GCC Power
2020

Outline of the Event

Date
Venue
Organizer

November 25, 2020 – November 26, 2020

Virtual Conference and Exhibition

CIGRE GCC

Details

GCC POWER 2020, a high-octane event focused on power and energy industry successfully concluded on 25th - 26th November 2020 in a virtual space. The show was crafted to consistently meet the needs of the sector and enable professionals to continue their business dialogue, engagement and provide them with feasible solutions.

GCC-Cigre was established under the umbrella of the Gulf Cooperative Council in accordance with a recommendation from their Excellencies GCC Ministers of Electricity & Water during their second meeting held in Kuwait on 22nd April 1985 under the patronage and auspices of Gulf Cooperative Council. The GCC’s General Secretariat, together with the Secretary General, of the International Council for large Electric Systems “CIGRE” drafted the Committee’s basic law. The Committee, a non- profit institution, is an affiliate of the International Council and is mainly devoted to encouraging and develop scientific researches and studies in the field of Electricity Systems.

GCC-Cigre is the perfect platform to display the latest technological advancements and discuss the latest trends related to energy and building a sustainable environment via a clean power infrastructure. This virtual event is an ideal opportunity for local and international companies and organizations to promote their products and services and share best practices and experiences from around the world.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids is a proud platinum sponsor at this first virtual event. Hitachi ABB Power Grids experts presented on pioneering thought leadership topics and showcased Hitachi ABB Power Grids digital technology solutions and service offerings via the virtual expo.

Hitachi Activities

Hitachi group companies were a solid contributer to the summit through the following activities:

Mr. BHABA PRIYO DAS, Lead Digital Business Developer, PGTR, HUB APMEA, Hitachi Energy Ltd., gave a speech at the GCC-Cigre main conference under the topic:
A Paradigm Shift in Dealing with Data Uncertainty in Transformer Asset Management

To correctly calculate transformer status/health scores/failure probabilities, input data plays a very crucial role. Among the various input data sets, oil sampling is one of the least invasive form of data collection, as the oil sample can be taken while the transformer is in service. The condition of the transformer can then be tracked by routinely sampling the oil and analyzing the dissolved gas content based on IEC & IEEE standards. In this session, we will discuss how uncertainties in both gas levels and gas trends become very crucial for early detection of incipient faults and why it is paramount for customers/end users to request oil laboratories to report their accuracy values in test reports.

Mr. Alessandro Pedretti, Solution Consultant, Hitachi Energy Ltd., gave a speech at the GCC-Cigre main conferenceunder the topic:
Smarter means Smaller: how IoT has squeezed the power grid into the palm of our hand

In the last decade, Industrial asset management has seen a stunning evolution thanks to the substantial contribution of the latest waves of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) such as Industry 4.0 and the advent of the Industrial Internet of Things. This paradigm shift provided great benefits to asset-intensive industries, electrical power grids above all. To help companies benefit from this shift, the market is creating software applications that enable T&D operators to see the health status of assets such as power transformers, high voltage switchgear and the entire grid from a laptop, a tablet, or even a smartphone. They also provide full visibility across the entire asset fleet and the evolution of the grid conditions, from the installation through current usage and to future behavior.

Platinum Sponsor, Hitachi Energy Ltd., held a meeting under the topic:
The Utility of the Future - How a data-driven utility can leverage digitalization to address the challenges of renewables integration

Mr. Ramon Bächli, Head of Product Management Expertise, Hitachi Energy Ltd., gave a speech at the GCC-Cigre main conference under the topic:
Experience report of the new MPLS-TP network


This paper provides an overview of OETC’s operational MPLS-TP network in Salalah, required for electrical grid operation. The various applications require specific service level agreement (SLA) parameters, such as very high availability and low latency. It also explains how services are secured against attacks using encryption and authentication, which becomes a strong requirement when migrating mission-critical services to packet-switched networks. More than 12 months of successful operation are summarized. The deployed solution has proven to fulfill the SLA requirements of all deployed services.

Mr. Alexandre Oudalov, Manager, Power Systems of the Future Hitachi Energy Ltd., gave a tutorial at the GCC-Cigre under the topic:
Are blackouts here to stay? A look into the past and future

Changes in power system landscape – more dynamically varying and distributed systems with lower inertia. Impact of the changing environment on grid resilience.

