Services for Flexible AC Transmission Systems

In times with growing bottlenecks, uncontrolled load flows, and instabilities due to the liberalization of the energy market and the increasing share of volatile renewable energies, TSOs have to make sure that their FACTS installations are working at their best to enhance grid stability and power quality. Regular maintenance, health and security checks, modernization, and retrofit as well as many other services are needed to ensure the safety, reliability, and availability of your FACTS installation throughout the entire lifecycle. That's what Siemens Energy is committed to.

At Siemens Energy, we provide you with all kinds of comprehensive services for FACTS solutions and contribute professionals with many years of experience and qualifications in the utility and infrastructure industries. You benefit from a maximized lifetime of your FACTS station, minimized downtimes, and unpredictable expenses during offline maintenance activities. You also secure the highest availability and reliability with a safe investment. Furthermore, having your FACTS managed, operated, and maintained by our experts allows you to focus on your core businessactivities. You also secure the highest availability and reliability with a safe investment. Furthermore, having your FACTS managed, operated, and maintained by our experts allows you to focus on your core business.

Digitalization changes our energy systems. It offers great prospects and new business opportunities, but also harbors challenges in terms of cyber security. Cyber threats that endanger a stable operation can include attacks on communication between FACTS devices, on time- and synchronization-based control algorithms, and malicious sending of incorrect operational data. All these attacks can and should be prevented in advance. Even without a direct Internet connection, manipulated IT devices and the engineers’ and maintainers’ laptop also pose risks. To protect FACTS, we offer comprehensive cyber security support and services based on an in-depth defense concept. We identify your technical vulnerabilities, recommend appropriate security measures, and carry out their implementation. Our services for cyber security include:

Consulting regarding e.g. requirements, evaluating the own status quo and recommending the resulting security measures
Patch management (three service levels)
Security reviews, penetration tests and incident handling.

Cyber threats are increasing with serious consequences for companies and communities worldwide. Critical infrastructure, such as power transmission systems, is increasingly becoming the main focus.

Today, IT systems are the foundation of critical processes for most companies. This leads to significantly increased risks of being attacked by hackers or viruses, and patching software weaknesses is not a onetime task but an ongoing endeavor throughout the system’s lifetime. For these reasons, Siemens Energy has developed a comprehensive cyber security service portfolio for FACTS to support you.

Knowing the condition of your FACTS installation is a prerequisite to running them in a reliable and optimized way and to wisely spend your maintenance budget on the components that need the most attention. Siemens Energy Health Checks for FACTS provides you with a sound basis for a targeted maintenance strategy. It extends from reviewing existing documents and carrying out the on-site assessment to fixing minor defects and failures, compiling reports, and presenting findings and recommendations.

Preventing failures is less costly than fixing them. That’s why we recommend scheduled off-line maintenance activities for the entire system. The FACTS station will normally be shut down for a period of one to three consecutive working days. To support and advise your maintenance personnel, Siemens Energy provides you with a FACTS specialist as on-site supervisor. The FACTS specialist will also support you in case of any difficulties including failure analysis if needed.

Maintenance contracts

Preventive/scheduled maintenance work according to OEM recommendations
Qualified local expert personnel
Increase of asset reliability and lifetime expectancy

Computerized maintenance management system

Software/hardware package for maintenance planning and controlling
Specific work orders with detailed work procedures
Detailed resource planning and expert selection

Field service and repair

Fast response of qualified local service experts
Access to the Siemens Energy global network of experts for additional support
Minimized outage time

Spares consulting

Individual consulting solutions for new strategic & operational spares as well as for already existing customer spares

Spare parts management

Provision of high-quality spares across all applied technologies and asset generations
Reliable global supply of single parts, parts kits and complete spare modules for planned and unplanned maintenance measures
Managed spares service models

Obsolescence management

Provision of detailed information (internal/external) on obsolete parts and products in our globally installed base
Recommendations for remedial action, including retrofits, modernizations, last calls for replacement spares or disposal

