Under the contract, the company will supply its advanced UniSec switchgear equipped with protection relays from the Relion product family, for the project spanning a new section of Rome’s electrical distribution network supply medium.
Specifically developed for smart grid applications, the switchgear has combined current and voltage sensors for use in secondary substations, and also includes devices for primary substations and for interfacing with distributed generation in secondary distribution substations for better reliability and availability.
In addition, the system also adopts a generic object oriented substation event (G.O.O.S.E.) model over wireless network for communication among the various devices connected and between substations, and the system in the control room.
ABB Medium Voltage Products business head Bruno Melles said the installation of the intelligent products will result in reduced number of outages and cut down the average duration of service interruptions.
"In case of a fault, they will enable early detection and quick restoration" Melles added.
The two companies have already conducted initial experiments based on sections of Rome’s electrical grid, which involved two primary substations, 76 secondary substations, four distributed generation plants, several customers connected at a medium voltage level and around 1,200 low voltage users.
Majority of the experiments were carried out at ABB’s recently established Smart Lab in Dalmine, Italy.
The integration of intelligent power solutions in infrastructure development is claimed to present an opportunity for mega cities to address growing demand for reliable power while creating a strong foundation for a sustainable urban future.
