KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
BACHELOR OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
YEAR 4 SEMESTER 1
electrical power system instrumentation and control

ASSIGNMENT

GROUP 7 MEMBERS.
Lecturer: Mr. LUBWAMA
NUMBER NAME. REGISTRATION NO.
.
01 ASIKU WESLY 21/U/BET/16428/PE
02 OJIAMBO LAMECH 21/U/BET/16807/PE
03 OCHANA EMMANUEL 21/U/BEL/16789/PD
04 AKERA EMMANUEL 21/U/BET/16382/PE
05 ISABIRYE KAKAIRE 22/U/BEL/1437/PD
GODFREY
06 ROM ISAAC AYERE 21/U/BET/16864/PE
07 MUYANJA DERRICK 21/U/BEL/16688/PD
08 AKADAKI JULIUS 22/U/BET/1214/PE
09 NATUHWERA 20/U/BET/7600/PE
SOLOMON
10 IGOMBE ISAAC 21/U/BEL/16507/PD
Different communication media used in power system

Introduction

In the modern power system, communication part is an important role. Expanding network
services like real time monitoring are the driving the need for ever larger bandwidth in the
network back bone. These needs will grow further as the new remote real time protection and
control applications become more feasible and pervasive.

Electric utilities often use several types of communication media for different functions. With
more and more bandwidth required by the power system data communication, fiber optic is the
ideal case for future power system communication infrastructure.

Need for communication in power system is ;

 To have tele protection

 To have data signals (for example Remote terminal unit)
 To have tele metering
 To have tele control
 To have speech

Basic requirement of the communication system include;

 Information to be transmitted in the form of signals.

 Device to convert data/ voice signals into carrier signals suitable for transmission over
the selected media.
 Medium for transmission such as telephone lines, copper conductors, electrical phase
conductors earth etc.
 Device to retrieve information for carrier signals.

Communication media in power system

Real time monitoring is an expanding network service that the need in the network bone for ever
wider bandwidth. As new remote real time protection and control become more flexible and
pervasive, these needs further go for increased band width.

Conventional, electric utilities made avail of several types of communication media. The
different types of communication media in the power system include;

1. Power line carrier (PLC)

2. Dedicated links
3. Radio systems
4. Micro wave
5. Fiber optic
6. Packet Switched Network(PSN)
7. Leased telephone line

Power line carrier (PLC)

It is one which operates by transmitting radio band of frequency signals between 10 kHz to 490
kHz over the transmission lines. PLC with power output of 150W can be used to 240 km.
Normally, PLC carries only one channel of 4 kHz band width. The frequency range is limited by
government regulation.

PLC is the most common media employed but it has some disadvantage of limited band width. It
is also susceptible to lightning surges and network reconfiguration.

Power line carrier doesn’t offer a reliable solution for wide area data transmission. Remote
communication cannot be maintained during disturbances. Therefore PLC’s effectiveness for
wide area is limited.

PLC uses the power transmission lines to transmit radio frequency signals in the range of 30 kHz
to 500 kHz. The physical security of this communications is very high since the power line
carrier equipment is located within the substations. PLC systems are used to provide voice,
telemetry, SCADA, and relaying communications on portions of the 220/230 kV, 110/115 kV, or
66 kV interconnected power transmission network.
Digital PLC technology is a relatively new technology. Power lines and their associated
networks are not designed for communications use. They are hostile environments that make the
accurate propagation of communication signals difficult. Two of the biggest problems faced in
using power lines for communications are excessive noise levels and cable attenuation. Noise
levels are often excessive, and cable attenuation at the frequencies of interest is often very large.
The cost of PLC will probably increase at a greater rate than inflation because of decreasing
demand. Communication transmission capacity of Single Side Band (SSB).PLC cannot be
increased without purchasing a second or third PLC Radio Frequency (RF) channel at the same
cost as original terminal equipment. Some cost can be saved by sharing dual frequency Traps,
Line Tuning Units and coupling equipment. Digital PLC can be increased from one channel to
three channels within the same RF bandwidth.
General view of a PLC

Advantages of PLCs

 Located where the circuits are required

 Equipment installed in utility owned land or structures
 It’s economically attractive for low number of channels extending over long distances.
 Digital PLC has capacity for three to four channels (e.g., two voice and one high speed
data)
 Analog PLC has capacity for two channels (one voice and one “speech plus” low speed
data)

Disadvantages of PLCs

 Not independent of the power transmission or distribution system.

 Carrier frequencies often not protected on a primary basis.
 Inherently few channels available.
 Expensive on a per channel basis compared to microwave (normally, over four channels)
 Cannot not propagate through open conductors
Dedicated links

These are employed in order to communicate between control Centre and the substation’s remote
terminal units, dedicated links are employed by many SCADA systems. However, the capability
to provide high data rates are the foremost advantage of dedicated links.

Radio system

Wireless is one of the modern methods of communication. Low orbit satellite communication
system provides an existing option to transmit information covering a very large range. The
delay is a problem, which depends on the distance. Another disadvantage is the cost of
installation.

Wide area data transmission can facilitate Conventional Radio (CR), Trunked radio (TR) or
Spread spectrum Radio (SSR). CR, TR or SSR are based on licensed channels or over non
licensed frequencies. Many countries have limited frequencies in the VHF / UHF bands . Poor
utilization of air time and unreliable communication resulted when using line protocols over
radio.

