Category: Utilities and Energy

Ameren Callaway Plant

Fulton, Missouri, USA

Ameren’s Callaway Nuclear Power Plant in Fulton, Missouri

Challenges

  • The urgent need for a complete replacement solution for a legacy system that was no longer supported after Y2K
  • Mainframe dependency - the plant goal was eliminating costly mainframe infrastructure and very limited accessibility
  • Live chemistry data was only accessible on a few PCs that had legacy software installed

Results

  • GENESIS is now used to provide remote access to inline chemistry analyzer readings for numerical output and trend graphs
  • All databases and GENESIS applications are how accessible from a single Web page
  • Chemistry technicians are able to maintain system remotely, freed from the previous mainframe constraints

“We are very pleased with the ease of use and wide accessibility that Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions software provides. The technical support has also been absolutely outstanding.”

— Robert Kelley, Chemistry Supervisor | Ameren

About Ameren

Ameren, Missouri’s largest electric utility, provides energy services to approximately 1.2 million customers across central and eastern Missouri, including the greater St. Louis area. Ameren serves 65 Missouri counties and 500 towns. More than half (55 percent) of Ameren’s electric customers are located in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Its Callaway Nuclear Power Plant in Fulton has an 1100 megawatt capacity.

“We are very pleased with the ease of use and wide accessibility that Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions software provides. The technical support has also been absolutely outstanding.”

— Robert Kelley, Chemistry Supervisor | Ameren
Plant Control Room at Ameren Callaway Facility Plant Control Room at Ameren Callaway Facility

Software Deployed

Ameren uses Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions' GENESIS Enterprise Edition HMI/SCADA application; WebHMI™ Web-based, real-time automation software; and the AlarmWorX™ distributed enterprise-wide alarm and events management system

Plant Control Room at Ameren Callaway Facility Plant Control Room at Ameren Callaway Facility
Operators at Refueling Machine Controls Operators at Refueling Machine Controls

Project Summary

Ameren needed a replacement for a legacy solution no longer supported after the year 2000. After careful consideration and evaluation, Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions' GENESIS was selected. GENESIS is currently used to provide remote access to inline chemistry analyzer readings (both numerical output and trend graphs). AlarmWorX provides paging alerts to alarm conditions.

Currently, all the databases and GENESIS applications are accessible from a single Web page. This removed the database from the plant mainframe (supporting a plant goal of eliminating the mainframe). It also allows for access of live chemistry data to all plant personnel. Prior to this, live chemistry data was only accessible on a few PCs that had the legacy software installed.

Operators at Refueling Machine Controls Operators at Refueling Machine Controls
Ameren Plant Facility Layout Ameren Plant Facility Layout

Key Features & Benefits of the System

In replacing the existing system, Ameren sought specific features for their HMI/SCADA solution, including:

  • Access of live data to all personnel on site
  • Pager alarm notification to technicians
  • Remote accessibility
  • Single Web page views

The implementation of Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions GENESIS system has furthered Ameren employees’ access and use of its chemistry data. We had previously been known to Ameren solely for our AlarmWorX software. GENESIS has met the utility’s expectations to the point where they are interested in the suite’s expanding capabilities. Integration with Ameren’s existing systems, including Honeywell Micromax2 controls and Microsoft applications, is seamless. Freed from the mainframe thanks to GENESIS WebHMI, Ameren’s chemistry technicians now maintain the system remotely.

Ameren Plant Facility Layout Ameren Plant Facility Layout

Solutions Highlighted

  • GENESIS - Web-Based HMI/SCADA Visualization
  • WebHMI - Web-Based Real-Time Automation Software
  • AlarmWorX - Multimedia OPC Alarm Management Software

Conclusion

Set on its mission of providing energy to its million-plus customers, Ameren and its Callaway Plant needed a partner to meet its HMI/SCADA needs quickly, seamlessly, and cost-effectively. Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions, with its award-winning GENESIS Suite, fulfilled those needs, fulfilling its promise of “Web automation at your fingertips”.