Electricity Canada members operate critical infrastructure across Canada in the largest cities and, due to remote generation assets, in the most remote populated regions. Canadian electric utilities (CEUs) need telecommunications networks to:
- maintain secure and dependable tele-protection systems;
- monitor and control electrical infrastructure; and
- enable the safe and efficient dispatch of their field workforce for routine and recovery operations.
Because of these needs and the diverse geography that Electricity Canada members work across, they require a range of telecommunications options that can meet these challenges. Utilities typically make use of both commercial services and private telecommunications networks across many different technologies and spectrum bands. This combination often provides the best overall cost, performance, resiliency, and coverage.
As the role of electricity in our lives increases with the emergence of electric vehicles, distributed renewable generation, behind the meter storage and other technology, more advanced telecommunications systems are needed to monitor and manage all these new pieces of the grid – the smart grid. The smart grid requires advancements in both the capabilities of private networks and the ways that Electricity Canada members manage public networks.
