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U.S. Electric Power Utility Capital Investment in Grid Modernization: Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Near-Term and Mid-Term Outlook

U.S. Electric Power Utility Capital Investment in Grid Modernization:  Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Near-Term and Mid-Term Outlook

Interim Report By Charles Newton, Newton-Evans Research Company

This article has been developed based on findings from surveys completed by officials from 22 U.S. electric utilities comprising about 10% of served end-use customers.  To date, the mix of participating utilities includes several IOUs, along with public power utilities and electric cooperatives.

The study is being undertaken to determine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on utility grid modernization plans involving capital expenditures.  Newton-Evans has requested the participation of major and mid-size American electric utilities in an attempt to gauge whether or not CAPEX investments will continue to be made as planned earlier, and whether grid modernization projects will continue as scheduled or will likely be deferred for some time.

Figure 1 indicates that nearly one-half (48%) of the surveyed utilities continue to have plans to launch new smart grid projects either in 2020 or in 2021.

Figure 1.

 

Continue reading U.S. Electric Power Utility Capital Investment in Grid Modernization: Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Near-Term and Mid-Term Outlook

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CAPEX Outlook Survey for America’s Electric Power Utilities

If you have insights into your utility’s plans for its near-term CAPEX planning affecting grid modernization projects, we request your help. . Newton-Evans will value your participation in our current study of the capital spending outlook for the nation’s electric utilities in light of the current pandemic.  Newton-Evans will retain your observations in confidence, and will provide you with a complimentary 40-page report of findings gathered from among electric power industry officials located throughout the United States.  The secure online survey is located here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ElectricUtilCAPEXsurvey

Some reasons to participate include:

  • Help industry manufacturers, T&D consultants and systems integration firms prepare to meet the nation’s electric utility demand for equipment and systems during late 2020 and 2021.
  • Provide fellow utility planners to better understand specific grid modernization activities that IOUs, public power utilities and cooperatives are preparing to undertake.
  • Keep up with industry trends by having your own copy of the highly regarded Newton-Evans’ CAPEX report to share with management in mid-May.

A special “thank you” gift is is also available for participants at the end of the 12-question (largely multiple choice) survey.  To date, we have well-thought-out responses in hand from major IOUs, public utilities and electric co-ops.  Looking forward to your survey participation, we thank you kindly for sharing your insights.  We are closing off survey data collection work on Friday, May 15, 2020.

 

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Energy Management and Market Operations Systems (EMMOS) Conference to be held in San Diego, California During September 13-16, 2020

April 24, 2020.  The 27th annual three-day conference of the Energy Management and Market Operations Systems (EMMOS) Users Group will be held in San Diego, California during September 13-16, 2020, starting with a welcoming reception at the beautiful Kempton Hotel Palomar, San Diego on the evening of Sunday, September 13.

This year’s conference agenda will feature topical speakers and roundtable sessions, technical training class, a tour of the SDGE control center and vendors’ exhibition.  The conference will be held in conjunction with the OSISoft PI Generation and T&D conference, which is being held during the same week in San Diego.

Featured conference sessions at the 2020 gathering of North American and international control systems and market operations management and staff will include topics such as:  Design Matters, Protection and Control, Block Chain, 5G Networking Applications, Big Data, Grid Analytics, Situational Awareness, and others.  Presentations will be delivered by representatives from IOUs, ISOs, RTOs and the T&D Consulting community.  Please contact Mr. Reza Alaghehband at Reza@emmos.org for proposals and suggestions.

Panel discussion topics: “Contingency Plans for Control Centers Operating Under Emergency Conditions” and “Current and Future Utility Industry Technology Solutions and Challenges”

Technical Tour:  The 2020 conference will include a control center tour and will also feature a micro grid tour.

Vendor Exhibition:  An Energy Management and Market Systems focused vendor exhibition will be held on Monday evening and will include a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception.

Training workshop/tutorial:  A 4-hour training workshop on “Power Network Applications and Tuning” will be held as part of the conference.  Participants will receive a certificate of completion.

