With a range of compelling market drivers, power utilities are transforming the way they operate and how they deliver electricity to customers. One of the principal changes is the technological development of substation automation to improve smart grid performance and efficiency and to simplify substations. Substation automation calls for extensive real-time operational information exchange and alarm status monitoring by deploying next generation IP- and Ethernet-based intelligent electronic devices (IEDs).
To handle this IP and Ethernet traffic, a new communications network infrastructure is required inside the substation and in the WAN connecting the substations and control center. This paper describes the requirements and outlines the architectures and Nokia IP/MPLS solutions for smart grid infrastructures that enable substation automation, within and between substations and in the WAN. The paper also provides information about the current Smart Substation project in France, in which Nokia is playing a key role in implementing digital smart substations for significant electrical grid performance improvements and cost reduction.