Entergy Is Testing AMI Voltage Optimization

In addition to some other big news this week, ABB was grabbing some headlines over at Greentech Media for it voltage optimization project at Louisiana-based utility Entergy. Partnering with Elster and Survalent Technologies, ABB is helping Entergy to understand what the voltage profile looks like on their distribution system so that it can reduce the load and amount of power that is generated.  The resulting reduction in power generated leads to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

ABB's patent-pending SCC-125 split-core CT/PT sensor feeds current and voltage data to Elster's AGI node.  This smart meter technology calculates the information that a utility needs to make intelligent decisions on their network to reduce usage and generation.  This information is then sent wirelessly over Elster's AMI network into the utility's Distribution Management System (DMS) or their SCADA system. Voltage optimization is an application that can reduce power consumption without intruding on consumers.

Elster has created the Smart Grid Voltage Conservation Alliance to help utilities and consumers both understand more about reducing power consumption.  Learn more at the Smart Grid Voltage Conservation Alliance website.

For more information on how ABB can help your utility reduce costs, power generation and become more efficient, please contact us at 252-827-2121.

ABB to Showcase Latest in Smart Grid Technology at DistribuTECH 2012 in San Antonio, TX

Distributech 2012 takes center stage this week as the first major conference & exhibition to ring in the New Year! As a leading event for the utility industry, Distributech showcases the latest in smart grid technology from a variety of vendors in areas such as:

• Distribution Grid Management
• Transmission Grid Management
• Asset Health
• Advanced Metering
• Demand Response
• Grid Communications
• Control & Automation Systems
• Renewable Energy

With the record breaking attendance of over 8,400 attendees and over 400 exhibiting companies in 2011, Distributech is a great opportunity to see the latest in what the smart grid technology market has to offer.  As usual, ABB will be a major contributor with an extensive booth exhibition, compelling presentations, and engaging webcast discussions.  Click HERE for an overview of what will be found upon arrival to ABB booth #516.

ABB Pinetops’ own Jon Rennie will be speaking about voltage conservation at a Distributech webcast panel. Register HERE and learn about the benefits of voltage monitoring and the initiatives of the Smart Grid Voltage Conservation Alliance (SGVCA). We are excited to be part of what will definitely be an excellent week of interaction between utilities and the vendors that serve them. Don’t miss out on seeing our GridSync sensor solution at ABB booth #516 and learn how it enhances the effectiveness of your smart grid strategy.  Furthermore, take the opportunity to speak with a variety of our experts to help achieve success in 2012 and beyond.  See you there!

Customer Focus Spotlight: Snowstorms Are A Real Pain for Utilities

Snow storms wreak havoc on power lines and the utilities and linemen that are charged with keeping our power on - and our homes warm.  When a major snowstorm hit the Northwest this week, one of ABB Pinetops' good customers counted on us to deliver 360 fused cutouts overnight to restore power to a storm damaged city. Our cutout production team is no stranger to storm affected customers and knew we had to respond quickly.

Production manager Wilfred Billingsley and his team worked overtime to get the required cutouts out over night.  This kind of quick reaction highlights the benefits of having a U.S.-based cutout supplier and a support company that is focused on customers.

If you aren't getting this kind of customer service from your cutout supplier, you should.  Contact us at 252-827-2121 to talk to us about how we can take care of you like this.

Customer Focus Spotlight: What Happens When A Power Plant Is Down?

On Wednesday morning last week, we received a call that a power plant in Mississippi that had a partial outage and needed three current transformers (CT) delivered immediately. Normally these CTs have a lead time of several weeks, but this power plant, and the people and businesses that they serve, could not wait that long. After identifying the correct CT based on the switchgear that the failed units were installed in, we went straight to work to figure out how we could help the customer.

Our OEM production team was able to produce the CTs overnight Wednesday and get them shipped off to Mississippi to help get them back online as soon as possible.

We have named 2012 as the Year of the Customer and this was a great example of our marketing, engineering and production teams coming together to focus on the customer.

When you need great customer service from your instrument transformer supplier, give us a call at 252-827-2121.

