Keeping your Automated Devices Alive CenterPoint Energy’s IG Deployment - Lessons Learned John Rush CenterPoint Energy Crew Leader- Intelligent Grid Deployment SWEDE Austin, TX May 1-3, 2013        

Automation History CenterPoint Energy (CNP) has had automation in place for over 40 years 1970’s - Substation relays - SCADA 1980’s - Remote Control Reclosers & Pole Top Switches - Distribution Automated Control System (DACS) 1990’s - Loop Sectionalizing - DACS 2010 – Department of Energy/CNP IG construction project begins 2010 - 18 IGSDs installed 2011 - 183 IGSDs installed; year end = 201 2012 - 183 IGSDs installed; year end = 384 DACS converted to Distribution Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (DSCADA) 2013 - 21 IGSDs installed to date, 4/11/2013

Legacy DACS Maintenance Program Legacy DACS Maintenance Improvements DSCADA equipment monitored by Telecommunication & Control Systems Orgs SAP Notifications Intelligent Distribution Device (IDD) work orders dispatched via Mobile Data Distribution techs are DSCADA first responders System oversight and 30 day restoration metric Speaking points Legacy and IGSDs are monitored by a variety of groups; NOC, DSCADA Control, Distribution Control, IG project team The D2 FUW notifications are created by the NOC and allows for individual device tracking and restoration matrix history Work orders can be sent immediately to DSP tech (cap crew) and if necessary be referred Service centers are responsible for their devices and the reporting makes there efforts transparent

Intelligent Grid Deployment ≈ 31 Substation Upgrades ≈ 180 Distribution Circuits ≈ 600 Intelligent Grid Switching Devices (IGSD) ≈ 420K Customers Construction Schedule 14-19 installations per week 67% Complete YE 2012 100% by YE 2013 12kV & 35kV installations Site are fully commissioned upon completion of construction Minimizes out of service duration of manual switch upgrade to IGSD Allows for high volume of switch replacements in a small geographic area 7 crews working out of 6 service centers 5,000 Square Miles 2.3M Customers 16.4 GW Peak

Challenges and Opportunities New Technology Firmware Dual communication requirements Distribution SCADA (DSCADA) Multiple Vendors (5 IGSD combinations) Failures & Material Issues Volume of installations demanded higher expectations Documentation of issues into a multi-departmental log Training Distribution Operations techs required training on new installations and maintenance of devices None of the vendor’s FW was ready for dual comms Telecommunications was required to preform a site survey and assist with commissioning New control system (DSCADA) templates had to be prepared for site specific devices and comms ESM historically has utilized multiple vendors for the following advantages hold cost down improve supply restrictions Typical yearly installs ranged 20-30 devices per year, IG project installed 162 devices in a 2 month period Operation crews now needed to know how to commission and maintain the new devices, this was provided by ESM, Telecom, and Operations

QA/QC Vendors Vendor Audits Audit Reports Issue Resolution Factory visits Audit Reports CNP provided feedback Good/Best practices Gaps and improvement recommendations Issue Resolution Return Material Authorization (RMA) Reports CNP encourages transparency with ALL issues Encourage synergy between CNP and Vendors during acceptance and installation CNP sent a team (operations, engineers, electricians) to each vendor (switch & controller) After the visit CNP would document the factory visit and reply back to each vendor with our observations and recommendations Failures fully investigated and CNP reviews and accepts report prior to resuming receiving or installing devices CNP expects the vendors to be candid and timely on any issue they or other customers identify Speak to some examples of vendor support; application engineers flying in to CNP, weekly conference calls, dedicated resources

QA/QC CNP Logistics Shops New Pallet design (Facilitates Testing and Shipping) Shops Itemized checklist (Tester’s signature) Hi-Pot, Current Injection, and Relay Testing Communication & DSCADA Testing Kit (Distribution material palletized with IGSD)

QA/QC CNP (Cont.) Field Installation and Commissioning DPD crew and Telecom tech onsite DPD crew and Distribution Controller partner to commission IGSD IGSD Commissioning Document QC Each site is independently inspected IGSD QC report Issue Log & Documentation All issues are documented into a central issue log Risk Management provides oversight

IGSD Test Farm IGSD Test Farm

Availability Report 4-11-13

Operational Opportunities Improved System Reliability Critical Infrastructure is only out of service for short periods of time Existing Manual Switch replaced by IGSD within 2 days Existing IGSDs are out of service less than 14 days Efficiencies Gained IGSDs are fully tested prior to installation IGSDs are communicating upon construction completion (87%) Kits require less hot shot deliveries Early issue/problem detection Defined, Repeatable, and Scalable Processes

DOE Acknowledgement and Disclaimer 4/15/2017 DOE Acknowledgement and Disclaimer Per the DOE Grant Agreement,: “If you publish or otherwise make publicly available the results of the work conducted under the award, an acknowledgment of Federal Support and a disclaimer must appear in the publication of any material, whether copyrighted or not, based on or developed under this project, as follows:” Acknowledgment: “This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number [DE-OE0000210]” Disclaimer: “This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Referenced herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinion of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.” 12 CenterPoint Energy Proprietary and Confidential Information