Power Station Managed With Power Measurement

Contact Energy Manages New Zealand Power Station with Power Measurement

VICTORIA, BC, Nov. 9 /CNW-AsiaNet/ -

One of New Zealand's largest energy providers, Contact Energy, has equipped the country's recently completed Whirinaki power generation plant with an enterprise energy management ("EEM") system to track energy output and station service. The New Zealand Government built the open cycle gas turbine power plant to provide reserve generation for use during dry periods when hydro lake inflows are abnormally low, and in cases where additional system support is required. Contact Energy was chosen to manage the construction of the plant, and operate and maintain the facility on behalf of the Crown. To monitor the Whirinaki plant's output, Contact Energy commissioned Quasar Electronics to equip the facility with a network of ION(R) intelligent energy meters and software from Victoria, Canada-based Power Measurement.

According to Keith Hitchings, Quasar's managing director, Quasar installed an ION 8300 revenue meter on each of the plant's three generators to measure the power produced when the generators are running, and three more ION 8300 meters to measure power levels when the generators are standing by. Quasar then installed an ION 8400 meter to monitor the local service transformer supply, and equipped the station's buses with ION 8500 meters to track MWh and MVARh imported and exported. To monitor and report on the entire metering network, Quasar installed a PC workstation equipped with the ION Enterprise(TM) energy management software.

The EEM system provides Contact Energy with the tools to efficiently monitor and verify operating conditions and output at the new facility, all from a single interface. For more information, visit Power Measurement at www.pwrm.com

About Contact Energy: Established in 1995, Contact is an integrated energy business, generating approximately 30% of New Zealand's electricity, and providing power to more than 620,000 homes and businesses across the country. Contact operates ten power stations around the country, including hydro, geothermal and gas turbine plants. (www.mycontact.co.nz)

About Quasar Electronics: Based in Christchurch, NZ, Quasar Electronics is a leading supplier of measurement and control systems and products in the power, automation and instruments fields. Based on the principals of bringing "world quality measurement and control" to its markets, the company has been providing one-stop-shop solutions and professional support since 1983.

(www.qel.co.nz)

About Power Measurement: Power Measurement is a global provider of enterprise energy management systems for energy suppliers and consumers worldwide. The company's ION(R) web-ready software and intelligent energy meters help Power Measurement customers improve power quality, reduce energy costs and keep operations running enterprise-wide, 24 hours a day.

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