Product category:
Plantwide control
News Release from: Catapult Software | Subject: IPower Scada
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 25 April 2006
Scada system is at the co-op now
Electric association co-operative in Minnesota commissions Scada system after reviewing the other options and bench-testing by its engineers.
The Dakota Electric Association (DEA) in Minnesota, USA, is in the latter stages of commissioning its latest IPower Scada system It chose IPower after reviewing the other options and bench-testing by its engineers
"The needs of electric distribution co-operatives were not met by the current Scada suppliers", said Randy Poulson, VP Engineering Services, DEA.
"This has changed with the advent of IPower".
"For the first time, IPower Scada software offers full-featured, safe, reliable and affordable Scada suitable for distribution co-operatives of any size".
The DEA is among the 20 largest co-ops in the USA, so its Scada requirements are accordingly sophisticated.
The IPower system has: a redundant pair of Scada servers with automatic failover; separate data historian and web-client servers; five control-room workstations; two engineering workstations; two mobile workstations; and multiple corporate clients.
Communications is all DNP; TCP/IP is used to 26 substation RTUs via 1000Mbit Ethernet radio.
Serial DNP is used to 97 RTUs at distributed generation sites and remote switch sites.
Serial communications is over multiple address system (MAS) microwave radio.
"Dakota is a great IPower system because it shows our smaller co-ops and utility customers just how easily the product scales up", said David Ganley, Engineering Manager at Catapult Software.
"As several of our customers know, IPower is also perfect for entry level, single computer Scada applications".
The DEA system has been engineered almost entirely by the DEA's staff.
"The software is so easy to install and configure, it is possible for co-op staff to do much of that work with very minimal training", said Len Jewell, Technical Systems Manager, DEA.
"With IPower, the days of having someone else build your new Scada system at the factory and you attending never ending factory testing and training sessions are over".
Brian Kinstad, Scada Engineer at the DEA, said: "Scada systems don't need to be complicated and difficult".
"It doesn't have to be hard to share information between Scada and office systems; upgrading the software can be as easy as upgrading Microsoft Office software".
"You can find a lot of good features in an affordable Scada system and the people putting it all together can have a lot of fun doing it".
Tony Haresnape, President of Catapult Software, said: "When one of our electric distribution customers asked us to look at the available Scada systems, we found existing systems fell into two camps".
"Those developed specifically for the electric industry seemed expensive, yet typically lagged behind in delivering the best capability offered by the software industry".
"More generic systems developed to suit all types of control applications are sold in high volumes, consistently deliver the best tools and services available from the software industry, and are far better priced".
"Their short-coming was a lack of specific services required to operate safely and manage an electric utility network".
"IPower delivers the best of both worlds".
"We chose a sophisticated control system called IFix from GE Fanuc as our platform".
Engineered in C++, IPower delivers a complete, sophisticated Windows-based Scada system for the needs of rural co-ops and municipal utilities.
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