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Energy Management Systems

Conference Paper · September 2013

DOI: 10.1109/UPEC.2013.6715015

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 Energy Management Systems
J. Amaral Cecília Reis
ISEP – School of Engineering ISEP – School of Engineering
Polytechnic Institute of Porto Polytechnic Institute of Porto
1980138@isep.ipp.pt cmr@isep.ipp.pt
Abstract-This document describes the usage and meaning of
Energy Management Systems (EMS), applied both for utilities
and end customers as a mean to supervise electricity usage and
obtain energy savings. The approach also does a benchmarking
on existing systems and appliances, together with the increasing
usage of EMS in the newest smart grids.
Index Terms--EMS, Energy, SCADA, Automation, Reporting,
Utilities, Smart Grids
I. INTRODUCTION
With the increasing electrical demand and newer devices
focused on getting the most and the cheapest energy possible,
the usage and release of Energy Management Systems (EMS)
is escalating both in end users and for utilities. Utilities tend
to implement EMS capable of, as example, diminishing the
costs regarding Operation and Maintenance activities or even
levelling the costs of fixed capacity for demand increase or
renewables integration. On the other hand, end users want to
be capable of monitoring the live costs at home, SOHO,
buildings, facilities or large companies.
The introduction of EMS allows integrating centrally data
into the utilities and foresees the possibility to communicate in
real time the energy markets tariffs to the end users,
permitting to sell or buy energy in the most appropriate
moments. The growing integration of renewable energy and
electrical assets will push the requirement to have global and
centralised EMS. An EMS is a system of computer-aided tools
used by operators of electric utility grids to control, monitor
and optimize the performance of the generation and/or
transmission system. The monitor and control functions are
known as SCADA, Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition:
the optimization packages are often referred to as advanced
applications.
The terminology EMS excludes the monitoring and control
functions, but more specifically refers to the collective suite of
power network applications and to the generation control and
scheduling applications. Manufacturers of EMS also
commonly supply a dispatcher training simulator (DTS). This
related technology makes use of components of SCADA and
EMS as a training tool for control centre operators.
EMS can usually also refer to a computer system designed
specifically for the automated control and monitoring of
electromechanical facilities in a building which yield
significant energy consumption such as heating, ventilation
and lighting installations – hotel, production plant. The scope
R. F. Mesquita Brandão
ISEP – School of Engineering
Polytechnic Institute of Porto
rfb@isep.ipp.pt
may span from of a single building to a group of buildings like
universities, office buildings, retail stores networks or
factories. Most of these energy management systems also
provide facilities for electricity, gas and water meters. The
data obtained can be used to perform self-diagnostic and
optimization routines and to produce trend analysis and annual
consumption forecasts.
II. HISTORY
Roots of power control go back to the 1920s [1] when ABB
supplied its first remote control system for a power plant but it
was not until the 1960s with the advent of computerized
process control that lead to modern power network control
systems as we know today. At that time most of the EMS was
designed for a single customer. Power systems were
vulnerable and with the need to develop applications and tools
for preventing faults and fail-over from developing into large-
scale outages.
The deregulation, cross-border interconnection and
privatization of the power industry that began in the 1990s and
it was the biggest structural change in the industry’s history.
Specialization became increasingly common and many
utilities started focusing on generation, transmission or
distribution. Energy trading systems were required to allow
independent system operators to operate real-time markets for
energy trading. Generation companies needed an interface
with the energy trading markets - and the capability to
plan/optimize supply to meet spot market demand –
transmission companies required advanced systems to manage
their high voltage networks and prevent a fault in one part of
the system from cascading across the entire network and
distribution operators needed to take network management
down to the level of individual customer connection points to
minimize customer outage times.
III. SOLUTIONS
Currently, EMS solution developers are keen in markets
that are willing to implement country wide platforms,
meaning that few are the cases of distributed and end user
platforms are implemented so far.
Cases like Évora [2] or Austin, TX [3] are so far isolated
examples of smart grids in development and integration
phases since the past decade. Power networks are multifaceted
systems that cannot be efficiently and securely operated and
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managed without an appropriate EMS. The evolution into
smart grids, together with the accommodation of renewable
power, the management systems will play an important role.
