Copyright thehindu
The Northern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Ltd (TGNPDCL) has installed the Real Time Feeder Monitoring System (RTFMS) gadgets across all the 16 circles in its purview to ensure its consumers get improved and quality power supply. Chairman and Managing Director of the Discom K. Varun Reddy stated that the Northern Discom is among the first distribution utilities in the country to adopt the advanced technology. The new system would help the utility obtain accurate real-time information on power supply and enable prompt action and effective monitoring of feeders, thereby reducing power interruptions significantly, he explained. The technical team of the utility had studied the technology across six States before finalising it for implementation and it is currently in use in Odisha. The CMD said the technology is customised to suit the operational needs of the NPDCL. After confirming its effectiveness, it was initially tested at five substations as a pilot project. Once those substations were integrated with the SCADA system and after receiving positive feedback, the system was extended to another 133 substations, the CMD stated. “Work on the remaining substations is progressing swiftly with the engineers concerned working diligently to achieve the set targets. For rural substations, an efficient and cost-effective version of the technology has been designed to ensure reliable communication and monitoring”, he explained. A new SCADA-compatible software was developed and installed at the Warangal headquarters to manage substation operations. Keeping in view the future expansion, servers have also been set up to meet the software requirements for the next 15 years. On the benefits of the RTFMS, Mr. Varun Reddy said operations could be managed directly from the SCADA Control Room, real-time outage alerts could be sent to field staff enabling quick restoration of power supply, overload warnings could be transmitted instantly to field personnel and real-time data such as power consumption and voltage levels could be captured and analysed. In addition, Fault Passage Indicators (FPIs) are being installed along 2,500 lines of 33kV and 11kV capacity to enhance supply reliability. During the breakdowns, natural calamities or technical issues, FPIs would help identify the exact fault location without the need to patrol the entire lines, allowing engineers to immediately attend to the affected section and restore power supply and quickly minimise the downtime of power interruptions.
