OPC AS A TECHNOLOGY FOR THE UNIVERSAL ACCESS OF SUBSTATION DATA

摘要

The objective for universal data access is not unique to the substation environment. Data integration is the ultimate goal for any system that encapsulates a group of loosely affiliated nonlinear processes. In a computer defined world these processes are represented by the software applications that translate data into information. Application demands, additionally, will determine how the data is handled. The data available at the substation level can be lumped into two basic categories - that needed to protect and run the electric system and that available for anything else! The data in the first category is coddled - as well it should be. However, the data in the second is often thrown on a heap, lost or simply ignored. Maybe the volume of such data is difficult to manage, or maybe it is an inability to convert such data into information. Whatever the reasons, this paper won't explore how to use second tier substation data. Rather, the purpose is to relate a strategy for making all data accessible to any process that could use it. The foundation for this strategy is OPC technology.