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First Deployment of SaskPower Next Gen SCADA

CLIENT:

SaskPower

LOCATION:

Lloydminster, SK

ROLE:

Field Lead TeleControl

PROJECT YEAR:

2013

The GE D400 was replacing the obsolete GE D20 remote terminal unit (RTU), which had served as the reliable SCADA head unit at SaskPower for decades. To facilitate this, the pilot project utilized a D20RIO (Remote I/O) prototype to bridge legacy D20 I/O boards to the D400. The scope included reconnecting approximately 300 I/O wires and pulling new cables. Maintaining connectivity to Grid Control during transition was critical so we installed a cell modem. In the final configuration, the D400 communicated over the Power Line Carrier using a modified data channel. After construction TeleControl collaborated with construction and system test crews to commission all new terminations. This project marked the beginning of a long-term partnership with P&C Engineering to address SCADA issues and implement improvements as they arose.

Joey was a great technologist to work with during these projects. He was great at analyzing designs, testing, and communicating results. He was very methodical in his work and always willing to learn and use new technologies at his disposal.

Tyson Maier – Sr. P&C Engineer

Together over the next 5 years we executed approximately 10 next generation SCADA projects. Adding lessons learned from each project continuously improved the new standard. Starting with this project we learned:

  • Dial-up connection speeds meant all configuration changes and firmware updates had to be performed in the field by TeleControl. These changes were verbally communicated to P&C Engineering in Regina for real-time template updates.
  • The first SCADA installation with an HMI keyboard and screen presented a physical fit issue within the existing cabinet designs.
  • We encountered D20RIO freezing issues, which occurred roughly twice a year and required troubleshooting.
  • Added a redundant power supply to the D400 specification, which provided a low-cost, high-impact improvement to reliability.
  • The Power Line Carrier bottleneck limited the data volume transmitted to the Grid Control Center, a problem not fully resolved until Lloydminster was connected to the SaskPower fiber network.

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