Are you ready to optimize and get maximum value get maximum value from your TWACS® PLC network? It will take some extra effort and some modest investments, but following these three recommendations will reward you with more system uptime and reliability, better performance and significant incident reduction.
1. Monitor servers and applications
Your TWACS network runs on the AclaraONE® architecture of servers that support applications, databases, network connections and integrations with other utility systems. Any of these system components can experience a problem at any time.
For instance, what if the communication service in AclaraONE stops working? That service facilitates the network connections to all of your TWACS substation equipment. If it stops, all TWACS traffic stops. You’re not getting readings, you can’t operate load control equipment, and you can’t reconnect customers who’ve been disconnected for non-payment. Worse yet, issues like a crashed service or full hard drive can go unnoticed for days, especially when they happen on a weekend. We’ve seen it happen.
If you don’t want these troubles at your utility, work with Aclara to set up alerts for critical conditions within AclaraONE. There are also easy-to-use tools that support system monitoring. Two examples of those tools are SolarWinds and PRTG Network Monitor. Both tools discover your network and the devices attached to it. With tools like this in place, you’ll have:
- 24/7 visibility into your system’s status, usage, bandwidth and more
- Proactive alerts to catch problems before they become emergencies
- Maximum network performance and availability
Along with notifying you of common system issues, most monitoring tools allow you to add customizations for your specific use cases. You can define parameters for specific alerts and ensure that the right people receive them. Best of all, these tools allow you to centralize your device monitoring. Instead of setting up alerts in four or five different programs, you can set them up in one and simplify your system management.
2. Test end devices before mass deployment
You can buy top-quality metering hardware and software – and you will when you choose a TWACS system – but without a plan to verify the initial configurations and installation processes, you have an invitation to future trouble.
Here’s an example: One utility configured everything in the AclaraONE application for a 15-minute demand program and later found out that the meter program was configured for 30-minute demand. Utility staff found the error the hard way: Members were overcharged, and the utility had to go through the lengthy process of explaining the issue and crediting the members for the mistake.
If a mistake like this gets caught when hundreds of meters are already out in the field, it can add time and cost to your deployment. First, the metering team has to figure out what’s wrong. Often, they’ll then need to collect the meters with incorrect programming, replace them, and take them back to the meter shop for reprogramming.
When receiving a batch of new devices, especially meters and modules, be sure to test at least one of each form, class and voltage in the meter shop prior to deployment. Test a few in the field, too.
In the case of Aclara meters, use MeterMate™ to verify the meter programming, Meter Shop Test Tool to verify the module programming, and discover a device or two into AclaraONE to verify that the data you see in the application matches that on the display of the meter. Check billing readings, interval data and other items like voltage or demand. Be sure to test the connect/disconnect functions, as well.
Some errors are found quickly, while others may take months or even years to discover. One utility had zero consumption readings on all the endpoints deployed in the field. The utility quickly noticed that issue and worked with Aclara to resolve it. However, the demand-charge error mentioned in a few paragraphs above is one that can linger under the radar. The utility referenced above discovered the issue years after deploying TWACS. Aclara helped the utility identify when each member who’d been overbilled was added to the TWACS system and verify the demand configuration was corrected so the utility could refund their members and restore their confidence.
3. Make substation maintenance an annual event
Infrequent visits to the substation and checks of the TWACS communication equipment mean you may not notice some of the issues that can leave your customers in the dark. You will not see the family of mice moving in and eating the fiber optic cables. You can easily miss failing and corroding connections, bulging or leaking capacitors, and excessive heat building up within your equipment.
Often, there is no way to set up alerts that indicate these types of problems. Furthermore, when you do get an alert, you’ve already got a problem.
Regular, in-person maintenance trips to substations are a must for optimal reliability. Surprisingly, many utilities don’t perform regularly scheduled maintenance on the TWACS communication equipment, where someone visits the substation, opens the cabinets, visually examines the equipment, and checks voltages and connections between components.
One Aclara client requested that his utility implement a recurring maintenance program. Days after his request, a critical TWACS component failed, resulting in downtime and thousands of dollars in costs to manually collect billing data. This outage and the associated costs could have been prevented with a regular substation maintenance program.
Another smart practice is using an infrared temperature gun to check for hot spots on transformers and the TWACS components. These infrared thermometers are excellent diagnostic tools that rarely get the credit they deserve. One Aclara client used an infrared gun to identify an overheating cutout on the primary side of the TWACS MTU that was causing poor communication performance. He would have missed it without that tool, and that’s what regular maintenance is all about. When you regularly check your equipment, you’ll prevent equipment failures and system downtime.
TWACS Communication Equipment Resources
Aclara’s Substation Communications Equipment (SCE) User Guide has an entire section dedicated to this critical maintenance process. Brief, regular checks of the SCE bring minor issues to light and stop them from becoming system-halting problems.
If you need a copy of Aclara’s Substation Communications Equipment (SCE) User Guide, please contact us.
To learn more about TWACS, discover additional blogs on power line communications.
