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SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISTION (SCADA) IN

SUBTRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION LEVELS IN POWER SYSTEMS

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 SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISTION (SCADA) IN SUBTRANSMISSION AND
DISTRIBUTION LEVELS IN POWER SYSTEMS

K.Vinay Kumar1 , Dr.R.Balakrishna2,

1
Assistant Engineer (E), Operation and Maintenance, BESCOM, Bangalore.
2
Professor & HOD, Dept of ISE, Rajarajeswari College of Engineering Bangalore-74,Email: [email protected]

Abstract : site. The communications system provides the

pathway for communication between the master
The efficient and authentic power supply to the station and the remote sites. This communication
consumer is the primary function of any distribution system can be wire, fibre optic, radio, telephone line,
system. In distribution systems certain measures are taken microwave and possibly even satellite. Specific
for supervision, control, operation, measurement and protocols and error detection philosophies are used
protection. These are highly onerous works that take lot of
for efficient and optimum transfer of data.
manpower. So, the need of advanced automatic control
systems to reach the required destination is becoming The master station (or sub-masters) gather
mandatory, to supersede antiquated ways that are data from the various RTUs and generally provide an
persisting in the present distribution system. In this paper operator interface for display of information and
we emphasize mainly on the SCADA (Supervisory Control control of the remote sites. In large telemetry
and Data Acquisition) systems, the most sophisticated systems, sub-master sites gather information from
automatic control system, being used in distribution remote sites and act as a relay back to the control
automation for quality power. master station.
The Scada Systems Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) Remote Terminal Units(RTU’s):
will be installed in SUB Stations (440/220/110/66KV)
which will constantly monitor the power flow and send the
The RTU connects to physical equipment.
data to MCC (Master Control Centre) which will be
constantly monitored. Scada not only Supervises Power Typically, an RTU converts the electrical signals
Flow but also can be used to remotely control and operate from the equipment to digital values such as the
Sub stations electrical components such as Breakers, GOS, open/closed status from a switch or a valve, or
Relays etc. EMS (Energy Management System) of Scada measurements such as pressure, flow, voltage or
will monitor the Energy consumption of receiving stations current. By converting and sending these electrical
and also energy delivered to interface point at Distribution signals out to equipment the RTU can control
Boundary meters. Finally this is helpful in maintaining the equipment, such as opening or closing a switch or a
load control process valve, or setting the speed of a pump. It can also
Keywords : Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition control the flow of a liquid .The gathering of direct-
(SCADA), Energy Management Systems(EMS),Remote
wired process information and its transfer to a higher
Terminal Unit(RTU),Network Managers,IES(Integrated
Extended Scada) level control system is one of the primary tasks of the
remote control application.
I. Introduction : The RTU560[3] rack based solution
A SCADA network can be broken down into three with its scalable platform and its highly advanced
main areas: communication capabilities allows ABBs RTU to
The Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) in the communicate to various sub RTUs, IED and control
substations; centres at the same time.
The communications network between the RTUs This ensures the highest flexibility of
and the NMS; adaptation to the customer’s requests for different
The Network Management System (NMS). applications: The on-board PLC function according
SCADA Components: to IEC 61131-3 ensures that customer specific
SCADA system has essentially five hierarchies: applications can be easily integrated into our system.
• Field level instrumentation and control devices The I/O compatibility to RTU232 and RTU200
• Marshalling terminals and RTUs [2] allows cost-optimized upgrades of existing ABB
• Communications system installations.
• The master station(s)
• The commercial data processing department
II. Power Scada Architecture:
computer systems. In substation automation systems, the RTU
The RTU provides an interface to the field has interfaces towards protection and control
analog and digital sensors situated at each remote equipment, as well as metering devices and other
automation products. Local and remote monitoring
and control can easily be achieved via the integrated
Human Machine Interface of the RTU560.The IEC
61850 client and server functionality of the RTU
opens up an additional application area. It allows the
combination of traditional protocols, parallel wiring
and the IEC 61850 station bus. The hybrid solution
provides the possibility to gradually upgrade the
station to an IEC 61850 architecture.

