The McDonnell Group

ATLANTA – March 24, 2009 — Advanced Control Systems, Inc. (ACS), a leading provider of smart grid automation and system solutions to electric utilities worldwide, announced that its Connex 30 substation manager has successfully passed the ISO New England DNP3 conformance testing, which includes DNP3 2009 Level 4 functionality. The Connex 30 meets all of the Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) specification requirements as a replacement for the obsolete Remote Intelligent Gateways (RIG) currently in use by ISO-NE market participants.

The specifications define the requirements for communication between the ISO New England Communications Front End (CFE) System servers and the RTUs owned by market participants. The existing proprietary RIG infrastructure used by ISO-NE is being replaced with a DNP3-based CFE and RTU system. ISO-NE tested the ACS Connex 30 using the actual configuration with market and reliability data from a current market participant. The tests fully demonstrate the Connex 30’s ability to provide secure and reliable data transfer between the systems.

ACS’ Connex 30 solution includes all of the core RIG functionality currently in use, so market participants can be assured of a smooth and seamless transition from their legacy devices.  More importantly, the Connex 30 provides users with several advantages over competing RIG replacement solutions:

•This critical application demands a field-proven solution. The Connex 30 has an impeccable reliability record, with over 400 installed units to date.

•The Connex 30 is a network-enabled, high–performance data management platform that can be deployed as an  intelligent electronic device (IED) gateway, protocol translator and conventional RTU.

•The integrated Human-Machine Interface (HMI) module provides users with graphical monitoring capabilities that  go well beyond a simple anunciator panel.

• The Connex 30 offers fully-compliant DNP3 2009 Level 4 functionality (available in selected configurations). 

• With 34 years of experience as an RTU manufacturer and innovator, ACS can provide a turn-key solution for ISO-NE market participants, providing installation, configuration, point-to-point testing and support services – all from a single vendor.

The modular and flexible Connex 30 platform is also an extremely cost-effective retrofit option for legacy RTUs. This means that ISO-NE market participants can utilize the same Connex 30 RIG replacement platform as an upgrade kit for many aging RTU models.

About Advanced Control Systems

Advanced Control Systems, an EFACEC company, is a provider of smart grid solutions to the global electric power industry. The ACS software suite provides integrated distribution and outage management, simulation, optimization, and enterprise business intelligence. ACS automation product lines include a wide range of flexible and cost-effective substation, distribution, and feeder automation solutions. ACS is powering the utility of the future – today. For more information, visit www.acsatlanta.com.

CONTACT:

Rob Sadler
Marketing Manager
Advanced Control Systems, Inc.
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Nancy Broe
Marketing Communications Manager
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