Case Study: UC San Diego achieves reliable microgrid protection and load shedding with SEL POWERMAX

UC San Diego Optimizes Microgrid System With SEL Powermax and Protection Relays

University of California, San Diego needed a more reliable way to keep critical facilities powered on its campus microgrid. After the 2011 Southwest blackout, the university found that its system did not shed load fast enough, causing cogenerators to shut down and important buildings such as the Health System and Scripps to lose power. UC San Diego contacted Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) for help and looked for a solution built around SEL’s POWERMAX power management and control system.

SEL designed a custom POWERMAX solution with primary and backup load shedding, synchrophasor-based monitoring, grid decoupling, and high-speed protection relays and automation equipment. The system was tested with RTDS, commissioned in 2015, and now allows the microgrid to island quickly, shed noncritical load, and keep critical operations running reliably. The result is improved campus resilience, more dependable operation at maximum capacity, and the potential to save millions per year in energy costs.

University of California, San Diego

John Dilliott

Associate Director, Energy and Utilities