RTU includes:
(a ). Multi-function Transducer : The MFT is
designed with RS485 Modbusoutput to display the
different electrical parameters including maximum
demand & min.& max. values of all electrical
parameters with time. Available in single phase &
three phase is wire (balanced & unbalanced)
Fig1:Typical Scada architecture involving field configuration in a single module.
device RTU and Communication servers interacting (b). DC Transducer with modbus: DC Transducer
to provide real time information of power flow in is designed to convert 0-110 V -220 V DC input into
electrical network 4-20 mA analog O/P. It also shows 0-10 V input
value on computer through modbus communication
The scalable hardware platform of the protocol
RTU560 fulfils the requirements of communication (c). Tap Position Transducer with modbus: Tap
gateways. The RTU uses multi-processor technology Position Transducer is designed to monitor Tap's by
to achieve high performance in data processing. The modbus communication. 4 -20 mA analog output is
RTU560 simplifies complex communication also given with respect to tap's position . The
structures through decentralized communication advantage of using modbus communication is that
gateways. Together with the flexible redundancy complete analog RTU Card can be saved.
concept various levels of availability can be achieved (d). Status Indication: The status of Circuit breakers,
according to the operational requirements. Isolators, Earth switches are made known through the
potentially isolated Opto-couplers.

Fig2(a): Remote Terminal Unit inside Substations to

monitor the power flow and transmit the information
through Communication link to the respective DCC.
RTU is the name given to the computer
equipment located in substations that interface between the
SCADA network (NMS and communication network) and
the substation equipment. RTUs generally consist of the
following components:
 INSAT-3A is a multipurpose satellite for
RS 232 RTU CONNECTIVITY AT SUBSTATION / GEN.STATION
PORT – providing telecommunications, television
To VSat

REMOTE TERMINAL UNIT

Voltage taken from
PT, Current taken PANEL
TRANSDUCER
broadcasting, meteorological and search & rescue
from CT
MAIN
TRANSDUCER I/P TERMINAL PT
SEC F
services. It carries twenty four transponders - twelve
CPU
BOARD
PSU
MW MVAR VOLT
110VAC R
O
operating in the normal C-band frequency, six in
CT SEC
M Extended C-band and six in Ku-band. Nine of the
1 AMPS
Panel housing MW,
Mvar, Volt, Current & TRANSDUCER O/P TERMINAL
S
W
twelve normal C-band transponders provide
Freq transducers
Breaker status taking from
breaker aux contact or from
I
T
expanded coverage and the remaining three have
A D C Event logger panel
N I O EVENT
C
H
India coverage beam.
RTU gathers analog and LOGGER
A G N ” status CT’s
data from
PT’s and PANEL Y All the extended C-band as well as the Ku-
L T T Transducers & Event
Breakers loggers
in the yard A
O A R and sends digital data to
communication media
R
D
band transponders has India coverage beams.
G L O
L ”
Breaker operation using
-
F
INSAT-3A was launched by European Launch
I/P I/P O/P Digital control – to tripping
circuit
D
R
R
E
I
E
Vehicle (Ariane-5G) into a Geosynchronous Transfer
I
TERMINAL
BLOCK
TERMINAL
TERMINAL
BLOCK
TERMINAL
BLOCK
V
E
L
A
L
D
Orbit (GTO) with a perigee of 200km and an apogee
BLOCK Y
R
of 35,980km.
Sept.2006 Intro to RTU & Scada 19
“DO control”

Fig 2: Typical RTU in Substations

Power Supply Unit:

