Colombia. One of the great advantages of the solution is that it contributes to the sustainability of operations because it reduces CO2 emissions.
All industries have challenges to overcome to maintain businesses that meet the needs and demands of customers. Energy distribution companies are no strangers to this and require solutions that allow them to manage and administer the distribution of the service with high quality.
Schneider Electric accompanies organizations to overcome these challenges. An example of this is the case of Enel, the largest electricity company in Italy and the second in Europe, which operates in 40 countries around the world, which has around 95 thousand MW (Megawatts) of net installed capacity and sells energy and gas to more than 61 million customers.
The Italian organization had a need for an advanced distribution management system, as it required creating mathematical algorithms to improve distribution management. "In the past, some employees tried to invent solutions but without adequate technical training, without scientific value. Too many resources were being spent trying to create a solution without robust analysis and that means the data had no real value," explained Christian Noce, DMS integration manager at Enel.
Simplifying life
After detailing the operation, Schneider Electric proposed to implement ADMS EcoStruxure (Advanced Distribution Management System), a real-time solution that provides full functionality for the planning, operation and analysis of a tool distribution system.
The solution is composed of a set of versatile mechanisms that help minimize interruptions and energy losses. In addition, it optimizes voltage profiles and further reduces overall costs by enabling the exchange of peak peaks through demand response (DR), system distribution and demand response (DSDR).
Enel used ADMS EcoStruxure to provide a visual, mathematical model of its distribution network, where it included detailed models for voltage management, microgeneration, frequency variation and other Smart Grid data management. The utility now has more accurate data and a system that can predict the impact of power outages, generation, and voltage variation.
Implementing ADMS EcoStruxure, Enel has experienced significant energy and cost savings by optimizing resources and operations in its existing network. It also improves energy production and reduces CO2 emissions.
After the initial improvement process, Enel achieved a steady profit of about 4% per year. Similarly, a significant reduction in fuel, the estimated savings is approximately 144 GWh of energy per year, equivalent to 75 thousand tons of CO2. "Because of our ability to calculate and reduce energy losses, we now have a better idea of how we can reduce losses without large investments," says Noce.
The solution was also part of restoring the supply and reconfiguration of the network, which reduces time and creates a fast system to produce results. Another advantage was the seamless integration with SCADA, GIS and OMS tools. "The fact that we are able to integrate ADMS EcoStruxure with our existing systems (in particular with the SCADA system), has proven to be one of the best features to obtain excellent results," said the DMS integration manager.
IoT-enabled solutions
ADMS is part of EcoStruxure, the open and interoperable system that offers enabled solutions for IoT architectures and systems, brings added value in terms of security, reliability, efficiency, sustainability and connectivity for customers. In addition, it leverages advances in IoT, mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics and cybersecurity to deliver innovation at all levels, including connected products and Edge Control, which has been deployed in more than 450,000 facilities with the support of 9,000 integrated systems, connecting more than one billion devices.
