Advanced Control Systems has announced the general availability of its FASTapps solution for electric utilities. ACS developed its feeder automation and substation technology applications (FASTapps) with active input from its customer base of over 250 utilities. During system production testing at a leading investor-owned utility in the northeast, ACS documented a wide range of benefits for utilities seeking a cost-effective approach to smart grid strategy.
FASTapps consolidates network intelligence and the power of distributed application logic into a highly secure, substation-based data concentrator that automates network “islands” sized to meet the needs of the utility. Based on open-standards integration, FASTapps supports ACS DMS applications, as well as applications from other system vendors. It includes optional volt/VAR control capabilities that reduce distribution system losses, improve power factor, and minimize voltage drops.
The system provides utilities with model-derived feeder automation that leverages installed infrastructure investments by working in real time with existing switches and protection schemes. FASTapps fault detection, isolation and restoration (FDIR) automatically executes feeder reconfigurations that slash restoration times to less than 20 seconds and dramatically reduce overall customer outage times (SAIDI, SAIFI, CAIDI) during system events.
FASTapps quickly isolates faults and restores power upstream and downstream by analyzing and automatically executing switching schemes to maximize restored load. It also analyzes load reduction, load transfer and partial restoration options. Since FASTapps FDIR uses a continuously updated network model, it works straight through storm conditions that precipitate multiple faults and network reconfigurations.