The annual EMMOS conference attendees include electric power operations officials involved with transmission, distribution, generation, Market Systems, as well as IT managers, planning engineers, consultants, ISO staffs, visualization and situational awareness engineers, and related systems personnel involved with control and/or market systems and substation modernization, distribution automation, outage management and geographic information systems.

The EMMOS website is now open and available for registrations for this September’s conference.

Further information on the upcoming 2020 EMMOS conference, including registration information and hotel booking arrangements can be found on the EMMOS website at www.emmos.org.   Exhibitor opportunity information is available from Mr. Dave McGinnis at davemcginnisalt@yahoo.com .  Recommendations for additional topical presentations are welcomed and should be submitted to Mr. Reza Alaghehband at Reza@emmos.org.

In the event that the conference has to be cancelled, refunds will be made to registrants or optionally can be applied to the 2021 EMMOS conference. In the event that it becomes necessary to cancel the physical conference, we will plan to conduct a live streamed video conference with speakers and roundtable discussions.  The virtual conference would be available to remote attendees at a substantially reduced price.

 

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Transmission & Distribution World Partnership with Newton-Evans Research Company

Over the years since the early 1980’s, Newton-Evans’ articles written by Chuck Newton have appeared in more than 60 editions of Transmission and Distribution World.  Recent articles can be found here on the T&D WORLD website: https://www.tdworld.com/home/contact/20973495/charles-w-newton.  The following articles are among those now available on the T&D WORLD website.

Energy Policy and the Impact of Renewables and New Market Participants
Mar 13, 2020. This article is Part 2 of a series on current policy trends, first presented at the Little Rock, Arkansas EMMOS Users Conference in September 2019. Part 1 addressed grid modernization from an energy policy perspective.

COVID-19 Epidemic Impact on Protective Relays and Grid Modernization
Mar 13, 2020. What will be the likely economic consequences to grid modernization plans and budgets now in place, seeing the COVID-19 epidemic disruptions, and even havoc, in a significant number of the world’s industrialized and developing nations?

Grid Modernization from an Energy Policy Perspective in 2019
Nov 21, 2019.  This paper is part of a two-part series on current policy trends, first presented at the Little Rock, Arkansas EMMOS Users Conference in September 2019.

A Researcher’s Perspective on the North American Protective Relay Marketplace
Jun 02, 2019.  Charles Newton, Newton Evans Research Company, offers his observations on a recent survey on the protective relay marketplace.

IEC 61850: A Research Perspective
Jan 25, 2019.  Comparison of the findings of Newton-Evans studies on adoption of IEC 61850 by North American and international electric utilities.

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Update to 2019 Market Outlook for Protective Relays and Grid Modernization Efforts

Refreshing the Outlook for P&C Investments Specifically and for Grid Modernization

The Newton-Evans study of protective relays that was completed several months ago was based on a 2019 multi-month survey-based study of protection and control engineering department heads and senor staff members at key electric power utilities in 30 countries. A total of 97 utility P&C managers and staff discussed their usage patterns and plans for relay applications, protocols and telecommunications architectures as well as their investment plans for protection and control activities during the field collection phase of the study. In addition to utility surveys, more than 30 industry officials from several protective relay manufacturing firms around the world also participated in the study.

The report series provides updated information on a variety of “universally-applied” protective relay types including generator, transmission line, distribution feeder, transformer and motor protection units.

Estimates and forecasts contained in the 2019-2022 report were premised on five sources of information:

  • In-depth utility surveys and interviews of 98 utility protection and control officials located in 30 countries conducted in 2019.
  • Relay manufacturer surveys and channel member interviews together with available financial information from suppliers.
  • Protection and Control consulting firms in six countries.
  • Excerpts from related multi-client and commissioned studies undertaken and completed by Newton-Evans Research Company.
  • Economic and financial global market outlook information developed by a number of respected public and private sources (e.g., World Bank, UNDP, IMF, Bloomberg, and others).World and Regional Economic Outlook: Implications and Viewpoints for the Protective Relay Market

Continue reading Update to 2019 Market Outlook for Protective Relays and Grid Modernization Efforts

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Transmission & Distribution World – New Article by Chuck Newton

Grid Modernization from an Energy Policy Perspective in 2019

by Chuck Newton

This article has just been published in the November 21, 2019 online edition of Transmission & Distribution World.  The article is part one of a two-part series on current policy trends, first  presented by Chuck Newton at the Little Rock, Arkansas EMMOS Users Conference in September 2019.  The link to the T&D World article is here:  https://www.tdworld.com/smart-grid/grid-modernization-energy-policy-perspective-2019 .

