Intergraph advances smart grid technology for increased network reliability, efficiency and security

HUNTSVILLE, USA: Intergraph continues to advance its smart grid solutions to enable utilities to better manage their complex electrical distribution infrastructure and field crews, and take advantage of real-time operations data within a consolidated command-and-control environment.

The newest solution designed for the smart grid operations center now supports the full functionality of an advanced distribution management system (ADMS) by providing integrated power systems analysis within one environment. This consolidated approach enables utilities to take full advantage of their investments in advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) for operations to improve operational decision-making and increase grid reliability, efficiency and security.

In today's market, utilities are looking for a "best of breed" outage management system (OMS) with value-added capabilities. To maximize resources, cut operational costs, meet industry performance metrics, maintain reliable customer service and improve safety and security, utilities are now seeking solutions that integrate intelligent grid technology into the OMS environment to provide more comprehensive distribution operation functionality.

InService 8.3, the newest version of Intergraph's smart grid technology, integrates OMS, mobile workforce management, security, geospatial technology, SCADA and power systems analysis tools into a single user interface for optimal operating efficiency and reliability. The latest version delivers several enhancements that improve the integration and display of SCADA data and integrated power system analytics, to meet the requirements of the most advanced utilities by organizing vast amounts of data into understandable visual representations.

Intergraph customers can now leverage the full operational benefits of their smart meter investments by integrating their AMI systems with OMS. Through a new, optional component that allows operators to query AMI-enabled meters for outages and receive responses from the meters indicating whether they have power, utilities can detect and verify outages without customer intervention, leading to reduced restoration time, improved customer service, financial savings and a reduction in customer average interruption duration index (CAIDI) and system average interruption duration index (SAIDI).

By integrating its AMI system with Intergraph OMS, a major northeast utility in the US reported a reduction of CAIDI by nearly four minutes and an annual savings of more than $400,000 as a result of more rapid and accurate outage detection and validation.