Category: Hitachi

Longevity: Investment cycles in utilities are much longer than those in the public telecom sector.

Protection and control equipment in electrical substations, which is ultimately connected to

utility communication equipment, is particularly long-lived. The ultimate goal of commissioning

an all-Ethernet/IP network is still far away, particularly for Hitachi Energy, which link hundreds

or even thousands of established substations.

A basic requirement of such a system would be longevity, with guaranteed performance as per

established technologies. Unlike the full network refurbishments often seen in public

telecommunications networks, utility networks evolve slowly, increasing in size and slowly

migrating to new technologies in a step-by-step approach. This evolution means that high

interoperability between existing and new installations as well as parallel operation of both is a must.

Utility environment:

These days most offices grind to a halt in the face of a failed internet connection, but no industry

compares to electrical transmission in being dependent on robust, resilient, and predictable

communications. Only suppliers with an intimate knowledge of the industry can supply,

and maintain, equipment capable of meeting that unique set of demands.

In addition to extremes of temperature, utility communications equipment is also exposed to magnetic

and electrical fields, which are particularly severe during short-circuit events.

In order to maintain the high levels of availability required, especially in emergency situations,

utility communications equipment must offer a robust and reliable design that has proven

capabilities for providing accurate functionality under extreme conditions.

In dusty and remote environments, where regular maintenance cannot be guaranteed,

fan-less designs are preferable.

Overview

Ready for the challenges of tomorrow

FOX615 integrates teleprotection interfaces for distance as well as for differential

protection simultaneously within state-of-the-art SDH networks and MPLS-TP networks;

ensuring an easy and flexible way to migrate technology in a utility network.

With its latest IEC61850 interface the FOX615 also acts as a substation IED and

enables GOOSE based protection applications of digital substations.

Built on Hitachi Energy’s huge domain expertise, the utility-grade design of FOX615

is deployed in thousands of installations across the globe with guaranteed performance

including those with electromagnetically polluted environments and across a broad range

of temperatures.

Teleprotection: Safeguarding the electrical grid

Critical to grid operations is the protection of power lines, through teleprotection.

Teleprotection systems were developed alongside the electrical grids themselves,

and the operational communication networks used are mainly driven by those applications.

In 1940. the average telephone user was just getting to grips with the rotary-dial telephone,

while Hitachi Energy was deploying power-line communications: utilizing the electrical

transmission infrastructure to carry teleprotection data and avoiding the need for a separate Pilot Line.

Public telecom networks have evolved at an amazing speed, this has been primarily driven

by new applications (e.g. smartphones, YouTube, email) which results in a growing demand

for increased bandwidth. Subsequently this has resulted in network solutions with a higher

capacity for data transmission with a lower focus upon the quality of service.

Teleprotection systems, in contrast, have always operated under the pressure of protecting

critical infrastructure. Reliability and quality of service is paramount, resilience is required,

while new technologies and techniques must prove themselves robust enough to match,

or exceed, the existing equipment before they can safely be used in the electrical network.

WAN modernization: An outstanding multiservice platform for real-time utility communication

Hitachi Energy’s FOX615 is a hybrid solution supporting traditional TDM (PDH / SDH) and

Multi-Protocol Label Switching – Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) – the latest standard designed

to address the new applications using packet-switched technology natively. The majority of

existing communication networks of power utilities are based on Time Division Multiplexing,

TDM, which allocates dedicated circuits to specific communications and thus guaranteeing

the required communication performance parameters such as bandwidth, latency, and symmetry.

New standards today are based on packet-switched technologies (e.g. IEC 60870-5-104 or IEC 61850)

and therefore integrate natively into a packet-switched MPLS backbone network.

Well known features of SDH networks were left behind when MPLS was originally created for

dynamic public telecommunication networks and implemented as IP/MPLS. That’s why an

enhancement of the standard was required, leading to MPLS-TP bringing back those missing

features from SDH to the MPLS world such as bidirectional and static channel routing or end

to end channel supervision using Operational Administration Maintenance (OAM).

FOX615 provides native MPLS-TP and SDH functionality as part of the hybrid approach implemented.

Hitachi Energy’s FOX615 is an outstanding multi-service multiplexer which enables

the extension of existing communication infrastructure, as well as the smooth

migration to future technology.

Key highlights

• Easy and flexible way to migrate technology in a utility network

• With its latest IEC61850 interface the FOX615 also acts as a substation IED

• Enables GOOSE based protection applications of digital substations

FOX615 provides native MPLS-TP and SDH functionality as part of the hybrid approach implemented.

The combination of state of the art SDH technology and future MPLS-TP technology provides an easy

and flexible way to migrate technology in a utility network. All FOX615’s which are deployed in the

field today can easily be upgraded to MPLS-TP. It also allows the parallel implementation of SDH

and MPLS-TP in one node, separating traffic according to their performance requirements.

One further option is to just implement a pure MPLS-TP node. FOX615 today offers much more

to a utility than any other multiservice platform for real-time utility communications.

Overview

Reliable connectivity for communications networks

Designed to meet the most stringent functional, performance, and environmental

requirements of demanding power utility communication network applications,

this hybrid device has a compact and robust 19-inch-wide and 1HU-high metallic

housing supporting fanless operation.

The multiplexer is fully integrated into the FOX61x system family and can be managed

with FOXMAN-UN/FOXCST, which provides the lowest total cost of ownership by enabling

service migration simply through configuration. The intuitive user interface and the unified

network management system ensure an easy operation of the operational technology

(OT) infrastructure.

FOX610 provides a rich selection of interfaces.