I hope you find the article informative and helpful in navigating the fairly complex regulatory and policy-making organizations that affect and drive the U.S. electric power industry – affecting utilities, equipment manufacturers, systems and services providers, the engineering consulting community and the many millions of residential, commercial and industrial electric power users.

Kind Regards,

Chuck

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Wide Variations in Networking Technologies Used for Substation Communications Noted

November 8, 2019.  Ellicott City, Maryland.  With nearly 100 officials from 30 countries participating in the 2019 Newton-Evans study of trends in protection and control practices, there were some wide variations noted in the use of networking technologies across the world.

Among 55 North American utility respondents, the most prevalent networking technologies in use during 2019 included SONET/SDH (40%), T1/E1 (33%) and a mix of T1/E1, SONET and packet-based (33%). This seems to imply that SONET is the leading technology among the sample. However, the two networking technologies to watch out for in the next 4 years are IP/MPLS and SDN; 18% plan to use IP/MPLS and 15% plan to use SDN by 2022.

The most prevalent networking technologies used in 2019 among the 42 international utility survey participants included SONET/SDH (31%), Industrial Carrier Ethernet (29%) and IP/MPLS (26%). Based on the survey sample, the leading technologies planned for development by 2020 include MPLS-TP (29%) and SD-WAN (24%).

The Worldwide Study of the Protective Relay Marketplace in Electric Utilities: 2019-2022 measures current market sizes and contains projections on a world region basis for the next few years. More than 35 topics are covered in the utility survey portion of this study with participation from nearly 100 utility P&C officials from countries around the world.  The complete four-volume study of protection and control practices and trends is available from Newton-Evans Research Company.  Details are available at https://www.newton-evans.com/product/the-worldwide-study-of-the-protective-relay-marketplace-in-electric-utilities-2019-2022/ .

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U.S. Market for Distribution Transformers Standing at $3 Billion, Based on Findings from Recent Newton-Evans Study

7 November, 2019.  Ellicott City, Maryland.  Based on the findings obtained in a recently completed study of the distribution transformer market in the United States, Newton-Evans provides the following information summary.

Distribution Transformer Market Size Estimates

The aggregated U.S. market for three groupings of distribution transformers stood at about $3 Billion in 2018 as seen in the above chart.  The market was segmented by Newton-Evans as shown here to include residential pole and pad mount units; dry type transformers, and small power/large distribution transformers ranging from 1-25 MVAs.

Institutional Barriers to U.S. Market Entry for Distribution Transformers

The third quarter 2019 Newton-Evans study included survey questions for both end-users and suppliers about any institutional barriers they see to potential market entry by non-North American manufacturers.

Among utility respondents, nearly one-half indicated compliance with recently enacted DOE regulations and recommendations for energy efficient distribution transformers as being a key barrier to market entry by foreign-based suppliers (outside of the NAFTA region). One quarter indicated “buy American” programs at their utility was also a deterrent. About 1 in 5 respondents indicated that Underwriters Lab certification was also important, and several respondents had other supporting comments to offer.

Suppliers commented that the enactment of tariffs also served as a deterrent to foreign manufacturers, while one of the largest domestic suppliers of overhead distribution transformers cited the importance of rapid post-storm response times as being a key factor in re-supplying utilities quickly. Another major U.S. transformer manufacturer cited three factors: UL Certificate requirement, DOE Efficiency requirements and “Buy American” initiatives.

Continue reading U.S. Market for Distribution Transformers Standing at $3 Billion, Based on Findings from Recent Newton-Evans Study

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40% off “The World Market for Substation Automation and Integration Programs in Electric Utilities: 2017-2020.”

