Rostechnadzor issued an Act of Investigation into the Causes of a Systemic Accident that occurred on August 1, 2017 in the United Energy System of the East (UES East), an accident that left over 1.7 million people without electricity in several regions of the Far Eastern Federal District.
The Act lists all the main participants in the events, dozens of signs of an accident, technical circumstances, organizational deficiencies, cases of non-compliance with the dispatcher's command and the facts of improper operation of equipment, design errors and violations of the requirements of regulatory legal acts, shows that the main and essentially the only reason for what happened was inconsistent functioning elements of the power system. This is the same reason underlying most system crashes.
The 500 kV line near Khabarovsk was being repaired, on August 1 at 22 local time there was an oversized shutdown (short circuit when an oversized load passed under the wires) of the 220 kV line of the Federal Grid Company (FGC). Then there was a shutdown of the second 220 kV transmission line. The reason is the incorrect setting of relay protection and automation (RPA), it did not take into account the possibility of power transmission lines operating with such a load. The shutdown of the second 220 kV transmission line led to the division of the IES of the East into two parts. After that, the automatic power control at the RusHydro power plant worked incorrectly, which provoked the further development of the accident and its scale. The result is the shutdown of several power lines, including those leading to China.
- The protection worked, the emergency automatics, a number of power facilities went out of order. The operating parameters of six stations have changed. Distribution networks have suffered, - Olga Amelchenko, a representative of Far Eastern Distribution Grid Company JSC, told RG.
As a result, the unified energy system of the South of the Far East was divided into two isolated parts: redundant and deficient. Outages occurred in both. In the excessive one, the protection of the generating and power grid equipment worked, and in the deficient one - automatic frequency unloading.
The official reason for the incident was "inconsistent functioning of the elements of the power system."
According to the Rostekhnadzor investigation act, the main causes of the accident are "excessive operation of relay protection devices, incorrect operation of automatic control systems of generating equipment, shortcomings of the algorithm used by the developer for the operation of emergency automation in the 220 kV network, shortcomings in the operation of power grid equipment."
What happened on August 1 was not even an accident, but a series of accidents. In 2012, there were 78 systemic accidents, in eight months of 2017 - only 29. There were fewer major accidents, but, unfortunately, they became larger. In 2017, there were five such accidents with large-scale consequences - the division of the power system into isolated parts, the shutdown of a large amount of generation and a massive power outage.
The main problem is that the industry does not have mandatory requirements for equipment parameters and their coordinated operation as part of the Unified National Energy System. A certain critical mass has accumulated, which has led to the latest large-scale accidents.
A minor problem that could have been fixed in the shortest possible time turned into a major incident with system-wide consequences. At each stage, the situation was aggravated by incorrect actions of automation, designed and configured by people. She reacted incorrectly.
One of the main causes of accidents in the power system of Russia, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Andrey Cherezov, called the inconsistent operation of equipment, the activity was not actually based on any regulatory framework, as a result, it turned out that different equipment in the power system often works inconsistently.
The new "code" for the work of the electric power industry was never created after the completion of the industry reform. With the departure from the arena of RAO UES of Russia and the transfer of interaction between the subjects of the electric power industry to market relations, most of the regulatory acts of a technological nature have lost their legitimacy, since they were issued by orders of RAO.
The mandatory requirements for equipment, spelled out in the documents of the Soviet era, have long lost their legal status, moreover, many of them are morally outdated and do not correspond to the modern development of technologies.
Meanwhile, “since 2002, energy entities have been massively introducing new devices - new equipment has been actively installed under the CDA, large-scale investment programs have been implemented, and a large number of power facilities have been built. As a result, it turned out that different equipment in the power system often works inconsistently, ”noted Andrey Tcherezov.
“We have a lot of subjects of electricity, and the interaction between them should be regulated, but they seem to act independently,” said Russian Deputy Energy Minister Andrei Cherezov right after the accident.
Only normative regulation of technological activities is capable of ensuring the coordinated operation of the elements of the power system. And for this, it is necessary to create a transparent and technically correct system of generally binding requirements for the elements of the energy system and the actions of the industry entities.
