The energy transition will require continued investment in electrical grid infrastructure. This document highlights how distribution automation solutions help make electric utility infrastructure smarter, more dynamic, resilient, and secure.
The NEMA Distribution Automation Section developed this guide to help users harmonize the varying definitions of these some used terms and acronyms. The document also includes an overview of the most salient Standards in the Distribution Automation
space to serve as a resource for customers for inclusion in purchasing specifications.
The electrical grid is evolving. There is a transition to digital networks from traditionally analog systems. The electric delivery infrastructure is moving to a more decentralized system from a centralized one. Renewable energy is being integrated on a faster scale than traditional generation. There are significantly more renewable energy interconnection requests in the utility generation queue. While not all may move forward in the queue, for the ones that do, there is still a need to be integrated into the protection schemes designed to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the electrical power grid.
Traditional volt/VAR (volt amps reactive) management technologies have been used by the power industry for more than 30 years to reduce line losses and increase grid efficiency. In addition, voltage and VAR optimization (VVO) technologies use real-time
information and online system modeling to provide optimized and coordinated control. As the number of renewable intermittent sources (e.g., solar and wind) increases, however, so does the complexity of the controls. VVO and other power electronics–based
technologies can mitigate rapid and large voltage fluctuations that result from high penetration of distributed generation.
The past two decades have witnessed a revolution in the electric industry with the emergence of distributed energy resources (DER), advances in sensors, data networks, software technologies and the emergence of the Internet of Things. These new technologies
and solutions can be utilized to help alleviate rising security threats, aging infrastructure, increasing customer demands, and a more dynamic operating environment.
There are more than 6 million miles of distribution lines and more than 200,000 distribution circuits in the United States. These circuits provide the critical link between the bulk power grid and 160 million electricity customers.
This vast network of infrastructure has been compromised during extreme weather events including wind storms, floods, and temperature excursions. While America’s utilities have improved reliability overall, extreme weather events will continue
to challenge the grid. One of the ways utilities are building resilience is by integrating advanced technologies, tools and techniques into their distribution infrastructure.
Improving service reliability and operating efficiency are common goals that most distribution utility companies have today; however, with the changing landscape of new loads and customer-sited distributed generation (DG) being connected
to the grid, these conditions now present special challenges to the electric distribution system. The traditional need to provide reliable energy delivery with a renewed focus on resiliency, environmental impacts, and energy efficiency (including
loss reduction and peak load management) creates an environment with plenty of obstacles. The variability and intermittency of renewable energy sources—both at the distributed and centralized levels—now add an additional level of complexity
to managing these networks. Distribution automation (DA) has emerged as a key component of the smart grid, and provides a path to achieve these critical goals.
College campuses, commercial districts, healthcare facilities, and military bases have already realized the benefits of building a microgrid, but starting a discussion on the elements and benefits of a microgrid project is challenging because each one
is unique.