RTU - SAGE Remote Terminal Units

Enhanced Network Telemetry for the Smart Grid

EPI's vendor Schneider Electric has been providing remote terminal units (RTUs) for a wide range of Smart Grid applications before the term Smart Grid was being used. Our equipment is specifically designed for utility applications and with the idea that, as we migrate into the future, the biggest changes will be in the ability of the equipment to perform faster and smarter. One of the key ways this is manifested is in the design of the SAGE products and their use of a PC104 based CPU architecture. This design allows for the CPU of a unit to be upgraded without obsoleting the entire unit, making the upgrade less costly both in terms of cost and labor. The SAGE product line has proven this design in that the CPU has seen three upgrades since it went into production in 2000. The latest CPU upgrade is driven by the need for greater security and the increased processing power needed to encrypt and decrypt messages on the communications channels.

You can count on every model of Schneider Electric’s SAGE Smart RTU family to reflect industry-best technology, giving you the reliable network data performance your Smart Grid needs. Each SAGE RTU provides the same browser-based user interface for easy configuration and setup. Each offers IED integration, NERC CIP security, IEC 61131-based logic functions, communications protocols, and a custom applications library.

The SAGE product line consists of five models of hardware. All five share the same CPU and the same software tools for configurations and applications. This makes the SAGE equipment easier to use and maintain. While all five models share the same software capabilities the hardware is targeted at specific applications with the intent of keeping costs and physical size constraints as optimal as possible.

Since all equipment is designed and built in Houston Texas, we have the flexibility to modify the physical aspects to accommodate retrofit designs for substation RTUs that were installed in the 1970’s and 80’s. Many of these RTUs are no longer supported by the manufacturers and cannot be maintained. Schneider Electric has many years of experience offering custom designed retrofit solutions that provide improved functionality while minimizing the field installation and commissioning time required for a fork lift replacement of equipment.

Also, the Schneider Electric Substation Integration Solutions (SIS) Engineering and Services Team offers support services to either complement your in house RTU support group or support your RTUs on a turnkey basis.