PSC was proud to be a Diamond Sponsor of CIGRE Canada 2018, a venue for participants to collaborate to help define the future of the electric power industry.
This year addressed customers’ changing needs and expectations about access and leveraging energy. Distributed energy resources (DER) and disruptive technologies are increasing customer demand for more choice and information, and utilities must foster this evolution while making use of existing infrastructure and maintaining security.
L to R: PSC members at CIGRE – Khosoro Kabiri, Kevin Cheung, and Ken Pratt
PSC was deeply involved in the discussion. PSC’s Kevin Cheung (GM, Operational Technology), was a member of the Sponsor Panel which addressed the theme “Adapting the Grid to the Future.” In workshop sessions, several Albertan transmission and distribution utilities shared experiences integrating DER into their power system.
One distribution utility shared the findings of an EV Impact Study. After modelling a variety of EV brands and adding them to their distribution system, they found that incorporating EVs resulted in more voltage issues compared to the traditional load on the network.
Another challenge was that distribution transformers were underprepared for loads created by multiple EVs that shared them.
The utility determined a new planning paradigm is needed, as current infrastructure is unprepared for the influx of larger loads brought by EVs, as well as batteries. The impact study allowed them to better prepare for the changing energy landscape.
Other utilities looking to assess and plan for the impact of DER on their distribution networks can benefit from similar feasibility and impact studies.
PSC’s Matin Rahmatian (System Studies Consultant) presented an excellent paper demonstrating how quantitative qualityindicators can help improve the confidence level of production grade applications based on synchrophasor data.
Matin and the PSC Power Networks team around the world are supporting system operators, utilities, asset owners and developers with planning and analysis to help them develop the power system of the future.