o This converts the ‘main’ supply to the
RTU to the various voltages required by
the RTU;
Processor Card:
o This is the ‘brains’ of the RTU. It
performs the operations required to
manage the resources and data;
Communications Card:
o This manages the interface to the
communications system
Analogue Card;
o This interfaces to the various analogue
points in the substation, such as feeder
amps, volts etc; III. VSAT:
Control Card: VSAT is Very Small Aperture Terminal
o This manages the remote operation of which refers to the small aperture antenna and the
the substation breakers, switches etc. by Indoor Trans-receive unit (IDU) used at remote
sending out a timed pulse to the breaker locations. It is Voice communication link to all
interpose relays which in turn operate the KPTCL, ESCOMS stations, Major generating
breaker open/close mechanism; stations With Load Dispatch Centre and main
Digital Card: communication Media for KPTCL/ESCOM SCADA
This manages the equipment state indications (breaker Network.
open/closed etc.) and substation alarms (protection
operated, low battery etc.).
VSAT System consists of:
• Satellite transponder
Current and voltage being analog quantities
• Centre hub/ Master earth station
the flow is monitored and corresponding is
• Remote VSATs.
transformed to the digital equivalence using Multi
In KPTCL Vidyuth Net a VSAT featured
Functional Transducers. These output values is
communication is used which includes the following
transmitted using mod bus using various Algorithms
specifications. It uses Single Channel per Carrier (S
and protocols, correspondingly based on the status of
C P C) Algorithm[5] and Frequency Division
relays and other signals the status of electrical
Multiple Access (FDMA) technology[6],Demand
substation components such as breakers, GOS, can be
Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA) for Voice.8
determined. The output signal is fed to VSAT via
KBps for Voice and 4.8 to 64KBps for Data Circuits.
RS232 port
Transponder space in Insat 3A, 17th Transponder
Communication Link:
Usage of Extended ‘C’ band with uplink Frequency
6.9350 – 6.9465 GHz, Down link at 4.710 - 5. Events Module: Events are generated when
4.7215GHz there is a change in status of a breaker or
Communication licensing issues: Isolator .Events can be used to trigger a
The Licensee shall approach WPC.The services can Disturbance Data collection
be started after obtaining NOCC (Network
Operations Control Centre) clearance. The Licensee Integrated Extended Scada [IES] Algorithm:
shall submit monthly operation report to Licensor,
Satellite Cell of DoT and NOCC by 7th of following Step 1: Concatenate the output provided by each
month. RTU’s installed in various Sub Stations.
Extended C-band** Licensing Issues: Step 2: FEP’s at the MCC/DCC will be used to
a. For Star network : 1.2 m (for 55, 74, 83 and 93.5 process the information provided to it and suitable
deg. E slots) give the information to corresponding Load Dispatch
b. For Mesh network : 2.4 m (for 55,74,83 and 93.5 Centres.
deg. E slots) Step 3: DRM (Disaster Recovery Managers) being
** Applicable to the frequency bands 6735/4510 - updated with the MCC input Data which will act as
6835/4610 MHz and backup Server in case of any disasters to Master
6935/4710 to 6995/4770 MHz Control Centres
C. HUB Antenna size Step 4: Based on Event Triggering and alarm module
Normal C & Ext. C-band 9.0 meter or more. outputs the Load Dispatch HUB’S will take decisions
to act as and when required.
Step 5: Scada put on public network suitable security
frame work must be involved.

Additional RTU features to be implemented in IES :

The Station equipments such as Metering

core of CT & PT, for MW , MVAR, Voltage and
Frequency and Energy (3ph, 4W ), with Multi
Functional Transducer in each bay need to be
interfaced with the RTU. Indication of CB both ON
& OFF & Isolator position OFF, Master Trip relay ,
Fig 3: INSAT 3C BW for communication split up in WTI, OTI, LR Switches must also be suitably
KPTCL/ESCOM’S interfaced with IES Supporting RTU’S. RTUs are
having facility for remote control, EMS applications
SCADA Master control system: like AGC, Voltage control , Load monitoring and
It includes the following modules: shedding, however this will be taken up with SLDC
and ESCOM depending upon requirement of grid
1. Display modeling module: Single line model Scada Application and Network Manager [7].
of all Generating and Receiving stations with
real time display of Analog data and Status The SCADA applications are built on a
information’s. platform utilizing a full-graphics user interface, a
2. Acquiring module (Real time data): Analog real-time relational database, and a modern process
inputs MW, Mvar, Frequency, Transformer communication system among other components.
Tap position, Digital inputs, Breaker status, Network Manager SCADA supports a number of
and Isolator status. algorithms to secure Authentication, Confidentiality
3. Digital control module: To control Breakers and Integrity of all data communication on the
and Isolators and to control Generators also internal and external networks. Additional tools for
4. Alarm module: alarm is displayed when the hardening, patch management together with project
set limits for analog values are violated. management, recovery planning and training of
When the set limits for analog values are employees all in conformance with Cyber Security
violated. Exs: If a line is designed to carry standards. Network Manager SCADA is designed for
100 MW, and its upper limit is set to say 100 growth (e.g., start with a small system with limited
MW, an alarm will occur whenever the load functions and expand to a fully functional EMS or
on the line crosses 100 MW. DMS incorporating multiple control centres).
 assessment of the network conditions
under a wide variety of contingency
situations. They include the following
functions:

