Transelectric's transmission control center (CCT): functionality and development strategy

The objective of this paper is to report on the background, the relevant characteristics and the strategy adopted by TRANSELECTRIC for the development of its transmission control center (CCT), a fundamental element to put into practice the foreseeing operative philosophy and to efficiently comply with current regulations, since the Ecuadorian Electrical Sector was restructured to a deregulated and competitive market. The CCT project is part of the automation of the National Transmission System of TRANSELECTRIC, which includes two additional and complementary projects, namely: the modernization of substations and the strengthen of the communication system with fiber optics. The aim is oriented to the improvement of the service quality, to reduce costs and to accomplish with all the requirements derived from the structure of the electrical sector. This paper refers to the CCT. Since the CENACE (National Energy Control Center Corporation) is actually in the process of updating its energy management system, a common strategy was established with them for the development of the CCT. The supply for the CCT includes the provision of hardware and software for the real time operation, for the preventive and corrective security analysis of the National Transmission System operation, for the maintenance and administrative work. The services to be provided by the supplier are oriented to guarantee the technical capacity of TRANSELECTRIC for the operation of the CCT under normal and fault conditions, for the maintenance and programs development, and for the use of the CCT as an Information System for a variety of technical-managerial tasks. The energy management system (EMS) is supplied by ABB Inc. Company from U.S.A. The contract was signed in March 2004. The System will be in service by the beginning of the year 2006. The civil work, the auxiliary services and the communication facilities for the EMS appropriate environment demanded a big effort and a close coordination among suppliers. This paper is based on TRANSELECTRIC experience in the development of the CCT project, as well as in the Company strategies for the development of other related projects.