What’s and How’s of Advanced Distribution Management Systems
With grid control features of Grid Modernization, numerous systems are essential to developing the grid. The back office for a Modernized Grid in crux becomes a system-of-systems including an Advanced Distribution Management System, a DERMS, an Optimization System, an efficient Historian, Immediate Forecasting, and bus infra to communicate between the diverse components. The demand for ADMS is rising and will reach about $10,098 million by 2030.
ADMS is a solution merging the functionality of SCADA, DMS, and Outage Management Systems to provide a complete integrated view of the grid for system operations. DERMS is also encompassed in some solutions, but we will present this separately since it signifies new functionality for the most recent utility processes. The ADMS provides functionality spanning these systems, as well as, Isolation and Service Restoration, Fault Location, Volt/VAR optimization, Voltage Regulation, two-way Power Flow management, system monitoring, Outage management, switch control, crew management, etc.
How is ADMS Constructed?
Frequently ADMS systems are constructed by vendors patching together their disparate subsystems with some proprietary bus infra and developing it as a new ADMS. Of course, this leads to common issues with integrating multiple systems; separate databases, very unlike architectures for every subsystem, no common terminology, no shared integrated view, partial extensibility, only portions of the solution comprised in the training, etc. For combating these limitations, ADMS vendors should provide the essential functionality with more integrated and extensible systems.
These novel ADMS systems should allow the mobility of operations, distributions, and personnel while transporting together data from the diverse subsystems and let it be analyzed and presented in a combined and consistent form.
ADAMS in Current Scenario
Nowhere is this more obvious than in GIS and grid connectivity info. Today, this data is accomplished in each subsystem, yielding their specific view of the grid. This necessitates that critical updates to connectivity must be sustained and coordinated across all subsequent subsystems. Though this does not present a tough challenge for most grid operations, as the count of field and edge devices raises and the necessity for more immediate access to the state of the grid surges, this will develop into a progressively complex problem. Misalignment and organizational failures could give rise to problems in reliability and safety.
Need for a Centralized Connectivity Model
These issues indicate the necessity for a centralized connectivity model, which is obtainable not only to the subsystems of the ADMS but to the others within GridMod. This connectivity model should deliver a common data abstraction layer letting more historical info be requested and subscribing to instantaneous changes in the grid model. It should support preserving, as-constructed, as-functioned, as-planned, as-intended, etc., views from a central common source.
Incorporation of Advanced Metering Infra
An additional area of extensibility for ADMS is the incorporation of AMI into processes. Although numerous OMS systems previously used outage info, bellwether-based voltage data could also be combined. Bellwether meters could deliver data throughout the day, using the meter as an additional sensor on the distribution grid.
These are two features of ADMS that could be measured for the next-gen systems, though there are numerous others to be explored. With Grid Transformation, the conventional views of DMS and OMS are increasing, and silos of info and resources need to be combined with supporting more inclusive and simultaneous info processing and presentation. As more grid devices are positioned, and more present info is available, ADMS systems will have to become more mechanical and deliver more aggregate grid views.
