Category: Protective Relay

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North American Study Finds Continuing Moderate Growth in Protective Relay Market with Commitment to Increasing Protection Coordination and Grid Security Practices

Role of Synchrophasors and Teleprotection Continues to Grow, Providing Better Situational Awareness and Visualization to Help Prevent Outages

Newton-Evans Research Company has prepared an interim news release based on preliminary findings from 59 large and mid-size North American electric utilities.

Among the early trends reported in this first of a four volume set of reports are these:

  1. The percentage of microprocessor relays in the mix of all protective relays used by utilities continues to increase with each passing year.
  2. The vast majority of new and retrofit units being planned for purchased are also digital relays, but in some of the protection applications studied, such as motor protection and large generator applications, and in installations where electrical interference is strong, electromechanical and older solid state relays continue to have a niche market position.
  3. Real-time analysis of synchrophasor data has become a key application for the emerging field of operational analytics for transmission operators.

MicroprocessorRelaysInstalledBasePct
Communications protocol usage patterns in North American utilities of all sizes continue to rely on DNP3, the dominant protocol in use in the North American region. IEC 61850 is found in some of the TOP 100 utilities, but is by no means prevalent as of mid-2016.

Relay redundancy being used for microprocessor-based relaying terminals varies by application as seen in the chart below.

RedundantRelaySchemes2016
The 2016 Newton-Evans survey of electric utilities includes more than 20 detailed product functionality topics, related technical questions, and market-related issues, together incorporating more than 250 items of information from each of the participating utilities.

This year’s study will result in a series of four reports published during June and July. These reports are geared to the planning needs of protective relay suppliers, power industry consultants, and utility protection and control departments. The four volumes include the North American Market Study, the International Market Study, Supplier Profiles, and Global Market Assessment and Outlook.

Further information on the research series The World Market for Protective Relays in Electric Utilities: 2016-2018 is available from Newton-Evans Research Company, 10176 Baltimore National Pike, Suite 204, Ellicott City, Maryland 21042. Phone: 410-465-7316 or visit www.newton-evans.com for additional information or to order the report series online.

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Progress Report on the 2016-2018 Study of Protective Relays

This week the staff at Newton-Evans Research is in the midst of conducting pre-testing of our 2016 survey design with our panel of leading utility contributors. After reviewing the results and feedback from our panel, we will finalize the North American version of the survey and begin requesting participation from utilities, ISO/RTO organizations, industrial firms and rail transport organizations. The pre-testing process will then be undertaken with our international utility panel.

This periodic study was last undertaken in 2012, with guidance provided in the four volume set of reports for the P&C community through 2014. The report series has been relied upon by relay manufacturers, substation automation developers and control systems integrators around the world for more than three decades. The reports are referenced by standards organizations and the operational consulting community looks to the series for guidance on protection and control status, learning where the “real world” of utilities is today and understanding the technical drivers and operational trends that will impact utility and supplier planning over the next few years.

We are hoping to receive participation from more than 100 key electric utilities in this year’s study. Typically we do obtain cooperation from 100 or more utilities. It is more difficult to obtain high levels of cooperation today, with concerns about security and competitive activities. We are trying not to be intrusive in our questioning, so would-be participants can safely and securely provide information without having to be concerned with cyber security policy issues.

The richly illustrated Executive Summary from this new study will be about 40 pages in length and will enable participants to “benchmark” the findings relative to their own P&C activities and plans and compare with other utilities within their size range and utility type.

For interested parties, keep in mind that the pre-publication price offer for the four volume set of report is $5,500.00 through May, 2016. Once the study is published, the report series price will be $5,950.00.

A brochure with order form for the 2016-2018 series is available here.

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Electric Utility Spending on Relay Testing, Use of WANs for Remote Access

Here are some excerpts from previous Protection and Control studies; some of these topics will be revisited in our 2016 survey.

