b'22 Partner News Winter 2021EnterpriseFactory Acceptance Testing of Wandsworth 132kV Protection at DAGEM Powers WorkshopProtectingThe protection relay is a device quite like no other; it is required to simultaneously exhibit both stability and sensitivity yet retain the capability to reliably identify and the Grid discriminatively clear faults on the power system, typically within as little as 120 milliseconds at 400kV from fault inception to circuit breaker arc interruption. Achieving this level of reliability requires a rigorous quality assurance process to The intelligent electronic devices at the heart of the UKsbe followed, from initial configuration and testing in the factory, through to on electrical infrastructure and their journey from the factorysite commissioning, onload checks during to the substation and beyond. By David Shammas,initial energisation and finally the periodic preventive maintenance required to take Protection & Control Services Manager at DAGEM Power. place across its 20+ years of service.Factory Acceptance TestingUpon application of project specific settings and logic to IEDs in the factory, The UK is undergoing an energy revolution;What are IEDs? comprehensive secondary injection testing with increased electrification, energy storageIEDs, commonly referred to as protectionis completed, typically using an Omicron and renewable energy connected to therelays, are integrated microprocessor-basedCMC universal relay test set. Omicrons Grid, the shift towards de-centralised lowsystems that monitor complex functions ofadvanced scripting helps automate testing carbon generation is well underway. At thepower system quantities utilising algorithmsprocedures and enables more thorough heart of this transitioning Grid are intelligentto, among other functions, identify electricaland detailed interrogation of the relays electronic devices (IEDs), situated atfaults. This must be achieved in the minimumperformance than would otherwise be electrical substations across the transmissionpossible time in order to prevent unnecessarypossible, whilst also producing reports and distribution system tasked to detect,damage to the faulted and non-faulted plantdetailing the relay behaviour to be locate, and initiate the isolation of faultedalike, prevent wider power system instabilityreferenced during the commissioning plant from the power system.and avoid loss of supply to consumers.phase.'