Improving System Performance with Advanced Controls Upgrades - How to Make it Happen

摘要

Many hydroelectric plant operators have begun replacing their governor controllers with state of the art off the shelf PLC systems. During the scope development phase of their governor replacement project, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) saw an opportunity to upgrade and standardize their turbine shutoff valve (TSV) control systems as well. SMUD has contracted with System 3, Inc (Carmichael, CA) and North American Hydro (Schofield, WI) to upgrade the governors and TSV control systems at 7 powerhouses (10 units total) in SMUD's Upper American River Project (UARP). Project scope also includes installation of new human machine interface (HMI) personal computers in each powerhouse and maintenance headquarters that intercommunicate over a fiber optic network and provide personnel with control system status and historical control data from any powerhouse in the UARP. The project scope and benefits of PLC governor upgrades, standardization of the TSV controls, system integration and historical logging of all powerhouse control data will be discussed.