The Network Manager SCADA Applications provide

the follwong benefits:

Easy expansion of data and functionality,

excellent scalability
Immediate access to power system status
Fast and easy monitoring of power system Fig4: ABB’s Network Manager installed in SCADA which
security is implemented at KPTCl/ESCOM’s
Direct preventive actions and restoration
even during disturbance situations Dispatcher Power Flow
Extensive reporting and archiving
Security Analysis
capabilities including export and restoration
of archived data.
Short Circuit Analysis
Energy Management Systems: Equipment Outage Scheduler.

Network Manager SCADA/EMS The Decision Support applications

provides a complete set of advanced provide the needed information to assist the
power system applications, all field- Operator in making the best operational
proven under a wide variety of operating decisions. They include the following functions:
conditions. The Transmission Network
Analysis package includes functions for Dynamic Network Coloring
the optimal operation of the power PAS Interlocking with DPF and SA
system with respect to security, quality Study Data Base
and economy. Network Save Cases
The Transmission Network Analysis
comprises a number of modules, each of The Operation Enhancement applications
which can be installed independent from provide the needed information to assist the
other modules. Operator in enhancing the network conditions.
The EMS applications include modelling They include the following functions:
of the high voltage network and advanced
calculations for various activities such as Optimal Power Flow
Network Monitoring, Security Security Constrained Dispatch
Assessment, Decision Support and Voltage Stability Analysis
Operation Enhancement. The Network Network Sensitivity
Monitoring applications provide the best
assessment of the current operating
conditions of the grid The Security
Assessment applications provide an
 Network Manager SCADA/DMS offers
full Graphic and web based interfaces for
Control Center Operators, Service Center and
Call Center personnel, and management. These
are deployed throughout the utility to support
various work procedures such as required for
Switch Orders, Trouble Calls, Crew Dispatch,
Outage Management, and to allow access to up-
to-the-minute operational status reports.

V. The Network Manager SCADA/DMS

Nov.2007 [email protected] 55
provides the following major benefits:

Real time monitoring and control over

Fig 5 : SCADA application Snap Shot the whole distribution network.
showing IISC 66/11 KV Substation along with Enhanced customer service through a
details of 11KV feeder energy consumption and complete outage management package
status of CB,Isolators, which is remotely including trouble call taking, fault
operated using Scada MCC. localization and restoration as well as
outage statistics and customer
IV. SCADA/DMS notification.
Efficient work order handling via the
Network Manager SCADA/DMS is used built-in work management tools.
to manage the operation of the electrical Better crew and resource management
distribution network and the field crews assigned including support for crew scheduling
to operate, maintain and repair the network. and tracking, dispatching and
Network Manager SCADA/DMS improves the assignments as well as follow-up and
utilization of the distribution network; increases reports.
productivity of the workforce; and enhances Optimal network utilization using the
information flow between operations, State Estimator functionality for optimal
engineering, management and customers. feeder reconfiguration and loss
The system maintains a complete minimization in balanced networks
connectivity model of the as-built electrical Better support for all reporting with
network. Processing inputs from SCADA/DMS retrieval of historical data archived in a
and crew reports, the system retains an accurate data warehouse
representation of the as-operated state of the
electrical network. Using other information VI. Results
inputs, such as substation loads, customer trouble
calls, relay fault data and crew location, the From the load curve we can monitor the
system can analyze the status of the network for power consumption by State Power corporations
loading (current and voltage), outages, fault and inturn various ESCOM’s.The requirement
location and dispatch crews in the most efficient and shortage/surplus gris components and be
manner. Thus Network Manager SCADA/DMS effectively identified.Interchange between
provides a more accurate picture of the electrical various States sharing national power gris is
distribution network performance than a possible via this application.
standalone SCADA system, and can allow for
faster and more reliable responses to system
disturbances.
 8000
THURSDAY 12
Control and Automation, 2002. Proceedings of the 4th
7000 51.7 World Congress on, Volume:
6000 51.3 4, 10-14 June 2002 Pages: 2786 - 2789 vol.4.
50.9
TH…

