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Our Clients - BC Hydro

Situation

When Equinox took on this project, BC Hydro, British Columbia's power company, faced a number of challenges. Each of its six control centres had its own reporting process. Data was being duplicated, entered inconsistently, and the reports done by hand were costly and slow.

Objectives

To create and implement a fully integrated system improving: the lines of communication between control centres, users and management; the accuracy of data; the speed and consistency of reporting; and the safety of the public. Using a flexible information model, it would adapt to changes in the industry and organization.

Solution

Our technical team designed a replicated system which would provide high-availability LAN access to users at all six control centres, integrate the collected data, eliminate redundancy and ensure a consistent reporting process. We also implemented a web-based subscription and ad-hoc reporting system allowing intranet users to subscribe to customized reports and to request automated notification via pager, digital PCS messaging or email when events occur on the grid.

Results

A more efficient, cohesive and informed operation. Where once a handful of manually compiled reports were sent to mailing lists, today customized reports are automatically emailed to over 600 BC Hydro and BC Transmission users every day. Operating data is simultaneously available outside and inside the control centre. Maintenance managers and executives are automatically notified of major system events within minutes so that swift action can be taken to restore service and prevent the spread of outages. Dispatchers at the control centres are saved hours fielding phone calls related to these and other daily events on the electrical grid.

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