Power Grid Automation Solution Supplies Critical Power to Rural Travel Center

Challenge

Cuivre River Electric Co-op in Troy, Missouri, faced challenges when supplying critical power to a travel center/ truck stop. The site operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing gas, showers and other essential services to its customers in rural Missouri. The previous utility setup had been inconsistent for several years, resulting in power outages caused by high winds, wildlife and vehicles. Outage durations were between 1 and 4 hours and would cost the travel center/ truck stop an average of US$30,000 in lost revenue. This caused Cuivre River Electric Co-op to seek an alternative, more reliable solution.

Solution

G&W Electric designed, tested and delivered a “state-of-the-art LaZer Power Grid Automation” solution that provides uninterrupted power, utilizing a communicating automatic source transfer scheme and ensures load-side overcurrent protection at the same time. The solution consists of:

• Dead-front design Viper-ST reclosers with six integral voltage sensors
• SEL-651R recloser controls programmed with custom automation logic
• ABB TeleOS 900MHz radios for IEC61850 GOOSE peer-to-peer and DNP3.0 SCADA communication

If the preferred source is lost while a solid communication link between both reclosers is established, the critical load is automatically transferred to the alternate source in under 10 cycles. This transfer speed equals the duration of a blink of the human eye.

For more information on how G&W Electric can provide a solution to meet unique needs, write to [email protected] or visit gwelectric.com.