Communication Systems

in
Power Applications
 Overview
Introduction
Communication Needs of Power System
Communication Technologies
Existing Communication Systems
Challenges
Future Trends

2
 Introduction
Communications is the enabling technology for
Power System
No single communication technology as being
best suited for all power system needs
Requirements must consider type, source,
amount, frequency, and delivery requirements of
data/voice transmitted

3
 Communication Needs of Power
System
Reliability
Cost effectiveness
Capacity to handle data rates
Adequate to meet response requirements
Ability to reach identified areas of power system
Ease of operation and maintenance
Security (of data and of control actions)

4
 Communication Reliability
Reliable communication with respect to:
Exposure to severe environment
Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
Transient EMI (lightning, faults)
Outage of transmission lines
Power outages
Radio paths obstructed or attenuated (by
buildings or foliage)

5
 Cost Effectiveness
Communication system costs are significant
High cost of communication system may become
an impediment
Evaluate both first cost and lifetime operation
and maintenance costs
Look for best trade-off between total costs and
overall performance

6
 Capacity to handle data rates

Perform data rate audit of present & upcoming

schemes
Analyze each function
Determine bit rate required to perform the function
Consider worst case scenarios
Each communications system has a bandwidth limit
There should be at least enough bandwidth along each
path to meet data requirements
A good margin allows for future growth and increased
system flexibility
7
 Ability to meet response requirements
Response requirements (measured in sec.) are distinct
from data rate requirements (measured in kb/s or Mb/s),
and must be met independently.

Different functions have vastly different requirements for

the delivery of the information; for example:

Function Delivery requirements

Open or close feeder switches 1-2 seconds
Acquire substation status data 2-5 seconds
Acquire feeder measurements 5-10 seconds
Acquire meter data 15 min. 24 hours and up

8
 Ability to Reach Areas of Power System
Difficult Terrain
Communications that rely on the power line may
have difficulty
During outage of line
Extreme weather conditions
Terminal equipment in outage areas may require
backup power for long durations

9
 Ease of Operation and Maintenance
A communications system is a complex
combination of transmitters, receivers, and data
links
Manpower not trained and not familiar with
communications equipment
Personnel trained for new skills involved ?
New tools acquired ?
Use standardized components and
communication protocols

10
 Security of data and control actions
Power System communication
Data & Voice have critical
importance.
Communication security is a
necessity.

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 Security of data and control actions

Your substations are an

element of the countrys
critical infrastructure are
you sure that you are in
complete control?

12
 Security of data and control actions
Maintaining the security of
communications between
the control center and field
devices is one of the most
urgent problems facing
todays control environment.

13
 Communication Technologies

Wired Wireless
Power Line Carrier Microwave
Communication(PLCC)
Dedicated Leased Line VSAT
Optic Fiber Mobile Networks

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 Power Line Carrier
Communication(PLCC)
Power Lines used for point to point communication
Terminal equipments used to send/receive data/voice
Works on audio band width 20 to 20 KHz
Carrier 30 KHz to 500 KHz

15
Typical PLCC Arrangement for S/C LINE
PHASE-GROUND COUPLING
E/W CKT-I E/W
R R
Y Y
B B

CVT/CC
CVT/CC

CD CD
 Coupling Types in PLCC System

Line Trap, Coupling Device & CC/CVT known

as Coupling Equipment
CD consists of Surge Arrester, Drain coil,
Matching transformer, Earth switch
Functions of Coupling Equipment
-Inject carrier signal to EHV line without loss
-Decouple carrier equipment from EHV line

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 PLCC---Uses

Voice communication
Tele-control
Tele-protection
SCADA data from RTU

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 PLCC---Pros

Easy availability
Cost effective
Ease of operation & maintenance

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 PLCC--- Cons
Limited bandwidth(4 KHz)
Data speeds up to only 1200 Bauds possible
Prone to Noise & Interference
Effect of weather conditions-frost, high pollution etc
Depends on physical connectivity of power lines
Needs government approval for carrier freq selection
Not suitable for todays needs of automation like SAS,
remote control etc.

