ATLANTA, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Efacec Advanced Control
Systems (Efacec ACS) will provide smart grid technology for
Avista's (NYSE: AVA) $42 million
Spokane Smart Circuits project, and its $38
million Smart Grid Demonstration Project in Pullman, Washington. Both projects are
partially funded with matching grants, with the Pullman project part of the larger Pacific
Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project being led by
Battelle.
The projects include the deployment of a distribution management
system, intelligent end devices, and a communications network along
72 distribution circuits and 17 substations, which will benefit
more than 110,000 electric customers in Spokane and 14,000 electric and gas customers
in Pullman. The systems efficiency
aspect alone is expected to save roughly 48,200 Megawatt hours per
year -– preventing 17,200 tons of carbon from being released into
the atmosphere from power generation.
Now that the distribution upgrade phase of the project is nearly
complete, the Efacec ACS solutions to be installed as part of the
project include:
- PRISM™ DMS system with Fault Detection, Isolation &
Restoration (FDIR) and Integrated Volt/VAR Control (IVVC)
- Modeling/automating 72 feeders with FDIR & IVVC
- XpertSim™ Distribution System Simulator for training &
analysis
- Distributed Generation modeling
- PRISM Portal™ Enterprise Historian
"The Smart Circuits and Smart Grid projects are designed to
reduce energy losses, lower operating costs, increase reliability
and enhance our ability to integrate distributed renewable
generation resources, and is expected to result in fewer and
shorter outages for our customers," said Heather Cummins, director of business process
improvement for Avista. "The Efacec ACS solutions are a key
ingredient in the overall success, and we're looking forward to
working with Efacec as we move into the next phase of these
projects."
"We're pleased to support Avista's project goal of automating
the process of circuit restoration using downstream and upstream
restoration methods," said Efacec ACS Chief Executive Officer
Jose Barbosa. The Efacec ACS DMS
will implement this solution with a "real-time" network model,
providing for all possible circuit configurations without manual
reconfiguration or re-definition. An automated synchronization
interface between the DMS and Avista's OMS/GIS will ensure that the
model is always up-to-date.
Another critical piece of the project is the Integrated
Voltage/Var Control (IVVC) application from Efacec ACS. IVVC
improves energy conservation by reducing load demand in both peak
and non-peak periods of operation of the distribution system.
Feeder losses will be minimized while maintaining as low a voltage
as possible —without violating distribution voltage
constraints.
About Efacec Advanced Control Systems
Efacec Advanced Control Systems is a provider of smart grid
solutions to the global electric power industry. The Efacec ACS
software suite provides integrated distribution and outage
management, simulation, optimization, and enterprise business
intelligence. Our automation product lines include a wide range of
flexible and cost-effective substation, distribution, and feeder
automation solutions. Efacec ACS is powering the utility of the
future – today. For more information, visit www.efacec-acs.com.
About Avista
Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production,
transmission and distribution of energy, as well as other
energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is our operating
division that provides electric service to 355,000 customers and
natural gas to 315,000 customers. Our service territory covers
30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern
Oregon, with a population of 1.5
million. Avista's primary, non-regulated subsidiary is Advantage
IQ. Our stock is traded under the ticker symbol "AVA." For more
information about Avista, please visit
www.avistacorp.com.
SOURCE Efacec Advanced Control Systems
Copyright . 12 PR Newswire