Natural Gas is one of few fuel sources that's delivered directly to us, the consumers. Natural gas regulators are responsible for maintaining and operating gas pipelines and facilities up to the residential gas meter. Because it's an explosive and dangerous fluid, they must prioritize safety and take the necessary precautions to protect systems and prevent accidents.
Recently, we've witnessed, even with all the safety procedures in place, events out of our control can still occur.
We help Local Natural Gas Distribution companies (utilities regulated by states) find solutions to aid them in meeting safety and state regulations, such as an over-pressure condition occurring on the distribution system that can affect all customers served by the system.
Challenges facing local regulators
Small to mid-size regulators capturing detailed data can be challenging. Customers in this size range still use manual processes like chart recorders when collecting critical data associated with their distribution systems. This causes inefficiencies and a higher risk to public safety. With personnel collecting and analyzing data manually, it means less time to focus on essential tasks.
Larger natural gas regulators who have on-premise SCADA systems are moving away from manual processes. However, they still must deal with servers shutting down during unexpected events causing them to lose visibility of their network without knowing what's going on with their gas infrastructure.
Local regulators are also dealings with new regulations; On December 27, 2020, the US President signed into law pipeline safety reauthorization legislation" Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (PIPES Act) of 2020" (Division R on Pg. 167).
Included within this act are new mandates for PHMSA that require operators to update, as needed, their existing distribution integrity management plans, emergency response plans, and O&M plans. The Act also requires operators to manage records and update, as necessary, their existing district regulator stations to eliminate a common mode of failure. Source: American Gas Association
Emerson's Zedi Cloud-Native IioT Platform
To help regulators, Emerson understands that to protect people, assets, and equipment; you must strategically place pressure monitoring points throughout the distribution network to assist with on-time alerts that prompt reactive measures.
We work with various size gas distribution companies to easily customize a solution to overcome their operational challenges.
Our intuitive, scalable cloud-based IIoT platform supports any digital monitoring hardware for real-time operational data. The platform can help regulators monitor systems by providing real-time operational data while acting as a secondary system to on-premise SCADA systems.
We can also act as your primary SCADA vendor and requires a low capital investment, with no internal IT involvement, and includes evergreen updates with 24/7 support and all-inclusive training.
With a secure internet connection, authorized users can view data and gain visibility of assets through our web interface, Zedi Access, or Zedi Go Mobile app.
Easily configure and manage alarms and call-outs with options for text, email, and voice calls. Your automated system can be remotely supervised and alarmed adequately to provide you with the information needed.
Our report center within Zedi Access provides ad-hoc or pre-built graphing and trending reports. Create reports from data sources that present you with real-time data, aggregated data, or user-entered data. Gain the insight you need to meet operational challenges with customized solutions to improve efficiencies within your municipality.