News & events

2014-02-03

Litgrid’s reorganised system control centre will facilitate preparation for operational management of the interconnections with Sweden and Poland

In line with Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator Litgrid’s reorganisation of system management, a single power system control centre was established in Vilnius for all of Lithuania in 2013. Such a model — when the country's electricity system is controlled from a single centre — allows changes in the system to be responded to faster, reasons for problems in the electricity transmission grid to be pinpointed and eliminated more rapidly, and potential disruptions in the electricity system to even be pre-empted.
 
"In implementing reorganisation of system management, the necessity arose to update the main tool used by the dispatchers who work at the system control centre: the video wall, which is used to monitor the parameters of the power system and the high-voltage grid," says Giedrius Radvila, director of the Litgrid System Control Department. According to him, the system management centre had to be modernised due to the rapidly growing amounts of information being processed: more and more information related to the electricity market is appearing alongside technological data.
 
The video wall displays data from the Lithuanian energy system as well as that of the neighbouring systems. The dispatchers can use it to monitor the amount of electricity produced at power plants and wind farms in real time, working electricity transmission lines and ones that are disconnected for repair, transformer substations and switchyards, system frequency, import data, and electricity demand and consumption. Once the interconnections with Sweden and Poland are launched in 2016, data from the Polish and Swedish power systems will also be shown on the video wall.
 
"Automated devices transmit signals to a joint system, which processes the information that is received not only from the Lithuanian electricity transmission grid, but from other electricity systems that the Lithuanian energy system is connected to as well. The fact that we now have more information presented in one place helps make decisions quickly and more effectively organise system management activities," says Mr Radvila.
 
Design and installation of the video wall was carried out by UAB Elsis TS, the company that won the tender. "This was a very important and responsible project for our company. First we had to dismantle the old control room video wall and install a new one made up of 36 video cubes. We also equipped new workplaces for dispatcher on duty around the clock, and installed modern cooling and ventilation systems," said Elsis TS CEO Darius Imbrasas.
 
Dispatchers work at the system control centre 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. More than 30 dispatchers work at the centre according to a pre-set shift schedule. The centralised management system model is used in many Western European countries. This model ensures system reliability and security, and allows operating costs to be reduced.