How CPS Energy Modernized Gas SCADA to Improve Reliability and Cybersecurity
The nation’s largest municipal utilities provider based in San Antonio, CPS Energy can’t afford downtime. A lapse in operations can mean no power or gas for residents around the region and in South Texas, no one wants to endure the heat without power. Keeping aging systems updated is of vital importance.
Modernizing Gas Distribution Operations
CPS Energy utilizes multiple SCADA systems for its electric and gas distribution operations. Working with Emerson and its AspenTech business, CPS focused its modernization project on its gas SCADA system, which manages gas pipelines to ensure proper flow and pressure.
The system monitors 49 remote automation devices, which are a combination of RTUs and Emerson’s Remote Operations Controllers (ROC 800s) and FloBoss 107s, according to Solis. A mix of communication devices and infrastructure (point-to-point radios, mashed wireless networks, fiber-optic multiplexers, microwave transport and cellular devices) connect remote stations to two control centers.
Project Scope & Goals
CPS Energy had more than a few goals in mind with this project: for compliance and risk mitigation, it wanted National Institute of Standards & Technology-based protocols for protecting critical infrastructure. In addition, CPS Energy prioritized a control room management (CRM) platform that could be integrated, consolidated applications for improved situation awareness, a common platform with appropriate network segregation, and an operator training simulator.
Obstacles & Solutions
Starting the project in 2019, CPS Energy faced quite a few challenges to get the project completed, not the least of which was the sudden onset of the COVID pandemic as well as new regulations that were dropped in their laps in the middle of the project. Executive leadership was active in the entire process, resulting in cross-functional governance and support for IT, OT, SCADA support, controllers, compliance and security, to name a few.
The company was also limited by an aging workforce, so it hired Emerson and AspenTech for automation expertise and implementation.
Improvements Delivered
Once completed in 2022, the new gas SCADA system included significant improvements such as modern visualization tools and alarm management, situational awareness displays, pipeline topology, dynamic coloring, inventory and linepack calculations, cybersecurity controls, synchronized disaster recovery and an operator training simulator.
The primary differentiators of this modernization project were advanced visualization dashboards and an open architecture, enabling PI and GIS integration for unified operational visibility, a hallmark of Emerson's edge-to-cloud automation strategy.
These days, CPS Energy is well equipped to handle any situation that may occur in its gas distribution system, and residents of the region can count on their utilities being available.