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 Fiber Optic Communication
Fiber optic cable functions as a "light guide," guiding the light introduced at one end of the cable
through to the other end. The light source can either be a light-emitting diode (LED) or a laser.
Using a lens, the light pulses are funneled into the fiber-optic medium where they travel down
the cable.

The light (near infrared) is most often are used :

850nm for shorter distances
1300nm for longer distances on Multi-mode fiber
1310-1320nm for single-mode fiber
1,500nm is used for longer distances.
 Fiber Optic Communication(Contd..)

Two types of fibre-

Multi mode > 50micron core Upto 2 Kms
Single mode < 10 micron coremore than 20 Kms

Selected on the basis of distance & bandwidth needs

Wave Division Multiplexing Used

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 Fiber Optic (Contd..)
Pros:
Fast becoming common in utilities for voice
and data transmission
Offer many advantages
extremely high data transmission rates
immunity from electromagnetic interference

Free from licensing requirements

Cost effective for very high data transmission

rates in a point-to-point configuration
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 Fiber Optic (contd..)
Cons
Not as cost effective for applications, with
point-to-multipoint configuration
Modest data transmission speed requirements
Prone to cable cut in underground configuration
Repair & restoration specialized work

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 VSAT Communication
Geo-synchronous satellite

36,000 km

Earth Station User site

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 VSAT(contd..)
Very small aperture terminals
(VSATs) used for EMS/DMS
For data comm. most frequently uses
a shared channel, to lower costs SATELLITE

Communications routed through a third-

party network management center

NETWORK
MANAGEMENT
CENTER
UTILITY
SHARED HUB
CONTROL VSATs
CENTER
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 VSAT (contd..)
Various frequency bands:
C-band (4/6 GHz), Ku-band (12/14 GHz),Ka-
band(30/20 GHz)
Advantages
Near-universal coverage
Good reliability

Fast installation

Disadvantages
Cost
Transmission delays

Blackout periods due to eclipses

Attenuation in heavy rain (Ku band)

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 Mobile Communication
Several competing technologies
Use of control channel on analog AMPS (Advanced
Mobile Phone Service), 800 MHz
CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data)
The field is rapidly evolving (2G 3G)
Currently, most applications are for AMR
Recently also being offered for applications in
feeder automation
Potentially holds the promise of economical and
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wide-spread coverage
 Tele-Control Protocols
IEC 60870-5-101 protocol (from RTU to Control Center
communication
IEC 60870-6-502 ( ICCP) protocol (between two Control Canters)
IEC 60870-5-103 protocol (for communication between IEDs in a
Substation)
IEC 60870-5-104 protocol
MODBUS Protocol ( MFTs)
DNP 3.0 Protocol (Serial)---Master Station
DNP 3.0 Protocol (TCP/IP)---Master Station
IEC 61850 protocol (for Substation Automation)
 Tele-Control Protocols
The Present SCADA systems use

