 |
| Main Menu | News By Date | News By Supplier | News By Category | About Us |
|
NORTHEAST UTILITIES BOOSTS ELECTRICITY FLOW INTO CHRONICALLY CONGESTED SECTION OF POWER GRID WITH ADVANCED TRANSMISSION RELIABILITY SYSTEM
The transmission reliability system purchased by CL&P consists of three of AMSC's D-VAR? units and related GE equipment to actively manage voltage levels in lines bringing power into the area. By constantly monitoring and responding to variations in voltage, the system will immediately allow an additional 100 megawatts of power to flow through existing transmission lines into the overtaxed portion of CL&P's grid in southwest Connecticut. The D-VAR units, which are based on advanced power electronic devices, require no new construction or rights of way and will be situated within existing power facilities in Southbury and Brookfield, Conn. The D-VAR units will be shipped to CL&P this March to support the installation and commissioning of the full system prior to the summer of 2003. 'Our in-depth review found that the D-VAR technology represents a flexible and affordable solution that will help us with reliability in southwest Connecticut in the near term while we continue to work with local communities to meet the long-term needs of this region,' said David Boguslawski, Vice President of NU?s Transmission Business Unit. Electric reliability in the southwest section of the state - 52 cities and towns encompassing one quarter of the state - has been highlighted by federal and regional authorities as a serious concern. The area's power demand has increased significantly in recent years, while plans to establish new transmission or generation resources continue to move through the approval process. 'Our transmission network analysis team has worked extensively with Northeast Utilities regarding the electricity needs of southwest Connecticut,' said Chuck Stankiewicz, vice president and general manager of AMSC's Power Electronic Systems business unit. 'The D-VAR units will help increase reliability and power flow in this region for the summer of 2003. However, there is still a need for a major increase to the overall capacity of the power grid serving southwest Connecticut.' Stankiewicz also noted that many other utilities have deployed D-VAR transmission reliability systems. 'We currently have multiple transmission reliability systems installed on power grids in Wisconsin, Texas, Mississippi, Wyoming and British Columbia,' said Stankiewicz. 'More and more utilities are recognizing the economic value of using advanced technologies as a part of their plans to relieve congestion in transmission grids. AMSC looks forward to partnering with Northeast Utilities to provide them with both short- and long-term solutions that will bring enough power to their customers where and when they need it.' CL&P's choice of the D-VAR transmission reliability system comes at a time when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is encouraging utilities to modernize their transmission systems and evaluate new technologies to ease concerns about over-burdened power grids. In a policy statement issued last month, FERC encouraged utilities to consider tackling persistent congestion problems with new approaches that can be instituted quickly (for a summary see http://www.amsuper.com/html/industryViews/files/FERC_Pricing_Policy_Statement.pdf). The D-VAR transmission reliability system is one such new approach.
|
| ©2009 Industrial Networking and Open Control |