Privately owned power firm completes $109 million smart grid upgrade

A side effect of the project completion is Georgia Power's ability to put off a dire need for an additional 200 megawatts of power generation, as well as 61,000 physical trips for service calls and a reduction in nearly 4,000 tons of carbon emissions.

Optimizing smart grid deployments requires more than throwing money at the problem. In order to gain similar results as Georgia Power, utility providers have to invest in the appropriate hardware to optimize the flow of information along power lines, such as serial to Ethernet converters and upgraded cabling. This will ensure that outages and potential problems are reported swiftly and accurately, while smart meters and other end point technologies are supported.

Perle offers a range of cost effective serial-to-Ethernet converters to help meet NERC-CIP compliance for the protection of critical cyberassets in substations. The IOLAN SDS HV/LDC Terminal Server is designed to meet harsh environments associated with Power Substations with attributes such as support for substation AC and DC voltage ranges, extended operating temperatures and meeting emission, immunity and safety approvals associated with substation IT equipment.