IEC 60870-5-101 for data acquisition from RTUs/SAS

IEC 60870-6-502 for data exchange between control centres
 IEC608705-101
Physical Layer : Unbalanced Request Message
Information bit : 8 bit
(User Data, Confirm Expected)
Stop bit : 1
[P]
Parity bit : Even [S]
Master Slave
(Acknowledgment)
Data Link Layer
Standard Frame Format : FT 1.2 Response Message
[P]
(Request User Data)
Maximum Frame Length : 255 bytes
[S]
Transmission Layer ( Station address field Length : 1 or 2 bytes ) (Respond User Data or NACK)
[P] = Primary Frame
Unbalanced Mode :
[S] = Secondary Frame
Transmitted messages are categorized on two priority classes( Class 1 & Class 2 )
Balanced Mode :
All the messages are sent, No categorization of Class 1 and Class 2
Network Layer : Not defined as 870-5-101 is not IP based Selection of ASDUs
ASDU 1 : Single point information
Application Layer ASDU 2 : Single point information with time tag
ASDU 3 : Double point information
The length of the header fields of the data structure are: ASDU 4 : Double point information with time tag
ASDU 9 : Measured value, Normalised value
Station address 1 or 2 byte ( User defined ) ASDU 10 : Measured value, Normalised value with time tag
ASDU 11 : Measured Value, Scaled value
ASDU Address : 1 or 2 bytes ASDU 12 : Measured value, Scaled value with time tag
ASDU 100 : Interrogation Command
Information Object address : 2 bytes ASDU 103 : Clock Synchronisation Command
ASDU 120 - 126 : File transfer Command
Cause of Transmission : 1 byte
 ICCP Protocol
Associations
An application Association needs to be established between two ICCP instances before any data exchange can take place.
Associations can be Initiated, Concluded or Aborted by the ICCP instances.
Bilateral Agreement and Table, Access Control
A Bilateral Agreement between two control-centers (say A and B) for data access. A Bilateral Table is a digital
representation of the Agreement.
Data Values
Data Values are objects that represent the values of control-center objects including points (Analog, Digital and Controls)
or data structures.
Data Sets
Data Sets are ordered-lists of Data Value objects that can be created locally by an ICCP server or on request by an ICCP
client
Information Messages
Information Message objects are used to exchange text or other data between Control Centers.
Transfer Sets
Transfer Set objects are used for complex data exchange schemes to transfer Data Sets (all elements or a subset of the
Data set elements) etc.
Devices
Devices are the ICCP objects that represent controllable objects in the control center.
 ICCP Protocol(Contd..)
Conformance Blocks
ICCP divides the entire ICCP functionality into 9 conformance block subsets. Implementations can declare the blocks that
they provide support for, thus clearly specifying the level of ICCP supported by the implementation. Any ICCP implementation
must necessarily support Block 1ca
Block 1 Basic Services
Association, Data Value, Data Set, Data set transfer

Block 2 Extended Data Set Condition Monitoring

Data Set Transfer Set Condition Monitoring
Object Change condition monitoring, Integrity Timeout condition monitoring
Block 3 Blocked Transfers
Transfer Reports with Block data
Block 4 Information Message
Information Message objects,
IMTransfer Set objects
Start Transfer Block 6 to Block 9 are not generally implemented
Stop Transfer
Data Set Transfer Set Condition Monitoring
Block 5 Device Control
Device objects
Select, Operate, Get Tag, Set Tag, Timeout, Local Reset, Success, Failure
Communication Channel for Information flow

RLDC
Wide Band
Commn
(MW / FO)
SLDC SLDC
Wide Band
Commn
Sub-LDC Sub-LDC
Wide Band /
PLCC Commn
RTU RTU RTU
 SCADA/EMS SYSTEM OVERVIEW
CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAM OF SCADA SYSTEM
REGIONAL LOAD AREA LOAD DISPATCH CENTRE (RLDC)

ICCP LINKS STATE LOAD AREA LOAD DISPATCH CENTRE (SLDC)

X21 INTERFACE
AREA LOAD DISPATCH CENTRE (ALDC)
S upe rvis ory le ve l
Proce s s or Inte rface le ve l ( ALDC )
CCOMMUNICATION FRONT END PROCESSOR
MODEM
IEC870 5 101 MODEM
Co mmunication le ve l
MODEM MODEM
Data ac quis ition and
RTU RTU
c o mmand ac tuation le ve l

T T Fie ld Inte rface le ve l T T

CT PT
CT CR PANELS CT PT
CT
S/ STN / POWER PLANTS
POWER GRID CORPORATION OF
CONCEPTUAL SCADA
INDIA LTD SYSTEM DIAGRAM
SCADA : Data communication architecture
TFE TFE
computer computer

Panel Panel
Multi-port multi-Port
Stallion Stallion
Adapters adapters

Splitter
Modem
Modem Modem

Modem

Modem Modem Modem Modem

RTU
RTU RTU
INTER-SITE communications
Protocol management
ICCP within Open Access
Gateway
Data acquisition and transfer to
other center(s)
Indirect remote control (from / to
other control centers)

SCADA/
ICCP Server
ICCP
Other Sites/ICCP Server
RTU Connectivity
Normal RTU LAN-B Critical RTU LAN-B

LAN-A
LAN-A

CFE CFE CFE CFE

S
M M
M

M M
M

RTU RTU
Interface for RTUs reporting to Control Centre
Through PLCC LINK .

