Open Systems International, Inc. and Cisco have announced a new solution based on Cisco’s Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) technology for real-time SCADA communications to distribution automation devices using OSI’s monarch platform. This technology enables utilities to deploy a multitude of smart grid devices on distribution networks and improve system reliability and efficiency.
A key component of the smart grid for the utility industry is the pervasive expansion of intelligent electronic devices (IED), sensors and automated devices on distribution networks. The implementation of these devices along with communication of real-time data and control between the field and the control center enables the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) and allows utilities to have better visibility into the power system conditions at any time; utilizing advanced automated applications that improve system reliability, efficiency, power quality and customer service.
Cisco IR 500 industrial routers provide unlicensed 915 MHz ISM band WPAN communications to enable a diverse set of IoT applications such as smart metering, smart grid, DA, SCADA and street lighting. The IR 500 supplies enterprise-class RF mesh connectivity to IPv4 and serial IoT devices, including recloser control, cap bank control, voltage regulator controls and other remote terminal units (RTUs). Purpose-built to withstand harsh environments, the IR 500 is ideal for installations in padmount and pole-mount cabinets and in other demanding locations. The IR 500 is expected to be available in the summer of 2014.
OSI’s Advanced Distribution Management System (DMS) communicates with intelligent field devices using the monarch real-time platform and provides detailed modeling and visualization of the distribution system, as well as advanced smart grid applications such as Fault Location, Isolation and Service Restoration (FLISR), Feeder Reconfiguration (FR), Fault Protection Analysis (FPA), integrated Volt/VAR Control (VVC) and Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR). The benefits to the utilities from these applications increase as the number and quality of data and control points on the distribution system increase.
