Latest ECS News
May 2010
Smart Grid Road Show - Cincinnati, Ohio
SNC-Lavalin exhibited its latest GENe V 2.1 Software Suite, including advance applications such as
Distributed Automation and Volt-VAR Control. These applications are just part of SNC-Lavalin’s overall GENe product
platform that includes a fully integrated SCADA, DMS, OMS, EMS, GMS, and Cyber Security NERC/FERC system.
SNC-Lavalin conferred with utilities and Smart Grid industry leaders regarding current and future Smart Grid requirements
and confirmed that our current GENe product meets current utility needs and our GENe product roadmap vision reflects future
Smart Grid utility requirements.
SNC-Lavalin looks forward to the next Smart Grid Road show and other conferences to demonstrate our GENe products and
professional services as well as exchange ideas with utilities and other Smart Grid industry experts.
May 2010
National SCADA Conference - Sydney, Australia
This year’s conference focused on adapting to changing market conditions and smart grids and
intelligent networks. SNC-Lavalin presented recent developments in our GENe SCADA—with a strong focus on the GENe Secure
and GENe Advisor applications—to an interested crowd.
March 2010
DistribuTech 2010
SNC-Lavalin will be participating in the DistribuTech conference with Dr. Roy Hoffman presenting a
paper, written jointly with Serge Lefebvre and Jacques Prevost of Hydro Quebec IREQ, entitled “Distribution State
Estimation: A Fundamental Requirement for the Smart Grid.”
December 2009
SNC-Lavalin Awarded Contract for Energy Control System in Cambodia
SNC-Lavalin is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract to design and build
Electricité du Cambodge’s National Control Centre and Energy Management System in Phnom Penh. The value of the contract is
estimated at $5 million.
SNC-Lavalin will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the complete system, including the control
centre building, system software, hardware and system integration with the telecommunication networks and remote metering
equipment. Based on SNC-Lavalin’s state-of-the-art GENe Energy Management System, the control centre will operate
Cambodia’s entire electric transmission network. As part of the Rural Electrification and Transmission Project, this
system will help provide electricity to a large portion of Cambodia’s rural population.
“This project is important for the growth of the country, especially as it adapts to modern automation and Smart Grid
technology to secure its electricity supply,” said Joe Salim, Vice-President and General Manager of SNC-Lavalin’s Power
Systems Division. “Thanks to our experience in energy control systems in this region, we are able to support this project
with local expertise and capabilities.”
Work on the project has begun and the control centre is expected to be operational by June 2011.
October 2009
ISO 9001:2008 Accreditation
Our Quality Management System has been upgraded to the new
ISO 9001:2008 standard and in October 2009 we successfully passed the ISO recertification audit.
August 2009
FAMIC Technologies/SNC-Lavalin ECS Partnership - Hydro-Québec Distribution - PRÉDIS 2
FAMIC was mandated by Hydro-Québec Distribution, Power Procurement Division, to develop phase II of
the PRÉDIS system for the forecasting of the demand of the province's top 200 energy consumers. SNC-Lavalin is in charge of
both project management and test organization on this project that started last April.
This is the fourth consecutive project awarded to the FAMIC/SNC-Lavalin partnership by the Power Procurement Division of
HQ Distribution.
June 2009
Taiwan Power Company - GENe SCADA
SNC-Lavalin ECS has received an order for a new GENe SCADA System for Taiwan Power Corp, for use as
the Tai-Chung Area Dispatch Control System. The project will be integrated locally by SNC-Lavalin's value-added reseller,
Yatec, in Taiwan and will be completed in 2009. As a turn-key project, Yatec, and SNC-Lavalin are providing all required
hardware and software, as well as installation, commissioning and training.
As a long-time client of SNC-Lavalin, Taiwan Power Corp continues to rely on five operational systems previously
provided by SNC-Lavalin.
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April 2009
Signature of Support Agreement with Sichuan Electric Power Company (People’s Republic of China)
SEPC has contracted SNC-Lavalin ECS to provide support and upgrade services for their GEN-4
SCADA-EMS system. The system, which includes a full suite of network management advanced applications, has been running
with high performance and stability since its deployment in 2006. With the rapid growth of power demand in China, the
system capacity has already been expanded to 300% of its initial sizing. SNC-Lavalin ECS has provided support and
update services to SEPC over the last three years to maintain the system’s superior performance through this expansion.
