Prospective areas of research:

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Innovative development drives the Company’s improvements in efficiency, reliability, quality and cost effectiveness in supplying energy to consumers through the deployment of modern technologies to transform the intellectual core of the technological infrastructure of the electric power industry.

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Federal Grid Company’s strategic priority of innovative development comes to life through the introduction of digital technologies and platforms. In today’s business world, the use of digital data is a crucial factor in production across all spheres of the economy, a precondition for competitiveness and economic development of the country, ensuring the betterment of people’s quality of life. The digitisation of business is a response to external technological challenges and future structural changes in the energy industry.

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Another area of innovation for the Company is superconductivity, within the framework of which a high-temperature superconducting DC cable line is is being produced, the first of its kind in Russia and the largest of its kind in the world. The Russian Ministry of Energy has included Federal Grid Company’s developments in the field of superconductivity as part of a national project, which will lead to the scaling of this technology both in Russia and abroad.

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Federal Grid Company is one of the key players in the implementation of such innovative projects. In executing this strategy, the Company strives to meet the future requirements of all stakeholders.

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Remote control is a set of measures that allow to remotely perform a full range of switching operations on the UNEG from grid control centers, including the management of primary equipment and secondary systems.

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Progress in 2017:
- 37 projects for the creation of a software and hardware system for automated dispatch and technologicalmanagement of the Grid Control Center (PTC ASDTU GCC);
- 57 projects for the modernisation of the information collection and transmission system (ICTS);
- 10 projects for the creation / modernisation of the substation automated process control system (APCS SS) with remote control functionality.

By 2021 The Company plans to transfer 93 of its substations across the country to remote control operations.

By 2025 all of the Company’s substations will be equipped with digital communications for remote control from single centers.

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As of 31 December 2017, FGC UES had 125 FIRST-GENERATION DIGITAL SUBSTATIONS (employing elements of the innovative Digital Substation equipment).

 

At these facilities, according to the published standard of service in 2017, the planned work on the prevention of automation and relay protection systems was reduced from 40 hours to 8 hours.

By 2025 33 digital substation projects with a high degree of digitisation, namely, the introduction of optical current transformers, will be commissioned.

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High-temperature superconducting DC cable line

HTSC CL transmits significant power with a minimal cut set, and has greater bandwidth than traditional cables. When the current passes through the superconductor, heat is not released, the magnetic field is localised inside the cable, and there is practically no loss of electricity, thereby solving the main problem faced by grids.

In 2015, the HTSC cable line was manufactured in full.

In 2016, JSC STC FGC UES completed a five-year project to create a high-temperature superconductor for the cable line 2,500 metre-long with a current of 2,500 amperes for a voltage of 20 kilovolts.

In 2016, an experimental base was prepared at the JSC STC FGC UES testing site for large-scale resource testing of the HTSC cable line assembled with a regular autonomous cryogenic system.

In 2017 the stage of resource testing of high-temperature superconductors in the course of which the line was erected, pre-commissioning activities at the CSS (cryogenic support system), completion of the software of the  control system of the CSS and the software of the control, regulation, protection and automation system (CRPAS) HTSC cable line. In essences, a fully functioning simulation of the operating mode at the installation site of HTSC cable line in St. Petersburg.

In 2018-2020, the Company plans to complete all testing of emergency modes and develop a system of locks and protections, carry out construction, installation and commissioning works.

In 2020, the HTSC cable line will be put into operation on the St. Petersburg power system and will connect two substations 330 kV Central and RP-9 substations, which will increase the reliability of the city’s electricity supply.