S&C Electric Co has introduced new grid controls and radios designed to simplify deployment and management of grid automation systems.
"Power outages cost the U.S. tens of billions of dollars every year. Self-healing power systems can help utilities greatly reduce the scope and duration of outages," says Chris McCarthy, director—Grid Automation and Control, S&C. "The latest additions to S&C's suite of self-healing solutions give utilities tools to better manage these deployments, while also making it easier to expand their use of distribution automation."
IntelliTeam FMS Feeder Management System
The new IntelliTeam FMS Feeder Management System is a web-based enterprise software application that makes it easier to manage large deployments of S&C's automation products, including IntelliRupter PulseClosers and other IntelliTeam SG-enabled devices. IntelliTeam FMS provides a user-friendly overview of these products, including present and historic status information, firmware and software versions and unique views not available through standard DNP messages.
6801M Automatic Switch Operator
S&C's new 6801M Automatic Switch Operator makes it easier and more affordable to upgrade manually operated overhead three-phase switches to enable remote supervisory control, and also to serve as part of a self-healing system. The 6801M Automatic Switch Operator is an integrated solution that includes a power operator for the switch, along with an onboard control that allows the switch to operate as part of an IntelliTeam SG self-healing network. This new integrated power operator and control make it possible to further expand self-healing systems for greater reliability improvements. The 6801M Automatic Switch Operator can also be paired with S&C's Alduti-Rupters® to provide self-healing capabilities on 44-kV and 69-kV systems.
SpeedNet ME Mesh End-Point Radio
The new SpeedNet ME Mesh End-Point Radio provides another tool to support the expansion of advanced self-healing networks. Specially designed for end-node distribution automation applications, this radio provides the performance required for SCADA devices used in advanced grid control applications while also making the communication system more economical.
"Because the SpeedNet ME radio is specifically designed for end-node grid control applications, the cost of unneeded features is eliminated. At the same time, the radio offers all the functionality needed to support many distribution automation applications," says Donivon Hettich, director—Grid Connectivity, S&C. "It's an ideal solution to balance cost and performance considerations. Devices can connect to a SpeedNet radio mesh network that is capable of providing secure long-range communication with high message rates, which is essential for advanced distribution automation."
The new SpeedNet ME radios offer peak information rate of 300 kbps and low message latency of 30 ms per hop. They have Ethernet and Serial interfaces for DNP3 messaging support. Similar to the SpeedNet 900 mesh radios, the new SpeedNet ME end-point radios use unlicensed 902-928 MHz ISM band, support SNMPv3-based network management solutions, and provide multi-level security mechanisms designed to protect data and limit access to the network.
