Asset Management
Asset Simulation
Project name: asset simulation tool “NEOS”
Commissioned by: divers
Contact: Alexander Ladermann
Asset-Simulationstool NEOS – Modellschema [1]
Maintenance and renewal strategies for network operating resources must be optimised with the aim of providing sufficient network capacity at an appropriate level of quality in the long term at the lowest possible cost. This raises various questions that cannot be answered simply by analysing the current system inventory and quality level:
- What costs for renewal, maintenance and disruption management an be expected in the long term with the strategies currently practised? How are the key quality indicators developing?
- How will possible changes to the strategy affect costs and quality indicators? To what extent is an extension of action plans justifiable from a quality perspective? Which strategies lead to minimised costs for given quality objectives?
- How do budget and resource limits affect network quality? In which division and in which system segment does the use of the available resources bring the greatest benefit with a limited budget?
To analyse these questions, Consentec has developed the NEOS simulation tool, which can be used to simulate the long-term cost and quality effects of strategy variants for the maintenance and renewal of network assets in the electricity, gas, water and (“Asset Simulation”). The procedure provides support for the strategic optimisation of infrastructureunder the influence of constantly increasing demands on the efficiency of network operation.
The analysis methodology focuses on the goal of simulating the effects of measures taken by the network operator on the condition and – as a result – the operating behaviour of the network systems. In addition to planned measures resulting from the maintenance and renewal strategy, disruption events and the measures required to rectify them are also taken into account. The disruption events are determined by simulating the ageing behaviour of the equipment using ageing models that can be flexibly parameterised. The integrated reliability model determines standard network reliability parameters from key figures on fault events – especially for power grids. All measures are evaluated in monetary terms using parameterizable cost approaches. Key simulation results are the progression of cost and quality indicators over the freely selectable observation period. By varying strategy options, their long-term effects can be analysed and quantified.
Since its initial development around 20 years ago, the tool has been expanded several times and regularly used in studies for distribution grid operators with grids from different sectors to optimise maintenance and renewal strategies. In many cases, the results of the analyses have been used as a basis for coordination between asset management and asset owners. In addition, several grid operators have acquired the tool for their own applications and introduced it with our support.
Sources:
[1] Consentec GmbH