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Substation Automation


RTU and HMI Redundancy in Electrical Substations

As the substation RTU takes on more applications, such as Human-Machine-Interface (HMI), alarm annunciation, math & logic and “relay communication processing”, its need for high availability increases. Anything that takes the RTU out of service – configuration change, firmware update, or...

Lightning Protection


Pennsylvania’s Yaw Bill

In a significant move for Pennsylvania’s energy sector, State Senator Gene Yaw has introduced a transformative piece of legislation aimed at modernizing the state's approach to power plant development and capacity management. The bill, which has been the subject of considerable discussion,...

Substation Protection


Substation Architecture Protection

Solving common mistakes in communications cabling for electrical utilities BY FRANK KODITEK, Belden Inc. In the energy industry, there are numerous types of cables in use for a wide variety of applications, from transporting high-voltage current for miles to providing power and data connectivity...

Substation Testing & Maintenance


Effective and Safe Testing of GIS Switchgear

To fully assess the functionality of medium and high voltage circuit breakers, various mechanical and electrical parameters must be tested. Gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) in particular poses unique and special challenges, including the connection of the test equipment. In today‘s world, where...

Physical Security & Monitoring


Protecting Electrical Sites with Intelligent Security Lighting

There are over 70,000 electrical substations in the United States. A simultaneous attack on several of them could destabilize the grid and cause widespread blackouts. But even a non-targeted event like vandalism or copper theft can also cause substantial damages, easily reaching into the tens of...

Breakers & Relays


Smart Substations and Their Role in the Evolving Smart Grid

A Smart substation digitizes protection and control, enabling utilities to detect faults faster, manage DER volatility, and reduce outage risk. The payoff depends on architecture, cybersecurity, and edge analytics, not just new relays. The shift toward smart substations is inseparable from broader...

Electrical Substations

Critter Guard

Animal Outage Prevention

According to the American Public Power Association, squirrels are among the top causes of power outages across the United States. Depending on your geographic region, there may be no “quiet” season - squirrels and other “Critters” can be active all year long.
Since you’re reading this - you already know the damage these critters can do and the cost, downtime, and nuisance it is to deal with the aftermath of an outage. Nowhere is the...

Electrical Substations Articles