This excerpt is taken from our case study on Ozarks Electric Cooperative. To access this full cased study, data sheets, solution briefs, white papers and other documentation, please register with us for immediate access.
Situation
Ozarks Electric Cooperative is a non-profit, member-owned cooperative that provides power to more than 86,000 customers in Northwest Arkansas and Northeast Oklahoma.
The cooperative operates a 69kV loop that connects distribution stations. Motor-operated switches allow the loop to be reconfigured to connect to different sources, respond to load problems, or restore power after outages.
The highly manual process often took upwards of three hours to verify that the switches were fully opened or closed. Not only did this increase the cost of reconfiguring the loop, but it also reduced the cooperative’s ability to react quickly to changing grid conditions.
In response to these challenges, Ozarks Electric Cooperative needed a solution to verify switching operations and ensure switches were fully opened or closed without a manual inspection.
Requirements
During the planning phase, the Automated Systems team identified several technical and strategic requirements:
- Reduce time and cost of switching operations
- Limit need for manual verification and inspection of switches
- Operate through existing SCADA
- Determine open/closed positions of switches with high-resolution sensor
- Partner with an experienced and knowledgeable vendor
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