Updated: Nov 1, 2024
Mr. Coyle is an Electrical Engineer with 19 years of dedicated experience advancing
real-time operational technology (OT) software for the power utility industry. He is a proficient and versatile professional specializing in SCADA, EMS, GMS, ADMS/OMS, DERMS, Situational Awareness and Historian Systems. His expertise spans a wide array of technical domains, including operational use cases, system design, implementation, and maintenance, with a keen focus on optimizing operational efficiency and reliability. Additionally, he brings knowledge in the underlying system architecture designs, such as servers, operating systems, virtualization, networking, cloud, and cybersecurity.
Updated: Nov 1, 2024
Implementing Fault Location Isolation and Service Restoration (FLISR) on Distribution Circuits with High DER Penetration – Strategies for Success
For several decades, electric distribution utilities have been able to achieve significant reliability improvements by quickly isolating faulted feeder sections and restoring power to healthy sections using FLISR on their distribution feeders. The growing penetration of DERs presents new challenges, such as load masking and incorrect fault location due to DER fault current contributions, that may impact the performance of these legacy systems. DER presence also provides opportunities for improved FLISR performance such as freeing capacity to permit load transfers on heavily loaded feeders and supporting islanded microgrids on isolated feeders that lack backup sources. The proposed tutorial will provide basic information on how FLISR works, equipment requirements, reliability improvement benefits obtained, and strategies for addressing the new challenges posed by DER presences and opportunities to leverage DERs for optimal performance.
The proposed tutorial targets distribution control center operators and field operation staff who are responsible for managing the electric distribution system, engineers who are responsible for distribution circuit design and DER connections, distribution automation and communication specialists, and other stakeholders that are focused on achieving high service reliability for the benefit of the utility’s customers.
Updated: Nov 1, 2024
ESTA International participated of the Panel "Decentralization of Power Generation: The New Paradigm" at IEEE ISGT for Latin America in San Juan PR November 8, 2023.
Abstract
With increasing levels of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) the electric power system is undergoing a sea change. The conventional grid operational practices based on centralized control are inadequate to deal with myriads of active grid-edge devices. Several operational constructs that traditionally have been exercised in a top-down fashion result in unsatisfactory results under the emerging power system paradigm. For example, the conventional load forecasting methods starting from forecasting the load in a zone and using distribution factors determined by State Estimator application are no longer adequate since bus loads are no longer conforming due to variability of distributed renewable resources such as distributed solar generation. Bottom up forecasting starting from the grid edge working up to the T&D interface substations prove more effective. Inclusion of DERs in the black start and energy power restoration planning process is another example of the capabilities for leveraging grid edge assets and microgrids to enhance grid reliability and resilience. In the emerging electric power system, a combination of hierarchical information exchange and decentralized decision making is a promising paradigm shift for grid operation. This panel session will address power system operational issues associated with increasing levels of distributed generation, as well as how a combination of incentive-based measures and decentralized decision making can turn around the problem into a solution for enhanced grid reliability, resilience, and economics.