Settings Management with IED-Integrated Reporting Leads to Enhanced System Benefits

Device settings management, associated with the 500 MW expansion of an existing oil and gas facility’s 250 MW power system incorporating approximately 12,000 protective relays and other intelligent electronic devices, requires careful planning, defined commissioning processes, and meticulous change management administration. However, once systems are in place, loss-of-production events due to settings errors or relay manufacturer defects can be minimized in duration or eradicated completely when compared to traditional settings management methods.This paper presents an overview of the expanded power system, including intelligent electronic device-communications data flow, settings database structure, settings management, including the inventory of firmware and serial numbers, and an automated, facility-wide intelligent electronic device event report collection, as well as several examples in which automated, integrated reports resulted in a faster system restoration than was previously available at the facility. Sample events that resulted in an accelerated system restoration include a greenfield construction-area loss of source, a 60 MVA transformer energization, and the incorrect current transformer polarity leading to a line differential relay trip event.