ABB Nominated to Smart Grid News’ “2012 Smart Grid Companies to Watch”

2012 is poised to be an exhilarating year for ABB in the smart grid market, and others are taking notice.  Now becoming a part of a Smart Grid News’ annual tradition, ABB was nominated to be one of the 12 Smart Grid Companies to Watch in 2012.  

To advance the integration of recent acquisitions and enhance the effectiveness of our smart grid strategy, ABB officially opened the Smart Grid Center of Excellence in December 2011 at the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University. The Center showcases ABB’s $10 million investment of end-to-end solutions where information and operational technologies converge and demonstrates to utilities the key benefits of the smart grid.  However, the smart grid is complex term and means something different to each utility.  To address this, the new Systems Verification Center allows utilities to configure, test, and install solutions from a variety of industry accepted products.  This capability empowers utilities, at minimal risk, to determine the best smart grid solution that meets their requirements.

We at ABB Pinetops have been supporting the Center’s development efforts throughout 2011 and look forward to supporting a very successful opening year and beyond.  Visit the Center to see both the GridSync sensor solution and the GridGuard automated switch on display.  We look forward to showing you why ABB has earned this recognition from Smart Grid News.  Please contact us at 252-827-3212 for more information about these and other ABB smart grid solutions.   

ABB Makes GreenTech's Smart Grid Top 10

ABB is excited to see that our hard work in the Smart Grid sector is being recognized.  Greentechmedia published their annual list of the Top 10 Smart Grid vendors recently here and we were recognized on that list. At ABB, we are focused on a four-pronged smart grid strategy of Reliability, Efficiency, Capacity and Sustainability.

To improve upon an aging grid structure, we at ABB have relied on our core strength as a traditional power company to improve upon and develop new products for the grid.  As examples, we have developed more efficient transformers, integrated distribution automation products and reclosers into fully functional FDIR (Fault Detection, Isolation and Restoration) solutions, and developed easily installed current and voltage sensors to monitor the distribution grid.  ABB has also been very active in bringing new companies in house through acquisitions.  Ventyx, a large utililty software company, is the most notable acquisition. But other acquisitions and partnerships include Ecotality for electric vehicles, Obvient, Insert Key Solutions and Mincom on the software side.

ABB Pinetops has made a large splash in the Efficiency side of the smart grid with its introduction of GridSync for Volt/VAr Optimization, Conservation Voltage Reduction and Feeder Metering applications.

To find out more how we can help your utility improve upon its Smart Grid solutions, please contact us at 252-827-3212.

Voltage Conservation Reduction – Simple Concept, Complex Solution

Jon Rennie, Vice President and General Manager of Distribution Automation and Components, is participating in a webcast panel on Voltage Conservation at DistibuTECH. Register HERE and learn about the benefits of voltage monitoring and the initiatives of the Smart Grid Voltage Conservation Alliance (SGVCA).

Long before the term “smart grid” became the buzzword of the energy market, utilities and regulators have been interested in the concept of reducing electric consumption by lowering voltage levels of the grid.  With the push in the market for the grid to become smarter and more efficient, the concept of Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) has become another of the common terms associated with the smart grid.

CVR is a simple concept that states if the utility can lower their voltage delivery to a consistent 117 volts, it will result in saved energy.  Studies have shown that reducing the system voltage by 1% yields an impressive 0.6% reduction in electricity consumption.  Scaling this up to a 5% voltage reduction, a utility could realize an impressive 3% reduction in energy consumption.  This could be easily implemented at little cost and be especially effective during times of peak load, thus preventing the use of more expensive auxiliary power to feed the grid and/or preventing the need to commit large amounts of capital to invest in new power plants. However, implementing CVR and realizing the benefits is not as simple as the concept itself.

Before embracing the CVR concept, it is critical to understand some major factors to ensure that utilities and their customers experience the benefits.  The primary concern with CVR is that too low of a voltage is a leading cause of problems for consumers and that, not surprisingly, is something utilities work to avoid.  Just as the picture at the beginning of this post portrays, long feeders experience losses that could put customers voltage levels below the ANSI lower limit even if the customers closer to the substation are above 120 volts.  In addition, there exist types of load equipment that have constant current or power characteristics which do not produce that benefit of decreasing power consumption as a result of voltage conservation.

