[1st-mile-nm] BPL challenges

Wed Apr 9 12:44:19 PDT 2008

Then again the devil is in the details

ABB in Europe does a lot of ( Broadband sic ) over power line especially 
in Switzerland. We worked with ABB when they did multiple tests and 
demonstrations of with US clients especially Duke power to determine 
feasibility of BPL ( Then called PLC - PLT - PLN ) especially targeted 
at better and faster transfers of information within the power company.

When you look at a power company like PNM you are actually looking at 
three different operating entities

a) The power plants that produce the electricity
b) The transmission lines that carry the load over the primary high 
power grid network
c)  The local stepped down lines that eventually supply power to your 
home and its additional services

If you are targeting last / first mile you look at the group ( c ), if 
you are targeting backbone you look at group ( b ).
This is essential because you will find totally deferent management 
systems, objectives, laws needs requirements in each sector.

As a very astute post linked to TVA pointed out recently the efficiency 
of major power companies operations is way beyond pathetic

For those of you interested

a) = 40%
b) = 45%
c) = 30%

The group (c) block is home to senor management the guys who tell the 
PRC how much money is needed to operate and run the utility and these 
characters are past masters at manipulating data to justify anything ( 
http://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/guest_columns/299213opinion04-09-08.htm 
) and unfortunately as we found with many utilities good fast ACCURATE 
information transfer is the last thing they want and thats eventually 
where all this leads

What the ABB tests over the US found is this ( the major points the list 
is quite long )

1. In both groups ( b ) and (c ) the transmission system infrastructure 
in the US is way beyond bad as a result line quality deterioration only 
achieved signal strength 20 - 30% of what was being achieved in the 
European operations

2. High speed signal and smart networks are essential for the next 
generation in group ( b ) but no utility expressed interest ( PNM have 
stated on the record that this is not their problem )

3. BPL / PLC networks opened up the door to uncontrolled network data 
exchange this made many utilities nervous

4. BPL / PLC in group (c) opened up the doorway to power on smart demand 
designs with power over Ethernet this terrifies most power companies as 
( again our astute TVA guy pointed out ) and also makes reuse and bill 
back a snap again this is PC heresy ( Andrews point about NPL )

5. The right of way issue in both groups ( b ) and (c) using fiber cable 
came into a roadblock with the lineman's unions in that they where the 
only ones who where licensed to install and maintain and cable on the 
transmission lines and all comonents and as such the test runs fiber 
equipment had the cable come down to ground level for  repeaters and 
boosters, monitors and vandalism to the components skyrocketed ( This 
happened to a utility in NM as well, I think it was Kit Carson )

6. No power plant in group (a ) will use BPL / PLC in its present state 
as it plays havoc with multiple radio bands which are essential to both 
daily operation and emergency maintenance at the plant

Again he devil is usually in the details

( : ( : pete

Peter Baston

*IDEAS*

/www.ideapete.com/ <http://www.ideapete.com/>

Dale Carstensen wrote:
> I haven't tried even the limited distance BPL equipment, but I would
> think putting internet traffic on power lines on a widespread basis
> would create the radio interference hams (radio amateurs) predict.
> All those signals on unshielded wires with lots of corroded or
> otherwise non-ideal connections, arbitrary topology, what a nightmare.
>
> On the other hand, aerial distribution of fiber internet by electric
> utilities seems to me to be a great wake-up call for our telephone
> monopolies.  Let's get some competition into the business of
> inter-city internet transit!
>
>   
>> I spoke to a rural electric coop recently that has been experimenting  
>> with BPL from several vendors for three years, and is still not able  
>> to get more than a couple hundred kilobits of bandwidth when the  
>> distances are more than a mile or two from the transformer.  Bandwidth  
>> issues aside, a weakness of BPL appears to be that a wide area  
>> deployment can cost a significant fraction of what you would spend for  
>> fiber or a hybrid fiber/wireless deployment.
>>
>> We're working on a project right now with a public electric utility  
>> that has decided to run fiber to substations in its rural areas and  
>> then deply WiMax both for broadband but also for electric power  
>> management and meter reading, using low power wireless close to the  
>> home for the meter reading stuff.
>>
>> In an open services network, the electric utility can become an anchor  
>> tenant for AMI/AMR services.
>>
>> Andrew
>>
>> On Apr 7, 2008, at 11:56 PM, Dale Carstensen wrote:
>>
>>     
>>> The xcel energy and current group BPL (Broadband over Power
>>> Lines) stuff seems to me to be not BPL, but rather NPL (Narrowband
>>> over Power Lines) for such purposes as remote meter reading,
>>> distribution control (hmm, probably security problems here,
>>> come to think of it, maybe financial chicanery could happen
>>> with the meter reading, too) and management of non-utility
>>> power generation (customers of power utilities selling
>>> photovoltaic or wind or biomass electrical generation back
>>> to the grid).
>>>       
>> -------------------------------------------------
>> Andrew Michael Cohill, Ph.D.
>> President
>> Design Nine, Inc.
>>
>> Design Nine provides visionary broadband architecture and engineering  
>> services, telecommunications and broadband master planning, and  
>> broadband project management.
>>
>> Visit the Technology Futures blog for frequently updated news and  
>> commentary on technology issues.
>>  http://www.designnine.com/news/
>>
>> http://www.designnine.com/
>> Blacksburg, Virginia
>> 540.951.4400
>>     
>
>
>
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