The past, present and future role of automation in the electricity grid – A Portuguese perspective

In an ecosystem where risk is an extremely important factor, the optimization of distribution grids becomes colossal considering that the solution with the greatest individual resilience may not contribute to the greater reliability of the system. Therefore, decision makers are obliged to evaluate technologies, mostly based in historical data analogies. This article presents the evolutionary technological context for the Portuguese DSO and its contribution to the increase of service reliability. It also presents the development of technical specifications of equipment in alignment with the company strategies. First results, dating back to the 1980s concerning the consequences of the integration of ACRs and load break switches (LBS) supported the subsequent choices. The improvement of power quality indicators (e.g. TIEPI, SAIDI) over the last 20 years is shown as a result of several factors. This work depicts the particular role provided by automation equipment in the electricity grid during this timeframe. The steady reduction of the TIEPI indicator, is aligned with the investment in the technological evolution of the equipment to be integrated in the electricity grid, subject to a strong technical standardization in response to the needs of the entire DSOs organization and in alignment with the defined executive strategies.