July 30, 2008—GE Digital Energy announces the Multilin HardFiber System, which eliminates the need for thousands of copper wires in a substation by replacing them with a few fiber optic cables, says the company. Utilities can save up to 50% of protection and control installation and maintenance costs, while at the same time increasing worker safety and power system reliability, the company says.
The HardFiber System, based on IEC 61850, the international standard for substation communications, is made up of four key elements: the HardFiber Brick, the HardFiber Cross Connect Panel, the rugged HardFiber Outdoor Fiber Cables, and the Universal Relay IEC 61850 Process Card. The system’s single, pre-terminated fiber optic connections drastically reduce the multitude of copper wires that need to be pulled, spliced and terminated. It provides an identical interface to all primary system equipment, eliminating custom designs. Its standardized components reduce chances for error and minimize costly and labor intensive testing and troubleshooting.
The HardFiber System is a complete IEC 61850 system available for a wide variety of protection applications, including generator, transformer, transmission line, bus, feeder, capacitor bank, and motor protection.
For more information visit the GE Web site.