• Electricity services have become ubiquitous across developed and developing economies, with the transmission and distribution operators' responsibility to provide reliable continuity of service to customers becoming more critical than ever. Regional power system disturbance statistics and major root causes. Typical trajectories towards / escaping from blackouts. Selected examples of recent events in 2019-2020: Great Britain and Sri Lanka

• Without innovation, in blackout mitigation techniques their frequency will likely increase as climate change brings greater meteorological instability. What technologies can improve power system resilience proactively and curatively at different system grid levels?

• A high-level overview of the general machine learning landscape as of today followed by a closer look at applications in energy, power systems, and blackout mitigation. Machine learning algorithms have shown great potential across a number of sectors, but they are data-hungry and can be challenging to interpret when compared to analytical or rule-based methods. What implications will this have on their deployment in power systems, and can greater collaboration between academia, industry, and grid operators accelerate their safe deployment?

Mr. Evgenii Ermakov, Hitachi Energy Ltd., gave a session under the topic:
Substations, Switchgear and HV Equipment Condition assessment of bushings in the field

Mr. Bhaba Priyo Das, Lead Digital Business Developer, PGTR, HUB APMEA, Hitachi Energy Ltd., gave a paper under the topic:
Transformer Online Monitoring Under N-1 Contingency: Is it beneficial?

Mr. Ben Frazer, Gulf Engineering Manager, Hitachi Energy Ltd., gave a paper under the topic:
Virtualization as an enabler for digital substation deployment

•Digitalization inside the substation is increasing demands to create digital information. This leads to a vastly growing complexity of OT/IT system in the substation and specifically on the station level.
•Virtualization is a technology that offers many benefits to counter this challenge. Hypervisor technology has reached maturity for non-real-time applications that can now be applied to design substation automation station level integration without compromising performance, availability, and reliability.

- Mr. Ramon Bächli, Head of Product Management Expertise, Hitachi Energy Ltd., gave a paper under the topic:
Protection coordination and special protection systems for interconnected power systems using real time communication channels


This paper explains the use of a special protection scheme (SPS) to protect the Iraqi 400kV and 132kV power grid from blackouts due to high demand (overload), shortages in electrical power generation, or unforeseen events on important powerlines. The drivers for the SPS have been events, which lead in the past to massive problems in the electrical grid. MoE decided to implement a special protection scheme by themselves using the existing infrastructure (RTU560 and FOX communication devices) from Hitachi Power Grids.

Hitachi Products & Solutions:

Hitachi Energy Ltd. was a solid contributor to the summit through the following products and solutions:

Generator circuit-breakers protect important assets in power plants by clearing potential harmful short-circuit faults in tens of milliseconds, preventing severe damages and enhancing power plant availability.

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Hitachi Energy offers a comprehensive range of high-voltage switchgear and breakers up to 1200 kilovolts AC and 1100 kilovolts DC that help enhance the safety, reliability and efficiency of power networks while minimizing environmental impact. Our technology leadership continues to facilitate developments in areas such as ultra-high-voltage power transmission, enabling smart grids and enhancing eco-efficienc.

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We offer an array of services - from traditional to advanced - for our products and systems that are offered a-la-carte or within an agreement. These five main services support our customers in planning; building; operating and maintaining their grids.

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TXpert™ is an open, scalable, manufacturer-agnostic ecosystem for digitalization of transformers, designed to drive data-driven intelligence and decision making in the operations and maintenance of transformers and Hitachi Energy.

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Grid-eMotion™ Fleet is a full ‘grid-to-plug’ solution for large-scale public transport and commercial fleets, enabling operators to charge more with less.

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Butterfly
The 25th exhibition for electrical equipments covers all aspects of the production, transportation and distribution of electricity and brings together industry professionals, manufacturers, suppliers, contractors and specifiers giving them direct access to project directors, GCC ministries, government bodies and a variety of high level decision makers involved in the electricity sector. Exhibitors will have a unique opportunity to build trade links and enter into partnerships with large multi-nationals, local firms and consultancies. The world’s biggest names in the power industry, as well as regional experts will be there to take advantage of the fastest growing energy market in the world.
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