FREQ. IN Hz
5000 50.5
[4] Bernard, J.-P., Durocher, D., An expert system for
LOAD IN MW

4000 50.1 fault diagnosis integrated in existing SCADA system,

3000 49.7 Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on , Volume: 9 , Issue:
2000 49.3 1 , Feb. 1994 Pages:548 – 554.
1000 48.9
0 48.5 [5]. Qian Wang, Qingquan Qian, Design and analysis of
TIME IN HOURS
0123456789
10111
21
31
41
51
61
71
82
92
02
122
34
2011
communication network for distributed SCADA system,
` Power Engineering Society Winter Meeting, 2000. IEEE,
Volume: 3, 23-27 Jan. 2000 Pages: 2062 - 2065 vol.3
Fig 6: Load curve obtained from SCADA [6]. Wu Sitao, Qian Qingquan, Using device driver
application which shows detailed scenario of software in SCADA systems, Power Engineering Society
power consumption by KPTCL from the Winter Meeting, 2000.
[7]. Gaushell, D.J., Block, W.R., SCADA communication
Grid.The graph is Load(MW) v/s Time along techniques and standards, Computer Applications in
with the Grid frequencies. Power, IEEE , Volume: 6 , Issue: 3 , July 1993 Pages:45 –
50.
Conclusion: [8]. Bruce, A., Lee, R., A framework for the specification
of SCADA data links, Power Systems, IEEE Transactions
on , Volume: 9 , Issue: 1 , Feb. 1994 Pages:560 – 564.
SCADA solutions often have distributed control
[9] Marihart, D.J., Communications technology
system (DCS) components. Use of "smart” RTUs or PLCs,
guidelines for EMS/SCADA systems, Power Delivery,
which are capable of autonomously executing simple logic
IEEE Transactions on , Volume: 16 , Issue: 2 , April 2001
processes without involving the master computer, is
Pages:181 - 188
increasing. The function of SCADA systems is to enable
critical, and some less important network information, to
be viewed in (nearly) real time by control engineers at a Mr. Vinay Kumar, Obtained his B.E. Degree from Don Bosco
central location and allow the control engineers to operate Institute of Technology, Bangalore, Affiliated to Visvesvaraya
and control the network. It will be very effective in Technological University, Karnataka. Pursuing M.Tech. in KSO
monitoring the power flow in the GRID and in turn Univeristy. Working as Assistant Engineer (E), Operation and
Maintenance, BESCOM, Bangalore. His Research interests are in the
maintaining grid stability. field of cloud computing, Power Elelctronics, Ad hoc Networks, Sensor
ABB’s SCADA application is been very Networks and Computer Networks
efficiently used in Sub Transmission and distribution
voltages. Typically, the 11kV distribution suffers more
Dr.R.Balakrishna, working as a Professor and
faults than networks of higher voltages, and also can affect HOD, Rajarajeswari college of engineering,
significantly more customers than the LV network faults. Bangalore, India. He is completed his PhD
For this reason, schemes have been developed to identify Degree from Sri Krishnadevaraya University,
the rough location of faults on the 11kV network, Anantapur, Bangalore. M.Tech. Degree from
Maharishi Dayanand University. His research
automatically reconfigure the network to isolate the fault, interests are in the field of wireless ad hoc
and restore supply to as many customers as possible, network, Sensor Network, Artificial Neural
usually within a few minutes. The schemes are managed Networks, Data Mining, Operating System and Security. He has
by running scripts on the NMS, and then using a published over 35 National and International journals and Conferences
various papers across India and other Countries. He is the Life member of
combination of the Primary and Secondary SCADA Indian Society for Technical Education and IAENG, CSI, JEMS, MET-
systems to reconfigure the network as required. PRESS.

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