IRWIN BARNETO, ABB INDIA LTD., CIGRE NOV.

2013

The role of Communication systems

for Smart transmission
 Agenda
 Typical power utility communication infrastructure

 Application requirements on communication network

performance

 Technologies for the Utilities Core Network ,Trends

 Conclusion
Introduction

PTN & Utility Communication Networks

 Today…
 the development of telecommunication
technologies is driven by the needs of public
telecom operators and corporate networks.
 However….
 The communication requirement(s) of utility
networks and Public Telecom Networks (PTN)
vary significantly.
Typical power utility communication infrastructure

Substation Control
Centre

Power Plant
SDH/ SONET

PLC
Wide Area
Administration Network
(WAN) Regional Office
ISDN
SDH/ SONET PDH DATA
DATA
ISDN

SHDSL
Twisted pair

|
Design parameters

Typical requirements for a Power Utility..

 Dependability- always the highest

 Security- the highest possible

 Transmission time- the minimum possible

 Transmission Bandwidth- not very critical/ not very high

 Transmission media- Fiber/ Microwave/ PLCC/ VSAT

 MTBF & Availability- no compromise

Design considerations

1. Environmental Consideration

 Electricallyhostile environment, where

electromagnetic interference’s are a common
phenomenon
 Stringent EMC (Electromagnetic
Compatibility) directives of IEC & EN
 Operating Temperature: quite extensive
For example:
 IEC 61000-4-12 standard (damped oscillatory waves) is
simulating high voltage breakers and is not executed for
telecom equipments.
 IEC 61000-4-4 standard (fast transient test) is simulating
relay contacts and is only tested with insufficient low
values for telecom equipments.
Application requirements
Utilities mission in the focus

 Power utility need to reliably transmit and distribute

electrical energy
 Various applications help the utility to ensure the
reliable energy transmission and distribution
 Some of them are mission critical
 Requiring real time communication
 Requiring predictable and constant communication
channels

 The utility communication network helps to achieve reliable energy

transmission and distribution and accordingly it needs to fulfil the
requirements defined by the applications without compromise
Requirements for utility communication
Application requirements

 Requirement for huge variety of different

interfaces
2 wire  Requirement for utility specific interfaces
contact such as Teleprotection
 Highest requirements for communication
channel availability
 Real time data channels for mission critical
multiplexing
RS-232 applications
 Channel supervision for mission critical
Ethernet services (e.g. Teleprotection)
 Delay times
 Wrong channel routing
IEEE C37.94
 Traditional SCADA Systems are using RS232
protocol in polling mode
 Point-Multipoint functionality on data
interfaces required
Prevailing Technologies

Power Line Carrier Communication

Speech Electrical Telecom Cables Speech

Communication
Communication

eqpt.
eqpt.

TeleProtection TeleProtection
Fibreoptic Cables / OPGW
Data Data

Radio
Prevailing Technologies
Communication Media Media & Technology
and Services
• PLC: Power Line Carrier
• Voice
• DLC: Distribution Line Carrier
• FAX
• Coaxial Cables
• X.25, Frame Relay
• Pilot (copper) wire
• Modem
• Radio Relay Link (Micro wave)
• E-Mail
• Optical fibres
• Video Surveillance
• UHF / VHF Radio Technology
Wireless communication • Video Conferencing
• Satelite
PDH, SDH, DWDM • TeleWorking
Mobile Telephony • Telemetry
FDDI • Data
LAN: Ethernet, Token Ring • Scada
Gigabit Ethernet • Tele Protection
ATM • Management
xDSL: ADSL, HDSL, VDSL
SDH introduced

 To overcome PDH shortcomings, ITU-T defined a new

transmission standard:
The SDH Synchronous Digital Hierarchy to …
 access 2Mbit/s signals in any level of a data stream
 have an integrated network management channel with
routing functionality in every network element

 standardise the complete technology including

- frame formats,
- multiplexing schemes
- synchronisation
 allow bit-rates of up to 10 GBit/s in one signal
Why SDH?
A robust Communication Network is the key for a reliable Powergrid
operation