- There should be no autonomous functioning, because we work in a unified energy system, respectively, the Ministry of Energy of Russia intends to regulate everything through regulatory legal acts, - said Andrey Tcherezov.
- It is necessary to create clear, understandable conditions - who is responsible for the system, emergency automation, for its functionality, installations.
The ministry has begun work on improving the rules for investigating accidents in terms of a comprehensive systematization of causes, creating mechanisms for determining and implementing measures to prevent them. “These rules define exclusively the technical requirements for the equipment, without limiting the freedom to choose a manufacturer. Also, this document does not stipulate terms for reconfiguring or replacing equipment, ”said Andrey Tcherezov.
The Ministry of Energy of Russia organized work to restore the system of mandatory requirements in the industry, which was not properly developed during the reform of the energy sector. Federal Law No. 196-FZ of 23.06.2016 was adopted, which enshrines the powers of the Government of the Russian Federation or its authorized federal executive body to establish mandatory requirements for ensuring the reliability and safety of electric power systems and electric power facilities.
Currently, dozens of regulatory legal acts and industry-wide regulatory and technical documents are being developed and are being prepared for adoption in accordance with plans approved at the level of the Government of Russia.
In August, the President of the country instructed the Ministry of Energy to submit proposals to prevent massive power outages. One of the first steps should be the adoption of the most important systemic document - the Rules for the functioning of electric power systems. His draft has already been submitted to the RF government for consideration. These generally binding rules will set the framework for normative and technical regulation - they will establish key technological requirements for the operation of the power system and its constituent facilities. In addition, it requires the adoption of many concretizing normative and technical documents already at the level of the Ministry of Energy.
Many of them have been drafted and publicly discussed. A series of emergency events in the UES of Russia in recent years is forcing power engineers to rush.
“One of the key tasks today is to direct investments in the optimization of the existing energy system, and not in building up the energy system as an asset, which is not yet possible to operate optimally,” said Evgeny Grabchak, Director of the Department of Operational Control and Management in the Electric Power Industry of the Ministry of Energy of Russia, at the International Forum on Energy Efficiency and energy development "Russian Energy Week" (Moscow, St. Petersburg, 5 - 7.10.2017)
- Taking as a basis a single coordinate system, unambiguously defining all subjects and objects, describing their interaction, as well as learning to communicate in one language, we can ensure not only horizontal and vertical integration of all information flows that rotate in the power industry, but also link decentralized centers management with a unified logic of making the necessary corrective decisions by the regulator. Thus, in an evolutionary way, a toolkit will be created to simulate the achievement of the basic state of the electric power industry of the future, and we see it in the optimal cost of a unit of electricity - a kilowatt at a given level of safety and reliability, - Yevgeny Grabchak explained.
In his opinion, in parallel, it will be possible to achieve additional benefits not only for the regulator and individual facilities, but also for related companies and the state as a whole.
- Among these advantages, I would like to note, first of all, the creation of new markets for services, these are: predictive modeling of the state of the power system and its individual elements; life cycle assessment; analytics of optimal control of technological processes; analytics on the operation of the system and its individual elements; analytics for the development of new technologies and testing of existing ones; formation of a sectoral order for industry and an assessment of the profitability of the creation of production of electrical and related products; development of logistics services, asset management optimization services, and much more. However, to implement these changes, in addition to defining a single coordinate system, it is necessary to reverse the trend of introducing advanced, but unique and non-integrable technologies.
P. S.
On October 2, Vitaly Sungurov was appointed to the position of General Director of the Branch of SO UES JSC "United Dispatch Administration of the Energy System of the East" (ODU East), who previously held the post of Advisor to the Director for UES Development Management of SO UES JSC, and before that headed a number of regional dispatch offices System operator.
From 2014 to 2017, Vitaly Leonidovich Sungurov was the director of the branches of the Udmurt Regional Dispatch Administration and the Perm Regional Dispatch Administration. During this period, Vitaly Sungurov took an active part in the process of structural optimization of the System Operator. Under his leadership, a project was successfully implemented to enlarge the operating zone of the Perm Regional Dispatch Office, which took over the functions of operational dispatch control of the electric power regime of the UES of Russia in the territory of the Udmurt Republic and the Kirov Region.
