Grant County PUD Chooses RuggedCom for IEC 61850 Substation Modernization Program
Objective
Substation Modernization that Utilizes Current Technology for Advanced SCADA Applications.
Solution
IEC 61850 Substation Ethernet with RuggedCom Substation Networking Devices as the Communications Backbone
Customer Requirements
IEC 61850 is being deployed by some of the largest utilities around the world. But what about smaller utilities? Will the benefits of IEC 61850 and Ethernet networking be realized and will the new technology promises be relevant for the smaller utilities. After the careful evaluation of various substation automation technologies, Grant County PUD seems to think so.
Grant County PUD, is a progressive, consumer-owned utility, that operates 7 switchyards and 40 distribution substations, serving over 41,000 customers in rural central Washington State. In 2001, Grant Count initiated a substation modernization program with the key goals of remote access to the substation for troubleshooting and diagnostics, technician access to the enterprise from the substation, reuse of existing equipment, and the ability to develop each substation in a similar manner to minimize costs of initial construction, configuration, and training. With the growing popularity of Ethernet, Ethernet was an obvious candidate to help enable this vision, but the suitability of Ethernet in a substation environment was still a concern at the time. After extensive tests and evaluations, Grant County determined that Ethernet LAN's using UCA/IEC 61850 provided a quantum leap forward in functionality and significant cost reductions in substation automation as compared to other alternatives. Key benefits of IEC 61850 cited were lower installation and commissioning costs, lower equipment migration costs, and easier implementation of new capabilities from various IED vendors.
In order to reap the benefits available with IEC 61850, the underlying communications network must operate reliability in harsh substation environments. This is why IEC 61850 also specifies environmental criteria around EMI immunity. Grant County choose RuggedCom products to provide the necessary communications backbone and IP connectivity, since these products have the most extensive set of EMI immunity characteristics available on the market in addition to the largest installed base of IEC 61850 implementations worldwide.
By having a highly reliable and rugged communications network designed specifically for the substation environment, allows Grant County to reap the benefits of IEC 61850 and meet the original goals associated with the substation modernization program.
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