Case Studies Canadian power generator shines light on numbers

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	Canadian power generator shines light on numbers

Canadian power generator shines light on numbers

Technology Category	Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
Applicable Industries	Utilities
Applicable Functions	Facility Management Maintenance Business Operation
Use Cases	Predictive Maintenance Machine Condition Monitoring Remote Asset Management Energy Management System
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services System Integration Data Science Services Training
Challenge	TransAlta, a Canadian power generator, faced the challenge of needing more detailed analytics from the data collected by its SCADA systems. The existing data collection solution was off mainstream support, and a costly upgrade was proposed by the third-party vendor. TransAlta needed a solution that could add capabilities incrementally and quickly without adding fixed infrastructure. Additionally, the company required actionable alerts from the generated data to automate manual processes and increase savings. The proposed upgrade would have introduced significant licensing costs, prompting TransAlta to seek an alternative solution. Read More
About Customer	TransAlta is a Canadian power generator with headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and a presence in the US and Australia. The company has been supplying electrical power for over 100 years and currently employs more than 2,300 people. With an annual revenue of CA$3 billion (US$2.3 billion), TransAlta maintains thousands of devices and sensors across its electrical production plants. These devices record metrics such as power output, temperature, and vibration, and control aspects of the power generation process. The data collected is used to monitor electrical production, equipment health, and ensure regulatory compliance. Read More
Solution	TransAlta turned to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to build a hybrid solution that utilized existing SCADA technologies and the data already being produced. The solution involved several Azure offerings, including Event Hubs, Stream Analytics, and Service Bus Messaging, in addition to Power BI. The primary objective was near-real-time data ingestion via Azure Event Hubs, capable of ingesting millions of events per second. TransAlta used the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) 1.0 for data transmission due to its performance and security characteristics. Stream Analytics was used to run the data through filters to create actionable insights, and Power BI was employed to create dashboards for data visualization and sharing. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms

Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics

Applicable Industries

Utilities

Applicable Functions

Facility Management

Maintenance

Business Operation

Use Cases

Predictive Maintenance

Machine Condition Monitoring

Remote Asset Management

Energy Management System

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

System Integration

Data Science Services

Training

Challenge

TransAlta, a Canadian power generator, faced the challenge of needing more detailed analytics from the data collected by its SCADA systems. The existing data collection solution was off mainstream support, and a costly upgrade was proposed by the third-party vendor. TransAlta needed a solution that could add capabilities incrementally and quickly without adding fixed infrastructure. Additionally, the company required actionable alerts from the generated data to automate manual processes and increase savings. The proposed upgrade would have introduced significant licensing costs, prompting TransAlta to seek an alternative solution.

About Customer

TransAlta is a Canadian power generator with headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and a presence in the US and Australia. The company has been supplying electrical power for over 100 years and currently employs more than 2,300 people. With an annual revenue of CA$3 billion (US$2.3 billion), TransAlta maintains thousands of devices and sensors across its electrical production plants. These devices record metrics such as power output, temperature, and vibration, and control aspects of the power generation process. The data collected is used to monitor electrical production, equipment health, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Solution

TransAlta turned to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to build a hybrid solution that utilized existing SCADA technologies and the data already being produced. The solution involved several Azure offerings, including Event Hubs, Stream Analytics, and Service Bus Messaging, in addition to Power BI. The primary objective was near-real-time data ingestion via Azure Event Hubs, capable of ingesting millions of events per second. TransAlta used the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) 1.0 for data transmission due to its performance and security characteristics. Stream Analytics was used to run the data through filters to create actionable insights, and Power BI was employed to create dashboards for data visualization and sharing.

Impact #1	The hybrid cloud solution allowed TransAlta to avoid significant licensing costs and reduce operational costs.
Impact #2	The implementation was completed quickly, going from proof of concept to production in just four months.
Impact #3	The solution provided near-real-time data ingestion and actionable insights, improving equipment maintenance and regulatory compliance.

Impact #1

The hybrid cloud solution allowed TransAlta to avoid significant licensing costs and reduce operational costs.

Impact #2

The implementation was completed quickly, going from proof of concept to production in just four months.

Impact #3

The solution provided near-real-time data ingestion and actionable insights, improving equipment maintenance and regulatory compliance.

Benefit #1	Avoided approximately $200,000 in licensing and implementation costs.
Benefit #2	Processed over 56,000,000 telemetry readings within four weeks of the go-live date.

Benefit #1

Avoided approximately $200,000 in licensing and implementation costs.

Benefit #2

Processed over 56,000,000 telemetry readings within four weeks of the go-live date.

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Overview

Canadian power generator shines light on numbers

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit