SCADA
Following the decision of the government to division the energy company
ESM in 2005, three independent companies were formed. One company is
responsible for electricity transmission (AD MEPSO), another for electricity
distribution (AD ESM-Distribution), and a third for electricity production
(AD ELEM). As part of this transformation, the dispatch center that
managed power plants became part of the newly formed company AD
MEPSO. Consequently, the management of production capacities
remained under the jurisdiction of AD MEPSO in collaboration and in
accordance with the plans of AD ELEM. This was in accordance with the
regulations at that time, which determined the authority responsible for
managing production capacities. Immediately after the separation and
formation of the new company AD ELEM, the need arose to establish a
dispatch center to manage the company's production facilities to be part
of the same company. Therefore, in 2009, the dispatch center was
established within the AD ELEM, specifically in the power generation
sector, and the necessary hardware and software for the management of
its own power plants were procured.
New hardware was procured, including two redundant servers and 18
workstations. Additionally, the Spectrum Power 4 / SINAUT Power 4TM
System v4.6 software was installed in 2010. From 2010 until today,
several attempts were made to upgrade the system, but all of them were
unsuccessful. The only action taken was ongoing maintenance of the
hardware, specifically maintaining the servers and workstations, without
replacing them with new technology.
Just to note that Siemens continuously improves its software, so staying
up-to-date is essential for optimal performance.
Siemens has released an update for the Spectrum Power and
recommends updating to the latest version, to Spectrum Power 7 .
AD ESM did not perform that update, so we have no longer support from
the Siemens for version 4.6, the recommendation from Siemens is that we
should go directly to version 7, because all the other version will lose
support in the years that comes.
Siemens strongly recommends applying the provided security updates
using the corresponding tooling and documented procedures made
available with the product. If supported by the product, an automated
means to apply the security updates across multiple product instances
may be used. Siemens strongly recommends prior validation of any
security update before being applied, and supervision by trained staff of
the update process in the target environment.
As a general security measure Siemens strongly recommends protecting
network access with appropriate mechanisms (e.g., firewalls,
segmentation, VPN). Users are encouraged to configure the environment
according to Siemens’ operational guidelines for industrial
security and security guidelines for digital grid products in order to run the
devices in a protected IT environment.
From 2010 onwards, three new production capacities were built, each
incorporating additional software and control systems. However, these
production capacities are not integrated into the central control system of
the dispatch centre. What is needed is real-time dispatch requirements
and the optimization of generation assets.
In 2019, AD ELEM changed its name to AD ESM.
Due to diversity of the assets AD ESM is managing is need a
comprehensive solution based on a true open platform that enables easy
data exchange and provide standard interfaces with other systems (Power
Plant Control System, EMS, Metering system).
This year, there is another attempt to upgrade the software and replace
the outdated hardware equipment with new ones.
In the portfolio of AD ESM, the following power plants are included, along
with their control systems:
1. TPP Bitola:
1.1. TPP Bitola 1 – has Siemens Power Plant Automation STTP
T3000 installed 2010 and has been not upgraded since then.
1.2. TPP Bitola 2 – has Siemens Power Plant Automation STTP
T3000 installed 2011 and has been not upgraded since then.
1.3. TPP Bitola 3 – OVATION CONTROL SYSTEMS automatic
control, measurement and protection, EMERSON Process
Management product installed 2006 level 3.0 and has been
upgraded in 2019 in Ovation system level 3.6.0
2. TPP Oslomej:
3. Mavrovo Hydroelectric System:
OVATION CONTROL SYSTEMS automatic control, measurement and
protection EMERSON Process Management product.
• HPS Mavrovo 2002 – 2004 (system level 1.4)
– Upgraded in 2017 with Ovation system level 3.6.0
4. Tikveš Hydroelectric Power Plant
OVATION CONTROL SYSTEMS automatic control, measurement and
protection EMERSON Process Management product.
HPP Tikvesh 2002 – 2003 (system level 1.4)
4.1. Upgraded in 2018 with Ovation system level 3.6.0
5. Crn Drin Hydroelectric System: Includes the Globočica and Spilje
Hydro Power Plants.
OVATION CONTROL SYSTEMS automatic control, measurement and
protection EMERSON Process Management product.
• HPS Crn Drim 2002 – 2003 (system level 1.5.3) In HPP Spilje and
HPP Globocica
– Upgraded in 2018 with Ovation system level 3.6.0
6. Treska Hydroelectric System: Comprises the Kozjak and Sveta
Petka hydro power plants.
• HPP Kozjak
IWHR product from PR China, implemented in 2004 and since then
has been not upgraded.
• HPP Sv. Petka
Siemens - KORONA product from R. Slovenija implemented in 2012
and since then has been not upgraded.
7. TE-TO Energetika:
Reasons for upgrade
• Equipment with exceeded recommended use,
• Inaccessibility of spare parts,
• No longer support for existing software,
• No longer support for the app resource optimization (Data
Warehouse),
• Inability to include new production capacities in the existing SCADA.
