Power generation facility gets a boost from AVEVA™PI System™

Posted: April 21, 2022

When a large Midwest electric and gas utility decided to upgrade a plant monitoring system at one of its power generation facilities, it turned to AVEVA Premier Partner Logical Systems (LSI) for help navigating the path forward. Successful data migration from the client’s aging historian required a resource with broad experience developing roadmaps and choosing the best solutions to take clients into the future. Scott Larson, LSI’s Advanced Analytics Technology Director, worked with a trusted LSI partner, WWT, to organize an initial one-day workshop with the client’s team, which began a year-long data migration process and ultimately led to the signing of an Enterprise Agreement (EA) with OSIsoft, now part of AVEVA.

Using data to improve

The consistent and efficient delivery of energy is paramount to customer satisfaction for electric and gas utilities. To maintain high reliability levels, clients need to evaluate and use their operation's data more effectively. Working with LSI, a systems integrator with extensive data and predictive analytics experience, allowed the client to confidently move forward with installing AVEVA PI System. Ultimately, the migration would help sustain and improve its overall energy delivery.

From data to results

Today’s assets generate a significant amount of data, but improving operations requires more than just collecting it. By implementing AVEVA PI System, LSI turned the client’s operations data into a catalyst for change by:

• Reducing downtime and equipment failures via predictive analytics.
• Maintaining assets in the plant through real-time notifications form a single system of record. By proactively alerting technicians, critical issues can be addressed immediately.
• Optimizing maintenance and reliability programs by integrating AVEVA PI Server data with existing programs. This allows historical and predictive models to enable condition-based maintenance.

Cybersecurity

With cyberattacks on the rise, utilities responsible for the security of the U.S. power grid are understandably concerned about cybersecurity and surrounding regulatory requirements. The convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) is also driving a heightened need for network hardening measures. AVEVA PI System enables communication across network boundaries but not at the expense of critical system security.

Enterprise agreement

Over the execution period of the project, the LSI team helped the client evaluate and realize the total value of what the Enterprise Agreement offered them. Beyond the current migration project, the client now plans to expand its use of AVEVA PI System for its electric transmission and distribution operations.

With any data migration project, there will be challenges. The transition from the old historian to AVEVA PI System occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, but LSI and the client adapted to finish this critical project with the help of the AVEVA PI System team.

The client continues to identify new opportunities to leverage its Enterprise Agreement's benefits into its infrastructure—ensuring reliable, efficient, low-cost energy is available to customers for years to come.