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March 2009
IEEE-PES Conference: Wind Generation Paper
SNC-Lavalin demonstrated at the IEEE Power & Energy Society’s 2009 Power Systems Conference and
Exposition the GENe suite of products and services that includes SCADA, DMS/OMS, EMS, GMS, Wind Generation, and Water
applications.
In addition SNC-Lavalin ECS’ Vincent Balvet also presented a paper entitled "Massive Data Acquisition for the Short
Term Wind Power Forecasting in a Large Grid: The Hydro-Québec SAGIPE System Experience."
Another paper on a similar topic—also co-written by Vincent, Hydro-Québec’s Jacques Bourret and FAMIC Technologies’ Jean-Emmanuel
Maubois—will be presented on July 31st in Calgary, Canada, at the Cigré/IEEE-PES Symposium (following the IEEE-PES General Meeting
taking place in that same city).
This innovative to the GENe-based system that SNC-Lavalin ECS designed to help Hydro-Québec incorporate 4000 MW of
wind energy in its power grid denotes SNC-Lavalin’s commitment and ability to not only support our customers in network
operational efficiency and reliability challenges but also to develop new innovative software and service solutions in
areas such as renewable energy.
Click to download IEEE-PES Conference paper.
© 2009 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for
advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or
lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.
This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of the authors’ technical work. Copyright and all rights
therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to not
repost it without the explicit permission of the copyright holders.
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February 2009
DistribuTech 2009 - San Diego, California
 |
SNC-Lavalin Energy Control Systems demonstrated the latest version of its
GENe SCADA/DMS/OMS system at the 2009 DistribuTech Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, California. |
This exhibition also gave us the opportunity to exchange ideas and solutions with utilities representatives and
consultants on our shared vision towards a smarter and more efficient Grid, particularly in the area of Volt Var
Control and Fault Detection and Restoration, two examples of Smart Grid technologies implemented in GENe.
This exchange of ideas and solutions will enhance SNC-Lavalin Energy Control System's future GENe product releases.
January 2009
Elektro Maribor - GENe DMS
Elektro Maribor (located in the north east of Slovenia in central Europe and the second largest
electricity distribution company in Slovenia) has purchased through Elektronabava d.d. and GDB d.o.o. (a Value Added
Re-seller of SNC-Lavalin for the GENe product line) a new Distribution Management System based on the GENe V2.1 SCADA/DMS.
The scope of the project includes the following functionality: SCADA, including IEC 61870-5-104 Protocol and ICCP TASE.2
Protocol; DMS advanced applications, including Fault Level Analysis; Fault Detection, Isolation, and Restoration; Outage
Analysis; Load Shed; Distribution System Optimizer; Switching Management and Automated Switching Order Generation; Service
Call Entry Work Management. The system includes Citrix Servers and will also support Web access to displays and reports for
corporate users.
The GENe software will be delivered by SNC-Lavalin in Q1 2009; GDB will deploy the system, with final acceptance scheduled
for Q2 2010. The DMS is scheduled to be operational by Q3 2010.
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January 2009
PEA - Maintenance of DMS Stage 1 Systems
PEA has signed a contract with for the maintenance of their six
DMS Stage 1 Systems for a renewable one year period. This contract is primarily for the local services of eight Thai
engineering staff and includes preventative, routine and emergency services to PEA to allow them to make the best use of
their system. This local staff will be supported by our customer services group here in Montreal for any problems that
cannot be addressed by them. This project is also allowing ECS to establish and maintain a local Thai office which is
important in our efforts to secure other contracts in the region.
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December 2008
PEA - Upgrade
SNC-Lavalin ECS has been awarded a contract to upgrade the RTU front-end equipment for the Provincial Electricity
Authority in Thailand. This project involves the replacement of the VME equipment due to equipment obsolescence and will be
implemented over a six-month period. SNC-Lavalin’s Thai office will be responsible for installing and commissioning the new
equipment on site as we further expand our operations in this regional office.
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December 2008
Hydro-Québec Trans-Énergie Electrical Archives and Statistics Project
SNC-Lavalin ECS (in the framework of the SNC-Lavalin ECS and CGI consortium) signed a two-year t
urnkey project with Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie for the Electrical Archives and Statistics project (EAS). The objective
of the project is to set up an archive to centralize and improve the historical data storage and TransÉnergie’s operational
data consultation. The archive is mainly based on OSIsoft’s PI software package, which is considered one of the best
historians on the market.
