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Supervisory control and data acquisition – or SCADA – systems have long been the brains behind electric utility operations, providing insight into performance of critical assets..Now as utilities integrate new technologies on the road to a smarter, self-healing electric grid, the capabilities required of SCADA systems have become increasingly complex. Choosing a SCADA system will require a thoughtful, deliberative approach. With this four-part SCADA Buying Guide – created with input from SCADA experts at DPS Telecom, GE Intelligent Platforms, G&W Electric, Invensys and Survalent Technology – you'll get a sense of the questions you should be asking to help ensure you make the right decision. . Also in this series… · Part 1: A by-the-book scoping process is the best way to get started · Part 3: The 12 questions you must ask to nail the requirements
· Part 4: Installation, support and contract issues you can't afford to overlook
. . By Glenn Booth
To properly budget for a SCADA solution, it is important to look at the default functionality the SCADA will provide at purchase versus custom functionality that will have to be built in at deployment. This will define the services and maintainability costs over the lifetime of the SCADA system.
Another important aspect of the SCADA system is to look at the history of the vendor’s product release frequency and the cost of entering into support agreements. This will define the upgrade costs and the value of the upgrade of the SCADA system. . Questions to consider include:
. · Do we want to purchase a maintenance agreement from our vendor to shift future operational budget into this year's capital budget?
· Should we purchase from a vendor who will later provide free warranty service and tech support, or do we want to handle purchasing those services later?
· Can we maintain some of our existing investment in our equipment by following a vendor's suggested migration path? Can we replace our Human Machine Interface (HMI) with a multi-protocol HMI today, and then replace our existing Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) only as they fail?
· Will my vendor help me understand the potential cost savings from improved SCADA via an ROI analysis?
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Additional resources… Industry acronyms (Survalent)
Smart grid SCADA to continue steady growth; new leader emerging
From control center to optimization engine
Research and Markets report: Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks (IWSN) Market - Global Forecast & Analysis (2012 - 2017)
SCADA Tutorial: A Fast Introduction to SCADA Fundamentals and Implementation
Case study: Arizona Electric Power Cooperative
Video case study: Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited (BELCO) Success Story
Wikipedia: SCADA
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