Based on the results of the annual audit, which took place from 24 to 26 October, the Branch of SO UES JSC, United Dispatching Office of the East Power System (ODU East), received a certificate of readiness for operation in the autumn-winter period (OZP) 2017/2018.
The results of emergency response training confirmed the readiness of the dispatching personnel of the System Operator to effectively interact with the operational personnel of the electric power industry entities in the elimination of accidents, as well as to ensure the reliable functioning of the United Energy System of the East in the autumn-winter period of 2017/2018.
One of the main conditions for obtaining a certificate of readiness for work in the OZP is the receipt of readiness passports by all regional dispatch offices (RDD) of the operating zone of the branch of SO UES JSC of the ODU. All RDOs of the operational zone of the ODE East during October successfully passed inspections and received passports of readiness to work in the autumn of 2017/2018. Obtaining readiness passports by the branches of SO UES JSC, ODU and RDU, is a prerequisite for issuing to the System Operator a passport of readiness to work in the upcoming AWP
A new version of the centralized emergency control system (CSPA) of the United Energy System of the East with the Bureyskaya HPP emergency control system connected to it in the branch of SO UES OJSC “United Dispatching Management of Energy Systems of the East” (ODU Vostoka) has been put into commercial operation.
The modernization of the centralized control system and the connection of the Bureyskaya HPP to the local automatic stability prevention device (LAPNU) as its downstream device will make it possible to minimize the amount of control actions in the power system to disconnect consumers in case of emergencies at electric power facilities.
TsSPA IES East was put into commercial operation in 2014. Initially, the LAPNU of the Zeyskaya HPP and the LAPNU of the Primorskaya GRES were used as grassroots devices for it. After the upgrade of the hardware and software base of LAPNU carried out by the branch of PJSC RusHydro - Bureyskaya HPP, its connection to the centralized control center also became possible.
“The successful commissioning of the LAPNU of the Bureyskaya HPP as part of the Centralized Control System of the IES of the East made it possible to bring the automatic emergency control in the power grid to a qualitatively new level. The number of start-up bodies increased from 16 to 81, the CSPA covered two-thirds of the controlled sections in the IES of the East, the volume of control actions on disconnecting consumers in the event of an emergency in the power system was significantly minimized, ”noted Natalya Kuznetsova, Director for Mode Management - Chief Dispatcher of the ODS East.
In order to connect the Bureyskaya HPP emergency control system, specialists from the ODE Vostok in 2017–2018 carried out a set of measures, which included the preparation and configuration of the TsSPA test site, setting up its network interaction with the LAPNU of the Bureyskaya HPP. According to the developed ODE of the East and the program coordinated with the Branch of PJSC RusHydro - Bureyskaya HPP, tests were carried out for the operation of the LAPNU as a downstream device of the Centralized Control System, as well as monitoring and analysis of computational models, monitoring the communication channels and information exchange between the Centralized Control System and the LAPNU, setting up network interaction and software.
TsSPA IES East belongs to the family of third-generation centralized emergency control systems. Compared to previous generations, they have extended functionality, including a more advanced algorithm for calculating the static stability of the power system and an algorithm for choosing control actions according to the conditions for ensuring not only static, but also dynamic stability - the stability of the power system in the process of emergency disturbances. Also, the new CSPA operate on the basis of a new algorithm for assessing the state of the electric power mode of the power system. Each CSPA has a two-tier structure: upper-level software and hardware complexes are installed in the dispatch centers of the ODU, and lower-level devices are installed at dispatching facilities.
In addition to the IES of the East, the IES of the third generation successfully operate in the IES of the North-West and the IES of the South. Systems in the IES of the Middle Volga, the Urals and the Tyumen power system are in trial operation.
JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System", PJSC "Yakutskenergo" and the Branch of PJSC "FGC UES" of MES East successfully conducted a field experiment, which proved the possibility of restoring power supply to consumers of the Central Energy Region (CER) of the power system of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) from the United Power System (IES) of the East by transferring the dividing point between them.
