Open Systems International, Inc. has been selected by Baltimore Gas and Electric to implement a Volt/VAR Control solution based on OSI technology, across its entire distribution system, in order to optimize voltage profiles and reduce energy demand result.
A subsidiary of Exelon Corp., BGE serves more than 1.2 million electric customers and more than 650,000 gas customers in an economically diverse, 2,300 square-mile area encompassing Baltimore City and all or part of 10 Central Maryland counties.
Most of the BGE system is designed so that feeder capacitor banks are used for both voltage and VAR control. The BGE Volt/VAR Control (VVC) solution will include the use of capacitor bank controllers that support single phase capacitor bank switching along with single-phase voltage sensors installed at capacitor bank locations for voltage measurements. This new approach supports minimizing of the overall energy demand, known as Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR), as well as improving the voltage balancing index (VBI) along the feeder. In addition, the control enables faster voltage response to load changes during peak loading and lower voltage levels during the times with low loading.
The new Volt/VAR Control solution for BGE is based on the OSI Spectra™ platform and features the advanced functionality presented by OSI's next-generation, .NET based Graphical User Interface (GUI); Remote Console GUI; Advanced SCADA; Dynamic Tabular Display Subsystem; Data Engineering and Maintenance Subsystem; Advanced Alarm Management System; Real-time and Historical Trending; Communications Front-end Processor; Historical Information System and Data Archiving; Inter-control Center Communications Protocol; Calculation & Scripting Subsystem; Distribution Network Operating Map; and Connectivity Analysis software products, with standard interfaces to GIS and AMI.
"We have selected OSI because of its robust real-time platform and advanced Volt/VAR control capabilities," said Michael Smith, Lead Engineer, Automation and Technology at BGE. "The OSI solution will allow us to incorporate the insights we have gained from our Smart Grid pilot and implement an effective CVR solution at BGE."