In 2017 Newton-Evans completed its eleventh worldwide study of the market for substation automation and integration systems in electric utilities. This 4-volume report series measures current market sizes for several sub-categories of equipment and services in North America and by World Regions. It also estimates and forecasts demand for substation automation equipment through year-end 2020, and profiles utility requirements as well as broader product and market requirements.
Continue reading 40% off “The World Market for Substation Automation and Integration Programs in Electric Utilities: 2017-2020.”

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40% off “The World Market Study of SCADA, EMS, DMS and OMS in Electric Utilities: 2017-2019”

In 2017, Newton-Evans published its 14th survey-based study of the market for electric power control systems (EMS, SCADA, DMS and OMS). Thirty-two of the 68 North American utilities indicated they are planning an upgrade to their existing SCADA system by year-end 2019.

“Do you plan to add any new/replacement or upgraded/retrofitted systems by 2019?” 
Continue reading 40% off “The World Market Study of SCADA, EMS, DMS and OMS in Electric Utilities: 2017-2019”

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Market for “Smart” RTUs Linked to Increase in Sensor Data

According to Schneider Electric, one of the world’s leading RTU manufacturers, Smart RTUs “combine the monitoring and communication capabilities of a remote terminal unit (RTU) with the processing and data-logging power of a programmable logic controller (PLC).” Two recent Newton-Evans studies take a look at Smart RTUs both inside the substation and outside in the field.

Continue reading Market for “Smart” RTUs Linked to Increase in Sensor Data

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Electric Utilities Will Require More 3rd Party Assistance for Cybersecurity in the Next 3 Years

The recently completed Newton-Evans study of the Global Market for Protective Relays shows that out of 97 electric utilities surveyed around the world, 20% claim they currently require outside assistance for cyber security audits of their relay systems, and an additional 42% claim they will need third party assistance by 2022.

Continue reading Electric Utilities Will Require More 3rd Party Assistance for Cybersecurity in the Next 3 Years

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Slight increase in the use of PMUs among Electric Utilities according to survey

According to a survey of 97 electric utility officials in 30 countries, the use of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) may be on the rise. The 2019 Newton-Evans study of protective relay usage, plans and trends found that 44% of International utilities and 31% of North American utilities surveyed indicated use of PMUs; a 3% increase over the previous study’s findings. See the comparison of findings in Figs. A and B below.

Continue reading Slight increase in the use of PMUs among Electric Utilities according to survey

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One-Third of Electric Utilities Surveyed Indicate Over Half of Relays Have Been In Service for >15 Years

Roughly one-third of electric power T&D utility officials indicated in a survey that more than half of protective relays on their systems have been in service for more than 15 years. This is not such a long lifespan for EM relays, which can last 50 years or more, but for programmable, microprocessor relays the average lifespan is usually more in the ballpark of 20-25 years.

Newton-Evans Research Company has published findings from 97 surveyed electric power utility officials, relay manufacturers, suppliers and consultants. Here are a few observations on aging relays and testing intervals for microprocessor relays:
Continue reading One-Third of Electric Utilities Surveyed Indicate Over Half of Relays Have Been In Service for >15 Years

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69% of Electric Utilities Surveyed Separate OT Networks From IT Business Networks

A recent Newton-Evans survey of 55 North American electric utilities finds that companies are even more hesitant than they were in 2016 to combine networks for operational technology with networks used for IT business processes.

Survey participants were asked, “Does your company manage operational technology (OT) protection, control, and automation Ethernet networks separate from your information technology (IT) business process Ethernet networks?” This question is one of several that were asked previously on a 2016 survey of the protective relay marketplace.

In 2019, 69% percent of North American utilities responded that they manage OT networks separately from IT business process Ethernet networks. In 2016, 55% said they manage the networks separately.

