Automated switches and Intelli-Team software virtually eliminate outages in city coreBurlington, Ontario (April 2, 2008) - A new first-of-its-kind system, built by Burlington Hydro, which automatically restores power in the critical load areas in Downtown Burlington, has been recognized as the 2008 Electrical Engineering Project of the Year. And while the kudos are flying, the ultimate winners are the residents and businesses in Burlington.
Outages have virtually been eliminated in the Burlington core, and city-wide the system has resulted in a 20 per cent improvement in the duration of outages. Overall reliability has improved by 40 per cent.
The Joseph Brant Hospital, the main water and wastewater treatment facilities, the Canadian Coast Guard and other mission critical services are all under the halo of the new system that monitors and pre-empts issues, isolates faults and re-routes power - all without human intervention.
This is a first-of-its kind system in Canada, combining advanced “scada-mate” switches, RF (radio frequency) communications and rapid, fibre enabled connectivity. The heart of the engineering is new proprietary 'Intelli-team' software programmed by Burlington Hydro and their partner S&C Electric Limited. Special graphics and alarms in the Burlington Hydro control room maintain a 24-7 watch on critical load areas in the downtown core.
"Outages in the past, that would have required one to two hours to find and fix, now are largely restored in seconds." says Gerry Smallegange, Chief Operating Officer, Burlington Hydro Inc. Smallegange accepted the award along with several team members representing the utilities’ engineering and technical services, and its affiliated telecommunications company.
The project of the year honour in the Electrical Engineering category is a proud accolade for Burlington Hydro. The project was chosen by a peer group of engineers on the Hamilton and Halton Engineering Committee in association with by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.
This spring Burlington Hydro will install its 50th automated “scadamate” switch, a significant milestone, as it pursues an ambitious multi-year plan to protect the entire city with its advanced, award winning engineering.
“There are several (11) utilities in Ontario that are larger than
Burlington Hydro, but we are ranked number 1 in the province for operational efficiency. Being recognized for its engineering initiatives is a major coup for the city,” says Burlington Hydro President and CEO, David Collie.
“The massive blackout in August, 2003, heightened security concerns following 9/11 and the province-wide mandate for continuous improvement in reliability, were all contributing factors to our decision to invest strategically in automation,” Collie adds.
"This is a model initiative combining best practices from Burlington Hydro, its affiliated telecommunications company Fibrewired, and industry partners," says Cam Jackson, Burlington Mayor. "It's leading edge technology perfectly aligned with our city's commitment to invest in infrastructure contributing to a smart community," Jackson adds.
Burlington Hydro Inc., established in 1945 as the Burlington Public Utilities Commission, is an energy services based company in the power distribution business. The company serves over 61,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers. Burlington Hydro Inc. is committed to engineering and service delivery excellence. The utility is ranked number 1 in Ontario for operational efficiency.
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For more information contact:
Gary Holloway, 905.632.5424, ext 243
gary@eboundmarketing.com
Jennifer Smith, 905.332.2340
jsmith@burlingtonhydro.com
