Międzynarodowa Konferencja Dystrybutorów Energii Elektrycznej CIRED 2007

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME:

SESSION 1: NETWORK COMPONENTS
SESSION 2: POWER QUALITY AND EMC
SESSION 3: OPERATION, CONTROL AND PROTECTION
SESSION 4: DISTRIBUTED GENERATION – MANAGEMENT & UTILISATION OF ELECTRICITY
SESSION 5: POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
SESSION 6: REGULATION, MANAGEMENT, ORGANISATION & RELATED IT SYSTEMS Automatic Meter Reading – AMR

SESSION 1: NETWORK COMPONENTS
Scope
The distribution network consists of expensive equipment, built to ensure the service over an important life-span. It demands major resources from distribution companies and requires optimisation of the use of these resources as an ongoing priority. This network equipment is based on a range of technologies and consists of multiple subsets:
Cables and overhead lines, primary or secondary substations, transformers, switch gear and the associated control gear, monitoring systems, measurement devices, protection devices,
New equipment based on power electronics intended to reinforce the capacity, the adaptability or performance of the distribution network.
Session 1 encompasses the whole life cycle: conception, modelling, design, industrialisation, installation and commissioning, operation, maintenance, life extension, end of lifetime. It integrates transverse questions like standardisation, environmental aspects, ergonomics, reliability, the contribution to the quality of the distribution system and finally staff and public safety.

SUBJECTS OF SPECIAL EMPHASIS
Service Life of network components:
• behaviour
• ageing
• diagnostics & condition monitoring
• maintenance
• asset management

Innovation in design of network components:
• new technologies and materials
• modelling
• testing

Safety and environmental considerations:
• internal arc protection
• hazardous substances
• eco-design and legislation
• energy consumption
• visual and noise impact
• waste and end of life management

SESSION 2: POWER QUALITY AND EMC

CIRED Session 2 deals with Power Quality, with the more general concept of Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and with some EMC-related safety problems. Two main topics may be identified as generally related to two distinct groups of experts:

• Power Quality, i.e. voltage continuity (often referred to as supply reliability - problem of outages) and voltage quality (conducted LF disturbances);
• EMI, EMF and Safety: HF disturbances on the electricity supply and all disturbances (i.e. HF or LF) reaching equipment other than through the electricity supply; some safety and resistibility concerns (e.g. electromagnetic fields, overvoltages, step, touch and transferred voltages) are also considered.

These are very acute technical matters, but the aim of the session is to give a state of the art also for non-specialist attendees (including technical and economical aspects).

SUBJECTS OF SPECIAL EMPHASIS

Power quality:
• assessing and dealing with power quality in the competitive market
- quality indices, limits,
- monitoring, reporting, benchmarking…
• connection of disturbing installations
- LF (£ 9 kHz) disturbances: harmonics, flicker, unbalance
- system characteristics (resonance…), simulation, measurements, mitigation
• disturbances affecting customers
- voltage dips & other disturbances
- immunity, characterization, mitigation…
• economics of power quality
- costs related to poor power quality and its improvement
- economic analysis tools and methods

EMI, EMF and Safety:
• electromagnetic interference
- MV & LV systems, industrial sites
- immunity & emission
• lightning overvoltages & lightning protection
• ground potential rise & neutral grounding practices
- step and touch voltages
• electric & magnetic fields
- characterization (measurements, indices…)
- mitigation (techniques & costs)

SESSION 3: OPERATION, CONTROL AND PROTECTION
Scope
This session deals with the operation of networks, including network control and system protection. This brings together the technical and economic aspects of utilities on one side and the needs and expectations of customers on the other side.
The session highlights the requirements of network operators as well as the tools and products of manufacturers. Furthermore the experience of the past and the results from research as the basis of future developments are welcomed for review.

SUBJECTS OF SPECIAL EMPHASIS
Operation
• Benchmarks for network operation
• Workforce management tools and techniques to improve operation efficiency
• Maintenance strategies
• Expected and provided quality levels
• Tools and strategies to reduce supply interruptions
• Strategies and responsibilities for outsourced network operators
• Operating mixed overhead line & cable networks with respect to neutral grounding

Network control
• Concepts for planning of SCADA systems in a merging environment
• Security aspects of information access and information exchange in the emerging world of IT-integration
• Communication standards and interoperability standards for IT-integration
• Emergency management with respect to suddenly occurring events
• Condition monitoring & resulting assessment
• Latest level of distribution automation
• Coordination between substation and network control applications to improve fault localization speed and accuracy

Protection
• New protection schemes for up-to-date network structures
• Protection management in a web based environment
• Performance of voltage and current transducers and their impact on relay performance
• Protection simulation models and tools
• Refurbishment strategies for protection systems
• Impact of distributed generation on traditional protection systems
• Protection management considering remote access & IT security

SESSION 4: DISTRIBUTED GENERATION – MANAGEMENT & UTILISATION OF ELECTRICITY
Scope
• The performance and experiences of connecting and integrating distributed generators within distribution networks.
• New solutions to the wide range of technical and commercial issues created by distributed generation.
• Developments in renewable and lower environmental impact generation plant.
• Techniques for improving energy efficiency in delivering and using electricity including demand reduction, demand side management, metering and communication systems.

