National Grid has finalised
the details of a shared IT blueprint using established technologies
for a replacement gas distribution network control system (DNCS)
and has begun initial stress testing.
The utility began work on the national IT blueprint 14 months
ago, alongside three other network operators, having sold its
distribution networks to Scotia Gas, Northern Gas Networks and
Wales and West Utilities in 2005.
Rolling out standard technology blueprints which are then
integrated and adapted locally is established practice in the
private sector, with Tesco being a recent adherent.
David Salisbury, programme manager at National Grid UK
Distribution, said the work between the four gas distributors to
specify and tender the system from Serck Controls and Atos Origin
went surprisingly smoothly, given the complexity and scale of the
project. The tender document which sets out the blueprint runs to
320 pages.
"We decided from the outset to go for a simple approach. It had
to be a proven solution and as out-of-the-box as we could get it.
We were trying to minimise the technical challenges."
The DNCS is a critical system to handle the practicalities of
gas transportation across the national network.
It includes real-time monitoring and control of the distribution
network, including pipes and valves, as well as business reporting,
demand forecasting and network balancing to calculate gas demand
throughputs.
Daniel Dresner, security analyst at the National Computer
Centre, said National Grid and the other network operators were
right to opt for a secure approach which consciously avoided using
unproven technologies.
"It is vital that they have a solid kernel they are building on
to limit known risks, unknown risks and unknowable risks," said
Dresner.
The DNCS system will be based on Serck Controls' SCX6 platform
as the engine for both supervisory control and data acquisition,
plus core business applications.
SCX6 was designed using industry standards such as OPC (open
connectivity via open standards), Open Database Connectivity, and
the OPC XML-DA markup language.
National Grid will be the first of the four network operators to
implement the DNCS system, and will go live in June or July next
year, though the initial customisation of the platform's core code
to support particular operational and business processes is
expected to take just 44 days.
Salisbury said he would not move to the new system in the winter
for safety reasons.
Related article:
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distribution control
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