Automatic network reconfiguration - Split Airport (Croatia)

Split Airport is an exceptionally important and sensitive consumer. SS 10/0,4 kV Airport 1 and 2 have the possibility of supply from two SS 35/10 kV. During usual operation they are supplied from SS 35/10 kV Divulje, and in case of fault or other reasons they are supplied from another source - SS 35/10 kV Kastela. Split Airport also has its own generators. The duration of switching from one to another source depends on time of manual switching of the dispatcher and availability of the operating staff, and is measured in minutes. In order to reduce the outage time to a minimum automation and remote control equipment (remote terminal unit - RTU with PLC functions) was installed to perform the automatic reconfiguration function. IEC 61850 communication standard is used for communication between the two RTUs each installed in one of the 10/0,4 kV SS. The main function of the automatic network reconfiguration system is power supply loss detection (by voltage or fault indicator, SCADA, or combination of these and switch status) which triggers the Automatic Network Reconfiguration (ANR) algorithm that performs all the necessary switching operations for supply restoration without the influence of dispatcher. The applied technical solution serves as a model for supplying exceptionally important and sensitive consumers such as hospitals, courts, jails or to just provide and offer more reliable power supply to all customers. (4 pages)