Transcript CFrancis-BCHydro

Broadband Satellite for Remote
Station Monitoring
Chris Francis, P.Eng.
BC Hydro
• What to use when your site is too
remote for conventional communication
channels:
• Satellite!
History
• In Sept 2004, we evaluated
Hughes/Direcway geostationary
broadband satellite equipment for use in
a telemetry application.
Summary Info
• Cost ~ 1k$ equip + 90$/ month.
• Email & internet at any site, anywhere.
• An “always on” data connection.
Communication Performance
• 99.6% availability (well...).
• Typical round trip times between 800
and 1700 ms.
• Hughes system maintenance daily (3-9
min).
BC Hydro Background
• BC Hydro monitors and controls 100s of
switching and generating stations
throughout the province.
Independent Power Producers
• In BC, new power generation will come
from the “private sector”.
• For generators under 10 MW, a dial-up
is required for data.
The First Two Sites:
• Located between Port Alberni and
Uculet on Vancouver Island:
• Marion 3 Creek - a 4.2 MW Hydro Plant
• South Sutton Cr - a 5.1 MW Hydro Plant
Communication Details
• “Data Concentrator” - Distributed
Network Protocol (DNP3) over TCP/IP.
• Polling at one minute intervals.
• After ten minutes of “no-replys” a
warning is issued to the operator.
Communication Diagram
Hughes
Geostationary
Satelite
Direcway
Earth Station
Pizza Dish and
RF Equipment
THE INTERNET
DW6000
Satellite Router
BC Hydro
Firewall
Marion Creek
Firewall
GE D25
Data
Concentrator
E-DNP3
Serial - Ethernet
Convertor
Alpha Host
Computer
PML Digital
Power Meter
Operator
Console
24/7
4.2 MW
Generator
Satellite Broadband: Security & Risk
• Control of power system - not there yet.
• Telemetry only - ok.
• Open protocol presents some risk of
tampering.
Future of Satellite at BC Hydro
• Telemetry from new, under 10 MW,
IPPs.
• Existing small stations ~ 30+ BCH sites
in the interior.