SMARTLINE-TCF

Transmission Line Rating Platform
Seamless AAR / DLR Transition

SAMRTLINE: One name for Ambient Adjusted and Dynamic line ratings.
Combining AAR and DLR to provide fully operational transmission capacity forecasts.

What is smart about SMARTLINE? Full FERC Order 881 compliant AAR ratings and forecasts with SMARTLINE AAR/881.  Simple transition of any line to full Dynamic Line (DLR) capacity forecasts built on actual measured data, not estimates. Simple and fast installation; no line outages required.  Dependable, out-of-the-box communications.

Just as this road can handle more traffic, transmission lines usually have additional capacity.
THE SMARTLINE PLATFORM

Rating Smart

The SMARTLINE-TCF line rating platform informs the utility of a transmission line’s true power handling capacity. The SMARTLINE system can address any line rating need, providing ambient adjusted ratings (AAR), dynamic line ratings (DLR), transient, and emergency ratings. Compared to first generation dynamic line rating (DLR) methods, SMARTLINE ratings are developed by actively learning how the conductor behaves with regard to conductor temperature, ambient temperature, perpendicular wind speed, sag, load and the conductor’s exact clearance-to-ground. For a detailed discussion of how first generation DLR systems differ from SMARTLINE-TCF, download this whitepaper.


SMARTLINE-AAR/881 – Ambient Adjusted Ratings and Forecasts

SMARTLINE AAR/881 simplifies compliance to FERC’s Order 881 requirements. Contact us for more information.

 

SMARTLINE-TCF – Transmission Capacity Forecasting

The SMARTLINE-TCF platform develops highly accurate dynamic line rating forecasts of transmission line power carrying capacity. The platform ensures capacity forecasts comply with electrical clearance limits while at the same time avoiding conductor thermal overloads. Forecasts can be provided in one-hour to one-week increments with 98% or better confidence. SMARTLINE-TCF is ideal for engineering, operations, and planning functions, as well as for integration with EMS systems in both day-ahead and real-time markets.

SMARTLINE‐TCF eliminates the dispatch and operational limitations associated with fixed capacity transmission asset and replaces them with a living set of transmission pathways whose capacities reflect real-time conditions. SMARTLINE is key to a true “smart” transmission grid. Download a complete description here.

 

SMARTLINE-DLR: Next Generation DLR

Dynamic line rating has always had one meaning: What is a line’s maximum instantaneous current carrying capacity while ensuring no thermal damage occurs. Using the data from TLM conductor monitors, SMARTLINE-DLR develops a more operationally useful clearance-enhanced DLR.

SMARTLINE provides both continuous and transient dynamic ratings.

  • Continuous ratings allow lines to be operated safely, efficiently, and economically on a day-to-day basis.
  • Transient ratings refer to the short-term ratings needed to respond to emergency conditions. The ratings are valid for specific periods of time without risking violation of dictated clearance requirements.

This improved DLR rating results when the Lindsey TLM conductor monitors are installed on clearance-limited spans. The use of clearance-limited spans ensures clearance requirements are not violated while also eliminating risk of conductor thermal damage. If the selection of monitored spans is given no consideration as to clearance limit monitoring, SMARTLINE-DLR provides basic DLR, consistent with traditional DLR solutions.

SMARTLINE Conductor Asset Monitoring

Predicting conductor life-cycle is a difficult task. The Conductor Asset Health module for the SMARTLINE system provides an accurate, live assessment of conductor health. The learning-based conductor behavior model used by SMARTLINE allows the system to track conductor life as a percentage of the conductor’s maximum lifecycle creep.

ESTABLISHING A BASELINE

Asset Smart

Conductors age over time due to normal operational load cycles and from years of exposure to environment-related events such as galloping, ice loading, and wildfires. Until now utilities had no real-time access to condition of their conductors. The Conductor Asset Monitoring software module produces a digital replica of the conductor by combining live data collected by line mounted sensors with the learned conductor-behavior models developed within SMARTLINE. This allows SMARTLINE to assess conductor aging in real-time enabling utilities to proactively prevent conductor failures.


SMARTLINE

Transmission Line Smart

When determining any line rating, the most important parameters are conductor temperature and clearance-to-ground. Carrying too much power for the conditions means:

  • Sagging into vegetation
  • Clearance violations
  • Damaged conductors

Ensuring clearance is vital. Yet static ratings and traditional dynamic line (DLR) ratings systems depend on estimates of sag, which itself only estimates clearance. SMARTLINE doesn’t use estimates of estimates; SMARTLINE looks directly at measured clearance.


Know Clearance; Measure Sag

SMARTLINE uses Lindsey TLM monitors which provide real-time LiDAR measurements of conductor clearance. SMARTLINE is the ONLY continuous line rating system that uses actual clearance measurement information. SMARTLINE also uses direct measurement of the conductor’s inclination as it relates to sag.

SMARTLINE forecasts and ratings result from looking continuously at the data that directly impacts a transmission line:

  • Clearance Distance to ground
  • Conductor inclination
  • Conductor span temperature
  • Line current
  • Effective perpendicular wind speed
  • Real-time weather feeds and forecasts

SMARTLINE Learns

SMARTLINE is a learning-based system that makes extensive use of statistical correlation and forecasting techniques to actively learn over time how line behavior varies with weather and load. This reliability-based nature means you can depend upon SMARTLINE as it uses the right data to provide reliable results.

After learning, SMARTLINE can provide forecasts of capacity from an hour to days in advance.

SMARTLINE

Installation Smart

Everything about SMARTLINE is installation savvy for simple, fast, cost-effective deployment.

  • Self-powered TLM conductor monitors quickly install on energized lines through 765kV. No taking lines out of service. No modifying dead-end structures. No climbing towers.
  • Communication is factory set and ready to go right out-of-the-box.

SMARTLINE

Communications Smart

TLM monitors are fitted with a satellite radio with all data being passed directly to the Lindsey SMARTLINE Cloud server. TLM monitors can be located in the most remote locations. No dependence on any other communication infrastructure is required.


Software Smart

SMARTLINE

Cloud-based server implementation ensures that you are always running the latest version of SMARTLINE.

SMARTLINE Cloud

The easy, secure and fast way to take advantage of SMARTLINE. All data is passed to the secure Lindsey Cloud server where SMARTLINE resides; always up-to-date, constantly monitored. No IT overhead, no additional IT expense. Weather data is similarly set up by Lindsey. The result is a simple data feed providing real-time capacity ratings and the forecasted ratings of your choice.