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Contact:
Jennifer Caywood
Telemetric Corporation
(208) 658-1292 x10
jcaywood@telemetric.net
MINNKOTA
POWER COOPERATIVE DEPLOYS TELEMETRIC’S SCADA-XCHANGE
System links distribution
equipment to EMS
Boise, ID– November 15,
2002 – Telemetric Corporation, the industry leader
in providing utilities with affordable wireless solutions for
communicating with down-line equipment, is pleased to announce
that Minnkota Electric Cooperative has successfully extended their
Energy Management System (EMS) using SCADA-Xchange from Telemetric.
Now, Minnkota seamlessly monitors, controls and receives alarms
from remote substations through their EMS.
“SCADA-Xchange allows our EMS to
cost-effectively communicate with remote equipment. We are thrilled
with the results and plan to expand our implementation,”
Richard Burt, Project Engineer with Minnkota Power.
In fall 2000, Minnkota Power installed
SCADA-operated switches at a substation near Ray, Minnesota. After
researching various options for communication, including traditional
phone lines, a microwave path, and various cellular solutions,
they determined that the most cost effective method would be to
utilize Telemetric’s MicroRTUs. The following year, Minnkota
deployed additional MicroRTUs for communicating with several mobile
substations.
Originally, these devices were all maintained
on the Telemetric Intelligent Web Server. The Web Server provides
complete monitoring and control of the devices, as well as alarm
notifications via email and pager. Minnkota researched the possibility
of programming a solution that would link the devices to their
EMS, but decided it would be too costly and time consuming. At
this time, Telemetric introduced Minnkota to SCADA-Xchange.
Now, data is transferred from the Telemetric
MicroRTU in the field over a cellular connection to the secure
Network Operations Center. The data is then translated to DNP3
and stored to the Telemetric Xchange server, protected by a firewall.
Minnkota’s EMS polls a GE RTU connected to the Internet
through a second firewall to the Xchange server. When a change
is detected, the message is reported like any other alarm on the
EMS.
Telemetric's SCADA-Xchange works with
SCADA systems from all major vendors, and is currently undergoing
field tests with the following systems: GE, Survalent, ACS, Valmet,
Telegyr and Yukon.
About Minnkota Power Cooperative
Minnkota Power Cooperative is a regional generation and transmission
cooperative serving 11 member-owner distribution cooperatives
and 12 municipal utilities. Minnkota's service area of 34,500-square-miles
is located in northwestern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota.
Through its generation resources, Minnkota has one of the lowest
average wholesale electrical rates in the country, 3 cents per
kilowatt-hour (kWh). For additional information, please visit
www.minnkota.com, or email rburt@minnkota.com.
About Telemetric
Telemetric is the industry leader in low-cost wireless solutions,
providing utilities with an affordable option for communicating
with down-line equipment and machinery. Our solutions have helped
nearly 100 utilities control costs and improve customer service
by allowing them to cost-effectively monitor, control and automate
equipment located beyond their substations. By utilizing the “control
channel” of the cellular network, Telemetric allows customers
to send small packets of data over the existing public cellular
network with far better coverage and at a much lower cost than
other methods of communication. Telemetric is privately held with
headquarters in Boise, Idaho. For more information, please visit
www.telemetric.net, or email info@telemetric.net.
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