World’s Third Largest Energy Supplier Chooses Kilomux for Management of Power Stations

Enel, Italy’s electric company and the third largest energy supplier in the world, has integrated RAD’s Kilomux sub-rate data and voice multiplexer into the management and control system of its Pisa Geothermal Division in northern Italy.

Enel selected the Kilomux multiplexer because it supports a fiber infrastructure for specific supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) applications.

The network of the Pisa Geothermal Division consists of three control centers and 25 power stations. The control centers transmit remote commands, which perform such functions as starting pumping units and opening and closing valves. At the same time, power stations send continuous measurement and status signals to the control centers. Alarm signals are also sent from power stations to the control centers in case of malfunction.

“Enel wanted to implement a series of connections via fiber optics between peripheral power stations and their control and management centers,” says Mauro Mariani of CIE Telematica, RAD’s local distributor. “The utility required an infrastructure that would support heterogeneous services for voice and data transmission (both analog and digital), and would also be capable of remote control and signaling operations.”

“The Kilomux is a good choice for a number of reasons,” says Nedo Fedi, a Systems Engineer at Enel. “Its small size translates into low power consumption. Remote control and diagnostics of the system mean more efficiency and productivity for users.”

In addition, the Kilomux supports one or two main link modules, making it a reliable choice for users like Enel. The second link can be used either as a redundant link for backup or as a load sharing link providing double capacity. With two independent configuration databases (one for day and one for night), the Kilomux can switch between them in case of an emergency.

“The Kilomux has already proven reliable in action,” added Fedi. “Its flexibility and interoperability with our own proprietary protocols have made it the perfect solution for us. We intend to install more systems like this one in the future.”

The Kilomux has been implemented into the fiber optic infrastructures of many utility companies around the world, including Oldelval, Transba and Aluar (Argentina); Power Utility (Austria); Copel, Eletronorte and Petrobras (Brazil); the Power Bureau in China (China); National Thermal Power Corporation (India); Statnett (Norway); and Alcatel del Peru (Peru).