Stadium Power Supplies - FIFA World Cup 2010

Given the national and international exposure that each stadium in the FIFA World Cup 2010 receives, it is imperative that all efforts are made to ensure that electrical power supply in the venues is as reliable as possible. In this post according to “22nd AMEU Technical Convention110 AMEU Proceedings 2009 Stadium electricity supplies – an assessment of the specification and readiness” document I have outlined the various power aspects involved in Stadium Power Supplies.





The stadia and surrounding areas are fundamentally broken down into three
Main focus areas include:
1. Domestic/stadium power (stadium itself)
2. Technical Power (Media & Broadcasting)
3. Overlay or precinct (area immediately surround the stadium including ticketing offices, hospitality, Accreditation etc)
Domestic/Stadium power
The agreements signed by the host cities and FIFA in the delivery of sufficient back-up power grids to deal with any power failure at the stadium and elsewhere in the host city which may arise during a match, and that appropriate power management systems are in place.” FIFA 2007 Specification – host city agreement
Below is what is expected with regard to this statement:

Pitch Lighting: “The primary goal of the event lighting system is to illuminate the event to digital video quality for the media without creating nuisance glare for the players/officials and adding spill light/glare to the spectators and surrounding environment. Permanent lighting, temporary lighting and a combination of both systems should be considered.” FIFA Football Stadiums Technical recommendations and requirements, 4th Edition
- Host city is responsible for pitch lighting.
- Lighting intensity of 2400 Lux (fixed camera lighting) with 1800 Lux at pitch level (field camera) is required at all times.
- Available and functioning 100% during a match.
- Zero switch time tolerance. i.e. switching between electrical supplies must have no impact on the pitch lighting.
- Recommendation to have some sort of uninterruptable power supply (UPS) to ensure that any anomaly (Dips, surges etc) on the network (grid or generator) has no influence on the pitch lighting. Having a UPS would also ensure that the potential impact on pitch lighting during switching between electrical supplies will be mitigated. AMEU Proceedings 2009 111
- Generators or alternate power supply capable of sustaining the pitch lighting for a minimum of three hours.
- Maintenance and refueling are the responsibility of the host city.
- Configuration of the power supply is at the discretion of the host city but must have a minimum n-1 redundancy.
Stadium building power: Stadium building power is the required supply within the stadium to power appliances, facilities and lighting within the stadium i.e. general stand lighting, administration offices and suites.
- Backup power requirement in the event of a power failure is limited to that of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSACT)
- This power excludes any broadcast or media provisioning.
- Configuration of the MV power supply is at the discretion of the host city and is recommended to have minimum n-1 redundancy.

Technical power
This is power for the broadcasting and television requirements.
No host city involvement. This is the responsibility of the LOC.
No grid supply. Islanded from the grid power supply. Supply is provided via diesel generators supplied by the LOC. Covers all broadcasting mediums.
Total of three 500 kVA generators each capable of taking the full load. Two generators run in parallel with the third being a backup. A fourth generator will be required for the venue hosting the final game.
Zero supply switching tolerance, this means no time interval in the changing from diesel power to auxiliary power in case of a problem with generators.

Overlay/Precinct power
This is Area immediately surrounding the stadium including ticketing offices, hospitality, accreditation etc. Host city is responsible to supply a medium voltage (11 kV) point/s of supply. For 2010 there may be as many as four required per stadium and the number and location of these bulk supply points will be stadium dependent.

Other Stadium loads
The following other stadium loads require an automated switched firm supply (to either an independent grid supply or local backup generation):
1. Emergency lighting (Stadium and parking)
2. First aid/medical facility
3. Broadcast Links (Typically broadcasters provide their own generation and make use of stadium supply as a backup)
4. Commentary box (UPS)
5. Switchboard (UPS)
6. Team change rooms
7. Other stadium lights
8. Food halls
9. Fridges

Preparation
The 2010 FWC was the event of events, a once in a life time experience, and the number of
role players and stakeholders who were involved in the preparation and execution bear witness to this. The information found in the points below is relevant and applicable to the stadia preparation and other 2010 critical loads.

