Operational Protection Bubble for Control Center in Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID 19 pandemic has been affecting people's health since 2020, many are infected and recover, others die. The Peruvian experience of the implementation of the Operational Protection Bubble for the Control Center at Red de Energía del Perú company is shared, taking the good practices of the operation in several countries. It was sought to reduce the risk of contagion of the operators so that the Control Center is not affected in its operations. The staff supervises and controls the electricity supply that passes through almost 70% of the transmission network in high and extra high voltage; therefore, they are highly qualified and necessary as critical process, going through a rigorous selection and training process, the latter of about six months, before entering to take shifts in the control room. Since the first positive case of contagion in Peru, there has been a state of health emergency, periods of total or partial immobilization and impact on the country's growth indicators. The Control Center with its contingency plans has demonstrated reliability, resilience and security with the continuity of its remote operations from Control Center in San Juan (Main), Planicie (Backup) and from operators' home, it has the approval and support of senior management at all time. It was necessary to reinforce the cybersecurity of operations and automate some routine tasks.