Like the rest of the world, the Czech Republic is experiencing extreme weather. In August, strong winds and storms left some 10,000 homes without power and a state of emergency was temporarily declared for the regions of Central Bohemia and Pardubice. Bohema, in particular, was hard hit, with nearly 40 high-voltage facilities either demolished or extremely damaged.

Recognizing the need for constant vigilance and rapid response time, CEPS, the sole Czech Transmission System Operator, is now taking extra measures. This week, the utility successfully deployed a situational intelligence system that will provide control dispatchers with near real-time geospatial and intuitive visual analytics capabilities–enabling them to quickly assess and react to how weather and other factors are affecting the grid.

The system was developed and deployed by Prague-based Unicorn Systems using San Mateo, California-based Space-Time Insight‘s situational intelligence software. Unicorn is a strategic partner of Space-Time Insight in the Central and Eastern European Region.

The innovative situational geospatial system (SGS) visualizes the utility’s Big Data across space, time and node. In its primary implementation, the SGS obtains meteorological information (e.g., temperature, lightning, wind direction and force, frost, sunlight), as well as information about failures in the transmission system, and visually overlays the status of each on the screens of the dispatchers. The data obtained are displayed in near-real time and historical information and predictions are shown for a 48-hour period. This gives dispatchers an immediate overview of the meteorological influences on the transmission network in user-selected places and at user-specified times, and makes it possible to rapidly and precisely identify failure points.


Visual courtesy of Space-Time Insight (click for larger).

In the words of Jirí Rýznar, head of Energy Control and Information Systems at CEPS, “Using situational intelligence, our dispatchers can ensure that, at any given moment, the generation and consumption of electricity is balanced. The software also helps us [to] renew, maintain, and develop the transmission system, and grant to all electricity market participants…access to the transmission network, subject to equal and transparent conditions.”

As Rob Massoudi, senior vice president of Business Development for Space-Time Insight, noted: “Space-Time Insight‘s situational intelligence solutions, combined with the expertise of partners like Unicorn Systems, are helping companies around the world [to] better manage and protect their critical infrastructure while providing enhanced reliability and safety to their customers.”

Space-Time Insight transforms vast quantities of disparate information into intuitive visual displays that businesses can use to make informed real-time decisions. In addition to Unicorn Systems, Space-Time Insight partners with leaders in the industry, including Accenture, EMC (News - Alert), Esri, IBM, OSIsoft and SAP.