Control Centre
RTU Location
Data (FSK) Data (FSK)
PLCC Modem
Modem PLCC
Analog Analog Modem
RTU
Modem
Modem

speech
speech
 Interface for RTU reporting to Control Centre via
Tandem
PLCC/Wideband Link & Wideband Links
RTU Location Wideband Node
Data(Fsk)
Modem Data(Fsk)
PLCC PLCC
Analog
Analog
RTU

Speech Primary 1
Control Centre Speech
Mux 2
Speech 1 Primary Radio Radio
3 Require
2 Mux
-- Modem
3
Modem -
--
Modem 29
Sub 28 Radio 64 kbps Sub
Modem 30
Mux Link Mux
29
30

4 x E-1 4 x E-1 RTU at Wideband Node

 RTU Through MICROWAVE

RADIO RADIO
CFE MUX TX / RX TX / RX MUX RTU

RTU Through FIBER OPTIC SYSTEM

OLTE OLTE
CFE MUX MUX RTU

CONTROL CENTRE SUBSTATION/ GEN STN SIDE

Popular communication technologies in
Indian Power systems:

Technology %Usage
Power Line Carrier 50
Analog/digital Micro wave 15
Fiber Optic 30
GSM/GPRS <1
V-sat 5
 WIDEBAND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR EASTERN REGION
Bodhgaya Hajipur Lalganj
ORISSA
Sub LDC JHARKHAND BIHAR Mujaffarpur
Budhipadar Manpur
Hatia
Atari
Rajgir
Jeypore(CS)
Bamra SLDC Fatuha
Sub LDC Ranchi SLDC
Jayanagar Biharshariff Patna
Bargaon (BSEB) Tower # 313
Biharshariff

U/G
( Repeater Shelter )
Therubali (CS)
Kahalgaon (CS )
Kutra

Akusingha (Repeater ) Chandil 80M

SLDC Backup
CTPS 64 KBPS
Narendrapur Tarkera
Maithon-G
Bokaro-B
Rourkela
(CS ) Jamshedpur ( CS )
Tower # 226
( Repeater Shelter ) Barkote STPS Kalyaneswari
Tower #146
(Repater Shelter) Mejia WEST BENGAL
( Repeater shelter)
Waria
Kalipahari
Mendhasal TSTPP
CPCC Farakka(CS)
Sub LDC Under PDT
Meramandali Durgapur
HVDC
Malda(CS)
Chandaka
Mankar

Chainpal Backup
Burdwan PDT

SLDC 30M
Kamakhyanagar Belmuri
Bhubaneswar Jeerat
Naupada 100M Sub LDC
60M
Mathkargola Backup
NBU
SLDC
Barchana 64 KBPS Backup India -
Howrah PDT Bhutan
Jajpur
Duburi Backup Siliguri (CS) border at
Town 64 KBPS
Vidyut 90 km
Bhavan DVC HQ Kasba
LEGEND:- : Under Ground Fibre
Microwave Link with Station :
Microwave Repeater Station : ERSCC 100M
Fibre Optic Link with Station : : RTCC link between Jey- Dgp For Indrvati
Calcutta
Monitoring Centre : & Jeypore RTU & Backup link
 WIDEBAND COMMUNICATION NETWORK FOR
NORTHERN REGION SCADA SYSTEM
PUNJAB
JAMMU & KASHMIR RISHIKESH
HAMIRPUR

GLADNI HARDWAR
DULHASTI GAGAL

SALAL HIMACHAL
PRADESH ROORKEE
CHAMERA-1
BAIRASUIL
GANGUWAL UTTAR PRADESH ROORKEE

JANIPURA KUNIHAR
CHAMERA-2 ROPAR
JUTOGH-SLDC MUHAMDPUR
KISHENPUR JALLANDHAR-II

URI
UDHAMPUR
WAGOORA M E E R UT -800 MUZAFERNAGAR

MEERUT (PG) 800

KISHANPUR PANCHKULA NARWANA

MEERUT-220
GORAYA JAMALPUR BARNALA
KURALI HARYANA (MODIPURAM)

MURAD NAGAR-II

TIBER
CHANDIGARH GULAUTI
ASSANDH PANIPAT-TPS
AMRITSAR (BBMB)
MALLERKOTLA
JALLENDHAR
LUDHIANA
M OGA
FATEHABAD
PANIPAT-SLDC KHURJA

