Remote Capacitor Automation

Background:

The current capacitors on the Duke Energy system needs to be checked for proper functionality once a year. These devices have a relatively high failure rate. This means that they can cease operations and go undetected for long amounts of time causing VAR loss, high and low voltage, as well as maintenance issues. There is also potential cost savings since it would no longer be required for linemen to manually check each capacitor yearly.

Problem Statement:

The current capacitors on Duke Energy’s system must be checked for functionality once a year by law. These devices have a relatively high failure rate. This means they can cease operation and go undetected for a long time, causing problems on the system such as VAR loss, and high and low voltages. There are also potential cost savings by testing these items remotely, saving time for the linemen. There are no effective means of gathering data on the frequency and usage of these devices currently. This data, once collected, can be used to analyze the health of the lines and if the capacitors are performing as expected.

Team Members:

EE Kreso Mikulic mikulikj@email.uc.edu
EE Ryan Vose voserw@gmail.com

Faculty Advisor:

Altan M. Ferendeci, Ph.D.

Goal:

The goal is to be able to remotely test the functionality of the capacitors used in Duke's distribution system, and determine an adequate communication scheme that works for all makes and models. The communication system should also be able to collect data from the capacitors, and allow remote control of the devices on a system downtown. The final product will be a small scale demo of the system with an accompanying presentation on the benefits of the system to Duke Energy.

Subgoals:

1. Capacitor – Learn how the capacitors actually function and how the controls communicate back to the main system. Determine how to retrofit all legacy products and come up with a recommendation for future purchases.

2. 1.Communications – Once we have the capacitor controls figured out it is important to get the data back to a server downtown. Potential paths include: iDen radio network currently used by lineman, broadband over power lines, a wireless technology, such as cellular phones or 900MHZ radio, or a phone line.

3. 1.Data Collection – Once the data is delivered downtown, the issue of where and how to store it must be addressed. Also, these capacitors will be remotely monitored and controlled so interfacing with them must be addressed with the Information Technology department. Additionally, sorting the data into manageable reports will be necessary so they can be used by several groups within the company. The reports must be composed for audits by the state utility commissions.

4. 1.Departments within Duke Energy that must support this project includes the following: Distribution Planning, System Control Centers in Cincinnati and Plainfield, Technical Communications and Information Technology, EMS/SCADA programmers, Field Operations, Distribution Engineering.

Helpful Skills:

• Expierence with the Duke Energy distribution system

• Power systems and communication

• Electronics