The experiment was carried out at the initiative of Yakutskenergo PJSC in agreement with SO UES JSC and by the decision of the Headquarters for ensuring the safety of power supply in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The purpose of the experiment was to work out the actions of the dispatcher and operating personnel when restoring power supply to the ulus (districts) located on the right bank of the Lena River in the Central Energy District of the Yakutsk energy system from the IES East via a 220 kV cable-overhead line (KVL) Nizhniy Kuranakh - Maya.
Specialists of the branches of SO UES JSC, the United Power System Directorate of the East (ODE East), the Regional Dispatch Office of the Amur Region Power System (Amur Regional Dispatch Office) with the participation of specialists of the SO UES JSC branch Regional Dispatch Office of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Yakutsk Regional Dispatch Office) and PJSC Yakutskenergo "a Program has been developed, the requirements for the parameters of the electric power regime of the IES East and the CER of the Yakutsk energy system are determined, and circuit conditions have been created for supplying the load of the CED from the IES East. Switching control was carried out by the commands of the dispatching personnel of the Amur Regional Dispatching Office and the Technological Management Department of Yakutskenergo.
In the course of the experiment, which lasted more than 21 hours, the dividing point between the IES of the East and the CER of the energy system of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) was successfully transferred to the depths of the Central Energy District, as a result of which part of the consumers of Yakutia received electricity from the IES of the East. The maximum instantaneous value of the power flow rate reached 70 MW; in total, over a million kWh of electricity was transferred to consumers in the central part of Yakutia.
"The results obtained confirmed the possibility of restoring the power supply of the trans-river uluses in the Central Power District of the Yakutsk Power System from the IES of the East in the event of accidents at the generating equipment of this power district. Also, during the experiment, data were obtained, the analysis of which will allow to develop measures to optimize the switching process and reduce the time of interruption in the power supply to consumers. when transferring the dividing point between the Central Economic Center and the IES of the East, "noted Natalya Kuznetsova, Director of Operations Management - Chief Dispatcher of the East Central Dispatch Office.
At present, the Western and Central energy districts of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) power system with a total installed capacity of 1.5 GW of power plants operate in isolation from the UES of Russia, and PJSC Yakutskenergo is in charge of operational dispatch control on their territory. In 2016, in preparation for the implementation of operational dispatch control of the energy system of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) as part of the Western and Central energy regions and the organization of the connection of these energy regions to the 2nd synchronous zone of the UES of Russia - the IES of the East - the branch of SO UES Yakutsk RDU. He will assume the functions of operational dispatch control on the territory of the Western and Central energy districts of the Yakutsk energy system after the Government of the Russian Federation makes appropriate changes to the regulatory documents and excludes the Yakutsk energy system from the list of isolated ones.
Last summer, a bright event took place in the east of the country, which can rightfully be called significant for the entire industry. Without much fanfare, but for the first time in its history, the United Energy System of the East was included in parallel synchronous operation with the United Energy System of Siberia, and hence with the entire western part of the United Energy System of Russia.
It should be clarified that the UES of Russia includes two synchronous zones. The first includes six parallel operating interconnected power systems (UES) - North-West, Center, South, Middle Volga, Urals and Siberia. In the second, there is only one single IES of the East. It unites the power systems of the Amur Region, Primorsky Territory, Khabarovsk Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region, as well as the South Yakutsk Energy District. Electrical connections between the energy systems of Siberia and the Far East have existed since the mid-1980s - these are three 220 kV lines along the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur main lines (the first, albeit with a very slight advance, appeared along the BAM). However, the very fact of the existence of lines is one thing, and long-term parallel work on them is quite another. The latter is simply impossible due to the insufficient carrying capacity of the lines, which were not built as intersystem connections, but only for the power supply of the railway and nearby settlements. Thus, the IES of the East operates in isolation from the first synchronous zone of the UES of Russia - the connecting lines are open at one of the substations on the territory of the Trans-Baikal Territory. To the east of this split point, consumers (primarily the Trans-Baikal Railway) receive power from the IES of the East, and to the west - from the IES of Siberia.