The EAS project includes the PI system installation, a relational database for certain data types, real-time data
acquisition from several external systems respecting the SOA architecture as well as the development of data validation,
computation and consultation services based on Microsoft® Framework.Net. The consultation services are accessible by
Intranet through tables, graphs, or reports. The project also includes the transfer of Hydro-Québec’s existing system
data to the new EAS system.
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September 2008
Energy Control Systems International User Conference
The Montreal office of SNC-Lavalin Transmission & Distribution (T&D) hosted a highly successful
Energy Control Systems (ECS) International User Conference in Montreal this September.
The three-day event is held every two years. It provides a forum for SNC-Lavalin ECS engineers to discuss developments
in its flagship GENe control system software with customers. GENe control systems help utilities manage generation plants,
high-voltage transmission networks, medium and low-voltage electric networks, as well as gas transmission and distribution
networks.
“We are continually evolving our product and services to keep pace with industry and market requirements, and this
conference demonstrates our commitment to provide high-value solutions to our customers,” said Joseph Salim, Vice-President
and General Manager of SNC-Lavalin ECS.
The Conference was also a forum for sharing operational experiences, and discussing the latest market information and
industry issues. It included technical presentations, focus groups, and information on how SNC-Lavalin T&D is addressing
the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) cyber security standards. It even gave SNC-Lavalin ECS’
international customers a chance to visit a Hydro-Québec Control Centre in the Laurentians, north of Montreal.
“The User Conference was really a great opportunity to learn from each other and to form new business relationships,”
said Laurie Holdron, Manager, Customers and Projects Services, and the organizer of the Conference.
If you would like further information about the User Conference or SNC-Lavalin ECS, please contact Laurie Holdron at laurie.holdron@slecs.ca.
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August 2008
Long-term Maintenance Agreements by various Clients
SNC-Lavalin ECS has signed a multi-year Comprehensive Software
Support maintenance program with our long-standing customer Edesur of Argentina. Since 2001
we have supported Edesur with annual Comprehensive Maintenance Support and site visits. This
reflects a growing trend within the industry to protect system investments and to better forecast
maintenance and update costs. We have also extended our service offerings to include Evergreen support
on our GENe systems as well as Security and Patch Management programs.
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July 2008
GURI - Replacement of Hydro Electric Plant Generation Management System
SNC-Lavalin has been awarded by EDELCA a contract to replace the
Guri Hydro Electric Plant Generation Management System. At 10,000 MW, the plant is one
of the largest generation facilities in the world and is responsible for the major load
and frequency control of Venezuela. The initial delivery will occur in February 2009,
and the project includes GENe master station SCADA facilities, Unit Commitment, AGC,
as well as generator and switchyard RTU equipment. A full backup control facility is also included.
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July 2008
Product Release GENe V2.1 Now Available!
We are pleased to announce that GENe V2.1 was released on July 31, 2008. This new
version, scaled up for very large networks, includes significant enhancements for cyber-security, improved user
interfaces, a new Computer-Aided Proposed Switching Operations function, and numerous new features for SCADA protocols,
Switching Management, Fault Isolation & System Restoration, Optimal Power Flow, State Estimator, Network Operations
Scheduling, and Unit Commitment. The first project for an Energy Management System based on this new version will be
shipping out in November 2008. Please contact us for more information on this exciting new product version.
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June 2008
Hydro-Québec, PRÉDIS - Phase 1 in Service
In June 2008, the phase 1 of the distributor load forecasting (PRÉDIS) component of
Hydro-Québec Distribution's energy procurement system was put in service. The phase 1 of that component
designed and developed by the SNC-Lavalin ECS/FAMIC partnership includes a complex data acquisition,
archiving, processing and publishing scheme. The ultimate goal of PRÉDIS is both to permit characterizing
the load of the province's large consumers, and to improve Hydro-Québec's short and mid term forecasts for
this non-conforming and significant part of the domestic demand.
