Joint Development Programme

This suite of projects is focused on building power system engineering capability to monitor transient (real time) voltage security.

Delivery of capabilities to enable Transpower to continue to effectively manage a tighter, more constrained, and more complex grid.

No direct market participant impact.

Energy and reserves dispatch is governed by the market rules of dispatch. This same level of governance does not apply to voltage dispatch.

Additional automation (closer to 80 %) of dispatch and voltage management to enable efficiency gains and improve the consistency of voltage management. 

Improved quality of dispatch by introducing a consistent approach.

Upgrade the SCADA/EMS system with supporting hardware and software infrastructure to ensure ongoing vendor support..

The SCADA/EMS system is the primary tool for operating the transmission network. It also provides critical feeds to the Market System and live data to distribution companies. Although the SCADA/EMS system operates largely in an isolated environment, its susceptibility to cyber security vulnerabilities will grow as the vendor no longer provides security patches. It is therefore prudent to upgrade critical systems to current, vendor-supported versions better designed to manage those threats.

No direct market participant impact.

Replacement of current standalone situational awareness tool to integrated Situational Intelligence capability.

The operation of the power system holds future complexities that will require new capabilities of our systems and users.

No direct market participant impact.

Implement alternate communication protocols and network routes for dispatch instructions to be issued to participants and to provide a higher level of redundancy.

The project will work with industry participants to introduce alternate communications protocols to manage dispatch. This will reduce the barrier to entry for potential (new) generators by enabling the use of more open communication standards. The project will also facilitate the introduction of dual network routes to enable continued dispatch, to generators who are currently on a single network route.

Reduced technical barriers to market entry and participation by enabling market participants to procure or develop their own software to process market dispatch instructions and transition off the legacy dispatch system.

Implementing a pilot wind generation forecasting service, which assesses its benefits to the management of the NZ power system.

The most significant benefits would be obtained if the forecast tool was integrated in control room tools and procedures -  in particular production schedules and contingency analysis.

Replace the current obligations of wind farms to forecast their generation with a central wind forecasting tool.