Dispatch center of the ODE of the East. Last preparations for the first experience of parallel operation of both synchronous zones of the UES of Russia
The point of separation between synchronous zones is not static. Dozens of times a year it is transferred from one traction substation to another - from Holbon to Skovorodino. This is done mainly to ensure repairs - both planned and emergency - of lines, substations, etc. In practice, the transfer of the dividing point is associated with the need for a short-term disconnection of the consumers powered from the intersystem lines and, of course, causes inconvenience. The most unpleasant effect is the forced interruption in the movement of trains along the Trans-Baikal section of the Trans-Siberian Railway on the tracks between several traction substations. Its duration, as a rule, ranges from 30 minutes to two hours. And if during planned transfers of the point of separation only freight traffic usually suffers, then during emergency transfers, it happens that passenger trains also stop.
At the end of July and in August, the System Operator (OJSC SO UES), whose main function is to carry out centralized operational dispatch control in the UES of Russia, together with the Federal Grid Company (PJSC FGC UES) carried out tests to transfer the dividing point without redemption load. For this, for a short time, parallel synchronous (that is, with a single frequency of electric current) work of the IES of the East and the IES of Siberia was organized.
Dispatcher workplace
First of all, the tests were supposed to confirm the very possibility of short-term parallel operation of power systems along extended - more than 1,300 kilometers - 220 kV lines, which were never intended for such purposes and therefore are not equipped with the appropriate equipment: regime and emergency control systems. The complexity of the task was determined by the fact that such tests were carried out in Russia for the first time; in high-flown language, it was a step into the unknown.
The point of synchronization of both OES in the process of testing was the 220 kV Mogocha substation, the sectional switches of which, during the recent reconstruction, were equipped with synchronism catching and control devices (and more specifically, the ARC US (CS). and the permissible frequency difference in the IES of the East and the IES of Siberia. The limits for static and dynamic stability were also calculated. In addition, since the lines are not equipped with automatic elimination of the asynchronous mode (ALAR), a temporary current cutoff was organized at the Mogocha substation. modes (SMPR) at the Kharanorskaya TPP in the Trans-Baikal Territory, additionally such devices were installed at the Mogocha and Skovorodino substations.
The fact is that the parallel connection itself was a simpler task than ensuring subsequent parallel operation. The aforementioned sectional switch was turned on automatically by a command from the synchronization device, when the frequency difference and the angle between the voltage vectors of the IES East and the IES of Siberia turned out to be in the permissible range. But it was more difficult to maintain a new mode of joint operation of two huge power interconnections so that they do not accidentally split up. In the course of a series of experiments, the regime was controlled by regulating the flow of active power between the IES of the East and the IES of Siberia by an amount from 20 to 120 MW. The regulation of the amount of flow and frequency in the interconnected power systems was carried out using the centralized system for automatic regulation of frequency and power flows (CS ARCHM) of the IES East, to which the Zeyskaya and Bureyskaya HPPs are connected, as well as dispatch personnel of the ODU East (branch of the System Operator) from the dispatch center in Khabarovsk ... The most valuable information required to determine the characteristics and operating conditions of parallel operation of the IES of the East and the IES of Siberia was recorded in real time by the SMPR registrars and by means of the operational information complex of SO UES OJSC.
The total duration of the time of joint work of power grids in nine experiments exceeded three hours. Successfully carried out tests not only proved the possibility of short-term parallel operation of the United Energy Systems of the East and Siberia, but also made it possible to experimentally determine the optimal tuning parameters of the central control system of the ARChM UPS East, and also provided data for the development of measures to improve the reliability of the power systems.
Historical moment - for the first time the power flow between the IES of the East and the IES of Siberia through the switched on switch at the 220 kV Mogocha substation is displayed on the control panel
The obtained results and positive experience make it possible in the future to significantly increase the reliability of power supply to consumers by short-term switching on of parallel operation of the IES of the East and the IES of Siberia with each transfer of the dividing points. In this case, the power supply of all consumers connected to the intersystem power lines along the Trans-Siberian Railway in the eastern part of the Trans-Baikal Territory will not be interrupted - consumers will not even notice the moment of switching.
