Press/Announcements

OATI Provides Expertise at GRE Cooperative Automation Technology Meeting

Open Access Technology International, Inc. (OATI) defines how to maximize CVR implementation and optimize results without affecting end-use consumers.  

Minneapolis, MN: October 30, 2013 – Based on a proven history of deploying its Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) functionality, OATI was invited to the Great River Energy Cooperative (GRE) Automation Technology Meeting on October 17, 2013, to discuss a practical approach to CVR and how cooperatives can implement this innovative technology.

CVR is one of the most cost-effective ways utilities can manage electrical loads. By deliberately and actively controlling electrical network devices, utilities can reduce consumption through voltage changes on the network. CVR may be performed as an event or on a continuous basis for reducing peak demand or total energy consumption.

At the GRE Meeting, held in Maple Grove, Minnesota, for their cooperatives, OATI detailed the engineering considerations needed to implement CVR. OATI laid out the necessary steps to successfully deploy CVR using webDistribute, OATI’s flagship Smart Grid solution. OATI webDistribute leverages real-time measurement and violation alarm data coming from both SCADA and AMI meters to deliver a truly unique approach to CVR that maximizes the benefits of this functionality.

By using AMI data, which renders the secondary distribution network observable, webDistribute makes possible a larger consumption decrease as CVR voltage constraints are actually measured, not just estimated. Cooperatives utilizing observable networks are able to establish performance metrics that produce real-world results.

“While other methods of CVR implementation lower voltages based on estimation of service voltages, our approach uses actual AMI voltage measurements and violation alarms. This allows, in some cases, almost double the amount of voltage reduction and even greater decreases in power demand compared to other approaches,” said Ilya Roytelman, Ph.D., Principal Engineer Distribution Systems Applications at OATI.

“By presenting to the cooperatives at the GRE Meeting, OATI provided them with a path for successfully implementing CVR,” said Walter Kalsow, M.S., Principal Consultant Smart Energy Solutions at OATI. “CVR efforts result in significant savings for cooperatives by reducing peak load charges, and this savings is then passed along to the consumer with lower energy costs.”  

OATI provides innovative software solutions that simplify, streamline, and empower the operational tasks required in today’s energy commerce and Smart Grid environment. With more than 1,300 customers in North America, OATI successfully deploys large, complicated, and diverse mission-critical applications committed to industry standards and stringent NERC CIP guidelines.

OATI (www.oati.com) is a leading provider of Smart Grid, Energy Trading and Risk Management, Transmission Scheduling, Congestion Management, and Market Management products and services. OATI is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with an office in Redwood City, California. For more information, please contact sales@oati.net.