Optimal Design of Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) for Wireless SCADA System for Energy Management

For energy deficit countries, the design of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) based energy management systems for optimal distribution is of high interest. Such design involves development of Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) which is considered as an essential component of any high scale SCADA system and it is functioning as remote field data interface. Considering various generations of SCADA, two different designs of an RTU are proposed for third generation (Networked Approach) SCADA in view of energy management applications. One design includes Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) as CPU of RTU and other would involve Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) instead of PLC. This paper results in comparative study of two different selections of CPUs for designing an RTU based on performance measurement. PLC based RTU exhibits limited features where as FPGA based RTU possesses unique features like encryption support, radio support and large memory area. Suitable simulation tools are needed in order to determine the best approach. The main objective of this study is to propose a design outline considering significant parameters that facilitates optimized development and low cost implementation of an RTU, also featured with wireless communication. In addition to the optimized design of an RTU by means of comparative study, a brief discussion on optimization of wireless link for Remote Terminal Unit is also presented. This phase involves detailed comparison among various options considering the RF spectrum for optimal solution. This segment of research results in design of optimized wireless link for the planned low cost Remote Terminal Unit (RTU). A scenario depicting multiple RTUs communicating with one Tele-Control Interface (TCI) is discussed to address optimized implementation of wireless SCADA.