Open Systems International to supply SCADA to Manitoba Hydro

June 3, 2010 - Open Systems International has been selected by Manitoba Hydro of Winnipeg Canada, to supply a new natural gas SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and Pipeline Management System to manage the more than 1,741 kilometers of natural gas transmission pipelines and over 7,105 kilometers of distribution pipelines within the province of Manitoba.

The fourth largest energy utility in Canada, Manitoba Hydro is a government owned corporation that supplies natural gas services to more than 258,000 customers in nearly 100 communities throughout Manitoba. A national leader in managing greenhouse gas emissions, Manitoba Hydro and its subsidiary, Centra Gas Manitoba have been applying gas design with SCADA technologies against the traditional industry practice of venting high volumes of natural gas in response to overpressure pipeline situations. Through investing in modern SCADA technology and equipment, Centra Gas Manitoba is able to actively monitor and react to critical regulator events before atmospheric venting becomes necessary.

In an effort to modernize and enhance existing system efficiency, reliability and operability; and in support of Manitoba Hydro’s broader goals of environmental leadership and consumer loyalty, Manitoba Hydro has selected OSI’s monarch™ (Multi-platform Open Network ARCHitecture) technology for its new natural gas SCADA system and pipeline management system. This new natural gas transmission and distribution SCADA system will replace Manitoba Hydro’s existing system in service of the extensive network that provides natural gas supply to the majority of natural gas consumers within Manitoba, including the provincial capital of Winnipeg.

This comprehensive new natural gas SCADA system for Manitoba Hydro is based on OSI’s monarch platform and includes OSI’s next-generation, .NET based Graphical User Interface (GUI), as well as a further selection of state-of-the-art OSI products including OSI’s Alarm Management; Real-time and Historical Trending; Display Editor; Remote Console GUI; Communications Front-end Processor; Historical Information System and Data Archiver; Calculations; Operator Electronic Logging; Open Database Connectivity; AGA Gas Calculations and OSI’s Pipeline Management and Training Simulator subsystems; as well as custom interfaces to SNMP data, PI Historian, OATI webTrader, Itron MV-90 and Smallworld GIS.

“Manitoba Hydro has chosen OSI for several reasons, not the least of which are their commitments to customer satisfaction and focus on continuous improvement of their products and services,” said Larry Muldrew, Project Leader.

“This natural gas SCADA project with Manitoba Hydro and Centra Gas marks an exciting new undertaking for OSI. Incorporating a wide array of environmentally and socially responsible programs and practices, Manitoba Hydro has demonstrated a clear corporate goal to be among the best utilities in North America with respect to safety, rates, reliability, consumer satisfaction and environmental leadership. At OSI we share a similar set of goals and values and we are pleased to offer our advanced technologies towards Manitoba Hydro’s achievement of their vision. Looking forward to a mutually promising future, OSI happily welcomes Manitoba Hydro and Centra Gas Manitoba into our growing family of users,” said Bahman Hoveida, President and CEO of OSI.

Manitoba Hydro is the major energy utility in the Province of Manitoba; the fourth largest energy utility in Canada; and offerer of some of the lowest electricity rates in the world. Owned by the provincial government, nearly all of Manitoba Hydro’s electricity comes from self-renewing water power generation. Manitoba Hydro’s new headquarters tower, Manitoba Hydro Place is the first in the next generation of sustainable buildings; integrating time-tested environmental concepts in concert with advanced contemporary technology in achievement of a “living building” that is able to dynamically respond to the local climate to maintain peak efficiency year-round.

OSI provides open, state-of-the-art and high-performance automation solutions to utilities worldwide. These solutions include Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Network Management Systems (NMS), Energy Management Systems (EMS), Distribution Management Systems (DMS) and Generation Management Systems (GMS); as well as individual software and hardware products and Smart Grid Solutions for utility operations internationally. OSI is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.