Development of a strategy for the integration of system monitoring software, data retrieval and information dissemination

SP Power Systems (UK) are responsible for managing the transmission and distribution networks covering central and southern Scotland as well as Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales. This includes the specification and application of protection, control and monitoring systems for the LV power system up to and including 400 kV. The growth in the number of devices able to record data in the substation and the requirement for the user to have more information on system & plant performance/condition has resulted in a step change in the volumes of raw data available from the system. This data must be rationalised and managed in a coordinated manner if users are to avoid spending more time gathering data than using it. This paper describes the development of an alternative data management and dissemination system. It details the architectures used for the gathering and processing of system data, the benefits, which have been achieved through integration, and describes a number of issues that were addressed during development.