Hotline of power engineering specialists:
Today, 17 December, General Director of IDGC of Centre - the managing organization of IDGC of Centre and Volga Region (operating under the brands of Rosseti Centre and Rosseti Centre and Volga Region) Igor Makovskiy held a press conference at the TASS news agency. Igor Makovskiy summarized the work of the energy companies in 2019 and spoke about key projects planned for implementation in the near future.
The head of Rosseti Centre and Rosseti Centre and Volga Region noted that in the outgoing year the companies ensured the unconditional implementation of all current production programs. Over 10 thousand km of power lines and more than 2,000 MVA were put into operation, 13 thousand transformer substations and 52 thousand kilometres of overhead power lines were repaired, 30.6 thousand hectares were cleared, and 1 thousand hectares of routes were expanded.
The construction of a number of large facilities has been completed, the commissioning of new capacities has been implemented in the framework of providing electricity to enterprises that are important for the socio-economic development of the regions. Over 72 thousand grid connection agreements have been completed. Operational efficiency has been increased, financial and economic indicators in the face of unfavourable external conditions have been maintained and improved.
A high level of trouble-free operation is ensured, despite serious weather tests. The number of emergency situations for the year as a whole for the two companies decreased by 15%. On the eve of the winter, the power engineers passed a tough test in the Tver region. The region survived two consecutive cyclones of bad weather of unprecedented power. Thanks to their professionalism, clear and well-coordinated work, and the dedication of the specialists of the two companies, mass outages were eliminated as soon as possible for such situations.
The strategic priority for Rosseti Centre and Rosseti Centre and Volga Region in 2019 was the deployment of the full-scale implementation of the Concept of digital transformation of the electric grid complex. “In 2019, we ensured a powerful start and accelerated pace of work by launching, and in some regions, even completing all the key projects of the first stage of digital transformation. Today, up to 30% of all the activities of the first stage, designed for five years, have been completed, two times more than originally planned,” Igor Makovskiy emphasized.
In the service area of the energy companies, 8 digital Grid Control Centres and City Dispatch Points have been created, from where the power grid complex of the regions and large cities is managed online. In the Belgorod region, the first in the service area of Rosseti Centre digital substation “Nikolskoye” was commissioned. In the Voronezh region, the construction of the substation “Sputnik” has begun - this will be the first digital power centre in Central Russia constructed from scratch. In the Udmurt Republic, the installation of equipment at the first digital substation “Airport” in the region has been completed. In Belgorod and Ivanovo, work has been completed on the creation of digital Contact Centres.
Preparatory work has been completed on the implementation of the project “Software method for identifying non-metered electricity volumes using the Big Data technology”. The development of technical solutions for telemetry at transformer substations has been completed and the installation of an integrated energy monitoring system and distributed automation in digital Distribution Zones has begun. The mathematical model of the grid has been adopted for development.
In Belgorod and Vladimir, pilot projects have been successfully implemented to install energy storage devices in a low-voltage distribution grid. In the Udmurt Republic there is a pilot project on consumer awareness - a virtual dispatcher. In the Yaroslavl, Lipetsk, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod and Tver regions they put into trial operation the “Digital Electrician” for electricity metering. In the Lipetsk region, tests of a unique complex of automatic monitoring of the status of power lines using unmanned aerial vehicles and charging stations have been completed.
Among the main effects of digitalization, the head of Rosseti Centre and Rosseti Centre and Volga Region outlined a 50% reduction in the average frequency and duration of power outages in the grid, a 30% reduction in operating costs and by 15% - capital costs, increased labour productivity and the companies capitalization.
Igor Makovskiy also elaborated on the results of the work of the Companies on the consolidation of electric grid assets. Such a task is formulated in the “Strategy for the Development of the Electric Grid Complex of the Russian Federation” approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. In the Udmurt Republic, the process of acquiring property of “Votkinsk City Electric Grids” has been completed. Taking into account the Izhevsk electric grids acquired at the beginning of the year, 100% of the region’s state-owned grid assets were collected. In Voronezh, the transaction on the acquisition of shares of JSC Voronezh Gorelektroset was completed. An agreement was signed for the acquisition of JSC Tula City Electric Grids.
The optimal model for managing the electric grid complex using the example of the Udmurt Republic, including the consolidation of grid assets, the creation of grid control centres, city dispatch centres and digital Distribution Zones, was presented as part of a working trip of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to Izhevsk and received approval from the Head of the State, as the head of Rosseti Centre and Rosseti Centre and Volga Region recalled.
Speaking about plans for 2020, Igor Makovskiy emphasized that, first of all, Rosseti Centre and Rosseti Centre and Volga Region are aimed at continuing the accelerated implementation of digital transformation. “Next year we will complete the construction of 19 digital Grid Control Centres and 4 Digital Substations. We will commission the Main Analytical Centre of Rosseti Centre, 30 Digital Distribution Zones and the project “Digital Electrician” for electricity metering and operation. We will begin trial operation of the project “Software method for identifying non-metered electricity volumes using the Big Data technology”. Thus, we will almost completely finish the first stage of digital transformation. Advance work will allow us to be one of the first in the industry to take full advantage of its effects,” said General Director of Rosseti Centre and Rosseti Centre and Volga Region.
Also, in the company’s plans for 2020, the acquisition of electric grid assets in the Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo, Bryansk and Vladimir regions.
Answering journalists’ questions, Igor Makovskiy touched on the implementation of the Cooperation Agreements signed with the regions, reducing losses, collecting receivables, tariff regulation and fees for power reserves, combating theft of electricity, as well as socially significant projects being implemented by the companies in the regions.
The features of training for the purposes of digital transformation were also discussed. Igor Makovskiy said that a comprehensive program for the development of personnel competencies in the field of digitalization, encompassing all employees, has been put in place in the companies. For its goals and objectives, the system of the company’s training centres has been adapted and the potential of specialized universities has been actively used - 26 agreements have been signed with them by the energy companies. So, on the basis of Ivanovo Power Engineering University, with their participation, a laboratory for the “Digital Substation” was created.
“We do digital education systematically and consistently. This applies both to existing staff, and those whom we would like to see in the ranks of our companies. The main requirements are adaptability to the digital environment, unconditional knowledge and understanding of the essence, technologies and goals of this process,” stressed the head of Rosseti Centre and Rosseti Centre and Volga Region.