J
ust follow the 110 kV line to the end, there are no num- time was responsible for the energy supply in Hildesheim in
bers there.” It was clear from the directions that a visit to Lower Saxony. He has been responsible for the power supply
the substation in Kempen on the Lower Rhine would be a in Kempen for fi ve years.
special one. In other words, look up, with the high voltage line
fi rmly in view, and slowly follow it down the road.
“I was attracted to the green meadow for the network mon-
itoring division in the most beautiful city on the Lower Rhine.
Kempen is a city of 36,000 people on the Lower Rhine. It Together with my twelve employees, I look after the medi-
is beautifully situated, has a past rich in tradition, and is cur- um- and low-voltage grid and the associated communications
rently prospering. Reinhard Bretzke and Michael Kairies are technology for grid monitoring. The tasks are really varied, so
waiting for us in the industrial park on Industriering Ost. The the range of demands is extreme.”
two are employees of the local public utility company that is One person who takes it in stride is Michael Kairies. The
responsible for the energy supply to their home town. And 38-year-old energy electronics technician is responsible for
fi rst of all, they take us right to the heart of their work – their the network control center, among other things. He’s therefore
network control center.
Houston – we have landed
The wall of monitors is a bit reminiscent of the famous NASA
control room for the astronauts at Cape Kennedy. But things
are all very earthly here. “We are responsible for our city’s en-
ergy supply,” Reinhard Bretzke says simply. It sounds quite
down to earth at fi rst, but it is a job with a direct connection to
the future. “We are currently converting our networks entirely
to a centralized operation with digital power distribution con-
trol systems.” So a little NASA after all!
“We need smart power
grids in the future.”
Reinhard Bretzke,
Head of Energy Supply, Stadtwerke Kempen
The power grids are part of what is referred to as the crit-
ical infrastructure; i.e., they are subject to particularly strict
standards and demands for safety and reliability. No wonder,
because without electricity, not even the water supply can run
in modern civilization. Bretzke is an old hand at energy. For
a good 45 years, he’s been faithful to the topic, and for a long
“It didn’t even take us an hour to
get the device operational.”
The protective device
has easy startup and
parameterization
The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine
UPDATE 4/20
31
à