Overall, do you plan to increase, decrease or maintain current levels of capital investment for relay testing equipment, software and training?
The overwhelming majority of the 2012 sample indicated that they plan to maintain their current CapEx levels for these activities. Sixteen percent said they would increase expenditures, and only one respondent indicated a decrease in CapEx. The 2009 findings had indicated that 70% of the respondents would maintain their 2009 level of investment in relay test equipment. Fifteen percent planned to increase such investment, while only eight percent planned a decrease.

Do you plan to rely more on third party services for relay testing?
PlannedCapexRelayTestingIn 2012, 20% of responding utilities said they plan to rely more in the coming three year period (2012-2014) on third party relay commissioning and testing services. One person mentioned that due to manpower shortages, they do not have enough personnel available to do testing as well as regular line work.

In 2009, only twelve percent had planned to use third party relay testing services. Nearly 25% of the 2006 survey sample indicated that they would be likely to rely more heavily on third party relay testing services. The 2009 cutback in spending for third party services may well have been due to the impact of the recession, and the significant erosion of CAPEX and OPEX spending in that year.

Do you operate a Wide Area Network (WAN) for remote access to relays?
Fifty-three percent of utility respondents overall said they operate a WAN for remote relay access. Surprisingly, 71% of investor owned utilities said they do not operate a WAN for remote access.

How do you operate a Wide Area Network (WAN) for remote access to relays?
Of the 42 utilities in the sample that operate a WAN, 71% operate the WAN via serial port terminal servers or data concentrators, and 62% indicated they operate the WAN through firewalls. Almost all utilities had a multi-pronged approach to operating their WANs.

For more information on the forthcoming update to the worldwide study of the protective relay marketplace, call 1 410 465 7316 or send an email inquiry to info@newton-evans.com

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Worldwide Study of the Protective Relay Marketplace in Electric Utilities: 2016-2018

Newton-Evans is in the planning stages of updating one of its flagship report series on the Worldwide Protective Relay Marketplace, slated for completion in the second quarter of 2016.

If you are a supplier of protective relays, relay testing or integration services, or if you are interested in following technology trends, we invite you to contact us to let us know what questions, comments or concerns you have about this $2.5 billion world market.

Send us an email to relaymarket@newton-evans.com with any ideas you have, or if you are interested in pre-subscribing to this report series. Pre-subscribers are encouraged to help us design the survey/questionnaire which goes out to hundreds of electric utility decision makers and planners around the world by submitting from 2-5 questions for consideration.

Overview
Newton-Evans’ Worldwide Study of the Protective Relay Marketplace: 2016-2018 is planned to be a multi-client study which encompasses the world market for protective relays in the electric utility industry. This four volume report series will be the seventh worldwide study of protective relays which Newton-Evans has undertaken. Participants in this market study will include utility engineers and managers from investor-owned utilities, municipal and provincial utilities, cooperative utilities within the United States and Canada, together with national power systems throughout the world. The study will measure current market sizes and contains projections on a world region basis for the next several years. The entire research program will define the product and market requirements which suppliers must meet in order to successfully participate in one or more of these diverse world market regions.

Newton-Evans Research Company estimates from an earlier 2012 relay market study indicate that the North American protective relay market stood at almost $600 million for both utility and industrial applications. It will be interesting to see how changes in the world market since completion of the 2012-2014 study will affect the outlook for 2016-2018.

Methodology
Field survey work is conducted using a mix of primary research methods including personal interviews, mail surveys, faxes, e-mail and follow-up telephone interviews by Newton-Evans Research Company staff. In addition to discussions with utility managers and influencers, Newton-Evans conducts interviews with protective relay industry officials to gather management impressions about the size, scope, direction and trends in the relay business. Discussions and information exchanges with international suppliers provide additional market insight. Over the past 15 years Newton-Evans has received thousands of completed surveys from utility personnel.

