Late last June, the population of Burlington, Vt., voted in favor (1,808 to 1,176) of a $13.5 million bond that will enable the city's electric department to upgrade its 1950s-era infrastructure and implement a smart grid.

Now, RuggedCom Inc., of Concord, Ontario, Canada has been chosen to supply the Burlington Electric Department’s (BED’s) new supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) platform, as an integral part of the new smart grid platform. The company, which designs and manufactures industrial-strength networks for mission-critical applications in harsh environments, is fully prepared for conditions in Vermont: The median January temperature in Concord is 28° Fahrenheit (F); while the median temperature for the first month of the year in Burlington is 27°F.

At a City Council briefing, the SCADA system was described by BED Manager of Power Resources Ken Nolan as one of the “most crucial aspects of [smart grid] integration.” Nolan estimated that the SCADA system would cost $877,215 and commented that it would be equivalent to “the central nervous system of energy distribution.”

Cutting the ribbon on the smart grid in Vermont has been a priority for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which in October 2009.awarded grants totaling nearly $70 million to be shared among the state’s utilities to implement a model plan that might lead to a national rollout. The grant from the DOE covers an estimated 50 percent reimbursement for smart grid integration, while state and local governments have agreed to pay the remainder of the costs.

“This grant is exciting not only for the jobs created in the short term by transition to smart grid technologies, but also because of the jobs and economic benefits it provides in the long term, by making our energy costs more competitive,” commented Vermont Governor Jim Douglas, adding, “And it will help position Vermont to take advantage of technologies such as electric and plug -in hybrid vehicles—enabling us to reduce the fossil fuel we use for transportation, as well as heating and other uses.”

When fully operational, the Burlington smart grid will use fiber optic cable and digital technology to relay information back and forth between the customers—16,000, residential; and more than 3,600, commercial— and the utility; as well as between the utility and various components of the electric grid. This will include information about voltage, existing or potential outages, equipment performance, electric demand, and usage.

The result, according to BED, will be an electric system that is more reliable, better equipped to incorporate renewable energy sources, and is able to offer customers tools to make choices about how and when to use electricity and different rate options.

RuggedCom’s communication solution will comprise the following network devices:

-          The RuggedSwitch and RuggedBackbone families of products—Ethernet switches and routers —will facilitate device polling and reporting; configuration updates; and record retrieval. Upon the installation of new fiber throughout the city, the RuggedSwitch and RuggedBackbone devices will be located in the substation, recloser, and capacitor bank enclosures, as well as in BED’s primary and backup SCADA control centers. The gigabit capacity of this Ethernet network will enable BED to add future services, such as video, VOIP (voice over IP), or other SCADA-related data.

-          RuggedNMS network management software will be used to monitor the operating condition and status of BED’s fiber network and Ethernet switches. RuggedNMS also will enable BED to gather network performance information, manage device configurations, and provide bulk upload of software and firmware to the RuggedCom network devices. 

-          RuggedSolutions’ CrossBow security software will provide BED with simplified, secure access management to all intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) on its network. BED’s Engineering staff can access any IED on the network through the centrally administered CrossBow server. Once the software validates a user, it provides one -click access to any IED the user is authorized to access. CrossBow meets NERC CIP cyber security standards and shields the user from having to know firewall, switch, and IED passwords. It also maintains a complete set of access records that allows it to generate automated reports.

The integration of the communications solution will be supported by RuggedCom’s Professional Services team. The scope of work will include pre-project engineering, Ethernet device configuration, network performance maximization, and training.

Burlington Electric Department was founded in 1905.  The utility has a strong commitment to energy efficiency and renewable energy. Because of strong energy efficiency programs, the City of Burlington is using only 2 percent more electricity than it did in 1989, the year before the voters approved an energy efficiency bond. BED is a 50 percent owner of the 50 megawatt McNeil Wood Chip Generating Station in Burlington’s Intervale Center.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.

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