.
For the reduction of engineering
costs, versatile tools are required
wh ic h s upp or t c ont i nuou s
engineering of pure IEC 61850
communication systems as well as
legacy systems. It is clear that tools
based on an object oriented concept
are superior to signal oriented tools.
An important aspect is the
financial consequences of the
migration path. Current cost/
benefit results for IEC 61850 based
substation automation systems show
that savings are already realized by
the elimination of gateways. Future
savings are expected through:
optimization of architectures and
number of IEDs
the use of GOOSE to replace
hardwired connections
the use and re-use of SCL based
engineering for new substations
and migration. This has to be
supported however by the right set
of tools
Process bus applications eliminating
high voltage equipment and
hardwired connections
Conclusions
During the session in Paris many
topics were presented and lively
presentations and discussions took
place on how IEC 61850 will impact
protection and automation.
IEC 61850 already has and
will continue to have an impact on
protection and automation. New
architectures become possible and
require new IEDs, new test methods,
re-evaluation of existing concepts
and principles and thus raise
controversy regarding efficiency,
performance, reliability, availability
and maintainability.
The strongest benefits are
expected in improvements of the
engineering process, the application
of the process bus and the use and reuse of the object models. The MultiChamber
Systems are
based
CIDEL 2006,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
CIDEL is the most important
Electricity Distribution event
in Latin America, both for the
excellence of the papers and
the quality of the audience
From 2 7 to 29 Nov ember
2006, Buenos Aires hosted the
International Electricity Distribution
Congress CIDEL Argentina 2006,
the third congress after those held
in 1996 and 2002. The congress
was attended by 440 professionals
from 27 countries. Over 400 papers
were presented, coming mostly
from Latin American countries
like Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia,
Uruguay, Cuba, Peru, Bolivia, Chile
and Argentina. Numeral proposals
have also been received from
other countries worldwide such as
Switzerland, France, UK, USA, the
Czech Republic, Canada, Germany,
Spain, Italy, Nigeria, Yugoslavia and
Malaysia.
A n e x h i bi t ion w a s held
simultaneously with the Congress
with the aim of allowing the
attendees to learn more about the
most significant new products and
services for electricity distribution
and sales.
CIDEL Argentina 2006 has
been made possible thanks to the
joint effort of the Association of
Electrical Energy Distributors of
the Argentine Republic (ADEERA)
and the Argentine Committee of
the Regional Electricity Integration
Commission (CACIER). Key topics
discussed were related to Electricity
Distribution: technological advances,
management, scattered markets,
distributed generation and its
insertion into distribution systems,
regulatory aspects, electricity tariffs
and sustainable development in the
electricity sector.
Instit utional support was
provided by the Spanish Association
of the Electricity Industry (UNESA),
the Regional Electricity Integration
Commission (CIER) and the
International Electricity Distribution
Congress (CIRED), institutions
that also make up the Direction
and Organization Committees.
The Congress is the ideal setting for
researchers to have the opportunity
of presenting their papers and to
debate with their peers from other
parts of the world. Round Tables
with internationally renowned
speakers were held concerning topics
of interest.
CI DEL Argentina 2006 is
distinguished from other highranking Congresses around the
PAC.SUMMER.2007
by Graeme Topham, Eskom, South Africa
from around the world
conference reports
90
91
world by its mode of work. Six
Technical Sessions were held,
during which a President and two
designated speakers gave lectures on
noteworthy aspects of the technical
papers accepted. They lead to
discussions directing questions to the
authors and the audience in general.
The main topics of the sessions were:
“Substations, lines and cables”;
“Operation, protection and control of
distribution networks”; “Distribution
management systems”; “Product
and service quality”; “Regulation
of electricity distribution and the
electricity sector in general” and
“Companies’ social responsibility
and sustainable development.”
CIDEL is the most important
Electricity Distribution event in
Latin America, both for the excellence
of the papers and the quality of
the audience. The success of the
Congress depends on a careful preselection of the Preferential Topics
that are of interest in each of the 6
Technical Sessions and about which
of the authors are invited to present
summaries. A Technical Committee
for each Technical Session approves
those summaries corresponding
to the selected Preferential Topics
that are original and of a very good
technical quality and capable of
stimulating fruitful subsequent
discussion.
Each Technical Committee,
after a careful reading of the papers,
writes a Report for each Preferential
The Southern
African Power
System
Protection
Conference
Topic consisting of a summary of
the papers, an overall analysis and a
set of questions. These later are sent
to the authors before the Congress.
The written answers to the questions
constitute the Contributions. The set
of Papers, Reports, Questions and
Contributions received make up the
first CD that is issued to registered
participants. It is important that
participants register far enough
in advance to be able to read the
papers that interest them prior to
the Congress, encouraging their
subsequent participation.
The Sessions are held
simultaneously during the Congress.
At each Session, the Reports of each
Preferential Topic are presented
together with the Contributions
received. Spontaneous questions
and contributions are incorporated
as they arise and depending on the
time available. As an exception, some
papers might be presented in case the
Technical Committees consider they
have a very significant relevance for
the Congress participants. The results
of the discussions and spontaneous
Contributions during the Congress,
as well as the final Reports of the
Technical Committees make up the
second CD issued to participants.
T he par tic ipants visit ed
SACME, whose main activity is the
coordination, supervision and control
of the Greater Buenos Aires and the
connections with the Argentine
Interconnection System (SADI). The confe-
The protection fraternity should
at Eskom's
accept an approach in power
Training
Center near
system development that
Johannesburg
allows moving power reliably
from environmentally clean
sources to load centers
CIDEL's
venue in
Buenos Aires
PAC.SUMMER.2007
rence is held
Eskom, the electricity utility
in South Africa, hosts the
biennial Southern African Power
System Protection Conference in
Johannesburg, South Africa. The
main aims of the conference are:
to provide a forum for discussion
within the electrical protection
industry; to create the opportunity
for valuable exchanges of ideas
and experience; to enhance the
technological knowledge base
of attendees; and, to engender
enthusiasm and stimulate interest
in the subject of power system
protection and related disciplines.
