A REPORT TO

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF PUBLIC UTILITIES

Electrical - NA

Protection & Control - NA

\\Q 30 JuLyTransmission & Distribution - NA

Telecontrol

System Planning - NA

Replace MDR-4000 Microwave Radio (West)

Various Locations

June 2012

newfoundland labrador

) hydroa nalcor energy company

Replace MDR-4000 Microwave Radio (West)

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro i

SUMMARY

This proposal is for the replacement of the microwave radios on the major communications

links connecting the Stoney Brook Terminal Station with the Bay d’Espoir Hydro Plant along

with the associated multiplexing equipment. This equipment has reached the end of its

service life and can no longer be supported. The reliable transmission of communications

over this equipment is necessary for the remote control and monitoring of a significant

portion of the power grid. This includes teleprotection, SCADA (Supervisory Control and

Data Acquisition), voice and administrative data.

Replace MDR-4000 Microwave Radio (West)

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ i

1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1

2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ........................................................................................................ 2

3 JUSTIFICATION .................................................................................................................... 4

3.1 Existing System .......................................................................................................... 4

3.2 Operating Experience ................................................................................................ 7

3.2.1 Reliability Performance .................................................................................. 7

3.2.2 Industry Experience ....................................................................................... 7

3.2.3 Vendor Recommendations ............................................................................ 8

3.2.4 Maintenance or Support Arrangements ........................................................ 8

3.2.5 Maintenance History ..................................................................................... 8

3.2.6 Historical Information .................................................................................... 8

3.2.7 Anticipated Useful Life ................................................................................... 8

3.3 Development of Alternatives ..................................................................................... 9

4 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 10

4.1 Budget Estimate ....................................................................................................... 10

4.2 Project Schedule ...................................................................................................... 11

APPENDIX A ...................................................................................................................... A1

Replace MDR-4000 Microwave Radio (West)

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 1

1 INTRODUCTION

Hydro currently maintains an Island wide communications system for the support of the

power generation, transmission and distribution facilities.

This project will replace the remaining high-capacity OC-03 MDR-4000 microwave radios that

were installed in 1999 between the Stoney Brook Terminal Station and the Bay d’Espoir

Hydroelectric Generation Station including the upgrade or replacement of the Telnar 1603

Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) multiplexer to include Ethernet access. The

multiplexers were also installed in 1999. This radio system provides teleprotection,

supervisory control, departmental and administrative voice and administrative data between

Hydro Place and the Bay d’Espoir, Upper Salmon and Granite Canal hydroelectric generating

stations. High speed and highly reliable telecommunication facilities are required to ensure

the stability and reliability of the provincial power grid.

Multiplexers are data conversion units used extensively in communication networks to

multiplex (combine and/or break out) multiple lower speed circuits for different equipment

and purposes, into higher speed data circuits. These higher speed circuits are then suitable

for transmission by the microwave radio. The particular grade of multiplexer considered for

replacement in this report is a SONET multiplexer which has 155 Mbps connections to the

radio and primarily DS1 (1.544 Mbps) connections for the lower speed connections.

This proposal is to replace radios in the west portion of the Hydro microwave system. A

separate proposal to replace radios in the east portion of the Hydro microwave system is to

be submitted in the future.

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Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 2

2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The radio links to be replaced are listed in Table 1. The 1603 multiplexers to be replaced are

listed in Table 2. It is proposed to replace the existing Alcatel MDR-4000 microwave radios

with Alcatel MDR-8000 radios with the same data capacity using the same frequencies.

Table 1: MDR-4000 Radio to be Replaced

Radio Location Toward

1 Stoney Brook Terminal Station Sandy Brook Hill Microwave Repeater Site

2 Sandy Brook Hill Microwave Repeater Site Stoney Brook Terminal Station

3 Sandy Brook Hill Microwave Repeater Site Gull Pond Hill Microwave Repeater Site

4 Gull Pond Hill Microwave Repeater Site Sandy Brook Hill Microwave Repeater Site

5 Gull Pond Hill Microwave Repeater Site Bay d’Espoir Hill Microwave Repeater Site

6 Bay d’Espoir Hill Microwave Repeater Site Gull Pond Hill Microwave Repeater Site

Table 2: 1603 Multiplexers to be Replaced

Multiplexer Location Toward Multiplexer(s) at

1 Stoney Brook Terminal Station Sandy Brook Hill Microwave Repeater Site

2 Sandy Brook Hill Microwave Repeater Site Stoney Brook Terminal Station

and Bay d’Espoir Hill Microwave Site

3 Bay d’Espoir Hill Microwave Site Sandy Brook Hill Microwave Repeater Site

and Bay d’Espoir Hydro Plant

4 Bay d’Espoir Hydro Plant Bay d’Espoir Hill Microwave Site

The Alcatel MDR-8000 microwave radio is currently utilized elsewhere in the Hydro

microwave radio system. A map of the system is shown in Figure 1. This allows Hydro to

utilize the existing spares, training and mock-ups currently available.