Most solutions are named as SCADA, EMS, GMS
(Generation Management System) or DMS (Distribution
Management System) which supervises, controls, optimizes
and manages generation and transmission systems. These
systems enable utilities to collect, store and analyse data from
hundreds of thousands of data points in national or regional
networks, perform network modelling, power simulation
operation, pinpoint faults, pre-empt outages, and participate in
energy trading markets. EMS are vital for power networks to
be modern and enable the development of smart grids, the
greatly automated energy systems of the future. Smart grids
will have to handle large quantities of renewable power both
from large and small-scale generators.
Examples like integrating transmission and distribution
networks into a single system in Karnataka [5] - India’s fastest
growing state (capital: Bangalore) – which is an international
hub for the global IT and biotechnology industries. In 2009,
ABB delivered a solution that integrates the state’s power
transmission and distribution systems together with energy
audit and energy billing systems into a single platform. The
solution monitors the power network of the entire state and
provides real-time information on power supply and revenues,
enabling operators to identify and correct faults quickly.
Network management is a prerequisite for any smart grid of
the future since these grids will have to incorporate and
manage centralized and distributed power generation as well
as intermittent sources of renewable energy like wind and
solar and allow consumers to become producers and export
their excess power. Enabling multi-directional power flow
from many different sources and integrating real-time pricing
together with load management data. Figure 1 represents a
typical SCADA/DMS Architecture and figure 2 shows a
Control Center.
Fig. 1 An example of a typical SCADA/DMS Architecture [1]
IV. COSTS
Energy costs are second to salaries in operating
expenses and there is a lot of opportunity to improve
profit margins with increased energy efficiency. For
businesses interested in cutting energy costs to improve
profits, there are two options: negotiate reduced rates with the
utility or consume less energy; both require good data on
businesses energy use, which can only be derived through a
good EMS. The power outage can also represent a dramatic
profit loss. In cases like electronic trading of financial
transactions an interruption in energy flow could mean
thousands if not millions of dollars in lost revenues. Like
utility companies, data centers must insure continuous
reliability. To maintain reliability, data centers are
designed with intrinsic redundancies across numerous
servers. Using the real-time data collected on energy use, the
IT administrator could decrease the load of non-essential
servers at specified times - maintaining necessary redundancy.
Energy use often falls into the realm of facility management,
where employees are tasked with managing costs, but lack
direct control over the equipment necessary to implement load
shedding. As the first step in energy management is to
develop an accurate understanding of how and where does a
company uses energy - which can also be done manually by
entering data from utility bills into spreadsheets or using data
sensors meshed with specialized software applications. The
second is more accurate in that individual sensors will
delineate energy consumption by types of equipment,
buildings, and industrial processes, providing a more
comprehensive and detailed picture of the energy usage of a
business. Once a company has measured its current energy
usage, a benchmark indicator can be developed and be used to
evaluate how effectively the consumption is managed. It can
be as simplistically derived as the aggregated energy value
divided by the total floor area. Benchmark indicators will
provide values to compare energy management programs;
however, benchmark indicators reflect energy consumption,
not costs. To use energy data effectively the trick is to
figure out the direct actions that are most effective in
lowering costs. In data centers an easy way to perform this is
to replace or retrofit the existing chips that perform at lower
speeds to enhance and save energy.
Fig. 2 Nuclear Power Plant Control Center [3]
V. SYSTEM OBJECTIVES
EMS systems possibilities grow along the data available for
integration and the growing needs described before. Functions
of an EMS are usually:
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 • Generation Planning, Scheduling & Dispatch: Unit
Commitment; Hydro-Thermal Coordination; Economic
and Environmental Dispatch; Fuel Resources Allocation;
Generator Maintenance Scheduling; Load Modelling and
Management; Transmission Planning and Scheduling;
Minimize Losses; Peak shaving; Optimize spin reserve.
• Operators Power Flow: Transmission Capacity Rating;
Network Security Studies; Optimal Power Flow; Voltage
or Reactive Power Scheduling; Transmission Loss
Minimisation; Direct Operations Control.
