Major Utility Deploys Motorola Solutions Wireless Network of 400 Connected Sites with SCADA

Beginning early last year, a major utility company in the US, decided to deploy a new wireless network of 400 connected sites with their traditional SCADA system.

SCADA systems are critical to the utilities. They have also proven to be a necessary system for the management of IoT devices and wireless data solutions in industries as far reaching as manufacturing and public safety.

When it comes to smart grids for the utilities, the management of critical infrastructure is more efficient when they leverage SCADA systems for the control of remote terminal units (RTUs), Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs), automatic breaker reclosers, and other applications and hardware.

This utility added hundreds of the devices and hardware listed above. Their goal was to gain real-time connectivity and data from among their network of power substations to improve the experience of the end user, better manage outages, and improve overall efficiency in the distribution of power.

For many power utilities, implementing full smart grid technology has been a learning curve. Applying cost-effective, high-performance wireless networking capabilities in order to increase automation and more effectively monitor data has challenged the utilities to consider how to best leverage hardware such as RTUs for their SCADA systems. One issue this utility faced was how their new hardware would fit with their legacy 900 MHz and VHF wireless systems. They needed a solution that would work with their current system, while also future-proofing for coming smart grid applications and deployments. Their solution had to seamlessly accommodate the communication of data with IEDs from a number of manufacturers with different data protocols.

The utility deployed an approximately 2,000-site network equipped with Motorola ACE3600 RTUs. The Motorola ACE3600 RTUs support communication with a greater number of IEDs compared to other RTUs because they accommodate a larger number of electronic devices per frequency. This smart grid distribution system reached millions of analog and digital points through a combination of 900 MHz links and VHF frequencies. This utility’s SCADA solution turned out to be a better planned implementation of Motorola’s ACE3600 RTUs.

As a result of the implementation, this solution increased power availability for over a million residential and business customers who relied on this utility over a service area of 2,500 square miles.

Automating many of their previously manual functions and operations has given the utility the ability to monitor and control nearly their entire system. They have become better able to identify and isolate faults in their lines and quickly respond to outages.

Additionally, by adding the RTUs to their SCADA system, they have been better equipped to send out field technicians for repair and restoration. Their SCADA solution has given them better information on power usage in a number of instances that has led to greater efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and more satisfied customers