ELECTRICAL POWER DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION SYSTEM

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1                      INTRODUCTION

The importance of electricity in the higher institutions of learning cannot be overemphasized. However, Electrical Power Generation in many universities in Nigeria is self generated by the institutions as the inadequate national power supply by the countries’ power generation company is insufficient to handle the electrical needs of the institution. To this end power generating plants are purchased and utilized in these institutions for the purpose of generating electric power.

A power plant is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. At the center of nearly all power stations is a generator, a rotating machine that converts mechanical power into electrical power by creating relative motion between a magnetic field and a conductor. The energy source harnessed to turn the generator varies widely. It depends chiefly on which fuels are easily available, cheap enough and on the types of technology that the power company has access to. The  power plants are used in the universities for supplying electrical power to their buildings and infrastructures such as the academic blocks where the lectures halls exists, the administrative quarters, where the offices of the school staff are located and the hostel blocks where the students are accommodated.

1.3     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problems associated with providing power to the various infrastructures in the universities through the power generating plants are outlined below:

Poor Rationing: Due to efforts made by most institutions to minimize the monetary resources available for the management of the school affairs, the electric power supply is rationed amongst the various building infrastructures available in the university premises. Most often this is done with out a well defined rationing plan which amounts to some infrastructure getting more power supply than others.

Fuel Expenses: There are universities which, due to their intention to keep up with the high standards of the educational services they promise to offer, pay for the power plants to be run for the entire various infrastructures in the school. This amounts to the spending of excess funds to run the institutions.

1.3     AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this research project is to design and implement a database of electrical power distribution in a university community for control of the power plant distribution grid in order to efficiently and adequately supply the needed power to the appropriate units in the institutions as at when due. The following objectives to be achieved after the completion of this project are outlined below:

·        Provide a Database Driven Information System that be used to provide information for the Power Plant Grid operators so as to create a schedule which will be used to ration the power supply amongst the various infrastructure available in the institution.

·        Identify the various infrastructures available in the school and make room for the newly proposed system to include newly built infrastructure to the system database.

·        Implement a system that will allow for the setting and adjustments of the priority given to each building in the school based on factors such as the time of the activities done in the buildings and the days of the week.

1.4     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The successful implementation of this research project will ensure that the higher institutions of learning will enjoy the benefits of having electric power supply through the efficient regulation of electricity to the various building infrastructure available in the universities. Excessive money spending will be curtailed as limited resources will be utilized effectively.

1.5            SCOPE AND LIMITATION

The scope of this project will cover the development and design of a database driven electrical power distribution information system to be utilized by the operators of the power plant grid supplying electricity to the university community.

Inasmuch as this project is intended for use in institutions of higher learning in the country, this focus of this research will be limited only to BSU University.

1.6    RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The source of data to be used for this work will come from the internet, libraries and public journals.

1.7     DEFINITION OF TERMS

Electricity: Electricity is the science, engineering, technology and physical phenomena associated with the presence and flow of electric charges. Electricity gives a wide variety of well-known electrical effects, such as lightning, static electricity, electromagnetic induction and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire. In addition, electricity permits the creation and reception of electromagnetic radiation such as radio waves.

Electric Grid:  An electrical grid is an interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers. It consists of three main components: 1) power stations that produce electricity from combustible fuels (coal, natural gas, biomass) or non-combustible fuels (wind, solar, nuclear, hydro power); 2) transmission lines that carry electricity from power plants to demand centers; and 3) transformers that reduce voltage so distribution lines carry power for final delivery.

Smart Grid:  A smart grid is an electrical grid that uses computers and other technology to gather and act on information, such as information about the behaviors of suppliers and consumers, in an automated fashion to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the production and distribution of electricity.