The highlight of the 40th bi-annual session of CIGRÉ, held recently in Paris, was a technology demonstration hosted by the UCA International Users Group. This high-profile demonstration focused on IEC 61850, the newest industry standard for communications within electric power substations. RuggedCom, the leading provider of communications and networking products for substation environments, was chosen to interconnect substation control and automation devices provided by the world's leading OEM's.
These vendors included ABB, Areva T&D, GE, SEL, Siemens, and others.As the first communications company to offer substation hardened networking technology to not only meet but exceed the environmental requirements prescribed in IEC 61850-3 of the standard, RuggedCom was the ideal choice to provide the network infrastructure for the demonstration. Key RuggedCom technologies provided for the demo included: · The RuggedSwitch(tm) family of substation hardened Ethernet switches with both copper and fiber optical interfaces to provide all network connectivity · RuggedVE(tm) MPEG-2 video encoders to continuously multicast substation security video traffic onto the network. · RuggedCom RuggedVue software provided network management and visualization of all IP-enabled devices on the network.
RuggedCom products are designed to withstand the same harsh electromagnetic interference and climatic conditions as mission critical protective relaying devices. "It is this simple fact, which has been confirmed and recognized by virtually all of the protective relaying manufacturers, which has made RuggedCom the technology of choice when implementing IEC 61850 based substation automation" said Angelo Rizzo, International Sales Manager for RuggedCom. The objective of the pavilion was to advance the deployment of IEC 61850. This industry standard provides a framework for substation automation design, to ensure the highest levels of interoperability between IEDs and applications.
Participating UCA members educated conference delegates about how electric utilities can lower costs and improve productivity by ensuring all devices in their automation projects are IEC 61850 compliant.
About RuggedCom Industrial Strength Networks Inc.:
RuggedCom is a leading designer and manufacturer of ruggedized networking and communications products capable of operating reliably in extremely harsh environments.
About CIGRÉ
CIGRÉ - International Council on Large Electric Systems - is a reference in the area of electrical engineering with members in over 80 countries and in all parts of the world.
About UCA International Users Group
UCA is a non-profit user group comprised of organizations involved in the electric utility industry that share a common goal of Advancing Interoperability for the Utility Enterprise.For more information visit: www.ruggedcom.com