Replace MDR-4000 Microwave Radio (West)

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 3

Modules from the retired equipment will be used to prolong the service life of other links in

the system.

The choice to upgrade or replace the 1603 multiplexers will be made during the detailed

design phase of the project based on functionality, reliability, cost and expected life cycles.

Note that while the microwave radios and multiplexers are a critical component of the

microwave facilities, they are part of the overall infrastructure which includes equipment

shelters, large stationary batteries, backup generators, high towers, waveguide, antennas and

many other support items. None of this equipment is proposed for replacement by this

proposal.

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Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 4

3 JUSTIFICATION

The project is justified on the need to replace obsolete equipment. The Alcatel MDR- 4000

radio has been discontinued by the manufacturer since 2004. The manufacturer has also

discontinued the guaranteed return and repair of failed modules since 2009 due to the

obsolescence of the components within the modules. Failed modules have been returned as

un-repairable in 2011 as a result.

Hydro has obtained some components from the used market, however this supply is

unreliable. Some components were also obtained from the microwave link decommissioned

in 2010 between the Bay d’Espoir Hill microwave site and the Bay d’Espoir hydroelectric

generating station to extend the life of the radios to this time.

The replacement of the radio system is required to ensure a reliable and safe provincial

power system. The spares freed up from this capital project will extend the life of the MDR-

4000 radios on the Avalon Peninsula until the scheduled replacement in 2016.

3.1 Existing System

Hydro has a network of seven gigahertz (GHz) frequency microwave radio, by which corporate

communications and system data are transmitted. The microwave radio system provides the

backbone for corporate voice and data communications.

Traffic carried over the microwave system includes:

• Teleprotection signals for the provincial transmission system;

• Data pertaining to Hydro’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system;

• Data pertaining to the corporate administrative system; and

• Operational and administrative voice systems.

The existing microwave network is composed of the main backbone of a series of SONET

radios from the Energy Control Center (ECC) in St. John’s to the Sandy Brook Hill Microwave

Replace MDR-4000 Microwave Radio (West)

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 5

Repeater Site and from the Stoney Brook Terminal Station to the Bay d’Espoir Hydro Plant.

The SONET capacity is 155 Mbps (OC-3).

Secondary, lower capacity microwave links and other communications methods are fed from

the main microwave backbone as shown in Figure 1.

The site locations and links affected are shown in Figure 1 with the specific equipment at each

site detailed in Table 1 and Table 2. The string of microwave links affected are from the Stony

Brook Terminal Station (STB) in the North central part of the Island to the Bay d’Espoir Hydro

Plant (BDE) in the South central part of the Island. There is a list of station abbreviations used

in Figure 1 provided in Appendix A.

Replace MDR-4000 Microwave Radio (West)

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 6

Figure 1: NLH Telecommunications Network showing the Microwave Radios

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Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 7

3.2 Operating Experience

The original Alcatel MDR4000 radio and 1603 multiplexers were installed in 1999 and have

proved to be a valuable asset in the remote control and monitoring of the provincial power

system. However, the equipment has been discontinued by Alcatel.

3.2.1 Reliability Performance

The communications equipment proposed for replacement is an integral part of the

communications used for monitoring and control of the power grid requiring a very high

reliability in order to provide the continuous support. The path design parameter used is

99.9999 % availability. Redundant hardware and multiple frequencies are used to achieve

this design.

3.2.1.1 Outage Statistics

The following are the communications outage events since 2005:

Table 3: Outage Statistics

STB - BDE Microwave Outage Statistics

Time of Outage Outage Duration

2009 - Summer 2 hours

2008 - Spring 6 hours

2005 - Winter 30 minutes

2005 - Spring 2.5 hours

3.2.2 Industry Experience

Power utilities throughout North America use dedicated microwave systems in support of its

operations in the same way that Hydro uses its system and use the type of equipment listed

for replacement in this proposal. All of the major power utilities in Canada have similar

systems. Special permission and frequencies are allocated by Industry Canada for this

requirement. It is a common practice for utilities to replace this equipment in a planned

proactive method to avoid communications outages.

