Digital substations can contribute to India’s energy requirements

In an interview with EPR Magazine, Nikhil Kaitwade, Sr. Research Manager, Future Market Insights, explains the upcoming trends in digitalisation of power substations in India. Excerpts:

How do you assess the current trends in Indian substation automation market? Which are the major demand drivers of substation automation?
India needs smart grids to prevent blackouts, brownouts, and inefficiencies in the power system. The Central Government’s ARPDC system that provides funds for automation and expansion is either underutilised or spent haphazardly in IT. As a result, stand-alone systems with restricted geographic reach, insufficient interface and
connectivity with other applications, lack of a standard architecture, manual simple processes with no built-in controls, and high operating costs have arisen.

India’s first completely digitalised IEC 61850substation automation facility is owned by the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (POWERGRID). Over the last decade, the Indian power grid has focused on digitisation and automation. During this time, India’s central transmission company POWERGRID installed IEC 61850-based grid substation automation in over 100 substations throughout the country.

In 2014, POWERGRID initiated a pilot project using process bus technology at its 400/220-kV Bhiwadi substation in Haryana. The substation is equipped with three 315-MVA, 400/220-kV transformers; 10 400-kV feeders; and eight 220-kV feeders. For the pilot project, a process bus was installed on a 400-kV AC overhead transmission line, the Bhiwadi-Hissar No. 1 circuit. All the primary equipment associated with this circuit was digitalised in the substation switchyard using IEC 61850 process bus technology. POWERGRID leveraged the results of the performance evaluation studies to support India’s first full-scale commercial implementation of a digital substation at the 400-kV level. This project entailed retrofitting the control and protection system of an existing 400/220-kV substation located in Malerkotla in Punjab. The substation was equipped to meet the IEC 61850 standard using a process bus-based substation automation system (SAS). With this venture into the stateof-the-art IEC 61850 systems based on digital substation technology, POWERGRID is now in a position to incorporate even more digital and communication technologies into its substations.

Currently the POWERGRID is planning to fully automate various substations at state level. For instance, the Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd (APTRANSCO) is mulling upgrading the infrastructure by introducing SAS at the substations. The power company is planning to fully automate 400 kV substations initially with the help of POWERGRID.

What kind of substation automation solutions are working towards reliable power output and minimum T&D losses?
The ageing electrical transmission and distribution network has a number of flaws, including high transmission losses, power theft, and inadequate demand response forecasting, both of which make the integration of distributed energy inefficient. As a result, technical advancements such as SCADA, electrical storage systems, smart meters, and blockchain will help sustain grid reliability in the face of today’s demand.

Substation integration and automation can be broken down into five levels. The lowest level is the power system equipment, such as transformers and circuit breakers. The middle three levels are IED implementation, IED integration, and substation automation applications. All electric utilities are implementing IEDs in their substations. The focus today is on the integration of the IEDs. Once this is done, the focus will shift to what automation applications should run at the substation level. The highest level is the utility enterprise, and there are multiple functional data paths from the substation to the utility enterprise.

Substation Integration and Automation Systems functional architecture includes three functional data paths from the substation to the utility enterprise, as well as the SCADA system and the data warehouse – Data Concentrator, SCADA interface, and Router. The operational data path to the SCADA system utilises the communication protocol presently supported by the SCADA system. The non-operational data path to the data warehouse conveys the IED non-operational data from the SAS to the data warehouse

How are the state DISCOMS and government agencies responding to the concept of substation automation?
The demand for automation technologies is also being affected by the poor financial health of state-owned utilities (DISCOMS). Despite the operational advantages, utilities, especially in the distribution segment, face challenges in implementing such solutions owing to the huge initial investments and regulatory issues. The deployment of intelligent automation solutions is expected to witness high uptake given the launch of the National Smart Grid Mission. However, there should be greater focus on research and development to bring down costs and encourage widespread deployment of automation technologies. Further, utilities must play a proactive role in defining their automation requirements and selecting the right technology or solution from the plethora of options available in the market

The Government of India is following the vision for smart infrastructure in the country. The smart power infrastructure includes digitisation of the grid, which helps distribute uninterrupted electricity to the industrial, residential, and commercial end users. All these factors are placing substation automation market in India towards a positive growth trajectory.

How did the Covid-induced slowdown impact the momentum of substation automation market?
Substation automation equipment manufacturers have manufacturing facilities in a number of countries. Enduser sectors such as infrastructure, steel, oil & gas, mining, and shipping use these companies’ substation automation devices and solutions. Covid-19 had an impact on not only the activities of substation automation industry participants, but also the businesses of companies in the industries listed above. Governments around the world have limited investment in a number of ways in order to concentrate more on upgrading healthcare infrastructure; as a result, demand for substation automation devices and technologies from national grid projects is projected to decrease.

Electricity demand in several countries has been reduced by 20 per cent across times of total lockdown. Because of the lower demand for electricity, utilities have made a few investments in substation automation in 2020. Furthermore, the COVID-19 epidemic has weakened IED manufacturers’ supply chains. The cost of producing different power components is expected to rise over the projected era, as the cost of procuring raw materials would rise due to a lack of raw material supply. Electronic product supply chains are difficult, as they depend on many vendors from different locations to be in contact with one another. Even a single part shortage will stymie an entire manufacturing line, causing inventory and cash flow backlogs. Both of these trends have had a negative effect on the demand for substation automation.

How will the global automation solution providers play a major role in Indian market in the coming years?
India has immense opportunities for substation automation. The country is home to about 25 per cent of the worldwide total of 1.4 billion people who lack access to electricity, apart from growing centres of electricity consumption. There is also a massive demand-supply gap aggravated by delays in capacity addition and inefficiencies, especially, in network segments. For fulfilling huge power demands, a number of power generating stations are being created. So, it is necessary to transmit these huge power blocks from generating stations to their load centres efficiently.

Digital substations can contribute to India’s energy requirements by rendering multiple efficiencies. The scope for digital substations could be further strengthened with factors like the introduction of more renewable energy into the grids. It can also effectively cater to the power needs for railways, IT parks or industrial campuses, thereby further enhancing the Make in India initiatives across sectors by contributing to reliable and quality power and providing access to electricity.

The global automation solution providers need to understand the value chain and provide systems that cater to the entire distribution and transmission network in India. It is crucial to have policies in place that encourage the deployment of advanced automation technologies and solutions for power systems.

Investments in substation and feeder automation technologies are expected to create huge opportunities for global players given the need to improve reliability as well as integrate new distributed generation (DG) resources into the transmission and distribution grid network. Global players of substation equipment may be required to establish presence within the country with a view to demonstrate their ability and intent to supply spares as may be required by the Indian owner for satisfactory operation of the substation for its normal life of 30 to 40 years. Global players have huge opportunity in terms of supplying and integrating gateway automation platform, IEDs, SCADA, and HMIs for existing and new substations across regional and state DISCOMS in India.

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The scope for digital substations could be further strengthened with factors like the introduction of more renewable energy into the grids.” – Nikhil Kaitwade, Sr. Research Manager, Future Market Insights