LAS VEGAS, Feb. 4, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Culminating more than two years of research and development, CES International today introduced its Energy Delivery Management software suite. EDM promises to help utilities provide better customer service and improve operational efficiency by managing the distribution of electricity more reliably and economically than currently possible.
Cincinnati-based Cinergy Corp. (NYSE:CIN) is deploying EDM as a pilot project, CES International also announced at the DistribuTECH conference and exhibition here.
"EDM represents a major new opportunity for CES International and our customers, and we're excited about the momentum developing both here and abroad for this type of solution," said CES International vice chairman and founder Ken Geisler.
EDM represents an entirely new framework for the integrated, real-time management of electrical-distribution networks. EDM gives distribution utilities the information infrastructure necessary to assimilate new technology, provide additional service options, reduce operational costs and improve reliability.
CES International previewed the application for customers and partners at its annual advanCES industry conference in November. During his keynote address at advanCES, Marc McCluskey, research director of the utilities practice at AMR Research, remarked, "EDM-type solutions represent a logical next step for utility companies looking to refocus on their core distribution business and obtain an increased return on assets."
CES International's Energy Delivery Management Solution includes a broad range of functional capabilities and features:
- Real-time network simulation: EDM provides useful information about the limitations and opportunities of a delivery network, suggesting ways to manage them most effectively. EDM enables dynamic management of the network through automated, cyclic simulation. It uses a detailed electrical model, external inputs and near-term load forecasting to eliminate unknowns and increase operational options.
- Voltage management: EDM facilitates real-time response to energy price variances, supply emergencies and local network problems while maintaining a desired quality of service in the most economical fashion. It also allows utilities to add to their demand response portfolio without expensive, time-consuming program development and customer marketing.
- Load management: EDM increases demand-response choices in real-time to maximize revenues and minimize contractual payouts without violating delivery contract provisions. It intelligently targets and tracks "curtailable" load requests to alleviate local network problems while balancing the implications of potential system-wide needs.
- Integrated distributed generation (DG) management: Interconnection issues associated with DG installations have largely been solved through the development of standards. However, integration into the delivery network still relies on planning studies and assumptions. Since predicting every possible operating state of the network is impossible, organizations often make conservative assumptions, placing limitations on the DG and the network. EDM integrates available dispersed generation information, enabling the coordination and simulation of DG with real-time and predicted near-term network states and constraints to ensure proper operation. Now, DG can truly be included in available options for local network management.
- Loss minimization: EDM offers real-time and near-term recommendations for minimizing network losses through capacitor switching and circuit reconfiguration, leveraging end-use load dynamics and temperature-related network constraints.
- Operational risk management: EDM compares the worst possible contingencies to current and near-term predicted complex network states, constraints and recovery capabilities to minimize uncertainty. This allows utilities to operate closer to network limitations while remaining within a targeted envelope of risk, quality and economy. When conditions dictate violation of a desired envelope of risk, you are informed of the implications ahead of time, enabling proactive response and communication.
Benefits to distribution utilities deploying EDM:
Generate revenue:
- Maximize demand response, minimize contractual payouts and
improve ability to manage power purchases.
- Identify and correct real-time and near-term projected problems
before they affect premium power customers.
- Reduce generation emissions and free-up emission allowances for
market opportunities.
Manage assets dynamically:
- Respond quickly to changing conditions by moving from a static
infrastructure to a smart network.
- Expand the range of potential responses to emergency conditions.
- Achieve clarity on network limitations and opportunities,
including how to best manage them, increase their value and
improve asset quality.
- Increase return on invested capital (ROIC) and return on assets
(ROA) by actively managing delivery assets to enable higher
utilization of delivery capacity.
- Maximize distribution company value and provide negotiating
leverage in merger and acquisition activities.
Control costs and deliver on environmental objectives:
- Avoid incremental power purchases when prices are high
- Reduce generation emissions and related clean air attainment costs
by optimizing demand response.
- Improve efficiency and reduce losses with optimal configuration of
the delivery system.
Reduce uncertainty and risk:
- Operate closer to network limitations while making informed
operational decisions that impact guaranteed service contracts,
quality of service goals and emergency responses.
- More effectively understand and manage the relationships between
operational and financial opportunities and risk.
- Get a "physical" hedge in your energy buying and selling
activities with more demand response choices.
About CES International: CES International supplies real-time software solutions to utilities that serve more than 35 million metered accounts on five continents. CES International is the developer of the Centricity operations resource management (ORM) system, which includes the market's leading outage-management system, and the newly developed Energy Delivery Management (EDM) suite of network-management software. For more information, visit www.ces.com or call 1-800-450-0266. CES International - Redefining Connectivity.