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Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 8

3.2.3 Vendor Recommendations

The vendor has discontinued the MDR-4000 microwave being replaced and has

recommended the MDR-8000 microwave as a replacement, as proposed in this report.

3.2.4 Maintenance or Support Arrangements

Corrective and preventative maintenance of the equipment is provided by internal forces.

There is also an existing technical support agreement with Alcatel to provide detailed

hardware and software support. The replacement equipment will be maintained using the

same arrangement.

3.2.5 Maintenance History

Detailed preventative and corrective maintenance costs have not been kept on this

equipment. A total of $115,000 has been recorded since 1999.

3.2.6 Historical Information

There has been one similar project completed in the last five years. The project was for the

replacement of the microwave radio between the Bay d’Espoir Hydroelectric Generating

Station and the Bay d’Espoir Hill microwave site. There were no multiplexer replacements.

Table 4: Historical Information

Year Capital Budget

($000)

Actual

Expenditures

($000)

Units Cost per

unit ($000) Comments

2010 488.7 375.0 2 radios 187.0

3.2.7 Anticipated Useful Life

Hydro microwave radio equipment is depreciated over 22 years. However, the useful service

life can vary depending on the vendor support, and the availability of spares.

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Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 9

3.3 Development of Alternatives

There are no viable alternatives to this proposal at this time. The existing microwave

infrastructure is the only available facilities for providing the required communications to this

part of the island.

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Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 10

4 CONCLUSION

The replacement of this microwave equipment is necessary in order to prevent outages

caused by the failure of older equipment that can no longer be supported for the high

reliability required for critical, high speed, low latency communications.

This replacement proposed by Hydro is based on operational experience and manufacturer’s

recommendations.

Due to financial and operational risks associated with the failure of corporate microwave

equipment, this project is required to minimize the likelihood of failure of these microwave

radios.

4.1 Budget Estimate

The budget estimate for this project is shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Project Budget Estimate

Project Cost:($ x1,000) 2013 2014 Beyond Total

Material Supply 400.0 73.6 0.0 473.6

Labour 90.0 307.6 0.0 397.6

Consultant 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Contract Work 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Other Direct Costs 22.0 41.4 0.0 63.4

Interest and Escalation 27.0 97.4 0.0 124.4

Contingency 0.0 186.9 0.0 186.9

TOTAL 539.0 706.9 0.0 1,245.9

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Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro 11

4.2 Project Schedule

The anticipated project schedule is shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Proposed Project Schedule

Activity Start Date End Date

Planning Complete a detailed schedule and budget

with resource assignments. January 2013 March 2013

Design Complete site visits. Complete a detailed

design with all items and outages identified. April 2013 November 2013

Procurement Complete all ordering and detailed schedules

for delivery. October 2013 February 2014

Construction Complete all outage requests and install and

test all equipment at site. May 2014 June 2014

Commissioning Cutover new equipment during staged

communications outages. July 2014 August 2014

Closeout Complete all drawings and project

management closeout procedures. November 2014 December 2014

Replace MDR-4000 Microwave Radio (West)

Appendix A

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro A1

APPENDIX A

Site Abbreviations

Replace MDR-4000 Microwave Radio (West)

Appendix A

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro A2

Abbreviation Site Name

BAH Bull Arm Hill Microwave/Repeater

BDE Bay d’Espoir Hydro Plant

BDH Bay d’Espoir Hill Microwave/Repeater

BFI Bishop Falls Office

BGH Blue Grass Hill Microwave/Repeater

BUC Buchans Terminal Station

CAH Chapel Arm Hill Microwave/Repeater

CBC Come By Chance Terminal Station

DLK Deer Lake Terminal Station

DLP Deer Lake Passive Repeater

ECC Energy Control Center

FMH Four Mile Hill Microwave/Repeater

GCH Granite Canal Hill Microwave

GDH Godaleich Hill Microwave/Repeater

GPH Gull Pond Hill Microwave

HRP Holyrood Plant

HWD Hardwoods Terminal Station

MMH Mary March Hill Microwave

NDH Notre Dame Hill

OPD Oxen Pond Terminal Station

PHH Petty Harbour Hill Microwave/Repeater

SBH Sandy Brook Hill Microwave

SHH Shoal Harbour Hill

SPH Square Pond Hill

SSD Sunnyside Terminal Station

STB Stony Brook Terminal Station

USL Upper Salmon Plant

WAP Western Avalon Passive Repeater

WAV Western Avalon Terminal Station