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May 2008
Hydro-Québec, SAGIPE - Phase 2 in Service
In May 2008, Hydro-Québec Distribution's SAGIPE phase 2 was put in service. That Système pour l'Acquisition et la
Gestion de l'Information sur les Parcs Éoliens is one of the world's largest wind generation data acquisition systems. Designed and
developed by SNC-Lavalin ECS in partnership with Montreal-based FAMIC, it includes a comprehensive data bank and integrates several
wind generation forecasting engines. Its real time data acquisition component is based on the latest GENe technology.
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April 23, 2008
ECS User Conference
We are pleased to announce that we will be hosting an ECS User Group Conference on September 24th, 25th and 26th, 2008 in Montréal.
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October 1, 2007
Pacific Gas & Electric - GENe DMS
SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a contract by Pacific Gas & Electric Company, to develop,
install and commission Distribution Management Systems (DMS) for its electricity distribution network. The new
DMS systems will control California's electricity distribution network for Northern and Central California using
SNC-Lavalin's GENe systems. They will be installed and operated from regional distribution centres in the Greater
San Francisco Bay Area, and in Northern and Central California.
SNC-Lavalin will provide project management and maintenance services, as well as engineering, testing, installation,
commissioning and training for the DMS systems, which are part of its GENe line of energy control products. Work on
the project is underway, and the new DMS systems will be operational by the first quarter of 2009.
"We are pleased to be working with Pacific Gas & Electric Company on this project; it is one of the most important
utilities in the United States," said Joe Salim, Vice-President and General Manager of SNC-Lavalin's Transmission
and Distribution (T&D) Montreal Operations. "The DMS systems will be integrated with Pacific Gas & Electric
Company's existing supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, and its geographical information and
outage management systems."
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March 5, 2007
Electricidad de Caracas - GENe SCADA/EMS Upgrade
SNC-Lavalin Transmission and Distribution (T&D) has been awarded a contract
by Electricidad de Caracas to upgrade its Energy Management System (EMS) to the current version
of the GENe software developed by the T&D Division's Energy Control Systems (ECS) Group.
Electricidad de Caracas (EdC) also owns a Distribution Management System (DMS) supplied by SNC-Lavalin
ECS. Together, these systems help EdC manage the supply and distribution of electricity in Caracas to
1.1 million customers over 5,800 square kilometres. This project will update the Electricidad de Caracas'
EMS to a supported hardware and software environment with almost no business disruption. The new system
is based on our Linux Red Hat Enterprise platform, which can be accessed through standard PC servers
and workstations.
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November 10, 2006
Energex - GENe SCADA/DMS Upgrade
The scope of the project will include an upgrade of Energex's GEN3 SCADA/DMS
to the latest GENe software platform based on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system. The
objective of the project is to update the SCADA/DMS to a supported hardware and software environment
with minimal business disruption. This contract includes software engineering, development, testing,
installation, commissioning, training, documentation, and project management services.
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July 20, 2006
PSE&G - GENe Upgrade
The scope of the project will include an upgrade of PSE&G's GEN-3 SCADA/EMS software to our
GENe product baseline (full Linux solution) for their Main and Emergency Backup Systems, and the supp ly of a new
GENe Dispatcher Training System. PSE&G will provide all the hardware required.
System delivery is scheduled for August 2007, with acceptance in the January 2008.
PSE&G has been a customer since 1986, and have consistently come back to SNC-Lavalin for their
system upgrades demonstrating a confidence in our products and capabilities.
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June 21, 2006
Enersource Hydro Mississauga - GENe Upgrade
The scope of the project will include new hardware and GENe software for their
Main System and in addition, new hardware and GENe software for a back-up system at Stavebank Substation.
System delivery is scheduled for December 2006 with acceptance in the first qurter 2007. EHM have been a customer
since 1989 and have consistently come back to SNC-Lavalin for their system upgrades demonstrating a confidence
in our products and capabilities.
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June 6, 2006
Québec City Control Centre On-line
The Quebec City Control Centre is fully commissioned with our GEN-4 system. This is the second centre that is now fully operational with our GEN-4 system.
The cutover from the old to the new system started last Thursday night and was completed early Sunday
morning without any major problems.
The client is extremely satisfied and commends the efforts that were made in order to make this second
cutover a resounding success.
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June 1, 2006
SNC-Lavalin ECS Excels at CIM Interoperability Test #8
On March 30-31, 2006 in San Francisco, California, EPRI held it's 8th CIM/XML Interoperability Test.