Modernization and retrofit

Software/hardware exchange to extend the lifetime, support, and spare parts availability of your FACTS assets
Minimized downtime and greater availability
Handling new technology requirements

Refurbishment

Overhaul of FACTS equipment for lifetime extension and availability increase
High quality work compliant with OEM standards
Dedicated functional testing according to industrial standards before re-installation

Upgrade and update

Update of your FACTS installation with state-of-the-art solutions to improve asset efficiency and performance
Implementation of new features and functionality
Complete functional testing of new systems

Extensions

Extension of your existing FACTS installation according to growing demand and needs
Proven adapter solutions if required
Bypass solutions and more to reduce outage time during installation of extension

Condition monitoring and diagnostics

Monitoring of your most critical FACTS assets
Analysis of dynamic asset conditions allowing operation of your FACTS assets up to real-time rating (asset performance management)

Remote services

Our dedicated Customer Support Center automatically identifies critical situations
Experts conduct remote analysis and give recommendations
Reliable and secure data connection

Cyber security

Security concepts and patch management
Compliance with NERC CIP and BDEW white paper standards
Cyber Security Services

Qualification and training

Tailored trainings and continuous qualification of your service personnel in terms of FACTS
Classroom, test field, and on-site trainings
Experienced engineers as trainers

Technical support/hotline

Immediate 2^nd and 3^rd level technical support by senior experts via telephone (24/7h or 8/5h)
Utilization of internal engineering department
Coordination with key sub- suppliers

Technical support via remote access

Online failure analysis via Common Remote Service Platform (cRSP)
Access to experts regardless of location
Secured remote access to your FACTS installation

On-site condition assessment (“Health Check”)

On-site FACTS asset evaluation and testing
Detailed condition report and early warning indication
Recommendation plan for availability improvement and lifetime extension

Asset management and advisory services

Vendor independent consulting and forecasting of FACTS asset health and risk
Software and consulting services enabling you to optimize asset management (OPEX, CAPEX)

Operations

Carefree, complete FACTS operations by qualified Siemens Energy employees
Utilization of operational best practices gained through many of our systems around the globe
High performance and availability through on-site experts

Warranty and availability guarantee extensions

Extended asset warranty
Individually fixed availability ratings
Customized agreement on bonus/malus system
Reduced risk for return on investment

Service programs

Operation and maintenance services and individualized “care-free packages”
Guaranteed performance by defined KPI’s
Operation, maintenance, and management services, special service projects, customer as well as support services

The Mozambique Transmission Company MOTRACO awarded Siemens with an on-site condition assessment of its series compensation FACTS FSC devices in Barberton (South Africa) and Maputo (Mozambique).
Siemens conducted a status check, fixed minor problems on-site, and drew up a site conditioning report with recommendations for the system.
The benefits for the FACTS operators include a clear status overview of the devices, immediate repair of minor problems, and a clear recommendation plan for maintenance and retrofitting.

Western Area Power Administration, an agency of the US Department of Energy, was facing a communication failure with a single analogue logic controller in a 10 year old control system.
Siemens replaced the PLC with current PLC hardware through an engineered code conversion, conducted a prototype lab testing, and engineered two communication channels.
The system was back in operation ahead of schedule with upgraded technology, increased functionality, and reduced risk of prolonged outages.

GRIDCo, the national interconnected transmission system operator of Ghana, needed staff training on performing operation and maintaining the SVC PLUS system.
Siemens performed a classroom training course as well as an on-site maintenance and operation training, including a visual inspection of all equipment.
The benefits for all participants were high training effectiveness due to a customized training solution.

Services for Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS)

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Enable your FACTS installation to keep up with the future

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We check up on your system and help to prevent failures

Supervision for off-line maintenance

Every service you need for your FACTS

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Transmission Service Portfolio

Services for FACTS in practice