Does this mean we should abandon CVR as a smart grid concept?  Definitely not! In fact, what it does mean is that instead of considering CVR as the only means of energy savings, it is important to look at “optimizing voltage”.  Understanding the fundamentals of equipment response and the aggregated response of loads throughout the grid are critical in making the proper decisions at the proper time.  Using GridSync medium voltage sensors, utilities can have the capability today to better understand the condition of their feeders from the substation down to the last customer.  This leads to more intelligent, real-time decisions ensuring voltage is always at optimal levels.  Contact the ABB Pinetops Marketing Department at 252-827-2121 to learn more and start optimizing your distribution grid.

Renewed Focus on Customer Satisfaction in 2012

Welcome back to a new year!  2011 in many ways was a great year for ABB Pinetops. We saw the integration of our cutout business into Pinetops, the full integration of the Kuhlman integration into our factory, the launch of GridSync and a turnaround from the down economy of 2009 and 2010. But with more growth, we lost a bit of our focus on what made ABB Pinetops so successful - our customer's satisfaction.

In 2012, we are making customer satisfaction our number one priority.  We will be focused on the things that our customers tell us matter most - shorter lead times, on time deliveries and, most importantly, quality products. We have put increased visibility into each of our product lines with a focused factory approach, creating teams to oversee each of the product areas of ABB Pinetops.

We look forward to strengthening our place in the instrument transformer, cutout and switch market as the most reliable partner for both utilities and OEMs in our industry.

Happy New Year!

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What Customer Service Really Means to Us

Guest blogger and Sales & Marketing Manager for ABB Pinetops, Steve Lindsay, shares a tale of two Customer Service experiences

I had two eye opening experiences with customer service this weekend that really made me reflect. The first was my family's annual Christmas tree purchase. The second was a rush CT order for a customer with a shutdown.


Traditionally, my family and I buy our Christmas tree from a local group that is raising money, often a Boy Scout Troop.  This year, however, a neighbor told us about the deal he got at one of the big box  stores.  We decided we would save a few bucks and get a tree there instead of driving across town to the Boy Scout lot.  


When we arrived at the big box store, we went straight to the garden area where the trees were. To our disappointment, we found the trees haphazardly piled on top of each other and there wasn't a person in sight to help us pick one out. After what seemed like hours of picking through the trees, moving and replacing them, and holding them up all while trying to corral two impatient boys, we finally we found a tree that we could all agree on.  


Then I looked around and realized I had a problem. This was not the Boy Scout lot. There was no one there to help me get this tree to the cashier.  No one to help me load it on top of my car.  No one to tie it down.  I guess the good news is that I found a young man picking up shopping carts who let me know that there was a spool of twine under the cashiers desk that we could use. 
Suffice it to say, we figured it out, we got the tree home, and it's up and decorated but we will definitely be going to the Boy Scout tree lot next year, even if we have to pay an extra $10 or $20.


The other event that happened this weekend simply made me proud of what we do here at ABB and the people I get to work with.  We had an order that had to be on a customer site Monday morning at 8 AM.  These were custom designed slip over current transformers that were being used in a substation with an outage.  With heavy end of the year orders, we have been working hard to fill all the various customer needs. 

This particular order was on a production line that was already overloaded.  The six CTs had to ship by Sunday morning in order to get to the customer site on time.  We had five different people either work overtime on Friday or come in over the weekend. The units had to be wound, pre-tested, poured, cured, tested, packed and shipped.  


In the end, they shipped on time to our customer for the outage. This was such a great example of meeting customer needs and working together as a team. Some of the team that made this happen were Michelle Dixon, Ed Mayo, Trina Sills, Josh Boseman and Santiago Nolasquez.  This was all coordinated by our Sales Engineer Chris Jones.


The bottom line is that, if your instrument transformer manufacturer isn't giving you this type of service, maybe you should reconsider who you do business with.  ABB may seem like the big box store, but it is filled with people who would rather act like the local Boy Scout troop when it comes to serving the customer.

ABB Automation and Power World: An Educational Experience

Back in April of this year, ABB hosted its annual Automation and Power World users conference and exhibition in Orlando, Florida.  This event showcased over 70,000 square feet of exhibit space dedicated to automation, manufacturing, and power solutions and drew a record total of more than 4,200 attendees.

