The total installed capacity of India’s power distribution as on 31st Aug, 2019 is over 350 GW. Renewable power including large hydro generation constitutes almost 35 per cent of this capacity. This makes India the third largest power producer and also the third largest power consumer in the world. To manage the humungous power distribution network, the government has embarked on several policy initiatives for implementing far-reaching reforms in the power distribution sector, through the implementation of new technology initiatives.
Indian power distribution reforms scenario
Following the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reform Program (R-APDRP) for IT enablement of power distribution systems, another scheme called Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) was launched by the Ministry of Power about 5 years back, which is still in operation. The purpose of IPDS is to enable the Indian power distribution companies (DISCOMs) strengthen their subtransmission and distribution networks, implement metering of substation feeders, distribution transformers and consumers, and continue sustained IT enablement for automating power distribution management functions. It is notable that IPDS lays a lot of emphasis on 100 per cent metering of power distribution supply sources and consumer off-take points, and on-line substation feeder monitoring, whose performance is measured using reliability indices – SAIDI, SAIFI, CAIDI and CAIFI, as per CEA guidelines.
Another important aspect of IPDS driven reforms is the new emphasis on power quality monitoring and measurements in power distribution systems. The volatile renewable energy systems connecting to the grid also causes disturbances resulting from voltage sags, swells, transients and harmonic distortions. As on June 30, 2019, India’s installed renewable energy capacity is 80.47 GW. MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) has targeted to achieve a total capacity of 175 GW from renewable energy sources by December, 2022.
To cope up with the challenges of maintaining grid power quality, an important policy regulation on power quality (PQ) has been issued in Aug, 2018 by the
forum of electricity regulators, headed by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), for adoption and implementation by Indian DISCOMs. The model PQ regulations advocates power quality monitoring by DISCOMs in terms of total harmonic distortion (THD), power factor (PF), voltage regulation and voltage quality index, in line with IEEE 519 and EN 50160 standards.
Emergence of Internet of Things
India’s growing demand for electricity in a volatile supply scenario, regulatory guidelines and the need for efficiency improvements is driving the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) in DISCOMs. IoT systems use sensors and Internet technologies to capture real-time information of network assets and operation, and transmit to the distant utility control room for monitoring, processing, visualisation and analytics. IoT enabled systems are transforming DISCOM operations, enabling its operators to perform time-series analysis and take informed decisions.
New technologies such as Cloud Computing, Big Data and AI/ML are reshaping the power utility industry, with new tools and techniques now available to monitor various power distribution management system (DMS) functions such as connections, metering and billing, work and asset management, GISbased network analysis, energy audit and customer services. With the evolution of standard interfaces and interoperability structure, IoT-based systems can be suitably integrated with DMS applications to enhance network visibility, perform predictive analytics and prevent breakdowns. IoT-based systems offer support to smart grid applications such as smart metering, substation and transformer monitoring, fault management, peak load management and advanced asset analytics to make the grid more flexible, fault-tolerant and self healing.
Application of IoT in Indian DISCOMs
From the Indian DISCOM perspective, IoT-based systems is being productively integrated with the following smart grid application to maximise operational performance through improved network visibility and real-time condition monitoring.
Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI)
AMI uses smart meters equipped with GPRS/ PLC/ RF communication modules to facilitate two-way communication with central control room to monitor energy consumption, load profile, time-of-use (ToU) tariff and energy audit data. Combined with IoT-based fault management system, this can help improve grid reliability and performance, by acting on advance warning signals about impending faults and enable timely corrective action.
Outage Management System (OMS)
IoT-based fault sensors installed on Substation feeders and Distribution transformers measure real-time electrical parameters, and transmit network condition data to the OMS, which processes the information and predicts fault which may lead to future outages, if not addressed timely. This improves maintenance strategies, system availability, reliability and overall network performance.
Peak Load Management (PLM)
PLM is a critical smart grid application to balance load demand vs supply availability. Prolonged demand peaking can cause excessive stress on the distribution systems. Smart IoT sensors are used to detect rate of change of instantaneous voltage, current and power parameters, and combine with SCADA/ DMS and Historian data for seasonal and time sensitive load variations. The PLM application then uses these inputs to enable optimum switching of overloaded feeder sections to balance the system, minimise technical losses and safeguard stressed assets.
Power Quality Management (PQM)
Power Quality issues such as voltage sags and swells, phase imbalance, voltage/ current transients and total harmonic distortion can create panic in the power distribution systems, notwithstanding violations of regulatory thresholds and standards of performance. IoT based network condition monitoring can measure PQ parameters in real-time, which can be transmitted to the central visualisation dashboard for advanced network analytics. This an help the Utility operator take suitable measures like Voltage/VAR control, load balancing, harmonics control and power factor correction. PQM not only helps reduce technical losses in the network, but also enhances asset life.
Advanced Asset Analytics (AAA)
The above smart grid technologies are increasingly using IoT-enabled systems to track network and asset conditions, customer energy consumption, load patterns and power quality parameters in real or near-real time. Integrated with DISCOMs smart metering and other DMS applications, IoT-enabled systems can provide many benefits to enhance network performance, reduce outages, reduce technical losses, improve asset life, customer satisfaction and regulatory compliances. IoT enabled application can strengthen the monitoring, visualisation and control systems of DISCOMs.
The Digital India mission announced by the India government also outlines the importance of leveraging IoT-enabled systems to improve performance and efficiency in Utility operations. According to a NASSCOM study, Indian IoT market is expected to reach 5 per cent of global share in 2020.
Challenges of IoT implementation in Indian DISCOMs
IoT implementation is not without challenges. Several factors contribute to its successful implementation. Inter-operability issues, reliable communication, cyber security and capacity building are some of the biggest challenges of IoT implementation in Indian utilities. Also, IoT-based application is data-hungry and requires a robust IT infrastructure and communication bandwidth. IoT implementation therefore requires strategic planning, assessment of legacy IT infrastructure, identifying the gaps and establishing the benchmarks based on global best practices and use cases. The silver lining is that innovative tools and technologies are now available to overcome these challenges. Indian DISCOMs are usually slow in embracing new technologies. This can be circumvented by focused capacity building and training programs at various functional levels of the DISCOMs to create awareness and understanding of IoT applications and their implementation.
Conclusion
IoT is now an emerging reality in DISCOM operations. The insights derived from data collected from IoT devices can be used in a variety of ways to develop new services, enhance efficiency, improve decision making, prevent breakdowns and increase asset performance.
As more devices connect, DISCOMs need to adopt international best practices and standards of inter-operability, data security and communication systems for seamless transition to and integration of IoT-enabled systems for utility applications.
Jayant Sinha,
CEO, Ensource Consulting APQI
National Support Network Partner
