The key supply center was launched in Voronezh for the most populous northern part of the city: Sputnik substation, 110 kV, 80 ĚVŔ. This power supply facility is one of the most advanced in Russia; it was built using the full set of domestic state-of-the-art technologies within the frames of the digital transformation concept being implemented by the companies of the Rosseti Group. The investment amounted to about RUB 900 million. The ceremony was attended by Aleksandr Gusev, the Governor of the Voronezh Region, Mikhail Vedernikov, the Governor of the Pskov Region, and Pavel Livinskiy, the General Director of Rosseti.

The substation was built in the Kominternovsky District of Voronezh with a population of over 270,000 people. Its operation will allow increasing the quality and reliability of power supply to consumers of the regional center and providing technological connection of new industrial, household, and socially significant facilities. In particular, seven residential complexes with a surface area of over 400,000 sq. m are to be connected. Contracts for the power supply of 36.8 MW have already been signed with three residential complexes.

Aleksandr Gusev stated, “The Voronezh Region is implementing a great variety of industrial and housing development projects that increase the power consumption and require expanding the power grid infrastructure. Energy companies provide prompt responses to these challenges in their efforts to meet the growing needs of the region by investing in new advanced equipment and building high-tech supply centers. We thank Rosseti for cooperation and hope that it will be just as fruitful in the future.”

Pavel Livinskiy noted, “This is an important benchmark on the way towards the implementation of the Rosseti Group’s Digital Transformation Concept — the activities we are carrying out throughout the country. The technical parameters of the new power facility fully meet the requirements of the time. Moreover, all the applied equipment is manufactured in Russia. Since the end of 2017, the Rosseti Group has built 72 substations using digital technology; we will commission other 51 similar facilities by the end of next year, including the first ones in the Urals, the South, and the Volga Regions.”

The substation has two power transformers 40 MVA each, integrated 10 and 110 kV switchgears. Digital technology is applied in automation and equipment control systems. The facility provides for modern software microprocessor-based systems under the IEC 61850 standard.

All parameter data of the substation, emergency processes, and telemetry are transmitted via digital data transmission channels to the Network Control Center of Rosseti Center Voronezhenergo. Main and secondary equipment, engineering, security, and other process systems are also controlled remotely. This will allow for the increase in the observability of technological processes, ensuring remote control over switching devices and the relay protection and automatic equipment, carrying out remote diagnostics and monitoring of the technical condition, and for the significant reduction of the operating costs for the substation maintenance.

Rosseti is implementing many other advanced digital transformation projects in the Voronezh Region. It has commissioned a single grid control center for Rosseti Center Voronezhenergo. Work is underway to create “Digital Power Grid Districts” in the pilot districts of the region — Novaya Usman and Ramon power distribution zones where new digital equipment allows detecting and isolating damaged grid sections in automatic mode in the event of technical failures while maintaining the power supply for most consumers. This reduced significantly the time of detecting and eliminating damages on power lines.