ABSTRACT
Power generation is a complex process in which automation systems play important roles in assisting humans to operate the plant. Safety automation systems are designed, however, to run autonomously in order to protect the process running out of its operating domain or to avoid human errors. A power plant is designed to operate in complex power grids in which human and automation systems interact together to deal with unexpected situations. ¥ese situations may concern the imbalance between generation and consumption following hazards or failure of the power plant or the network, or the need of power ancillary services to stabilize the grid’s frequency or voltage. Today, most of the power plants control room is connected to the utility economic dispatch systems where power generation optimization is performed in conjunction with trading operation. To improve the e§ciency of maintenance operation, modern power plant information systems are more and more connected to a centralized e-monitoring center (Figure 29.1) where plant experts can analyze process parameters for studying the improvement of plant performances or for planning conditionbased maintenance.
