Innovation in the Design of RTU and Migration to IED

The power system operations (generation, distribution and transmission) need continuous monitoring and control to maintain reliable and uninterrupted power supply. Remote terminal unit (RTU) communicates measurands from different locations to central control room (CCR) for further processing and action. The success of the system operation depends upon the proper selection of the hardware and the software for the RTU. The paper describes the key features of the RTU and its design criteria. A typical relational database management system has also been designed for complete integration of the distribution system using SQL server and visual basic is used as front-end service, to present the information gathered to the higher hierarchy.