Topics
The survey-based findings in Volumes 1 (North American Market) and 2 (International Market) will discuss the following:

  • Number of relays to be purchased over the 2016-2018 period
  • Percentage of digital/microprocessor relays in installed base and planned for new and retrofit applications purchases
  • Estimates of annual budgets for protective relay hardware purchases
  • Level of testing for new digital relays
  • Communications approaches for wide area networks
  • Relay communications protocol requirements
  • Types of relay scheme redundancy used for microprocessor-based relaying terminals
  • Third party services for relay testing
  • Level of implementation of IEC 61850
  • Uses of IEC 61850 within substation, for protection, control, and SCADA
  • Use fiber optics to connect substations
  • Outsourcing trends for testing, engineering, integration
  • Use of condition based maintenance to reduce maintenance testing time of technicians

Volume 3 will provide a market forecast for the relay market through 2018. The survey sample from volumes 1 and 2 will be analyzed by world percentage of distribution line miles, transmission line miles, number of substations, nameplate capacity (as it applies to generator protection), and number of medium to large transformers included in the sample. This data is then used to estimate factory shipments according to type of relay (electromechanical vs. solid state), market segment (North American utilities, International utilities, and IPP/Industrial/OEMs), relay application (substation equipment, generators/motors, transmission lines, or distribution feeders), and market share by relay manufacturer.

Volume 4 profiles several of the major relay manufacturers and related equipment providers such as ABB, Alstom Grid, Basler, Beckwith, Cooper, Cutler Hammer, FKI, GE Multilin, Nari, RFL, Schneider, SEL, Siemens, and ZIV. Product descriptions and key contacts are provided, as well as reported 2014 and 2015 revenues where available.

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U.S. Market for Feeder Protection Relays

According to GE Digital Energy, a feeder protection relay can provide primary circuit protection on distribution networks and backup/auxiliary protection for transformers, generators and motors. With a total estimated market of about $60 million in direct sales to the nation’s electric utilities, this total is expected to grow to $72 million by the end of 2014. Modern (digital/numeric) feeder relays are a key segment of the overall substation modernization and distribution automation equipment market. Feeder relays are just one of 84 types of electric T&D equipment and services discussed in the Newton-Evans report series, Overview of the U.S. Transmission and Distribution Equipment Market, which is presently being updated to reflect year-end 2013 U.S. market values and provide market forecasts and outlook through year-end 2016.  This summary of feeder relay activity is typical of the information contained in each of the 84 reports.  Market segment shares for suppliers are also provided in each report.  Here are a few of Newton-Evans’ observations on this important market segment taken from the 2011 market overview series as well as the Worldwide Study of the Protective Relay Marketplace In Electric Utilities: 2012-2014.

Average Unit Price Range:
Distribution feeder relays have been recently priced between $900 and $1,800 depending on whether or not other features like over-current protection are included.

Major Manufacturers:
ABB: REF615R Feeder Protection and Control, REF series
Basler: BE1-11f system
Beckwith: M7651
Cooper (now owned by Eaton): iDP210
Eaton: CH-Series, E-Series
GE: M Family, SR 3 350, F650
SEL: 751, 751a, 351S
ZIV: IRV, DRV
ERLPhase: F-Pro

Findings from the Worldwide Study of the Protective Relay Marketplace In Electric Utilities: 2012-2014 Volume 1 – North American Market:
The 2012 survey findings suggested a likely increase in purchase plans for transmission line relays and distribution feeder relays. In 2012, as in previous studies, distribution feeder relays made up the largest portion of planned relay purchases over the 2012-2014 time frame. A significant share of all utility relay purchases (units) planned for this period were distribution feeder relays.

The earlier 2009 study findings had indicated that distribution feeder relays were the “best-selling” and most widely used type of protective relay within the utility segment, even though redundancy in the distribution grid was not nearly as common as found in transmission applications. About 40% of the total number of units planned for purchase during the forecast period was to be distribution feeder relays.

Digital vs. Electromechanical
In 2012 the survey respondents indicated that 60% of distribution feeder relays in their installed base  were digital/microprocessor relays. This percentage continues to grow as more digital relays are added to the current system every year. The earlier 2009 study observed that 53% of the installed base was digital, with 97% of planned unit purchases likely to be digital as well.  As recently as 1999, the split was 50-50 (electro-mechanical versus digital/numeric).