However, the success of the tests does not mean an instant, as if by magic, change in the situation with short-term consumer repayment. For this, it is still necessary to equip section switches at twenty-two 220 kV substations of the Erofei Pavlovich - Mogocha - Holbon traction transit with synchronization devices. The question of the need for such work was raised at a meeting of the government commission on ensuring the safety of power supply in the Far Eastern Federal District, held on September 5 in Vladivostok. As a result, Russian Railways was instructed to develop and approve an action plan, which includes the installation of synchronization devices on section breakers to transfer the dividing point between the IES of the East and the UES of Russia without repaying the load.
Technologists are monitoring the progress of the tests. On the left - the head of the tests, the director for control of modes - the chief dispatcher of the ODU of the East, Natalya Kuznetsova. At the workplaces of dispatchers - senior dispatcher Sergei Solomenny and dispatcher Oleg Stetsenko
One way or another, last summer the System Operator and the Federal Grid Company not only carried out a unique experiment on the parallel operation of both synchronous zones of the UES of Russia, but also created practical prerequisites for a radical increase in the reliability of power supply to the Trans-Siberian Railway and other consumers in the eastern part of the Trans-Baikal Territory.
JSC System Operator of the Unified Energy System has successfully carried out tests to connect the united power systems (UES) of the East and Siberia to parallel synchronous operation. The results of the tests confirmed the possibility of stable short-term joint work of power grids, which will make it possible to transfer the dividing point between them without interrupting the power supply to consumers.
The purpose of the tests is to determine the main characteristics, indicators and operating conditions of parallel operation of the united power systems of the East and Siberia, as well as to verify models for calculating steady-state conditions and static stability, transient conditions and dynamic stability. Parallel work was organized by synchronizing the interconnected power systems of Siberia and the East on the sectional switch of the 220 kV Mogocha substation.
For testing at the 220 kV Mogocha substation and the 220 kV Skovorodino substation, transient monitoring system recorders were installed, designed to collect real-time information on the parameters of the electric power mode of the power system. Also during the tests, the SMPR recorders installed on.
During the tests, three experiments were carried out in the mode of parallel synchronous operation of the IES of the East and the IES of Siberia with the regulation of active power flow in the controlled section "Skovorodino - Erofei Pavlovich traction" from 20 to 100 MW in the direction of the IES of Siberia. The parameters of the electric power regime during the experiments were recorded by the SMPR recorders and by means of the operational information complex (OIC), intended for receiving, processing, storing and transmitting telemetric information about the operating mode of power facilities in real time.
The control of the electric power regime during the parallel operation of the IES of the East with the IES of Siberia was carried out by regulating the flow of active power using the Central Automatic Frequency and Power Flow Control System (CS ARChM) of the IES of the East, to which the Zeyskaya HPP and the Bureyskaya HPP are connected, as well as the dispatching personnel of the ODU East.
Within the framework of the tests, short-term parallel synchronous operation of the IES of Siberia and the IES of the East was ensured. At the same time, the tuning parameters of the ARChM CS of the IES of the East were experimentally determined, operating in the mode of automatic control of the power flow with frequency correction over the section "Skovorodino - Erofei Pavlovich / t", which ensure stable parallel operation of the IES of the East and the IES of Siberia.
“The results obtained confirmed the possibility of a short-term connection to parallel operation of the IES of the East and the IES of Siberia when transferring the dividing point between power interconnections from the 220 kV Mogocha substation. If all 220 kV substations of the Erofey Pavlovich - Mogocha - Holbon transit are equipped with synchronization means, it will be possible to transfer the dividing point between the IES of Siberia and the IES of the East without a short interruption in the power supply to consumers from any transit substation, which will significantly increase the reliability of power supply of the Trans-Baikal section of the Trans-Siberian Railway ", - noted Natalya Kuznetsova, the chief dispatcher of the ODE of the East.
Based on the results of the tests, the analysis of the data obtained will be carried out and measures will be developed to improve the reliability of the power system in the context of the transition to short-term parallel synchronous operation of the IES of Siberia and the IES of the East.