Network Management Benefits

- Path management
- Standard management
channel Multi-vendor networks
Improved protection
Increased revenues through
Network simplification
- Access signal from the Improved services
largest Multiplexed Differentiation of service
signal offering
Network optimisation Survivable networks
- Distributed bandwidth
management Reduced operating cost
Reduced over-all cost
Improved network utilisation
Not a PDH replacement
communication networks for power utilities
Present situation

• SDH proved its capabilities for reliable communication

infrastructure with highest availability figures
 Real time communication supported
 Predictable communication channel
 Symmetrical delay times
 Low jitter/ wander
 Synchronous system
 Highest availability of data channels
 Redundant channel routing with fast switchover times

 PDH/ SDH is perfectly fitting to the real time requirements

of utilities mission critical applications such as
Teleprotection
Packet Switched Networks Drivers
Growing usage of IEC 60870-5-104 protocol

 Today's SCADA communication uses increasingly the IEC 60870-

5-104 (IEC 104)
 ...has been published some years ago (IEC104 in 2000)
 established standard
 …is an up-to-date standardized SCADA protocol
 guarantees interoperability
 offers also spontaneous communication (instead of polling)
 bandwidth optimized solution
 requires less HW in the control centre
 allows to build up price optimized solution
for small systems

 The same also applies for DNP3 over IP protocol

Packet Switched Networks Drivers
Additional applications trend towards Ethernet

 Additional Ethernet based applications

 Video over IP (CCTV)
 ITinfrastructure can be used for
Video surveillance
 Cost optimised systems
 Intrusion Detection System
 Fire Detection System
 Access Control System
 ICCP Links between Control Centres
Packet Switched Networks Drivers
Additional applications trend towards Ethernet

 Traditional substation services required a

whole bunch of different type of interfaces,
such as RS-232, V.11, G.703, 2/4 wire voice
channels….
 Due to the wide deployment of Ethernet
technologies in industrial automation
environment also substation applications
are moving more and more towards Packet
Switched solutions (Ethernet/ IP)
Power Line Carrier Communication(PLCC) System

(16 …) 40 kHz 100 104 108 500 kHz

Line Trap
(DLTC)

Line Trap
Coupling Capacitor (CC)
or Capacitor Voltage Coupling Capacitor (CC)
Transformer (CVT)
Application of PLC: or Capacitor Voltage
Transmission of Transformer (CVT)
Coupling Filter voice, data (RTU) CF Coupling Filter
(MCD 80)
and protection
Voice signals (from IEDs) Voice

RTU Data Data

(SCADA)
Full duplex
Protection Protection

PLCC Terminal PLCC Terminal

IED = Intelligent Electronic Device
(i.e. digital protective relay)
DPLC applications “Switching/Routing“

LAN – Coupling without external router is possible

LAN 1 LAN 2

Power Line

DPLC

DPLC
9.6 – 256 kbps

Substation A Substation B
Fall-back / fall-forward supported
 Speed adapts to link condition
Challenges for smarter grid networks

 Selecting the right network technology to avoid stranded

assets
 AMI network solutions deliver sufficient capacity for meter
reading – but can’t support network requirements for other
smart grid applications
 Some utilities select an AMI network solution without
considering future application and network needs
 Cyber security threats are real and will continue to evolve over
time
Selecting a network communications strategy
Traditional approach
 Network per project
 Build/pay as you go
 SCADA
 AMI
 Distribution Automation
 Field data applications,…
Strategic approach
 Layered communications
architecture
 Supports for current plus
future smart grid apps
 Minimizes incremental spend
for additional field
applications
Finding the Right Balance

Application Requirements Technologies

 Bandwidth  PLCC
 Transmission time  FIBRE- PDH/SDH
 Security and Dependability  MICROWAVE
 Availability  IP
 EMI/EMC  VSAT
Conclusion
 It is important that a utility can take the decision for the
correct technology based on application requirements and
communication network performance and not…
… based on equipment and technology availability
 Migration scenarios
 Flexibility on technology
 Step by step migration
 General considerations
 Utility grade design (EMC, EMI, Temperature)
 No Varying Life cycles
 Maintenance effort
© ABB Group
August 26, 2018 | Slide 23