To stay up to date on our progress with the Overview of the 2014-2016 U.S. Transmission and Distribution Equipment Market, sign up for our newsletter by emailing with the subject line “subscribe.” Visit our reports page for more information and to download a report brochure.

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2012-2014 Protection and Control Study Released after Five Months of Intensive Research

Findings from Newton-Evans Study of Protective Relay Uses and Trends in the World’s Electric Power Utilities Depict a Receptive Market for Incorporating Advanced Technological Capabilities

Global Study Finds Continuing Growth in Protective Relay Market with Commitment to Increasing Protection Coordination and Grid Security Practices

 Role of Synchrophasors and Teleprotection Continues to Grow…Providing Better Situational Awareness and Visualization to Help Prevent Outages

April 12, 2012 Ellicott City, Maryland. Newton-Evans Research Company has completed a five-month research study and survey of protective relay usage patterns in the world community of electric power utilities. Findings from more than 100 North American and international utilities, point to some new trends in adoption and use of protection and control techniques.

Among the key findings reported in the four volume study are these:

  •  The percentage of digital relays in the mix of all protective relays used by utilities continues to increase.
  •  The vast majority of new and retrofit units being purchased are also digital relays, but in some of the protection applications studied, such as motor protection and large generator applications, and in installations where electrical interference is strong, electromechanical and older solid state relays continue to have a niche market position.
  •  The annual world market for protective relays and related power systems protection devices continues to grow at a healthy pace.
  •  Manufacturers of utility systems protection equipment continue to expand their market coverage, with more than 20 firms each enjoying at least some share of the global market.
  •  Real-time analysis of synchrophasor data will become a major application for the emerging field of operational analytics.
  •  Communications protocol usage patterns continue to serve as a differentiator between the majority of large and mid-size North American utilities and their international counterparts.

The Newton-Evans survey of electric utilities included more than 20 detailed product functionality, related technical questions, and market-related issues, together incorporating more than 250 items of information from each of the participating utilities.

The 2012-2014 study is a series of four reports published this month. These reports are geared to the planning needs of protective relay suppliers, power industry consultants, and utility protection and control departments. These volumes include the North American Market Study, the International Market Study, Supplier Profiles, and Global Market Assessment and Outlook.

Further information on the research series The World Market for Protective Relays in Electric Utilities: 2012-2014 is available from Newton-Evans Research Company, 10176 Baltimore National Pike, Suite 204, Ellicott City, Maryland 21042. Phone: 410-465-7316 or visit www.newton-evans.com for additional information or to order the report series online. Liz Forrest can be reached at eforrest@newton-evans.com .

 

 

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2011 Ends on High Note . . . With the release of our newest market research study: Data Communications in the Global Electric Power Industry

January 3, 2012 –  Marks the publication launch date for the Newton-Evans’ three-volume study “Global Study of Data Communications Usage Patterns and Plans in the Electric Power Industry 2011-2015”

The Newton-Evans Research team has been working on its three volume study of Data Communications Usage Patterns and Trends for Smart Grid over the past several months. We have been successful in obtaining cooperation from more than 100 leading utilities around the world for this major new study.  Discussions with leading equipment vendors, services providers, consultants and analyst colleagues have been completed.

We are pleased to announce that as of January 3, 2012, the three volume report will be available for online ordering via the Newton-Evans website. The report series is priced at $3,750.00 for the complete set.

For the month of January, we are pleased to offer both the well-received 2011 three-volume Smart Grid study series and the three-volume Data Communications series for a total price of only $5,750.00. This is a significant savings and a real value to any smaller-to-mid-size organization now active, or planning to become active, in the development of smart grid for the world community of electric power utilities, ISOs and RTOs. To take advantage of this offer, place your order over the phone by calling us at +1 410 465 7316 or toll free 800 222 2856.

For special pricing information on these and other critically acclaimed Newton-Evans studies published in 2010 and 2011, please call Khrissy Newton at 410-465-7316.

