Power plants are designed to convert high voltage to low voltage for public use (e.g., 110000V to 380V). In addition to requiring different substation levels, a power plant needs a complete and reliable communication network system. This kind of communication system mainly transfers different types of data, such as RTU (Remote Test Unit) control data, VOIP audio data, and even video data. The advantage of using Ethernet is that it can be used to transmit different types of data, provided the data is first transformed into TCP/IP communication protocol.

Electrical power systems play a key role in controlling the energy resources of a country's Gross Domestic Income. A rugged network, such as an Ethernet network with media redundancy, helps to ensure the reliability and stability of a power plant. In this type of environment, industrial Ethernet products can be used to form a highly reliable network for remote monitoring, reducing the number of service calls needed while maintaining high power availability to the public.

It is common practice to use an RTU (Remote Test Unit) in a power plant to collect the data (such as first voltage, second voltage, current, and wattage) transmitted from substations. An RTU generally uses the RS-232 interface to communicate, and is able to execute commands from a SCADA system for relay protection. The RP3000/2000 is a protocol converter equipped with two RJ11 RS-232 ports and two RJ11 audio interfaces. The device can transform audio and port data into TCP/IP data for transmission over the Ethernet.

This system uses the Moxa ED6008-SS-SC industrial Ethernet switch with media redundancy. Since the ED6008-SS-SC is equipped with two single mode fiber ports, it can directly transfer the fiber signal without the need to install additional media converters. The combination of ED6008-SS-SC and RP3000/2000 meet the RTU and audio data transmission requirements of an electric power plant.

Fiber media is ideal for power utility substations, particularly because of its immunity to electrical interference, avoidance of ground loops, high bandwidth, and ability to support long distance communication. Moxa's Ethernet switches connect the devices that need to communicate, and move data from distributed relays, RTUs, PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), and IEDs (Intelligent Electronic Devices) for both remote and centralized control.

 

• Moxa Turbo Ring supports fast media redundancy with a recovery time under 300 ms, to provide customers with reliable and stable data transmission over the network.
• Engineers can configure all networked ED6008-SS-SC units over the web; real-time data helps engineers analyze network failure.
• The ED6008-SS-SC is an industrial Ethernet switch with two single mode fiber ports, and satisfies long distance transmission requirements.
• The ED6008-SS-SC's user-configured automatic warning functions help engineers analyze failures.