• On the WAN side, FOX610 provides:

• 2x SFP+/SFP based 10GBASE/1GBASE

• 2x SFP based 1GBASE

• 1x RJ45 electrical 10/100/1000BASE-T

• Ethernet/MPLS-TP-ports

The FOX610 is a compact Ethernet/MPLS-TP access multiplexer with MPLS-TP

(Multi-Protocol Label Switching – Transport Profile) functionality for building,

operating, and maintaining fast and reliable packet-switched networks for

mission-critical applications.

Key highlights

• Designed for packet-switched transport in mission-critical networks

• Designed for demanding applications

• High metallic housing supporting fan-less operation

• Interoperable with FOX system family

On the LAN side, FOX610 provides:

• 4x SFP based 10/100/1000BASE

• 4x RJ45 electrical 10/100/1000BASE-T

• Ethernet access ports

All electrical access ports are supporting Power over Ethernet (PoE) and PoE+

(limited to a sum of 84 W (watts) total output power over all ports).

Local management with FOXCST is enabled by a RJ45 10/100BASE-T port.

An alarm interface provides

• 2x alarm inputs for general purposes

• 2x alarm output for system-alarms (NO/NC)

The integrated DC power supply has redundant inputs.

All interfaces are accessible on the front of FOX610.

The EDS500 product family of rugged Ethernet/SHDSL managed switches

and FSK-based analog modems has been specifically designed for critical

infrastructure and industrial applications with enhanced, robust communication

technology that ensures minimal downtime and enables predictive failure

notification and encrypted management.

Depending on the model, data communication features two-wire copper lines,

starting at very low baud rates (FSK-based analog modems) or SHDSL/EFM

connections with up to 15 Mbps data rate, and ranges up to Ethernet

(copper and optical). SFP slots and suitable SFP modules provide connectivity

over optical multimode or single mode fibers up to 80 km, both for Duplex LC

(two fibers) and Simplex LC (bi-directional over one fiber).

Several models provide Power-over-Ethernet ports (IEEE 802.3at / PoE+ and above).

The EDS500 managed switches for optical and copper Ethernet are certified

for IEC 61850. The Ethernet/SHDSL switches support a variety of useful,

reliable and intelligent functions, such as MSTP/RSTP/STP (IEEE 802.1Q/w/D),

VLAN, IEEE 802.1X, HTTPS, SNMPv3. SSH, SCP, QoS, rate limiting, ACL/packet filter,

RMON, LLDP, L2TP, IGMP snooping, ITU-T G.8032 ERPS ,and many more,

making EDS500 suitable for any harsh industrial environment.

As ARC learned, Hitachi ABB Power Grid’s APM solution is designed to provide asset health and performance insights that

to help prevent critical failures while optimizing asset lifecycle costs.

The solution utilizes digital twin technology, integrating online data with existing historical data.

It can also connect from the substation to the cloud using state-of-the-art IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) connectivity technology,

enabling utilities to leverage their online and offline data to

Drive a smarter, condition- and risk-based approach to asset management. By combining data collection, integration, visualization and analytics capabilities, the

utilities can gain new insights through a predictive, prescriptive and predictive view of their systems.

The solution complies with key industry standards such as ISO 55000 and PAS 55.

Hitachi ABB Power Grid APM helps utilities understand when faults are likely to occur and the consequences of those faults.

With this information, utilities are better able to achieve key objectives, including

 Cost-effectively manage asset health

 Effectively address identified risks

 Prioritizing repair and replacement decisions

 Implementing “what-if” analysis and contingency planning programs

Hitachi ABB Power Grid

Founded in 2020. Hitachi ABB Power Grid is a global technology leader with a history spanning nearly 250 years.

Headquartered in Switzerland, the company serves utility, industrial and infrastructure customers across the entire value chain.

With expertise in emerging areas such as renewable energy integration, energy storage, electrified mobility and smart cities,

Hitachi ABB Power Grid is well-positioned to help companies around the world transition to a smart and distributed energy future.

Hitachi ABB Power Grid APM

New asset performance management capabilities that connect directly to digital

substations are expected to support all three priorities for the grid: high reliability, low cost and compliance.

However, developing a viable APM solution for the grid requires both significant domain

expertise for these types of assets, as well as an understanding of these assets as a system.

It also requires a thorough understanding of how these assets work together as a system.

Mathematical models based on first principles.

Simulating asset behavior in conjunction with operational statistics is a key approach to creating digital twins.

A digital twin refers to a dynamic digital replica of the actual physical asset

and how it interacts with the larger grid and operators.

A digital twin refers to a dynamic digital replica of an actual physical asset and 

how it interacts with the larger grid and the humans who operate and maintain it.

The digital twin can include the spatial geometry of the asset and its location in the grid,

as well as thermodynamic and electrical behavior.

APM, when applied effectively, can reduce OPEX and CAPEX based on predictive and prescriptive analytics,

resulting in operational cost savings and/or deferring capital investment requirements.

APM can also help utilities achieve compliance as outages are reduced.

Managing Grid Assets in the Digital Substation

So how can you control the grid in a way that improves reliability and keeps the cost of power low?

With limited capital budgets, the utilities must make choices related to long-term expenditures.

These choices include

 Considering all relevant factors, determining which projects minimize risk

 Determining which aging equipment assets can more cost-effectively reduce risk

 determining whether additional capital expenditures can be justified to regulators or other stakeholders.

Regulators or other stakeholders

 Determine the most efficient way to deploy resources during an outage

Process bus digital communication standards support interoperability between IEDs from different vendors and “digitize” modern substations.

When process bus devices are properly configured according to the IEC 61850 standard, they provide fast, reliable and secure communications that

to support device protection, remote monitoring and remote control.

Process buses can also provide control centers with situational awareness based on accurate and timely measurement data from all corners of the grid.

control center situational awareness based on accurate and timely measurement data from all corners of the grid.

By connecting the data to the APM application, the data enables coordination

between transmission sections and between transmission and distribution operators.