Software vendors serving the electric utility industry met for the eighth time to test the capability
of their software products to exchange data and correctly interpret power system data based
on the CCAPI interface standards. Vendors participating in the tests included SNC-Lavalin ECS,
ABB, Areva, SPTI, and SISCO.
We are pleased to report that we were the only vendor to successfully pass all tests for CIM
model exchange, including full and incremental model import and export tests on all provided
network models. In addition, we were able to successfully run a power flow solution on an
imported transmission model file and then export the file, providing further validation of the
content and correct translation between proprietary formats and the CIM.
The incremental model update tests verified the correct update of a base model with
incremental updates using the XML difference file format. We successfully imported multiple
incremental model update files and merged them into an existing base model. In addition, our
GENe product was used to produce several incremental files for use by other participants.
Thanks to GENe’s integrated Resource Identifier Registry, all imported and exported Power
System Resource IDs are preserved, making true incremental update possible.
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May 18, 2006
Enersource Hydro Mississauga FEP Upgrade - Project Completion
SNC-Lavalin ECS is pleased to announce the successful completion of the Enersource Hydro Mississauga Front-End Processor (FEP) Upgrade Project on May 18, 2006.
The FEP Upgrade includes redundant Windows-based FEPs and adds 32 redundant DNP Serial channels, operating in parallel with the existing
ASE-based front end. This seven month project was a great success thanks mainly to the dedication and professionalism of the SNC
personnel who worked on the project, and the knowledge, dedication and excellent co-operation of Enersource Hydro Mississauga's personnel.
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May 15, 2006
Hydro Quebec Distribution - Wind Power Forecasting System Project
SNC-Lavalin ECS is pleased to to announce that we have been selected by Hydro Quebec Distribution for the development and
implementation of a Generation Forecasting System for the soon to be operational wind turbines in Gaspésie. The first phase of this project
consists of the delivery of a system for the end of 2006.
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May 7, 2006
Electricidad de Caracas FEP Upgrade - Project Completion
SNC-Lavalin ECS is pleased to announce the successful completion of the Electricidad de Caracas FEP Upgrade Project
on May 7, 2006.
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May 2, 2006
Reorganization of the Energy Division with the Creation of SNC-Lavalin Transmission and Distribution
The electricity transmission and distribution market (T&D) has experienced significant growth over the past few years, resulting in numerous opportunities and
new projects for SNC-Lavalin. We now have more than 550 people working in T&D at SNC-Lavalin's business units, not including staff managing our transmission assets at Altalink.
With the need for large investment in Canada, the USA and several other countries around the world, the T&D market will continue to grow steadily for the foreseeable future. To support
our growth in this market, it is now essential that we pool the resources of the various SNC-Lavalin units involved in the T&D sector.
We are therefore pleased to announce the creation of SNC-Lavalin Transmission and Distribution, which will include SNC-Lavalin ATP, SNC-Lavalin ECS and the T&D and Power Systems Consulting groups in Quebec, presently with the Energy
Division. It will also include the T&D group in Ontario, presently with SNC-Lavalin Power Ontario.
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April 4, 2006
GENe Product Release
SNC-Lavalin ECS today announced the launch of its GENe “Enterprise”
software platform for SCADA, DMS, EMS, Natural Gas Management Systems (NGMS), and Water Management Systems (WMS).
GENe is the next step in the evolution of the GEN-3 and GEN-4 products, and features
enhancements in cyber security for NERC CIP compliance, GIS interfaces, CIM/XML data
exchange, storage area networks, Linux user interface, backup control systems, and more.
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December 13, 2005
Agility E-SCADA Project
SNC-Lavalin Energy Control Systems Inc. has been awarded a contract to supply a
GEN-4 SCADA System to Agility, a subdivision of the Australian Gas & Light Company (AGL) based in Sydney,
Australia.
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November 28, 2005
ISO Audit
SNC-Lavalin ECS's Quality Management System successfully passed the annual
ISO registrar's surveillance audit conducted November 2005.
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November 16, 2005
PSE&G: America's Most Reliable Electric Utility
Public Service Electricity & Gas (PSE&G) of Newark, New Jersey has been named as
America's most reliable electric utility by
PA Consulting. PSE&G's SCADA/EMS is supplied by SNC-Lavalin ECS. Since installing this system,
PSE&G has twice received the prestigious ReliabilityOne award for superior electric system reliability in
the mid-Atlantic region.
