Control centers are here to stay

are thorns in the side of the free marketer, who might grumble in exasperation: “Why don’t engineers just pack up and go home?” But, engineers and control centers are here to stay. An integration of hardware components, software functions, graphical user interfaces, communications, and (not least), the human operator, the control center is the quintessential computer application in power. Articles have appeared in CAP magazine throughout its publication history on various control center installations, software applications, communication networks, and standards. This article focuses on the energy management system (EMS) control center, identifying the major functions that have become standard components of every application software package. The two most important control center functions, security control and load-following control, guarantee the continuity of electric ser-