Introduction to DMS

SCADA systems have been a part of utility automation for at least 15 years and contributing to the decision making process of the control rooms. However, majority of the existing solutions are closely related to distribution network data acquisition and are not closely mapped to control room operations. With the use of a Distribution Management System (DMS), there is considerable scope for improvement in control room operations which would inturn improve key performance indicators like fault localization & restoration time, System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI), System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI) and customer satisfaction index. 

In the recent years, utilization of electrical energy increased exponentially and customer requirement and quality definitions of “power” were changed enormously. As the electric energy became an essential part of the daily life, its optimal usage and reliability became important. Real-time network view and dynamic decisions have become key for optimizing resources and managing demands, thus making a distribution management system which could handle proper work flows, very critical. 

A Distribution Management System (DMS) is a collection of applications which shall monitor & control the entire distribution network efficiently and reliably. It acts as a decision support system to assist the control room and field operating personnel with the monitoring and control of the electric distribution system. Improving the reliability and quality of service in terms of reducing outages, minimizing outage time, maintaining acceptable frequency and volatage levels are the key deliverables of a DMS. 

Most distribution utilities have been comprehensively using IT solutions through their Outage Management Systems (OMS) that makes use of other systems like Customer Information System (CIS), Geograhical Information System (GIS) and Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS). An outage management system has a detailed network model of the distribution system developed through its GIS.  By combining the locations of outage calls from customers, a rule engine is used to predict the locations of outages. Based on this, restoration activities are charted out and the crew is dispatched for the same.

A DMS takes an Outage Management System to the next level by automating the complete sequences and providing an end to end, integrated view of the entire distribution spectrum. It accesses real-time data and communicates with the Supervisory Control  And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, the Information Storage & Retreival (ISR) system, Communication (COM) Servers, Front-End Processors (FEPs) & Field Remote Terminal Units (through FEPs) and displays the integrated solution.

Know more about DMS & Kalkitech's end to end DA/DMS Solutions at: http://kalkitech.com/offerings/solutions-dms_offerings/