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Scadanet is a coordinated initiative aimed at reducing operational business transaction costs by upgrading the communications network infrastructure over which substation Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) controls are operated. Data networking industry concepts and Scadanet technologies provide the opportunity to extend the scope of substation communications beyond the electrical industry’s current implementation of traditional SCADA connectivity. Maintaining the status quo of current SCADA communications is simply untenable for a variety of reasons.
Scadanet implementation will identify a target network design and appropriate product technologies allowing a gradual transition to more cost-effective methods. The cost of SCADA communications networking likely can be reduced via Scadanet. Furthermore, Scadanet technologies will enable adoption of many valuable new functional capabilities for running the business, resulting in even more operational cost-efficiencies. Any new approach for satisfying SCADA communications networking needs, such as Scadanet, must maintain the utility of current communications assets, while allowing gradual diversion of O&M and capital expenditure toward alternative ways that satisfy emergent needs. Adopting such an evolutionary approach, such as Scadanet, requires establishment of a clear roadmap or blueprint that yields consistent and complimentary results from the work of many departments over several years. Today, there are already a number of independent exploratory research efforts underway in this area of Scadanet within the electrical industry. Most activities are attempts to address technological obsolescence of the existing infrastructure while largely ignoring the point that it is the electrical industry’s strategy that is obsolete. The Scadanet initiative largely proposes to coordinate resources already at work today and focus these activities on the larger promise of a revamped substation SCADA communication strategy for the 21st century. Therefore, additional expenditure for Scadanet over and above what is already budgeted will be minimal. |