e-News for power industry leaders

Issue 10 - April 2017

Welcome to the first issue of ITL for 2017.  

This year is already shaping up to be another interesting and active year for CIGRE.  We have already concluded two of our key conference offerings for the year - SEAPAC and the Transformer workshop.  There is more information on these on the article in this edition, but both were quite successful and provided an excellent forum for technical discussion and sharing of information.

This edition kicks off the year with summaries on three global working groups that Australian members have been involved in.  Links to relevant brochures have been provided and are free to members, whilst non members can buy the articles online if they wish.

During 2017 we will continue the focus on ‘getting the message out’ and always welcome ideas for articles and input from members/readers.  In particular, one of our aims this year is to provide more links via our LinkedIn site to the technical/engineering work being carried out and published by CIGRE, so if you are not a follower, follow us now so that you do not miss out !

Thank you for reading and I wish you and your families all the best for Easter and the remainder of 2017.


Terry Killen
Executive Manager
CIGRE Australia

Commissioning VSC HVDC schemes

HVDC Voltage Source Converter technology is very useful to help power systems deal with specific challenges such as low power transfer, the connection of weak networks, connection of offshore wind farms and the development of dc grids. A critical aspect is the commissioning of the schemes which allows fine tuning and ensures the project meets all design and operational requirements. CIGRE Working Group B4.63, ‘ Commissioning of VSC HVDC Schemes’ has recently completed its work and a Technical Brochure will be published in the next few months. This working group is convened by Les Brand who is the Chair of Australian Panel B4.


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CIGRE working group considers solutions to risks from high penetration of intermittent renewables

The challenge of increasing intermittent renewable energy sources in power systems has become a hot topic in Australia. This is a growing issue across the world and a range of solutions is being developed and implemented to address the problem. CIGRE Working Group C1.30, ‘Technical risks and solutions from periodic, large surpluses or deficits of available renewable generation’ has recently published a Technical Brochure (TB666) on this topic that identifies the risks and provides a matrix to illustrate the appropriate solutions that address the particular risks. The CIGRE Australia representative on this Working Group was Donald Vaughan from Entura supported by Dusan Nikolic from Entura as a young expert.


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Power system telecommunication and information systems for business continuity and disaster recovery.

Power system security is currently an area of concern in Australia following recent power outages in South Australia. While this often leads to a focus on generation adequacy and the reliability of primary plant, secondary systems are equally critical. Many business and operational processes rely on the continuity of Information and Communication Technology or ICT, as these systems must support the processes and procedures activated during a disaster. CIGRE Working Group D2.34, ‘Telecommunication and information systems for assuring business continuity and disaster recovery’ has recently published a Technical Brochure (TB 668) that provides a guideline to the reader on this topic. The CIGRE Australia representatives on this Working Group were Rob Evans and Theo Pistorius.


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Conference Event Roundup

We have just concluded two successful conferences on Automation and Control (SEAPAC) and our annual Transformer workshop. Both Conferences were well attended and had interesting and informative presentations and discussions.


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