Integrating utility communication systems

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Proceedings of the American Power Conference; (United States)

OSTI ID:7116664

Batra, S K ^[1]; Colley, R; Iveson, R H; Malcolm, W P ^[2]

---

1. Digital Equipment Corp., Marlboro, MA (US)
2. Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)

Today, utilities are facing increasing pressures of deregulation, competition, changing business conditions and varying customer requirements. Existing computers and communications systems were installed with limited capabilities to communicate with other systems. The result, say many utilities, is an electronic Tower of Babel among computers that are unable to readily talk to one another or, if they can, haven't much say because of vastly different database structures. This paper reports that estimates of the industry's operating costs for telecommunications range from $2 billion to more likely $5 billion a year, with some individual company budgets growing as much as 25% a year. A typical medium-size utility will spend $35 million in annual telecommunication expenses. EPRI has been tasked by it member utilities to develop guidelines and specification that would support the development of integrated nonproprietary, interoperable utility communications systems. Substantial cost savings and improved performance are the key reasons for communications for new products and services result when a utility can share information, across all operations, in an effective and timely manner.

• OSTI ID: 7116664
• Report Number(s): CONF-920432--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Proceedings of the American Power Conference; (United States) Journal Volume: 54:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200600 -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects-- (1990-)
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
240700 -- Power Transmission & Distribution-- Economic
Industrial & Business Aspects-- (1990-)
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
296000* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Electric Power
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990300 -- Information Handling
COMMUNICATIONS
COMPETITION
COMPUTERIZED CONTROL SYSTEMS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
COST
DEREGULATION
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
EPRI
EQUIPMENT
INDUSTRY
ON-LINE CONTROL SYSTEMS
ON-LINE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS
ON-LINE SYSTEMS
OPERATING COST
PUBLIC UTILITIES
SPECIFICATIONS