Projects
Projects: Projects for Investigator |
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| Reference Number | NIA_WWU_030 | |
| Title | Project Blackout | |
| Status | Completed | |
| Energy Categories | Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Refining, transport and storage of oil and gas) 100%; | |
| Research Types | Applied Research and Development 100% | |
| Science and Technology Fields | PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Computer Science and Informatics) 50%; ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 50%; |
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| UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation | Not Cross-cutting 100% | |
| Principal Investigator |
Project Contact No email address given Wales and West Utilities |
|
| Award Type | Network Innovation Allowance | |
| Funding Source | Ofgem | |
| Start Date | 01 January 2016 | |
| End Date | 01 July 2016 | |
| Duration | 6 months | |
| Total Grant Value | £141,644 | |
| Industrial Sectors | Technical Consultancy | |
| Region | Wales | |
| Programme | Network Innovation Allowance | |
| Investigators | Principal Investigator | Project Contact , Wales and West Utilities (100.000%) |
| Web Site | http://www.smarternetworks.org/project/NIA_WWU_030 |
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| Objectives | To have intelligent software installed at offtakes to allow sites to maintain optimal flow control in the event of a telemetry blackout. Flow control based on the most current Control Room strategy OPN data sent to National Grid. This will improve the quality of flow control during blackout periods making processes more efficient and robust and reducing the impact on the NTS and labour resources. The development and demonstration of software which is tested for suitability and purpose so that in the event of a telemetry outage at any such offtake the RTU is capable of maintaining flow control based on a down loaded profile that is updated with a new file sent from the Control Room during the day. | |
| Abstract | An offtake is the point where Wales & West Utilities (WWU) take gas from National Grid, the high pressure National Transmission System (NTS). Currently offtakes are controlled directly by the WWU high pressure network control room operator through the WWU control system which uses telemetry via satellite and GPRS (mobile data service on the 2G and 3G cellular communication network). If telemetry fails the control room loses communications with the Offtake site, which we term as being a Blackout. In this event the site would control to its safety pressure overrides and an engineer is sent to the site to manually control the flow of gas through the offtake. Paper copies with descriptions of how manual changes to the outlet pressure profile should be made are held at site. A project is needed to develop an innovative method of controlling offtake stations, in terms of the gas flow requirements in the event of a telemetry blackout & avoid the need for a manual profile setting. The current contingency process is resource intensive and is a manual process to maintain safe pressures only. As a company we are always challenging ourselves to do better by embracing new ideas and innovative solutions. WWU will develop an innovative method of controlling the gas flow at these offtake stations in the event of a telemetry blackout and avoid the need for a manual profile setting which is resource intensive and will assist the systems operation manager to maintain a reliable gas supply. This project will maximize WWU’s recent upgrade of all remote telemetry units (RTUs) and develop a technical solution to enable these units to retain Offtake Profile Notices (OPN) data and use this information to control the offtake locally i. e. without use of telemetered data. System Operation are required to submit to National Grid predicted flow requirements for all WWU offtakes, at regular intervals (currently Offtake Profile Notifications are sent five times a day) during the gas day. This is officially agreed as part of The Uniform Network Code overseen by Ofgem. Deviation from the submitted flow profiles can result in capacity overrun charges (flat capacity breaches) and a significant impact on storage strategy which could impact on minimum network pressures given the correct conditions. The new functionality will not be achieved by further equipment duplication, but by making the offtake outstation resilient to any central system or communications loss itself. It is proposed that further outstation software be developed to allow the outstation to automatically control itself, to the last known 24 hour flow requirements profile submitted to National Grid. This will require new coding software, to be developed by various consultants along with WWU staff. The software will need to be written and extensively tested before being uploaded to the RTUs currently at our 12 volumetrically controlled offtakes. To ensure the solution works on all our controllable sites, we will test on two sites, each site using a different type of controller (Type 1 and Type 2). These two types of controllers are used across the majority of UK Distribution Networks offtakes.Note : Project Documents may be available via the ENA Smarter Networks Portal using the Website link above | |
| Publications | (none) |
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| Final Report | (none) |
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| Added to Database | 11/10/18 | |