• Automatic Generation Control: Interruptible Load and
Generation Shedding; Utility Feeders and Interruptible
"Own" Loads; Customer Interruptible Loads; Interactive
Customer Voluntary Load Reduction; Voltage Reduction
Control; Scheduled Voltage or Reactive Power
Compensation Management; Cogeneration Plant
Coordination; Load/Frequency Control; Inadvertent
Energy/Time Error Correction; Network Reconfiguration
and Black Start Configuration; On-line Monitoring,
Analysis and Operator Advice.
• Network Topology: State estimation; Security
Constrained Dispatch; Intelligent Alarm Processor;
Contingency Selection and Analysis; Energy Transaction
Planning.
• Economy Analyses: Inter-Company/Power Pool
Communications; Energy Trading Decision Support;
Accounting and Performance Evaluation; Interchange
Transaction Scheduling.
• Energy Transaction Accounting: Performance Evaluation;
Power Purchase Agreement Monitoring.
• Dispatcher Simulator: Application Program Simulation;
SCADA Simulation; Disturbance Replay.
VI. EMS BENCHMARKING
There are several EMS/DMS commercial solutions in the
market and less open solutions for implementation. The open
solutions usually require a high level of knowledge, which is
something that usually is outsourced by the utilities over a
maintenance contract. The usage of closed but configurable
systems, like ABB in Madeira Island’s Dispatch Centre
(figure 3) [7], allows local managers to tailor the system needs
and make the system grow as new needs come into the grid.
From the major manufacturers we have chosen a few systems.
Fig. 3 Madeira Dispatch Center from EEM [5]
General Electric (GE) developed XA/21 - a field proven,
scalable and feature-rich Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition SCADA/EMS solution that is specifically
designed to meet the needs of today’s electric utilities. As GE
divulges, XA/21 is modular software and open system
architecture combined to enhance service performance and
overall reliability, while facilitating continued compliance
with ever-changing industry requirements and has two
solutions: GENe and Power Fusion.
ABB has the Network Manager SCADA/EMS system
which is a solution that enables operation of the electric power
system, as the other EMS solutions. It is also an energy
information system that provides the decision makers with
reliable process information. Network Manager has an open
configuration platform that allows easy integration with other
utility information systems - maintaining high levels of IT
security. The system architecture can be tailored to the needs
of each company and provides path for future expansions.
Each EMS function is implemented as a separate software
package interfacing with the rest of the system through the
real-time database. The modularization of the software makes
simple to tailor the system to the utility requirements and to
define execution sequences and cycles individually.
Areva/Alstom supplies the e-terra platform (figure 4), one
of the market leader solutions available for EMS. It’s a
solution to operate control centers in the new energy market
environment with increasingly complex electric power grids.
The EMS is developed to be highly available and flexible to
meet the needs of the industry dynamics, regulatory rules and
constraints on the existing infrastructure.
Fig. 4 Alstom/Areva e-terra [9]
The dynamics of the electric markets and massive
deployment of Distributed Energy Sources (Renewables and
Demand Response signals) the Smart grid transformation has
a dramatic impacts on the power flows patterns in the Grid.
Operators more and more under increasing pressure to
optimize operations and assets. Mergers and consolidation of
transmission operations also drive the need for flexible
integration with your enterprise IT systems. The e-terra
platform is designed as a suite of modular applications, all
with a highly available core technology. Its architecture is
flexible to map business processes, with configuration of its
standard applications and integration of custom applications
for specific needs. SCADA, network security analysis,
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simulator, generation management, Renewable integration,
Distributed Energy Resources, On-line Stability applications,
Optimization of Generation fleet, Enterprise message bus
integration, CIM based modeling and more are available over
e-terra platform.
OSI Monarch, shown in figure 5, a business operations
model based on supply and delivery over a complex network
of supply and demand nodes, supplying electricity, Oil & Gas
or Water to consumers or Transport passengers, OSI's
monarch platform is another solution in the market. With
various suites of SCADA and Network Management
applications allows control, monitor and optimization of the
operations. It also allows optimal flow calculations, loss/leak
analysis, fault location and restoration, contingency analysis
and planning. Component modules for the Network
Management solutions portfolio include: Monitoring of the
transmission network (security analysis tools for developing
strategies to avert, mitigate and cope with system
emergencies); Automatic Voltage/VAR Control; Voltage
Stability Analysis; Equipment Outage Scheduling; Operator
Training Simulator - Simulation platform for effective training
of system operators.