In addition to the exhibit hall and demonstration areas, the event included over 500 hours of workshops, customer case histories, partner presentations, and hands-on training sessions.  Check out the highlights from 2011:

   

Even if you were not able to attend this year, we have recently posted new videos from the event showcasing some of the educational opportunities the conference provides.  Click HERE to check them out.  Once you navigate to a specific video of interest, see the link in the description where you can download the slides used for the presentation.

We hope to see everyone for ABB Automation and Power World 2012 in Houston, Texas on April 23-26, 2012 where we plan on, once again, exceeding expectations.  ABB Pinetops will be well represented in the distribution power products area where you can see and talk to the experts on the latest developments for instrument transformers, cutouts, and switches as well as our smart grid solutions.

Veteran's Day Salute

It seems like Veterans Day comes and goes with little notice most years. Often we are too busy to stop and thank the people who have sacrificed so much for us to enjoy our freedoms. At ABB, that is not the case. Today, as we do every year, we are taking time out to thank our Military Veterans.

At ABB Pinetops, we have 19 Veterans representing every branch of the service: Navy, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard and Marines. Each of these employees is a leader in our plant and an important part of our success.

So, once again we say, “Thank You to all our Veterans! Thank you for your service!”

ABB Pinetops Veterans:

Roger Roberson

Kevin O’Donnell

Steve Thomson

Michael Wiggins

Junior Eason

Jon Rennie

Richard Culifer

Nathan Everett

Don Richerson

Marcus Bailey

Roger Jefferson

Benny Morgan

Thomas Snider

Johnnie Lyons 

Gary Haynes

Kentucky Pommerening

John Gustafson

David Johnson

James Crandall

A Smarter Grid: Identifying Non-Technical Losses

One of the key elements to ensure utilities can successfully optimize their distribution network is to understand the losses on their system and how they occur.  The typical electric utility can classify their system loss into two categories, technical and non-technical.

Technical losses occur due to the physical nature of electric components required as part of the grid.  For example, transformers, regulators, and the lines themselves cause losses from generation to consumption.  Though significant, technical losses are more predictable and possible to compute and control.  Non-technical losses, on the other hand, are caused by actions external to the distribution network itself.  Therefore, they are harder to identify and measure because these losses are unaccounted for by the system operators.

Many utilities throughout the world face a huge challenge in mitigating non-technical losses.  In some cases it is the cause of a 30% or more decrease in revenue.  Primary causes include energy theft, non-payment by customers, and administrative errors.  Energy theft typically occurs from illegal tampering with electric meters or taps on power lines, whereas nonpayment is simply the inability of the customer to pay the full price of electricity consumed.  Finally, administrative errors are mostly related to the business process failures within a utility.  No matter the cause, the result of these losses creates rate increases, decreases utility revenue, and boosts carbon emissions.

The best method to address this challenge is to add visibility to the distribution grid. Understanding the conditions of different feeders throughout the distribution network empowers utilities to effectively manage their system.  The ABB GridSync solution combines its patent-pending split core sensor technology with a meter/communications package to provide valuable intelligence in near real-time to analyze, identify, and take quick decisive action against instances creating non-technical losses. As a result, utilities will maximize their revenue while maintaining fair rates and minimizing the release of carbon emissions.

To get more information on how GridSync helps identify non-technical to recover lost revenue, please contact the ABB Pinetops marketing department at 252-827-2121

October Newsletter

The October Medium Voltage Distribution Components Customer Newsletter is out! See what's new from ABB here

Public vs Private: The Smart Grid Communications Debate

One of the few aspects not up to debate in the smart grid market is the importance of a communications network. In order to take full advantage of the benefits smart grid technologies have to offer, the utility’s approach must be comprehensive. Therefore, communications function as the backbone of the smart grid enabling complete interoperability between new and existing infrastructure and proving new business cases.

