Distribution Control Center Repair Prioritization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power grid management systems lack effective coordination in repair operations and switch plan execution, leading to inefficiencies in restoring grid services, especially after events like storms that cause multiple asset failures.
Innovation Solution
A distribution control center system that integrates a repair prediction application, storm assessment application, and distribution management system to prioritize repairs based on asset repair times and costs, using data from crew location subsystems, asset management systems, and geographic information systems to generate and modify switch plans dynamically.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional distribution control centers manage repairs and switch plans separately, then operational simplicity is maintained, but restoration efficiency and effectiveness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the repair management system and switch plan execution system into an integrated distribution control center. The repair prediction application, storm assessment application, and distribution management system work as a unified coordinated system, merging previously separate operational functions to improve restoration efficiency while managing complexity through systematic integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The distribution control center is designed as a multi-functional system that simultaneously performs repair prediction, storm assessment, switch plan generation, and real-time coordination. This universal system handles multiple restoration tasks through a single integrated platform, improving overall productivity without requiring separate specialized systems for each function.
2Reliability
If repair prioritization is performed without integrating repair times and costs, then operational simplicity is maintained, but restoration optimization deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The repair prediction application performs preliminary assessment of repair times and costs before actual restoration operations begin. By predicting and prioritizing repairs in advance based on integrated data analysis, the system prepares optimized restoration sequences that improve reliability while managing the complexity of data integration through proactive planning.
Solution Approach 2:
The storm assessment application and distribution management system continuously monitor repair progress and switch plan execution, providing feedback loops that allow dynamic adjustment of prioritization. This feedback mechanism ensures reliable restoration by continuously optimizing based on actual conditions while managing complexity through automated real-time coordination.
3Loss of time
If damaged assets are identified during routine operations rather than proactively, then detection simplicity is maintained, but restoration time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification and assessment of damaged assets before restoration operations begin. The repair prediction application analyzes asset conditions and predicts failures in advance, allowing the system to prepare restoration plans proactively rather than reactively, thereby reducing grid downtime while managing the complexity of advance asset assessment.
Data Source
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AI summary
A distribution control center (116) includes a processor operative to receive damaged asset data, the damaged asset data including an identification and assessment of at least one damaged asset (113) of a power grid (101), process the damaged asset data to associate a repair time with the damaged asset (113), generate a proposed switch plan (133), process the proposed switch plan (133) to identify the damaged asset (113) in the proposed switch plan (133) and assigning a priority for repairing the damaged asset (113), generate switch plan modification data (131), modify the proposed switch plan (133) to define a modified switch plan, and output the modified switch plan.