Electrical Business Continuity Management: Towards a code

Abstract

Advanced guidelines have to support the design of every electric power systems in hunting performances of safety, dependability and costs saving. Particularly, power systems, critical for the mission of their loads and/or equalized to mission critical for the vulnerability of their supplying network, need a “partition system”, local fortified structure, interface between network and utilization, designed as a service continuity “castle” and managed to guarantee an adequate response to every emergency. The paper emphasizes the importance of a Business Continuity Management (BCM), qualified to a comprehensive design of the system throughout its life cycle complying with the criteria of the ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’ (PDCA) that is taking care of all the exigencies with both the approaches of the installer and of the operator (In-Op design). This operational management must ensure the efficacy of the partition system in maintaining dependability and functional safety against the loss service continuity during fault events, maintenance demands and emergencies for external stresses. In fault events, the protection system contemplates the starting of a countdown time for a prompt response of a qualified team must in solving the problem before the system collapses causing the automatic disconnection of supply.