Generation and transmission
The mitigation of risks for these components is primarily an Eskom responsibility and includes:
1. Ensuring adequate primary energy supply prior to the event.
2. The management of plans for the taking of generation and transmission plant out of service for planned maintenance or refueling (Koeberg) in order that the risk to the tournament is minimized.
3. The identification and assessment of Infrastructure providing supply to municipal distributor areas, which could directly or indirectly influence the supply to any of the stadiums, for condition and maintenance or refurbishment plans.
4. Detailed emergency planning and simulation of these plans prior to the event.
5. Plans for obtaining and storing of strategic spares, as well as logistic constraints such as communications and transport are in place.
6. Inspection of networks will take place earlier than normal practice for those networks identified as critical for reliability and quality of supply.

Distribution
The establishment of regional task teams (RTT) in all the host cities has enabled the preparation to be tracked and understood. The suggested actions that are being carried out (many have been completed) by the relevant host cities include:
1. Identify and assess the condition of the electrical infrastructure that could directly or indirectly influence the supply to the stadium(s), training venues and key loads in their area of responsibility.
2. Replacement, refurbishment or maintenance of these networks to be scheduled to be completed well before the commencement of the tournament.
3. Evaluate the requirement and availability of strategic spares for their network.
4. Assess loads connected to load shedding relays and revise existing plans to ensure that there is no impact on identified tournament critical loads should the need for load shedding arise.
5. Arrange networks so that no abnormal conditions are maintained during the period of the tournament.
6. Prepare contingency plans for supplies to the critical loads and ensure all control and operations personnel are thoroughly familiar with switching requirements.
7. Plan leave and standby rosters well in advance to ensure the availability of an adequate level of competent staff.
8. Optimize security measures for the protection of critical infrastructure. Stadia Each of the host cities have achieved the requirements for stadium supplies differently considering legacy requirements and historical infrastructure and layout.

Power Statistics

 1. Ellis Park (Johannesburg) Primary power – generators – 2 x 700 kVA – 2 x 800 kVA – 1 x 500 kVA Backup power – grid (n-1) – Prospect – Delta Uninterruptable power supply (UPS).

2. Free State Stadium (Bloemfontein) Primary power – generators – 2 x 1250 kVA 112 AMEU Proceedings 2009 Backup power – grid (n-1) Configured to run parallel.

3. Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace (Rustenburg) Primary power – generators – 2 x 2200 kVA Backup power – grid (n-1) Uninterruptable power supply (UPS).

4. Loftus Versveld (Pretoria) Primary power – generators – 8 x 300 kVA Backup power – grid (n-1) Uninterruptable power supply (UPS) per light mast.

5. Green Point (Cape Town) Primary power – grid supply (n-1) Backup power two sources of power. 2 x 2 MVA fixed generator supply Supplemented by 4 x 500 kVA generators. Uninterruptable power supply (UPS)

6. Moses Mabhida Stadium (Durban) Primary power – generators – 3 x 800 kVA Backup power – grid – 2 x 11kV sources from separate locations. There is currently no allowance made for any UPS supplies at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, albeit that the consultants have made physical arrangements to incorporate as such.

7. Soccer City (Johannesburg) Primary power – generators Backup power – grid (n-1) Uninterruptable power supply (UPS).

8. Mbombela Stadium (Nelspruit) Primary power – generators Backup power – grid (n-1) Uninterruptable power supply (UPS).

9. Peter Mokaba Stadium (Polokwane) Primary power – generators Backup power – grid (n-1) Uninterruptable power supply (UPS).

10. Nelson Mandela Stadium (Port Elizabeth) Primary supply – grid supply (Mount R substation @ 66/22 kV) Backup power – gas turbine

There are rotary UPSs which are installed in each of the 4 stadium substations which will be dedicated for pitch lighting and emergency supplies.