Continue reading 69% of Electric Utilities Surveyed Separate OT Networks From IT Business Networks

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35% of Utilities Surveyed Said More Than Half Of Relays Are Over 15 Years in Service

Newton Evans Research Company has recently completed Volume 1 (the North American Market) of the Worldwide Study of the Protective Relay Marketplace: 2019-2022, a four volume market report. Here are a few observations gleaned from the survey:

Survey respondents were asked, “Approximately what % of your relays have been in service for more than 15 years? (Best guess estimate)”

On average, 44% of relays in the utilities surveyed have been in service for more than 15 years. The average percent of relays older than 15 years among Canadian utilities surveyed was 61%; the average among U.S. Cooperatives was 25%.
Continue reading 35% of Utilities Surveyed Said More Than Half Of Relays Are Over 15 Years in Service

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94% of North American Electric Utilities Surveyed Use DNP3 for SCADA

Newton Evans Research Company is currently surveying for the upcoming Worldwide Study of the Protective Relay Marketplace: 2019-2022, a four volume market report. Participants in this market study include utility engineers and managers from investor-owned utilities, municipal and provincial utilities, cooperative utilities within the United States and Canada, together with national power systems throughout the world. This year’s study also includes separate surveys of P&C consultants and relay manufacturers.

Interim findings from the survey of North American electric utilities validate earlier Newton Evans observations that DNP3 is more commonly used for SCADA but less so for Substation Automation, controlling actions issued externally to relays, and communications-assisted protection. Almost all North American utilities surveyed indicated the use of DNP3 for SCADA, while 60% said they use it for substation automation. Only 38% indicated the use of DNP3 for communications-assisted protection. Early tabulations have found some increase in deployments of IEC 61850.
Continue reading 94% of North American Electric Utilities Surveyed Use DNP3 for SCADA

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The U.S. Submersible Medium Voltage Switchgear Market

In an electric power system, submersible switchgear is the special combination of electrical disconnect switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to control, protect and isolate electrical equipment all enclosed in a “vault-like” casing to prevent flooding damage. Submersible switchgear is used both to de-energize equipment to allow work to be done and to clear faults downstream. This type of equipment is important because it operates in the same way as other forms of switchgear and is directly linked to the reliability of the electricity supply.

A variety of interrupting devices can be used with vaulted submersible switches including fuses, air circuit breaker, oil circuit breaker, vacuum circuit breaker or gas (SF6) circuit breaker.

Newton-Evans has estimated the 2017 U.S. market for submersible switchgear to have been about $140-$155 Million – and growing at about 5% per year, a rate somewhat higher than other MV market segments for electric power infrastructure equipment.
Continue reading The U.S. Submersible Medium Voltage Switchgear Market

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Global Study Finds Continuing Moderate Growth in Protective Relay Market with Commitment to Improving Protection Coordination and Grid Security Practices

In 2016, Newton-Evans Research Company completed a six-month research study and survey of protective relay usage patterns in the world community of electric power utilities. Findings from 114 large and mid-size utilities in 28 countries pointed to some newer trends in adoption and use of protection and control technology.

Among the key findings reported in the 2016 four-volume study were these:

  • There was a receptive market for incorporating advanced technological capabilities.
  • The role of synchrophasors and teleprotection continued to expand; providing better situational awareness and visualization for control system operators.
  • Most new and retrofit relay units being purchased were digital relays, but in some of the protection applications studied, such as motor protection and
  • large generator applications, and in installations where electrical interference is strong, electro-mechanical and older solid state relays continued to have a niche market position.

Continue reading Global Study Finds Continuing Moderate Growth in Protective Relay Market with Commitment to Improving Protection Coordination and Grid Security Practices

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Protective Relays and IT/OT Convergence: What Will Be Trending in 2019?

In 2016, Newton-Evans Research Company conducted a six-month research study of protective relay usage patterns in the world community of electric power utilities. Findings from 114 large and mid-size utilities in 28 countries pointed to some newer trends in adoption and use of protection and control technology. Newton-Evans Research Company plans to update this market study in January of 2019: Worldwide Study of the Protective Relay Marketplace: 2019-2022.

Here are some findings from the survey that was conducted in 2016, when we asked utilities how they collect IT information from OT networks:

Where do you provide demarcation between the physical IT and OT networks in order to safely collect IT information from the OT networks? (Check all that apply)
NORTH AMERICA: In 2016, just over half of North American respondents said the demarcation between physical IT and OT networks is at the control center, and 47% said demarcation is in the substation. Seven respondents said demarcation between the two networks is provided at both the control center and in the substation.

Continue reading Protective Relays and IT/OT Convergence: What Will Be Trending in 2019?