Ireland ESB Upgrades network with Canadian software

As part of a major 2 billion euro refurbishment program of Ireland's national electricity grid, the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) of Ireland is upgrading the country's electricity network with an enterprise energy management (EEM) system from Canadian based Power Measurement.

The Internet-based ION® system uses a network of intelligent energy meters and software to help ESB staff automatically track and profile electricity transactions at more than 100 metering points around the country.

In addition to simplifying bulk-metering tasks, the system monitors a range of power quality factors to help improve the overall efficiency and stability of the grid. According to Tim Hennessy, Meter Asset Manager for ESB Networks, the ION system is expected to help safeguard Ireland's national electricity grid by immediately identifying potentially disruptive conditions before they can cause problems.

"With over 5,800km of lines and cables serving a hundred high-voltage transformer stations, we expect this enterprise-wide system to offer considerable advantages to ESB and its customers across the country," said Hennessy. "Using the latest web-enabled metering technology, we can monitor conditions anywhere on the grid to help ensure a secure, reliable supply of high-quality power."

Initially, ESB is outfitting each substation with an ION 7600 energy meter to monitor the cost, quality and reliability of the electricity delivered through the transformer, and report this information to their head office as real-time and logged system data. Profile data is sent to a centrally located server running a third-party data-collection software application, and asset management information is delivered directly to the ION Enterprise energy management software. While monitoring power quality characteristics such as harmonics and voltage fluctuations, each meter also monitors compliance with the European EN 50160 voltage standard.

Scheduled for completion within 2004, ESB's enterprise energy management system is being implemented through Premium Power and C-Matic Systems.