In terms of communication for the smart grid, this is where universal agreement ends and the debates begin. One major topic of discussion in this realm is the use of public versus private networks. This subject has been discussed in conferences, webinars, forums, and various other media outlets throughout the industry. After listening to the voices of many industry experts, it is clear there are some key advantages of each option to consider before making a final decision:

Public

Bandwidth – Most utilities are just at the cusp of the new data explosion that will help optimize the grid in terms of increased efficiency and reliability. However, these benefits are going to require higher bandwidth to allow for real-time reporting of energy consumption to provide direct load control for reserves or peak shaving. Public networks can offer the bandwidth needed for implementing smart grid applications at a large scale.

Reliability/Maintenance – With public networks, ownership is not the concern of the utility. Should power and communication equipment go down in the case of a bad storm, utilities can concentrate on their core competency, restoring power back to the consumer. At the same time, the public cellular carrier will do what they do best, bring communications back online. Without a public network, utilities will undoubtedly feel pressure when it comes to maintaining communications.

Simplicity – Along the same lines as reliability, with public network infrastructure already in place, the utility can easily utilize this in developing effective pilot programs in a shorter period of time.

Private

Security – This is perhaps the most emphasized advantage of private networks. With control of the network, the utility has oversight to limit the number of entry points in the network making it easier to identify and prevent any threats. Moreover, the design of the private network can be implemented to directly address the security needs of mission critical applications.

Coverage – The motivation behind communication coverage differs between public and private networks. Utilities require more ubiquitous coverage over a territory rather than based on the number of consumers since communications are also important with remote equipment along the distribution grid such as capacitors or reclosers. Thus, private networks have more flexibility to provide the necessary coverage

Lifetime Cost – Private networks do require additional capital to put the infrastructure in place, however, in the long term private networks can be more cost effective due to lack of ongoing monthly subscription costs. These costs only increase as additional points are introduced into the system. This allows the typical private network to have a shorter payback period.

Overall, the best response to this debate, in my view, is one that we’ve all heard before, it depends. Each utility has a different variety of customer segments and must position them accordingly. I am finding that, most often, the way to best utilize the advantages of both public and private networks is to develop a hybrid solution allowing utilities to effectively address their customer’s needs. For example, a utility’s rural customer segment with poor cellular coverage would not be best served with a complete public network solution. Having a deep understanding of current operational capabilities, current/future smart grid approach, and the accurately segmented customer base will ensure the correct path is carved for developing and implementing a successful communications strategy.

Manufactured in Pinetops, NC, the GridSync SCC-125 sensor as pictured above is proven to successfully integrate with both public and private networks. Therefore, no matter what communications technology best fits you and your customers, the GridSync Medium Voltage Sensor solution will meet your needs by providing revenue class metering accurate information critical for analysis and action to increase the reliability and efficiency of your distribution grid. Contact ABB Pinetops at 252-827-2121 to obtain more information or with any questions about the GridSync solution.

ABB Smart Grid Center of Excellence Captures National Attention

The ABB Smart Grid Center of Excellence (CoE) is a major breakthrough for ABB and it is now garnering national attention.  Bloomberg Businessweek is running a feature article on Raleigh, NC's emergence as a Smart Grid hub.  The article specifically mentions ABB's $10 million investment in the CoE as a leading indicator of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill triangle being a major player in the Smart Grid arena.

We featured the ABB Smart Grid CoE here on this blog not too long ago as well as the Triangle area's emergence as a Smart Grid hub. As a manufacturer of several smart grid products, ABB Pinetops is excited to see the growth of the Smart Grid among utilities but also the national recognition that as a nation, we need to expand and improve our capability of providing smart power.

Incorporating IEC 61850 interoperability into Smart Grid systems

ABB ANSI REF615 with IEC 61850

Guest post: Jeff Vaughan, Marketing Manager for ABB Distribution Automation

There has been heightened interest in the IEC 61850 interoperability standard as a strategy in deploying smart grid systems. Those familiar with the standard realize that this is a comprehensive set of standards with the goal of providing better interoperability between a variety of IEDs (intelligent electronic devices). True interoperability promises great reductions in cost for designing, replicating, modifying, and implementing systems.

Many mistakenly refer to IEC61850 as a protocol. While protocol is an important element, the standard actually goes much deeper. When many people hear the word protocol, they see this as requiring a wholesale change out of existing communications networks and devices. This can become overwhelming when in fact there are options that allow implementation of IEC 61850 in increments. This allows users to obtain immediate benefits while building confidence.

