Visit Minister Stengele to the DGCC

On Wednesday, 21 February 2024, the Thuringian Minister for the Environment, Energy and Nature Conservation Bernhard Stengele visited the DynaGrid Control Center at the Power Systems Group.

After an introduction to the structure of the grid control center, the minister was able to get hands-on. Like an operator in a real power grid, the Minister monitored a sub-grid himself while Daniel Först explained the grid structure to him. Suddenly, a fault occurred in a section of the line - a short circuit occurred in an underground cable, causing the grid protection system to interrupt the supply to prevent further damage. To restore the city's security of supply as quickly as possible, the minister now had five minutes to find a solution to this fault situation. Fortunately, he was able to fall back on the assistance systems installed in the control system to explain the fault. Within a few seconds of the error occurring, the system suggested solutions for rectifying it. While the minister was working on solving the problem, reports were received from the city's population describing the situation after the error occurred. The impressive images increased the pressure on the minister in the network control center, but with the help of the assistance system, he was able to isolate the fault within five minutes and supply the city via another connection.

After the successful reconnection, Bernhard Stengele discussed the challenges posed by grid expansion in Thuringia with Nadja Belz and Daniel Först. With the good feeling of having supplied a (virtual) city with electricity again and new insights into the world of system management and research at the Power Systems Group, the minister left for further appointments.

Thank you for the visit!