New Studies Underway
1) The acclaimed series of protective relay studies (now in its tenth edition) is formally underway. Look for progress updates on  the Newton-Evans’ website during January. This is another of Newton-Evans’ multinational studies with participation from each world region, involving more than 25 countries, anticipated.

2) A current study of Automatic Generation Control practices among ISOs/RTOs and large utilities is in progress and will be finalized during January.

3) The “To the Point” series of short, concise reports on more than 75 T&D topics is now underway, with monthly releases of 5-7 reports expected during 2012.

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Brochures For 2011-2012 Reports Series Now On Line

We wanted to make it easy for our readers, clients and visitors to locate brochures for the various report products we have made available and are currently developing in-house. Three very current topics are the multi-client focal points for us at this time: Protective Relaying; Utility Data Communications for the Smart grid; and, Smart Grid Outlook-A Reality Check.

Note that the protective relaying study series and the data communications study series brochures offer pre-publication pricing through mid-November.

We will soon be placing the brochure for the upcoming T&D infrastructure series of 92 topical “to the point” report summaries online as well.

Here are some brochures (opens as .pdf)
Global study of protective relays

Global Utility Data Communications Report Series

Smart Grid: A Reality Check report series

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Critical Issues In Protective Relaying: Engineering Perspectives From 24 Countries

The newest study of electric power grid protection and control, published by Newton-Evans Research on October 30, 2009 is now available for on-line purchase. The 81 page report is based on extensive surveys of protection and control engineers and P&C management from around the world. The survey was designed by engineers to include study of key topics of interest to the P&C community. Issues covered in the study  include equipment/device issues; tripping and control practices, settings and analysis, testing frequencies and methods.

One theme that emerges from the varying responses is that there is no particular “right” way or “wrong” way to go about designing and implementing a particular relay scheme. Some utilities design schemes in a certain way, while others do it another way. What our project manager labels “Philosophy of Engineering” is evident in this study, especially in the choices made by P&C engineers as they apply relays to their systems.

This report includes more respondent comments than any previous relay survey conducted by Newton-Evans. We encourage you to read through these list compilations, as there is a wealth of information contained therein. What is a major issue for one engineer is not even a concern for another engineer.

As one example of utility diversity, it is fascinating to see in Section D: Strategy/Policy Issues the variety of ways Utilities are structured to handle the responsibilities of their Relay Organization, as well as to review the tactics used to attract and retain the next generation of relay engineers. Some Utilities have extensive training programs for young talent, while many do nothing or do not even recognize it as a potential problem. Continue reading Critical Issues In Protective Relaying: Engineering Perspectives From 24 Countries

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Available Reports & Current Survey Efforts

In addition to our most recently completed studies on Protective Relays and Smart Grid Capital Expenditures (samples of which are available on our Reports page) Newton-Evans Research is currently inviting electric utility officials involved with protective relays to participate in our “Back Page” relay study. After completing a study of the Worldwide Protective Relay Marketplace, a supplementary questionnaire consisting largely of questions asked by utility officials to utility officials has been designed to answer questions that fall into these categories: Equipment/Device related, Tripping/Control related, Settings/Analysis related, Strategy/Policy related, Testing/Maintenance related, Vendor/Manufacturer related, Distributed Generation related, and Generation related questions.

The mix of yes/no and short answer questions on the survey include:

What criteria do you use for replacing older electromechanical and solid state relays?

Does your utility use a redundant bay control unit?

Do you use communication processors to consolidate relay communications for SCADA?

How do you manage digital relay firmware upgrades for installed relays?

What strategy do you follow for improving the reliability and security of busbar protection?

Given the global dearth of power system engineers, please describe what your utility is doing to attract, develop, and train new relay and protection engineers?

your Utility use process based or condition based maintenance for your protection system?

Do you include transformer sudden pressure relays in your normal testing cycles?

Do you use localized data gathering at substations with automated logic to operate local station equipment?

