Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. (Westminster, Colorado, U.S.) will use the David Splawn and Associates (Cupertino, California, U.S.) SIM Director to simulate its network of field-installed intelligent devices during the final acceptance testing (FAT) of its new EMS/TMS SCADA system.

From a database of more than 250 currently installed field devices, Tri-State will incorporate 40 device configurations at a time into the network simulation. By providing the SCADA vendor with the SIM Director, network database and event activity scripts, Tri-State will be able to: confirm data communication using Tri-State's data communication protocol; measure SCADA system performance under normal operating conditions; and measure SCADA system performance under the alarm event scenarios identified by Tri-State.

The DSA SIM Director offers the ability to simulate power distribution system activity through a time-based scripting capability.

The SIM Director: generates the status and analog values, changing the values based upon the actions scripted; responds to the SCADA master polling commands with the appropriate digital and analog data using the specified data communication protocol; and responds and executes CONTROL commands from the SCADA master based on the scripted response.

The scripted activities may be monitored, time stamped and logged to measure operator performance.