Development of Substation Automation System for the Nigerian Electricity SupplyIndustry: A Case Study.

Current Injection substations in Nigeria are manually operated to clear faults and anomalies. This process takes time and delays the restoration of service to customers. The current need of the industry therefore, is to device a way of using communication and control system in such a way that can allow real time action to take place. The aim of this article is to design a substation automation system (SAS) for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) using the Oluku 15MVA, 33/11kV Injection substation as a case study. The substation was evaluated to determine the state of the components/field level devices used and their suitability for automation deployment. Wiring diagrams/PLC interface for installed equipment at Oluku injection substation was developed, this was followed by the development of Substation Automation Communication System using SIEMENS SIMATIC STEP 7 PLC Automation and Simulation Software. The designed SAS is scalable and could be adapted for any substation configuration. This innovative SAS is the first of such system to be developed in Nigeria.