KuzSTU students solved a case study on optimizing the Russian electric power industry

10 teams gathered at Kuzbass State Technical University to solve the case of the International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN" in the field of "Electric Power Industry".

The students were asked to present themselves as employees of the electric power industry as part of the staff of the branch of JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System of Russia" and optimize the operation of reserves of active capacity of power units of the UES of Russia. This case corresponds to the instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the construction of electric grids to connect the energy systems of the East and Siberia by July 2022.

It was necessary to solve the problem using digital technologies of Industry 4.0. It implies the comprehensive introduction of modern technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics and digitalization of all processes, augmented and virtual reality into our lives. In the electric power industry, such integration allows all participants in technological processes to interact more effectively when making decisions at the stages of planning, designing, building and operating electric power systems.

Each team worked hard on their solution for eight days. By performing calculation actions, the participants tried to find their own unique approach – the most competitive and applicable in the modern world.

The defense took place in a remote format in contact with experts from industry companies of the fuel and energy complex and KuzSTU teachers. Also, as a member of the expert commission, Vladimir Shestakov, a leading specialist in the technological connection department of the Capital Construction Department of the branch of PJSC ROSSETI Siberia - Kuzbassenergo – Regional Electric Networks, personally evaluated the decisions of the guys.

Some teams went beyond the scope of the case study and offered more thoughtful solutions. For example, the EDS team has been participating in the CASE-IN championship for the fifth year now. In their decision, they additionally took into account the wear and tear of electrical equipment accounting, which was not described in the case.

"We additionally analyzed this factor from the point of view that it is impossible to load more than 50% of those power plants that will soon need to be dismantled. Another advantage of our solution is the fact that we have selected only new power plants to ensure the regulatory primary reserve, as they are equipped with the most modern and digitalized equipment. Our calculations required in-depth knowledge of the electric power industry. For example, we had to analyze in more detail the issues of reserving generating capacities in the Unified Electric Power System (UES) of Russia", – Anastasia Aksenova and Denis Berezin, undergraduates of the Department of Power Supply of Mining and Industrial Enterprises, told the EDS team.

The jury will select several teams that will represent the region in the semi-finals of the International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN". So, three KuzSTU teams have already reached the next stage of the Mining championship – this is the Mountain of Winds team of the KuzSTU branch in Prokopyevsk, as well as the Black Gold and KP-21 teams of the Mining Institute of the Kuzbass State Technical University.

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