PowerStream Begins Building Unique Backup Power Supply System
digitaljournal.com
Aug. 28, 2015
PowerStream broke ground Friday on the construction of a unique system that, when completed in 2016, will provide up to 11 hours of backup power supply for approximately 400 of the utility's customers residing or owning a business in Penetanguishene.
The high-tech equipment for what is being referred to as the Penetanguishene Micro Grid, will be installed adjacent to PowerStream's Robert Street Municipal Substation located east of the town's Main Street. It will be comprised of two 500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) batteries as well as a 750 kilowatt power control system and connected to a distribution powerline that provides service to customers in an area of the town bounded approximately by Robert Street East in the south, Hill Top Avenue in the north, Lecarron Avenue in the west and east of Centennial Drive.
The Penentanguishene Micro Grid will be able to operate either connected to the grid (grid mode) or disconnected from the grid (island mode). It will enable PowerStream to provide power to customers even when there is a loss of supply from the provincial grid.
Micro Grids work in the same way as large-scale electricity delivery systems or a provincial grid but instead of delivering electricity to hundreds of thousands or millions of customers at a time they can be scaled down and customized to meet the needs of communities or even just one customer. Micro Grids rely on a mix of clean and renewable sources of generation and can operate independently or feed electricity back to the provincial grid.
The Penetanguishene Micro Grid will be operated from PowerStream's System Control Centre at the company's head office in Vaughan with remote accessibility for performance monitoring via the internet by the company's project partner, the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
QUOTES
- "The Penetanguishene Micro Grid is another example of how we continue to work with other innovative companies like KEPCO to implement new technologies for the benefit of our customers and the communities we serve." said Maurizio Bevilacqua, PowerStream Chair and Mayor of the City of Vaughan. "We look forward to furthering the use of this technology in future years."
- "As a global leader in the energy industry, we are excited to be PowerStream's partner on this project," offered Dr. Choi, In-Gyu, Senior Vice President, KEPCO Research Institute. "Although we have been involved in the design, construction and commissioning of other Micro Grids around the world, this will be our first in the North American marketplace."
BACKGROUND
- In November 2013, PowerStream became one of the first utilities of its size in North America to initiate a proof-of-concept Micro Grid as a demonstration project at the company's head office in Vaughan.
- Earlier this summer, Dr. Cho, Hwan-Eik President and CEO of KEPCO, and Brian Bentz, President and CEO of PowerStream, signed a Memorandum of Agreement for their two companies to undertake four projects to further the development of smart distribution and micro grid networks in the North American electricity marketplace.
ABOUT POWERSTREAM
PowerStream is a community-owned energy company that provides power and related services to more than 375,000 customers residing or owning a business in communities located immediately north of Toronto and in Central Ontario. It is jointly owned by the Cities of Barrie, Markham and Vaughan.
ABOUT KOREA ELECTRIC POWER CORPORATION
The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is the largest electric utility in South Korea and responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity as well as the development of electric power projects. The utility is responsible for 93% of Korea's electricity generation.
