An Innovative Local Control Room

The production of renewable energy is an increasingly digitalized process and Local Control Rooms (LCRs) play a vital role, as they’re able to monitor the data from an entire fleet of power plants. In the case of EGP South Africa, the LCR, which is located at the Data Center in Johannesburg, is used for monitoring all of our operative power plants in the country. It feeds in all the performance data from the plants and allows for real-time updates on energy production, the resources available and any issues and alarms that require the onsite staff’s attention. Data can be stored and reviewed at a later stage. The LCR was launched in South Africa in 2016 as a strategic operation asset allowing 24/7 remote supervision of the power plants, thus enabling us to centralize and standardize our operations, as we do globally. In 2017, the LCR intern program was the first to be launched by EGP RSA. It offered inexperienced graduates an opportunity to work closely with seasoned professionals and thereby gain confidence. To date, the program has trained 12 interns, and we have successfully hired two of them. How the LCR team adapted during COVID-19 When the lockdown was announced, EGP’s LCR team had to quickly adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic, with team members required to attend to the plants from home. “To ensure the safety of our operators, we followed all the guidelines as prescribed by the organization and government. Our Digital Solutions team assisted us by rapidly responding and providing us with the necessary equipment to enable us to monitor from home." Boiketlo Rapoo, LCR manager, EGP South Africa Larger work stations were set up for the operators at their homes and each person was supplied with two monitoring screens and two laptops. The LCR uses two different Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to monitor plants, which means the operators have to switch between them by disconnecting and reconnecting when necessary. “The decision to equip the operators with additional resources ensured we were not vulnerable to errors as a result of network interruptions,” Boiketlo adds. One of the challenges that the Lockdown presented was ensuring that the team could handle alarms, events and outages at all times. A secure online presence and constant communication was needed to instil a sense of confidence for the rest of the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) team. It was imperative to show that the LCR was actively monitoring the plants and responding rapidly to issues that could adversely affect production. Boiketlo also says that EGP RSA is adapting to evolving trends, such as the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning for fully-automated decisions. Computer programs that facilitate automated decision-making enable operators to focus on tasks that cannot be managed by AI. "With such an unexpected global pandemic, we were very fortunate in that our organization had already developed advanced digital systems that allowed us to adapt to major changes in such a short period. Being able to monitor and control real-time events that may have a critical business impact, at any given time, from the safety of your home is a strong indication that EGP RSA is already in the future." Boiketlo Rapoo, LCR manager, EGP South Africa And so, even if the last few months have caused untold suffering worldwide, there have been some positive effects. Most people have seen the need to change our relationship with the planet, and they have understood that renewable energy is key to creating a more sustainable way of life. And, in practical terms, it has helped teams working in the energy sector to hone their skills. The future that Boiketlo and her colleagues are building is a promising place.

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An Innovative Local Control Room

An Innovative Local Control Room