Inter-system communications/networking

Electric utilities require reliable data communications for power system control, operations, and maintenance. Utilities are among the largest users of data and, it has been said, the largest users of real-time data. In recent years, there has been an effort to apply the emerging technology of data communication networking to utility applications for real-time data exchange. Emphasis in this paper is placed on techniques for modeling communication requirements and planning the development of an inter-system communications network to support power applications. We will also review where the industry is today with regard to link installations and protocol development.