Manitoba Hydro modernizing substations

WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN - Cooper Power Systems, a division of Cooper Industries plc, announced that it is working with Manitoba Hydro and its system integrator, Virelec, to develop fully IEC 61850 compliant substations.

The project is intended to modernize, automate and integrate over 100 substations, following the IEC 61850 standard.

The project includes implementing a complete and secure Cooper Power Systems substation automation solution that is based on SMP Gateway data concentrators, SMP I/O input/output discrete modular units, SMP 16/SP substationgrade computers and the Yukon Visual T&D HMI system. The SMP Gateways will be used as bay controllers and data concentrators at the substation level for a complete and secure integration of substation devices. The SMP I/Os will be used for integration and automation of each substation bay.

Moreover, the SMP16/SP substationgrade computer, combined with Visual T&D software will provide a complete tool for local SCADA management with a substation single line diagram HMI. In order to replace traditional hardwiring, IEC 61850 GOOSE messaging will be used over the fiberoptic ethernet LAN installed in the substation. This solution architecture provides enhanced integration and reliability improvements as a result of the redundancy capability of all Cooper Power Systems equipment.

“Utilities are adopting IEC61850 for substation automation to help improve their interoperability and efficiency,” said Mike Stoessl, division president, Cooper Power Systems. “Building on our existing 61850 offering, we’ve established a leadership position that allows us to help Manitoba Hydro improve its network management performance, achieve significant cost and time savings and realize improved reliability.”