General Electric to establish high-tech distribution control centre for CEB

A consortium led by GE T&D India Limited (GE) and GE Digital Services Europe recently signed a contract with the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to embark on a project for the establishment of SCADA supported Distribution Control Centre for the Western Province South 1 (WPS1). Richardson Projects(Pvt) Ltd., as the local partner of GE, is to be part of this transformative digital initiative.
A SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) System is the heart of an ADMS (Advanced Distribution Management System). A distribution SCADA system’s primary function is to support distribution operations through telemetry, alarming, event recording, and remote control of field equipment.
SCADA performs automatic monitoring, protection, and control of various equipment in distribution systems with the use of Intelligent Electronic Devices (or RTUs). It improves the reliability of supply by reducing the duration of outages and also ensures the cost-effective operation of the distribution system. 
The project is funded under the Green Power Development and Energy Efficiency Improvement Program, Tranche 1 of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The benefits of the project focus on improving the reliability and availability of the distribution network by controlling and monitoring the distribution assets in the Dehiwala, Ratmalana, Kalutara, and Mathugama administrative areas of CEB WPS1.
WPS-1 has nearly 295,000 retail consumers and 626 bulk consumers. Electricity sales in the province in 2020 were about 735 GWh. The province handles seventeen (19 in the near future) primary substations (33/11 kV),1750 Nos. of distribution substations, 250 Nos. of load break switches, 20 Nos of auto reclosers, 1071 km of 33kV electricity overhead lines, 92 km of 11kV electricity overhead lines, and 4,485 km of low voltage electricity lines. This project scope involves the digitalization of key assets of the above network across four (4) CEB administrative areas of WPS1.
The contract agreement was signed between CEB and GE at the CEB head office premises with the participation of Nalinda Ilangakoon (Chairman, CEB), Eng. D.K.P.U. Gunathilake (Vice Chairman, CEB), Eng. Rohan Seneviratne (General Manager, CEB), Eng. Champa Satharasinghe (Addl. General Manager – Projects, CEB), Eng. Nilmini Perera (Dep. General Manger – P&D DD4, CEB), Deepak Pandey (Snr. Service Director – Regional Operations, GE), Mukesh Wadhwa (Director – Ecosystem & Partners, GE), Monika Khanna (Project Manager, GE), Nazri Nizar (Group Managing Director, Richardson), Asela Weerasekara (Director – Engineering, Richardson Projects (Pvt) Ltd.).
GE and Richardson have been partners for over 15 years and continue to add value to power generation, transmission, and distribution projects in the country with the latest technologies and the 
best solutions. 
The National System Control Centre of CEB was also completed by GE in the year 2018. In its audacious journey of more than 6 decades, Richardson has helped electrify 200,000 households in the Northern & Uva Provinces of Sri Lanka under the Uthuru Wasanthaya and Uva Udanaya Projects. Among its significant contributions to the sector, Richardson’s role in representing a few of the world’s renowned brands, including but not limited to Eaton- USA, Sediver - FRANCE, Polycab- India, Inael- Spain, Elcon -Italy, Imefy-Spain, EPE–Malaysia, Hexing - China is noteworthy. 
Eng. Rohan Seneviratne, General Manager of CEB, stated that he started developing this project a few years back when he was the Deputy General Manager of WPS1, and hence this contract signing is a special moment for him. He further added that CEB’s intention is to provide a better experiencefor its customers by improving the quality of their service.
“GE has been the trusted technology partner of leading utilities across the world. With the National System Control Center already in operation since 2018 and providing efficient operation of the transmission network, we are proud that CEB chose GE to implement its first Advance Distribution Management System project. This project will bring a technological revolution to the way electricity reaches our homes. Power to our homes will be more efficient, reliable, sustainable, safe, economical, and provide a greater customer experience,” said GE’s Senior Service Director – Regional Operations, Deepak Pandey.
“As a company committed to introducing world class solutions to the energy sector in Sri Lanka, Richardson is proud to be a part of this important milestone. We are confident that this will be a steppingstone for a digitalized distribution network that will enable Sri Lanka to progress towards the ambitious goal of achieving the 70 percent renewable share by 2030 with more distributed renewable generation,” said Richardson’s Group Managing Director Nazri Nizar.