Modernization of the National Wide Dispatch Centers of CADAFE - Venezuela

The Compania Anonima de Administration y Fomento Electrico (CADAFE), is one of the most important utilities of the Venezuelan electric sector given that it is responsible for the supply of electricity in the major part of the national territory. With the aim to improve the service to its millions of end users, CADAFE designed an ambitious plan to renovate its National and Regional Dispatch Centers and the data acquisition system using normalized protocols including the recently standardized IEC 61850 at the level of remote data concentrating units interfacing modern intelligent electronic devices (IEDs). The adopted hierarchical architecture is presented highlighting the changes made with the purpose of obtaining the optimal use of the computer resources, the best use of the more than 6000 Km of optical fiber communications and the integration with the distribution control systems and with the commercial and corporate IT platforms. The SCADA platform is described together with the mechanisms adopted for the centralized data base maintenance and the functionality that supports both the analysis and the power system operation. The paper concludes detailing the expected benefits of the project as part of the general program of the integrated CADAFE management reinforcement