The stage of work on the installation and testing of equipment at the 110/10 kV Sazanley substation, the first digital substation in the regions of the Rosseti Volga responsibility zone, has been completed. In the closed switchgear 10 kV, the installation and commissioning of microprocessor terminals for relay protection and automation of 10 kV connections manufactured by Ekra RPE EKRA BE2502A has been completed. In addition, connection controllers manufactured by the Prosoft-Systems engineering company ARIS 2205 were installed for remote control of a 10 kV withdrawable connection element and telemetry of network parameters.

At the moment, work is underway to adjust the main and backup transformer protections, which are carried out on microprocessor terminals for relay protection and automation. The adjustment of the servers of the process control system is also carried out, the workstations of the operating personnel, the personnel of relay protection and automation and the process control system are being set up.

An auxiliary switchboard and an operational direct current system produced by Ekra RPE have already been put into operation, with the ability to monitor the parameters of the network, alternating and direct current, the parameters of the battery at workstations.

During the reconstruction of the substation, the building of a general substation control point was also erected, a block-modular building of a closed switchgear was mounted, equipment for an open switchgear was adjusted, a power transformer with a capacity of 25 MVA was installed, a fiber-optic cable was laid, etc. Currently, work is underway to create a digital network at the substation.

Consumers in the central part of Balakovo, Saratov region, are supplied from the 110/10 kV Sazanley substation. After reconstruction, it will become the first digital substation in the regions of Rosseti Volga's responsibility zone. As part of the project, it is envisaged to develop innovative technologies and provide conditions for the serial implementation of a substation with a high level of automation of technological process control, using a unified information management system and information transfer according to the protocols of the "Communication networks and substation systems" standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission IEC 61850 ("digital substation").

The significance of this project is due to the approbation on its basis of the technology of digital design of power grid facilities with the development of files of electronic design documentation SSD and SCD. Also, on the basis of the 110/10 kV Sazanley substation, the implementation of intelligent (digital) systems for monitoring and diagnosing the operation of substation equipment is being tested, aimed at improving economic performance throughout the entire life cycle of the facility. The experience gained will be further used by the company's power engineers in the design and construction of new digital facilities.

Launch of the first digital substation in the region is planned for 2021. The estimated cost of the project is 467 million rubles.

The 110/10 kV Sazanley substation is a significant step towards the digital transformation of the power grid complex and, therefore, a qualitatively new level of energy supply to consumers in the region.