Fiber Optic System Eliminates Copper Wiring at Substations

Aug. 5, 2008
GE Digital Energy has announced the Multilin HardFiber System, which is designed to eliminate the need for thousands of copper wires in a substation and replace them with a few fiber optic cables.

GE Digital Energy has announced the Multilin HardFiber System, which eliminates the need for thousands of copper wires in a substation and replaces them with a few fiber optic cables. By eliminating the need to install and maintain thousands of copper wires, used for signaling and monitoring in electrical substations, utilities can save up to 50% of protection and control installation and maintenance costs, while at the same time increasing worker safety and power system reliability.

The HardFiber System, based on IEC 61850, the international standard for substation communications, is made up of four key elements: the HardFiber Brick, the HardFiber Cross Connect Panel, the rugged HardFiber Outdoor Fiber Cables, and the Universal Relay IEC 61850 Process Card. The system’s single, pre-terminated fiber optic connections drastically reduce the multitude of copper wires that need to be pulled, spliced and terminated. It provides an identical interface to all primary system equipment, eliminating custom designs. Its standardized components reduce chances for error and minimize costly and labor intensive testing and troubleshooting.

“Customers who have previewed the HardFiber System are impressed by its ruggedness and simplicity and have already identified how it will save them time and money,” said Claudio Cargnelli, global marketing manager, GE Digital Energy.

The HardFiber System is a complete IEC 61850 system available for a wide variety of protection applications, including generator, transformer, transmission line, bus, feeder, capacitor bank, and motor protection.

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