SUBJECTS OF SPECIAL EMPHASIS
Distributed Generation
• New technology developments in small and medium-scale generation
• Experience of network operators and users in integrating distributed generation
• Electrical storage technologies and systems
• Development and operation of networks with significant distributed generation
• Network design for low-carbon power systems
• Network interface, protection and metering for distributed generation
• Active networks and integration of distributed generation
• Distributed Generation interface policies and standards

Energy Efficiency
• Technical approaches to climate change mitigation
• Experience of demand management and energy efficiency improvement
• Demand side management
• Real time optimisation of networks
• Use of “smart metering” for energy efficiency
• Integration of load control with the operation of the power system
• Energy Service Companies and integrated energy supplies
• Private energy supply networks

SESSION 5: POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Scope
This session deals with all aspects related to the short and long term development of high, medium and low voltage distribution networks, with reference to the changing requirements for electricity distribution: high quality of supply, the best exploitation of assets and of the existing and forthcoming embedded generation, reduction of costs.
Rising interest regards the strategies to face a rapidly increasing demand in both low and high load density areas, and the extension of electrification in low load density areas desiring high quality of supply.
The main topics are related to:
• demand needs and forecast
• performance requirements, results and benchmarking
• network schemes, design criteria and practice
• investment strategies

SUBJECTS OF SPECIAL EMPHASIS
Demand needs and forecast
• evolution of the demand characteristics
• methodologies for the demand forecast in an assigned area

Performance requirements, results and benchmarking
• economical versus technical performance
• system reliability and degree of adequacy
• methods for performance assessment
• results of performance evaluation and benchmarking
• satisfaction of customers and stakeholders

Network schemes, design criteria and practice
• advanced network schemes for the best exploitation of distributed generation; transition from passive to active network
• enhanced design criteria making best use of new technologies
• reduction of losses
• dependence on local environment
• coexistence and synergy with other infrastructures

Investment strategies
• least cost investment plans
• financial planning and cash flow for investment
• network ageing management and investment strategies to face it
• risk analysis & asset management implications

SESSION 6: REGULATION, MANAGEMENT, ORGANISATION & RELATED IT SYSTEMS
Automatic Meter Reading – AMR
Scope
The regulation of the electricity market in Europe is in a period of intense development. The success of the open electricity market is strongly dependant on the management of the electricity distribution business – this is at the centre of the regulatory processes. Those processes involve new organisational structures and administrative routines as well as new technical solutions for automatic meter reading system and commercial IT system tools.
The regulation principles and models are issues of great importance with influence on pricing of the distribution service, quality of supply and commercial quality. The changes in the business environment require better methods regarding asset management, organisational restructuring and more pressure on efficiency.
The new management tasks in electricity distribution arise from the rapid change in focus from technology to business development.

SUBJECTS OF SPECIAL EMPHASIS
-Status and experiences of regulation, unbundling and outsourcing
seen from both the Utility side and the Regulator point of view (regulated market development, organisational restructurings, role of service provider, sustainable development, customer switching etc).
-Regulation methods and new approaches to comply with EU Directives:
regulation models concerning revenue and quality in distribution business; regulators reports and experience from electricity distribution companies.
-Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) systems development:
experience from large-scale implementation and demands on the open market; remote meter reading to attain higher customer satisfaction; integration with billing and customer switching systems.
-Commercial Quality – Customer service on a regulated market:
methods and IT-systems for billing and customer switching administration; quality of commercial service and information to costumers on the regulated market.
-Principles for pricing the electricity distribution service – tariffs:
pricing of distribution service separated from electricity supply prices.
-The human resources, skills, knowledge needs:
methods and experience regarding recruiting and holding on to qualified personnel with linkage to asset management approaches in the new business environment.
-Methods in the decision-making and benchmarking:
new tools and methods available to handle the analysis and synthesis necessary in the decision-making, new and better methods regarding asset management, methods to promote reduction of cost and to improve quality under the given new working conditions for the Utilities.