PECO (Philadephia, Pennsylvania, U.S.) has selected GE Energy (www.ge-energy.com) to provide a new energy management system (EMS) to monitor and control the regional electric transmission system.

PECO's current transmission monitoring and control system is 15 years old and nearing its end of life. The new multi-million-dollar GE's XA/21 EMS will be installed and tested by next spring and fully operational by September 2010. The new EMS will be operated in parallel with the existing system during the summer peak period of 2010.

Each dispatcher in transmission system operations will have four display monitors, rather than the current three. In a Windows-friendly environment, the GE system is expected to provide the operators with more information in a filtered, better-organized manner, enhancing their level of situational awareness. Additionally, the system will ensure compliance with federally mandated reliability and cyber infrastructure protection standards, established by the North American Electric Reliability Corp., and will provide a reliable interface with operators at PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission grid operator.

The current SCADA system requires monthly data updates. The new system will provide a more robust test environment for future system upgrades and can accommodate frequent changes to reflect any operating changes with PECO's transmission substations or transmission lines across the region.