A few examples include:

- 61850 GOOSE messaging may be used between IEDs to eliminate physical wiring and increase speed of interaction while continuing to use DNP to communicate upwards to SCADA and higher level systems where slower communications updates are acceptable. This opens new applications for end users because of the GOOSE high speed capability but does not necessitate a change in the SCADA communications infrastructure.

- Station Bus protocol (IEC 61850-8-1) can simplify the interface between IEDs, HMIs, etc. within the substation network while continuing to use a DNP interface to SCADA. Gateway devices are on the market which allow a combination of station bus compatible IEDs to coexist with legacy IEDs communicating via other protocols such as DNP or Modbus. The gateway can therefore provide the 61850 interface to other systems.

- As Process Bus (IEC 61850-9-2) devices become readily available, the opportunity to eliminate copper wiring between CTs and IEDs provides tremendous savings opportunities but could be done independently from Station Bus implementations.

The variety of 61850-based solutions and their benefits is becoming more apparent. Many technical papers now exist describing specific implementations of IEC 61850 based systems, while numerous consultants and users have set up IEC 61850 interoperability labs to determine what applications they will be implementing into production.

As the market is rapidly adapting this standard as a key element of their smart grid systems in order to begin achieving the benefits, those not embracing this will find themselves at a disadvantage.

ABB Pinetops Marketing Team Announces Personnel Changes

In order to better serve our customers and because of surging order volumes, ABB Distribution Components in Pinetops, NC has shuffled around some of the members of its marketing team.  Roger Lapay, who joined ABB in April of this year, is moving from the international team to now cover the domestic market.  Roger will be covering investor-owned utilities, public power utilities and industrial accounts in the Northeast.  Roger's territory will cover states from Maryland the Maine and over to Wisconsin.  John Gustafson will now be able to focus strictly on the western United States.  Chris Jones will remain in the same territory - the Southeast US. Grant Allie will team up with Chris Jones.

The international and export group will be handled by Elsa Arias along with an inside sales engineer who will start shortly.  That announcement will come later this month.

This transition will occur between now and the end of the year. Please feel free to contact us 252-827-2121 for any questions regarding your sales and marketing coverage.

USDA Helps to Advance Smart Grid Infrastructure to Rural Electric Cooperatives

In a much needed effort to boost job growth and improve electric grid infrastructure, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced earlier this month that 27 rural electric cooperatives will receive funding for various projects.  Many of the efforts qualifying for this financial benefit include the integration of Smart Grid technologies.  This allows rural utilities not only to renew an aging infrastructure, but enables them to manage supply and demand allowing for better quality power delivered to consumers at lower costs.  Navigate HERE to see which specific utilities are being rewarded with funding.

In total, the $603 million in loans will contribute to the building of new or improving nearly 5,000 miles of distribution line and 100 miles of transmission.  Especially in rural markets, the concepts of grid efficiency and reliability are very important.  With feeders at longer distances along with large loads further between each other, the cost of inefficient power delivery and continued maintenance takes its toll on the bottom line.  As a result, utility customers also must bear the burden of such expenses.

With the latest applications as part of advances in smart grid technology combined with the affordability through USDA funding, more than 28,000 customers in 18 states have to opportunity to greatly improve their efficiency and reliability.  Products such as the GridSync Wireless Sensors, GridGuard Motor Operated Switches, and Autolink ElectronicSectionalizers provided by ABB Pinetops are just a few of the solutions ABB offers at its Smart Grid Center of Excellence in Raleigh, NC.  These products, among others, empower rural utilities to implement Volt/VAr Optimization, Conservation Voltage Reduction, and Fault Detection, Isolation, and Restoration more effectively than ever before.  Contact ABB Pinetops at 252-827-2121 with any questions about these products.

If you are wondering how to most effectively take advantage of smart grid technology, whether rural, urban, or anywhere in between, ABB is here to develop the smart grid solution that best fits your needs.      

The September Medium Voltage Distribution Components Customer Newsletter is out! See what's new from ABB here!