Relatorio de gestao_2010_INGLES.indd - Efacec

FASTapps
FASTapps (Feeder Automation and Substation Technology
applications) is a fl exible solution for improving the performance
of a power distribution grid and also its reliability and effi ciency,
through auto-repair processes.
• FASTapps easily adapts in real-time to any abnormal
confi guration of the grid without the need for programming or
scripts.
• Operates with existing protocols, controllers and protection
schemes.
• Can be easily expanded to a large number of lines or devices.
• Reduces restore time to less than 20 seconds, signifi cantly
improving key performance indicators.
El Paso Electric initiated a Smart Grid project to implement the
Automation of the Distribution Grid partially fi nanced through a
Smart Grid incentive fund agreed with DOE (Department of Energy)
in April this year.
The second phase of the project, expected for 2011, will include
a Distribution Management System with supply automation for the
region of Van Horn, Texas.
El Paso Electric is a local power distribution company, providing a
power transmission and distribution service to its customers in a
range of 26.000 km2 within the area of Rio Grande, west of Texas
and in the South of New Mexico.
Maintenance
The RDI objective of the Unit is to increase the competitiveness
and differentiation of its solutions, reinforcing its key skills. In
2010, it continued to develop its specifi c skills, cooperating with
Universities, Customers, other Business Units of the Group and
several institutions.
In 2010, the Novo Sistema de Climatização de Radares Militares
(new ventilation system for military radars) project was fi nished.
The project involved the development, construction and installation
of a prototype for the ventilation of the command and control
system for Radar TPS-117 (ECS - Environmental Control System).
Modifi cations were made to the radar in order to adapt the new
system, namely, the use of liquid non-hazardous to the ozone layer,
optimization of energy conservation, transportability, reliability and
operation time, reducing interruptions due to lack of ventilation.
The prototype was tested in a lab and operated in a real environment
(2000 h), having been then approved, since it fulfi lled beyond the
required expectations.
In 2010, improvements were still made to the Manutenção+ system,
with the purpose of considerably improving the set of maintenance
engineering services provided by Efacec.
A management model was developed to manage assets, allowing
history data to be introduced and to indentify and characterize
assets. With this, it is possible to make predictions on the evolution
of the long-term state of equipments, plan future workloads
and be used as a support tool for decision-making regarding new
investments.
This project will continue to undergo changes, in order to adapt it
to the market’s evolution and the needs of the customers.
Environment
The Unit has been carrying out since 2008 a R&D project aimed
at the development of combined processes of solar and biological
photocatalytic oxidation to treat landfi ll leachates. This is an
innovative project, whose objective is to provide a technology that
allows recalcitrant compounds present in leachates to be effectively
removed. These compounds tend to accumulate in the environment
due to lack of effective technologies for their treatment. During
2009 several tests were made with the cooperation of researchers
from FEUP, who demonstrated that the photo-Fenton process, with
solar radiation, allows the biodegradability of the studied effl uents
to be substantially increased – enough reasons to give continuity to
the project.
So, in 2010, the Unit moved on with the development, construction
and installation, in the Suldouro landfi ll, of an experimental unit for
treatment of leachates. In June 2010, treatment tests were made
under real operation conditions. With these tests it is possible to
study the behaviour of variables (UV radiation, temperature, pH,
catalyser, oxidant, biomass, polluters, etc.), optimize operation
conditions of the combined treatment (either on a photocatalysis
level, biological level, or both) and assess results in terms of
effi ciency and treatment cost.
Conclusions on the feasibility of technical and fi nancial aspects of
this technology should be acquired up to August 2011.
It is also worth to mention the Unit’s participation in water, air and
waste treatment processes, which represent new environmental
features nowadays.
Report and Accounts 2010 | 73