Davao Light and Power Co. upgraded its supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system to prevent cyber-attacks and improve operational efficiency, system reliability, and quality of service for 465,000 customers within its franchise area.
A subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp., Davao Light is the third-largest privately-owned electric distribution utility in the country in terms of customer size and annual kilowatt hour sales. Its franchise area covers Davao City, areas of Panabo City, and the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali, and Santo Tomas in Davao del Norte, with a population of around 2.2 million and a total area of 3,561 square kilometers.
“In the near future, we will be implementing distribution automation, enhanced outage management system, and energy management system. This is to further improve our power system reliability that will be at par with world-class standards,” said Engr. Virmel Dabon, Davao Light System Operations Manager.
The SCADA system is a collection of both hardware and software elements that allows for a more seamless way of gathering, monitoring, and controlling real-time data and distant electrical devices installed in the power distribution network.
Without the SCADA system, fixing power outages would take several hours as the team would be required to go onsite for manual assessment.
The distribution utility has continued to innovate and update the SCADA system since its initial installation in 1996.
Currently, the team is able to restore 65 percent of unplanned interruptions in less than five minutes, resulting in a more efficient and reliable way of providing power to customers.
Davao Light has also made strides to protect its assets against modern threats like cyber-attacks which can cause electrical blackouts, failure of equipment, and data breaches.
Davao Light’s ERA Substation Control Center has also been upgraded in 2020 to provide tighter security controls on its components like the SCADA server to ensure long-term dependability and protection as these facilities perform their critical functions.
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