KCPL Hosts Distribution Automation Exposition When it comes to utility automation, Kansas City Power & Light Co. (KCPL), Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., has made a name for itself. The utility, which received the 1997 Utility Automation Award for Best Utility Project at the DA/DSM Distribu-TECH Conference in January 1997, has received so many inquiries about its Distribution Facilities Management System that it recently hosted two one-day Distribution Automation (DA) Expositions. S&C Electric Co., Chicago, Illinois, U.S., and EnergyLiner Systems, Berkeley, California, U.S., sponsored the expositions, held in Kansas City on June 17-18. The event drew 170 participants, including more than 50 representatives from 20 utilities.

The expositions consisted of indoor and outdoor presentations. At the indoor presentations, S&C Electric explained the fundamentals of distribution automation and how to implement an effective DA project. This was followed by a review of several successful DA case studies implemented at various electric utilities. EnergyLine featured its Intelli-TEAM system, which is a modular auto-reconfiguration system for automatic switch controls. The IntelliTEAM system uses multiple switch controls to work as a team to transfer loads automatically and quickly restore power. KCPL provided an overview of its capacitor automation project. The presentation included an on-line demonstration of WinMon, EnergyLines's graphic user interface. WinMon allows users to use a PC to remotely operate DA devices, read analog history and diagnostics, and reprogram set points at the control.

After the indoor presentations, the group adjourned to KCPL's outdoor test site to view several demonstrations. KCPL described the installation of an IntelliTEAM system consisting of three S&C Scada-Mate switches and three EnergyLine controls. S&C discussed the features of its Scada-Mate switch and Remote Supervisory Pad-Mounted Gear. EnergyLine explained its IntelliTEAM switch control.

Leakmobile Locates Dielectric Fluid Leak Con Edison, New York, New York, U.S., and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, California, U.S., have successfully field-tested a new leakmobile. It used PFT (perfluorcarbon tracer) technology to pinpoint small leaks of the mineral-oil-like dielectric fluid used to cool and insulate high-voltage cable that run inside pipes.

The leakmobile used an on-board PFT detection instrument connected to a laptop computer with location identification software. Minute amounts of PFT were mixed with dielectric fluid and injected into the two feeders prior to leakmobile deployment.

Con Edison, the licensee of the technology from EPRI, will provide services to other utilities for the isolation and location of transmission cable leaks.

Con Edison, with 640 miles (1030 km) of cable, was a prime candidate for using and demonstrating an improved method of locating underground leaks.

The PFT technology was developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). Sentex Systems Inc., Rolotech Inc., Entertech Consultants Inc. and BNL worked together to provide the hardware and software and develop the leakmobile instruments.

AVC Offers Partnering Opportunities Managing reactive power demand has traditionally meant installating mechanically switched or static capacitors at the substation level, penalties for the customer and sometimes expensive dedicated lines for "problem" loads. With advances in solid state switching and power electronics, utilities now have a more customer-friendly partnering option: on-site adaptive VAR compensation (AVC). Particularly cost-effective for dynamic loading, the technology's greatest strength is its speed of response.

Combinations of compensating capacitors are switched into the circuit just one-quarter cycle following measurement of the reactive load at the phase-to-neutral voltage zero crossing. Compensation therefore follows the loading extremely closely on a cycle-by-cycle basis.

A recent partnering of AVC technology between Baltimore Gas & Electric, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., (BGE) and its customer, Maryland Port Administration, benefits both companies. Two 2.400 kVAR units installed in January 1997 at the Port Administration's Seagirt marine terminal have boosted the power factor from an average of 40% to 96%, saving roughly US$220,000 annually in reduced demand. The units also free up capacity on BGE's transmission and distribution system.

Technique Removes Jammed Cables A technique involving specialized lubrication, tuned vibration and controlled hydraulic pulling allowed the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, California, U.S., to help American Electric Power (AEP), Columbus, Ohio, U.S., successfully remove jammed underground electrical cables. AEP gained space for new cables and deferred in-stalling costly new ducts.

"Over the years we have removed primary circuit cables from underground ducts via a winch and pulley mounted on a truck. However, some sections of primary cable became jammed within the duct, were tagged and retired in place," said Harry Vollkommer, AEP's distribution staff engineer, technology delivery.

The new technique was completely successful with seven sections of cable extracted from AEP's conduit systems, composed of fiber duct and encased in concrete. A record amount of cable was removed in Columbus, Ohio: 4550 ft (1387 m) in 12 working days.