M U R A D NA GA
JAGRAON LALTON KALAN MALERKOTLA GOBINDGARH NAUSERA DHULKOTE HARDUAGANJ
MOGA PATIALA- SLDC
NARORA

N A L A G ARH
KAITHAL
SIKANDRA RAO
PATIALA
HISSAR JHAJJAR ABDULLAPUR
SONIPAT
N A T H P A JHA KRI
RATANGARH
BAHADURGARH
ETAH 123
H I S SAR
BHIWANI DADRI SLDC
CP CC- 2

NARELA GOPALPUR M O R A D ABA D

WAZIRABAD
MAINPURI
PATPARGA
LACHMANGARH
BAWANA NA R OR A

GAZIPUR
NIBKARORI
RAJASTHAN URI
VINDHYACHAL L U CK NO
BALIA D A U L IGA N GURSAHAIGANJ
GORAKHPUR G O R A K HPU
SIKAR IP.POWER TANAKPUR
MINTO ROAD
KHANJAWALA
BAHADURGARH
RAIBAREILLY
DELHI CB GA NJ
SITARGANJ
V I N D HYC HA L U NNA O
BILHAU
LOCAL_PG
LODHI ROAD
PALSANA U NCHHA R
R S CC A L L AH ABA D ALLAHAB
N R LDC IP.EXT.
SINGRAULI P A NK I A U R I YA
DADRI HVDC K A NPUR
NAJABGARH
CP CC- 1 DADRI GAS
RIHAND HVDC KANPUR
DA DR I THM SINGRAULI
R I H A ND THM AJGAIN
REENGUS SARITA VIHAR
L U K HNOW
DADRI ( S A R O JNI N a gar )
BADARPUR
AGRA
RIHAND HVDC
ANTA BADARPUR

B H I W ADI S H A K TI
B HA W A N
HINGONIA B A S SI
LUCKNOW
MEHRAULI OKHLA A GR A SAMESHI
BAMNAULI RAIBAREILLY
BHIWADI
TEHRI
F A R ID ABA D RIHAND PIPRI
MANDOLA
BALLABGARH
BAREILLY RAE BARELI
MAINPURI

SIRSHI B A L LA BGA RH
ALWAR
BASSI M A N D O LA DALLA GAURIGANJ
H E E R APU RA
OBRA B
LEGEND SULTANPUR
RAMGANJ
STATION

REPEATER ROBERTGANJ
PHAGI DEBARI

SUB SLDC
KOTA ( PG ) MAU AIMMA
R A PP - A
CHITTORGARH SLDC
R A PP - B MARIHANE
MALPURA ANTA
CPCC
KAKRAULI ALLAHABAD

BHINMAL NO PATH
RAPP -C FIBER

MICROWAVE
KEKRI HANDIA
TELECOM LINK
SAHAPURA BHILWARA MANPURA BIJOLIA DABI TALERA AZAMGARH VARANSI SAHUPURI CHUNAR MIRZAPUR
KOTA DIFFERENT PATH

VSAT / MEKSET LINK

POWER SYSTEM OPERATION CORPORATION LIMITED WIDEBAND COMMUNICATION NETWORK Prepared by : SCADA Deptt.
FOR NORTHERN REGION SCADA SYSTEM
NORTHERN REGIONAL LOAD DESPATCH CENTRE Updated on : October, 2010
 Challenges
Indian Power networks growing faster, larger & more
complex.
Data communication needs to be much faster catering
to smart grid initiatives being taken up.
With faster, smarter & innovative technologies, data
security to be addressed adequately.
All radio communication to be replaced with fibre optic
network by Dec.,2011 as per GOI decision.

45
 Future Trends
Smart grid technologies driving communication needs.
High speed fibre optic networks need of the hour.
Increasing use of internet as the mechanism for data
communication.
Main thrust on security issues with use of web based
technologies.
Introduction of Service oriented architecture(SOA) will
need high band width networks.

46
 Future Trends (contd..)
Growing insistence on adherence to
communication standards.
Possible application of cellular digital packet
data radio technologies.

47
Thank You
Devendra Kumar
DGM,ERLDC