A grid switching simulator for operator training

ScottishPower is a vertically integrated utility which holds a combined generation, transmission and supply licence for the southern part of Scotland. The transmission system operates at 400, 275 and 132 kV and is controlled and operated from the Company´s Grid Control Centre (GCC) at Strathkelvin House, from where the generating stations within the Company´s licence area are also scheduled and despatched. The Company´s safety rules require that all staff who are involved in operations on, or control of, the high voltage power system must be formally authorised. This authorisation requires a combination of theoretical knowledge, practical training and experience. It was found that the training needs of the field staff and the GCC staff contained common elements relating to operational communication and safety procedures which could be addressed by the use of simulator facilities, thus reducing both the overall training period and the amount of supervised training on the job. A specification for a simulator training facility was therefore developed. The training simulator is designed to simulate the interaction of the operators, both at the GCC and in the field, with the transmission system. The system , its physical layout, hardware and PC emulation of remote terminal units are discussed