The conference was first held
in the mid-1980s when a need
was recognized to disseminate
protection-related information
to protection engineers within
the utility. The papers were
written and presented primarily
by utility personnel. At that
time the conference was not held
at regular intervals. Later on,
the conference grew to include
contributions from manufacturers,
vendors, neighboring utilities, local
municipalities, consulting engineers
and academia and it was decided
to make the conference a biennial
event. In 2004, the conference
duration was extended from 1½
days to 2½ days to accommodate
the overwhelming offer of technical
papers. Attendance over the years
has been excellent, varying from
about 250 to 360 delegates, the latter
being the capacity of the current
conference venue. The conference
also includes an exhibition by
equipment suppliers which provides
a valuable opportunity to delegates
to see new equipment and hold
discussions with technical experts
from the companies.
The 2006 conference was
held from the 8th to the 10th
November and attracted a full
audience of 359 registered delegates
of which 195 were from Eskom.
16 delegates were female. There
were 46 overseas delegates from
14 different countries. Thirty
papers were presented over the 2½
days. The papers covered topics on
generator, transformer, capacitor
bank and feeder protection;
substation automation and IEC
61850; synchrophasors and power
swing protection; instrument
transformers; and, testing &
monitoring.
The keynote address entitled
“C hallenges for technolog y
in supporting power system
reliability” was given by Ms Erica
Johnson, Senior General Manager in
the Transmission Division of Eskom.
The keynote address focused
on some of the main challenges
facing Eskom. These include the
diminishing generation surplus
capacity; ensuring that the people of
South Africa have equitable access
to electricity at affordable prices;
and, the challenge of restructuring
the Southern A frican Power
Pool whilst the member utilities
are undergoing reforms in their
respective countries. Currently
Eskom is projected to spend R
97 billion ($ 14 billion) in South
Africa’s electricity infrastructure
over the next 5 years. Ms Johnson
also described the new thinking
trend in Europe and America,
namely the “Smartgrid” or “Smart
Power System”. The concept
generally means developing a
customer-centric network enabling
all generation options, whether
large base-load coal stations or
intermittent wind power stations to
be integrated into a flexible bulk grid
network with advanced systemwide protection schemes to ensure
adaptive capacity for extreme
conditions. Ms Johnson’s challenge
to the protection fraternity today
is that the time is now to develop
a new roadmap for that systemsthinking approach in power
system development. Specifically,
protection systems will be key to
moving vast quantities of power
reliably from environmentally
clean sources to load centres.
Also highlighted was the current
shortage of technical skills in South
Africa and in many cases good
institutional capacity.
The next Southern African Power
Systems Protection Conference will
be held in November 2008. The conference
provides a forum
for discussions
within the electrical
protection industry
PAC.SUMMER.2007
92
from around the world
conference reports
Western Protective
Relay Conference
Even though the conference is
held in a relatively small city,
it is the largest specialized
protection conference
in North America
The 2006 Western Protective
Relaying Conference was
held from 17 through 19 October
at the International Agricultural
Trade Center (IATC) in Spokane,
Washington, USA.
The City of Spokane is located in
the heart of the Inland Northwest,
close to the border of Canada.
The Spokane River runs through
it, with spectacular falls on the
western end of the city core.
IATC is part of the Spokane
Convention Center complex and
sits along the banks of the Spokane
River with beautiful views of the
100-acre Riverfront Park that can
be enjoyed by the participants in
the conference during the coffee or
lunch breaks.
The conference is hosted by
Washington State University
and offers the attendees the
opportunity to discuss the latest
developments or applications.
Papers about the application
of protection technolog y in
PAC.SUMMER.2007
generation, transmission and
distribution systems, and how
it is used in utility and industrial
facilities are presented . The
conference relies on papers from
utilities, manufacturers, industry,
educators, and consultants to
offer a well-rounded, informative
program.
The conference was started
more than 30 years ago by Dr.
Clifford Mosher as he felt there
was a need for a protective relaying
conference. He has been a professor
with Washington State University
and started the conference with
the university and is still the
Chair of the conference Program
Committee. This conference has
been a part of the university since
it’s full running.
It is the largest specialized
conference in North America
dedicated to the field of electric
power systems protection. It is
an annual event that always takes
place at the same location and the
same time of the year.
The 2006 conference continued
the trend of growing attendance
Spokane,
Washington
Paper
presentation
at WPRC
and increased number of papers.
For the first 29 years of its existence
the conference consisted of 20
papers presented over 2 and a half
days.
In 2003 the committee added
10 papers for a total of 30 papers
and increased the conference length
to 3 days with 490 attendees. In 2004, 10 more papers
were added, making it a total of
40 papers and 8 sessions and 4
concurrent sessions were added
with 510 attendees. In 2005, 55
papers were presented over 3 days
in 11 sessions and 10 concurrent
with 550 attendees.
F r om t h e 1 1 8 a b s t r a c t s
submitted for 2006 the program
committee selected 50 presented
over 3 days in 10 sessions, 8 of
which were concurrent.
574 power system protection
professionals from 28 countries
participated in the conference.
Representatives from more than
60 utilities and 45 manufacturers
were among the attendees. They
had a chance to discuss the latest
hardware and software tools for
protection, analysis, coordination
and testing in the hospitality suites
open for visitors every evening after
the end of the paper presentations.
The next Western Protective
Relaying Conference is scheduled
for 16-18 October 2007.