Fig. 5 OSI Monarch platform [10]
Siemens Spectrum Power TG SCADA/EMS (figure 6) is a
real-time performance for the modern utility networks. It’s a
scalable system from a single-substation/RTU system up to
the largest generator in the US or to the largest control centres
in the world. It is capable to deliver high performance and
reliability defining hierarchical systems that allow linking an
infinite number of systems. It is composed by optional
advanced applications, has the potential to provide source
code to reduce application development costs and vendor
dependency, it is platform independent and has compatibility
with most popular office software and easily integrated in the
enterprises.
Most of the current market products present a modular
platform layout in order to increase capabilities. The pricing
for these solutions is not released publically as well as few are
the existing available demos for complete EMS platforms.
VII. PROTOCOLS
Conventional automation protocols commonly used allow
EMS systems to get data from the defined data points and
elements that will compose the existing EMS. The most used
protocols are, by definition, ICCP TASE2 – part of the IEC
definitions.
Fig. 6 Siemens Spectrum Power TG platform [11]
VIII. END USERS
Market is behaving dynamically. For end user solutions
some players such as Google and Cisco [11] or Microsoft
have decided to abandon the development of such systems –
which would allow the integration of the smart grid concepts.
Nonetheless, smart grids and advanced metering
infrastructure (AMI) promise to bring major changes to home
appliances and other electrical systems so that they can
interact and communicate with power-utility companies and
customers. Estimations that total global spending on smart
grid technologies will $196.9 billion in 2015 [16] - these
figures exclude renewable energy systems, power plants and
smart home appliances but cover the smart grid infrastructure,
electrical storage systems, smart meters, and information
technology investments.
For end users the EMS will be composed by the commonly
named smart grids. These will have the ability to
communicate with energy-efficient buildings and smart home
appliances to save electricity costs and automatically balance
consumption with the output of power plants and the
network's overall capacity. Future grids will also make use of
distributed electrical-energy storage systems to handle peak-
demand periods while lowering the need for additional power
plants. Smart power grids are also being designed to
accommodate large-scale recharging of electric vehicles and
plug-in hybrid gasoline/electric cars. Smart grid technologies
are also necessary to add renewable energy sources (such as
solar-photovoltaic and wind energy).
Smart meters promise to be a huge marketplace for
semiconductors, especially microcontrollers and embedded
processors, analog mixed-signal devices, radio-frequency
integrated circuits, power discrete and transistors, non-volatile
Flash memories, and communications ICs. Worldwide
revenues for semiconductors in smart meters are forecast to
become nearly a $1.1 billion market in 2015[16].
IX. EMS ISO
EMS may be seen from demand side or the supply side. To
have a good understanding of the ISO 50001 standard it’s
needed to remind the concept behind EMS. It is not just
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implementing an Automatic Meter Reading package or communications systems that have been implemented over a
Automatic Monitoring and Targeting package. A Management number of years, with changes in vendors. These changes
System is a framework for managing and continually present potential compatibility problems, even more when
improving organisations policies, processes and procedures. proprietary communications protocols are involved.
Energy, in the context of organisational use, can be defined as
the direct consumption of fuel (Gas, Oil, etc) and indirect
consumption of fuel (Electricity).

Fig. 7 ISO 510001 Energy Management Model [13]

ISO 50001:2011 is the International Standard for Energy
Fig. 8 GE Smart Grid Communications Concept [14]
Management, released in June 2011 that replaces the British
and European Standard BS EN 16001:2009. It provides a XI. SYSTEMS SECURITY
robust framework for optimizing energy efficiency in public
Security is, more then ever, a topic under high awareness in
and private sector organisations. Certification to this standard
the Energy business. In the United States of America alone,
defines an organisations commitment to continual
North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) has
improvement in energy management. Implementation will
mandatory reliability standards which include substantial
enable an organisation to lead by example within their
financial penalties for non-compliance. Managing the risks
respective industries and ensure related legislative and
related with NERC audits involves undertaking a careful pre-
regulatory requirements are met. Significant financial savings
audit assessment, preparing action plans to attend to potential
can be achieved through increased energy efficiency,
audit problems, implementing the action plans and compliance
considering that energy prices are forecasted to rise.
programs. Utilities also need to implement processes to ensure
ISO 50001 can be integrated with existing management
continuing compliance assurance.
systems. ISO 14001 can be the basic framework on the way to
NERC requires implementations like evidence tracking
implement ISO 50001. The EN 16001 standard is very similar
systems, securing critical assets and critical cyber assets –
to the ISO 50001 standard.
trough vulnerability assessments and penetration tests.
X. COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK Most of the platforms are implemented with standard
security levels and without customization of security keys,
Telecommunication for Utilities has a long history in the
algorithms and hashes. These insecurities create a high risk for
transmission level of the Power Grid. Nowadays almost all
every EMS exposing the entire facility, building, network or
substations are monitored and controlled online by EMS. The
country to cyber terrorism.
main transmission lines are frequently equipped with fiber
optic cables, mostly integrated in the ground wires and the XII. HISTORICAL DATA
substations are accessible via broadband communication
Data historian solutions are only as powerful as the ability
systems. SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) Systems build
to efficiently collect, store, extract and perform accurate
the backbone of a Power Utilities communication hierarchy.
analyses from the information on critical systems. Feeding
Ethernet based systems gradually complement these SDH
these results into the hands of the key decision makers pushes
systems and will replace them on the long run. SDH are used
the data distribution to evolve. Using relational databases and
to connect Substations in Transmission and Sub transmission
sometimes developing customized applications it’s usually
Networks and, depending on the market, also for Medium
fairly easy. Reporting is a crucial issue to perform correctly
Voltage Substations.
using EMS and to take the best from the cumulated system
In the distribution networks the situation is different from
and managed data.
the transmission networks. Usually the communication
infrastructure at lower distribution levels is very poor. Most XIII. UTILITIES
countries have less than 10% [14] of transformer stations
monitored and controlled remotely. Smart Grid Applications Utilities include not just electrical companies but all service
require a bi-directional communication network down to providing companies that add value to our daily life. EMS
transformer stations and consumers. One of the difficulties systems are very important systems to the daily management
that many utilities face is that they may have multiple of Water, Fuel, Oil, Renewable and many other utilities
composing companies. Distribution companies deal with

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customers who are more aware of the possibilities offered by
the market and their on-line response. These include flexible
and competitive tariffs; local generation; supporting schemes
for renewable energies; cost-effective energy saving programs;
demand side management and converging utilities;
communication and billing services. These can only be
provided with the help of EMS and Smart Grids.
Fig. 9 Historical Data Example [16]
The Smart Grids will seek to bring together and connect
diverse technologies and advanced applications, such as the
use of distributed energy resources, communications,
information management, automated controls. This will be
beneficial for Utilities and Customers, pushing more data to
the utilities and creating the possibility to provide a more
accurate and tailored energy rate for each customer.
Fig. 10 Smart Grid [17]
XIV. CONCLUSIONS
Before Smart Grids, there was EMS and SCADA. For
decades, SCADA systems have been providing utilities with
some information and control capabilities to sustain and help
managing the grid. Energy management and control systems
today are providing increasing capabilities for the reliable,
secure and efficient operation of the grid. These systems need,
though, increasing volumes and varieties of information. They
must interface numerous systems and devices in an
environment of increasing requirements and cyber threats.
Making the grid smarter relies on information given and the
ability to actively manage the grid and as the grid becomes
smarter, more requirements are placed on the EMS.
Energy traders, regulated utilities, municipalities and co-
ops must have a full picture of the generation portfolios. With
accurate and valid measurement, the generation resources and
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load requirements are a must, as is the ability to
instantaneously dispatch in response to market and reliability
signals.
Cyber security concerns are important in the US market but
tend to quickly propagate to Europe and the rest of the world.
Although EMS solutions tend to present similarities
between themselves, an extensive bench marking on Energy
Management Systems would demands the access to a
simulation “world laboratory” and to all major market EMS
solutions. This would allow, in the current versions, to
evaluate the differences and behaviours on the existing
platforms as well as to classify the solutions according to the
application and objective.
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