What strategy do you use to overcome the problems created by the mixture of vendors, tools, generations, and interfaces?

Participating electric utilities will receive the summary findings from this study as a “thank you” from Newton-Evans.

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Mid-2009 Global Protective Relay Market Study Completed – Four Volume Study Released

Market Indications Point to Lower CAPEX Investment and Some Project Deferrals for Protection and Control Activities in mid-2009, Rebounding by mid-2010

June 29, 2009 Ellicott City, Maryland. Newton-Evans Research Company has completed a four-month research study and survey of protective relay usage patterns in the global electric power business. Findings from more than 130 utilities located in more than 40 countries, point to a number of changes in buying patterns and usage trends since the company’s last topical study was completed in late 2006.

The percentage of digital relays in the mix of all protective relays used by utilities continues to increase. More than 50% of all generator and transmission line relays installed in the surveyed North American utilities are now digital units. The vast majority of new and retrofit units being purchased in North America and around the world are also digital relays, but in some of the protection applications studied, such as motor protection and large generator applications, electromechanical and solid state relays continue to have a niche market position.
Additional highlights from the mid-2009 study include the following:

  • Worldwide sales of medium voltage and high voltage applications of protective relays currently exceed $1.5 billion. Electric utilities, industrial companies and OEM manufacturers purchase and integrate these devices into grid operations, motor controls and as components of transmission and distribution equipment such as power transformers and switchgear.
  • At least five protective relay manufacturers each ship more than $150 million worth of protective relays each year. These firms include ABB, Areva T&D, GE Multilin, SEL Inc. and Siemens Energy. Several additional suppliers have annual shipments of from $25 million to $150 million.
  • Electric utilities accounted for about $575-675 million worth of direct purchases of protective relays in 2008. Industrial purchases accounted for at least $350-425 million.
  • Electro-Mechanical units continue to account for more than $100 million on a global scale.
  • The protection and control market is now being impacted by the global recession, but is expected to rebound by mid-2010, in the views of hundreds of survey respondents to both this study and a separate CAPEX study undertaken by Newton-Evans in June 2009.

The Newton-Evans survey of protection and control officials included more than 20 detailed product functionality and related technical questions, incorporating more than 300 items of information obtained from each of the participating utilities.

The mid-2009 Protection and Control study has been published by Newton-Evans Research Company in a series of four reports. These reports are geared to the planning needs of protective relay suppliers, power industry consultants, and utility protection and control departments. These volumes include the North American Market Study, the International Market Study, Supplier Profiles, and Global Market Assessment and Outlook.

Further information on the research series The World Market for Protective Relays in Electric Utilities: 2009-2011 is available from Newton-Evans Research Company, 10176 Baltimore National Pike, Suite 204, Ellicott City, Maryland 21042. Phone: 410-465-7316 or visit www.newton-evans.com for additional information. Send email to info@newton-evans.com

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Volume One of 2009-2011 World Study of Protective Relay Use and Plans Just Released

The Newton-Evans Research Company has published Volume One of its newest study of protective relaying usage patterns and technology trends in the world’s electric utilities.  Volume One provides detailed information on the North American market.  The 165 page report features several topical discussions and survey analysis of IEC 61850, substation cyber security, demand levels for several types of protective relays, vendor assessments and plans for future use.  Volume Two, based on survey research with international utilities, will be published by 15 June 2009.  Please contact Newton-Evans for a descriptive brochure on this report series.

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Protective Relay Marketplace – Our 7th Worldwide Study Now Underway

Newton Evans Research Company is embarking upon its 7th worldwide study of the protective relay marketplace. The 2009 survey has been co-designed by Newton-Evans’ staff, major electric utilities and leading suppliers and has been extensively reviewed and pre-tested.  Global fieldwork is now underway with participation from the world’s leading protection and control community within the electric power delivery industry expected to exceed 100 major participants.  The 4 volume report series is currently anticipated to be available in April 2009.

Please see our new brochure on this topic (.pdf) here:
relay_brochure2009.pdf