Microwave

Microwave is the radio signal operating in the frequency range of 150MHz to 20GHz. The
disadvantage of the microwave is that the transmission length is limited to a line of sight path
between antennas.

Microwave is subject to atmospheric attenuation and distortion. The combined latency using
modem plus analog microwave is around 100 milliseconds between two adjacent antennas .

Advantages of microwave

 High Channel Capacity

 Transports high data rates
 Circuits added at low unit cost
 Independent from power lines and common carriers
  Future standardized high-speed networks.
 Not vulnerable to “backhoe fading”
 Low right-of-way costs.
 Simpler installation than cable than cable technology

Disadvantages of microwave

 Line of sight clearance required.

 Specialized test equipment and training required.
 Frequency assignments sometimes unavailable in urban areas.
 More expensive site development.
 Limited capacity

Fiber optic communication

Fiber optic communication system is the most suitable method for power system control,
protection and monitoring functions. Even though, the fiber optic solution is expensive but it
gives two main benefits i.e.

1. It allows utilities to bring back large amount of data on a frequent basis.

2. It can provide true, real-time communications.

Properties and characteristics of fiber optics

 They low attenuation

 They have high bandwidth.
 Electromagnetic interference immunity
 Security

General view of a fiber optic network

Advantages of optic fiber communication

 Immune to electromagnetic interference.

 Immune to ground potential rise.
 High channel capacity.
 Low operating cost.
 No licensing requirement.

Disadvantages of fiber optic

 Novel technology, i.e. new skills must be learnt.

 Expensive test equipment.
 Inflexible network configuration.
 Cable subject to breakage and water ingress.

Packet switched network

A packet switched network (PSN) is communications network that groups and sends data in the
form of small packets and it does not create a permanent connection between a source and
destination node. Each packet contains various details like as source IP address, destination IP
address and unique data and packet identifiers. PSN uses low power Ultra High Frequency
(UHF) spread spectrum (typically 935 MHz band), that does not require licensing and it is the
best solution to frequency management using spread spectrum technology. This network is a
computerized nodes based data transmission network send short burst of digital information over
low power radios. In Many power utilities it is implemented on local networks and the Internet,
used generally for real time SCADA, EMS, AMR and various administrative data flow inter and
intra utilities

PSN communication

Substation network communication architecture

The proposed all fiber substation communication network architecture is further subdivided into
three levels as shown below
Level 1

It consists of IEDs (Intelligent Electronic Devices) or PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers)

connected to substation equipment. These IEDs and PLCs are classified as either control or
protection IEDs. Protection IEDs are used to report the equipment status information and
implement the protection algorithms. Control IEDs are used as gateway between the Substation
server and protection IED.

Level 2

Level 2 consists of substation server. All monitoring and control operations can be performed at
any time. Substation server also communicates with the control center server for the information
exchange

Level 3
Level 3 is the utility control server. Its function is to monitor and control the whole substation
system. Different LAN topologies such as Giga byte Ethernet or FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data
Interface) can be used for substation automation system

Leased telephone line

Leased telephone circuits have long been used to meet communications needs. Most
organizations use standard telephones connected to the Public Switched Network (PSN) for
office communications and for routine voice traffic to stations. Leased dedicated circuits are used
for dedicated communication requirements, such as telemetry and SCADA. Wideband channels
may be available for high speed data signaling. Circuit characteristics can often be conditioned
for many other uses, including voice and various types of low and medium speed data.
Advantages of leased telephone lines
 Small Capital Outlay.
 Maintained circuit quality.
 No communications expertise required.
 Adaptable to changing traffic patterns
Disadvantages of leased telephone lines
 Repair and maintenance is not controlled by lease.
 Circuits may not be available at some sites.
 Metallic links require protection against ground potential rise.
 Continual leasing costs.
SCADA

It is an acronym that stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. SCADA systems are
used to monitor and control a plant or equipment in power systems, industries etc. such as power
lines
SCADA architectures
SCADA systems have evolved in parallel with the growth and sophistication of modern
computing technology. SCADA system is categorized into three generations that is;
 First generation - monolithic
 Second generation - distributed
 Third generation – networked
Monolithic SCADA system
Here the SCADA systems were stand alone with virtually no connectivity to other systems.
Distributed SCADA system
The next generation of SCADA systems took advantage of developments and improvement in
system miniaturization and Local Area Networking (LAN) technology to distribute the
processing across multiple systems

Distributed SCADA system architecture

Networked SCADA system
The current generation of SCADA master station architecture is closely related to that of the
second generation, with the primary difference being that of the open system architecture rather
than a vendor controlled, proprietary environment.

Networked SCADA architecture

SCADA consists of the following;
 One or more field data interface devices, usually Remote Terminal Units( RTUs), or
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)
 A communications system used to transfer data between field data interface devices and
control units and the computers in the SCADA central host. The system can be radio,
telephone, cable satellite etc. or any of the combinations.
 A central host computer server or servers (sometimes called a SCADA Center, master
station, Master Terminal Unit (MTU).
 A collection of standard and/or custom software (sometimes called Human Machine
Interface (HMI) software or Man Machine Interface (MMI) software. Systems used to
provide the SCADA central host and operator terminal application, support the
communication system, and monitor and remotely control located field data interface
devices
Typical SCADA system