From legacy IED integration to distribution automation and NERC CIP compliance, the Orion Automation Platform is the substation automation tool of choice for more U.S. Electric Utilities than any other product.

The Orion Family of Substation Automation Platforms—OrionLX, Orion5rL, Orion5r and Orion5—are designed to perform a range of automation applications in electrical substations. A single Orion may be configured to replace multiple legacy boxes in a substation — reducing hardware, design, wiring, and panel costs. Preconfigured “point pick lists” for most vendors’ intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), extensive diagnostic LEDs and a built-in communications analyzer reduce integration time and errors. In contrast to other automation platforms, Orion software features and configurations are seamlessly transferable from one generation to the next. Orion’s balance of versatility and ease of use have made it the leading flexible substation automation platform (Newton Evans, 2008) and the choice of 100 new utility customers in the past five years.

Multiple Functions, Minimal Headaches

A single Orion can perform an expanding array of communications, automation, control and Cyber Security functions in the electric utility substation:

Smart RTU
The Orion Automation Platform can be configured as a “Smart” electrical substation RTU. Equipped with SCADA and IED communication protocols, modular communication cards and software features, Orion can obtain nearly all of the discrete and analog data from Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) and present it to one or more SCADA masters. Rugged Orion Distributed I/O modules are available to connect to inputs and outputs not available from IEDs.

Secure Substation Gateway
The OrionLX and Orion5rL models are equipped with powerful security features, including user password groups with varying privileges, firewall, secure protocols, key management and logging, all engineered to meet or exceed emerging NERC CIP requirements. This secure Orion front end can replace expensive secure routers and firewalls. The OrionLX is on the CAISO Vendor and Third Party Engineering Firm List for Remote Intelligent Gateways.

Math and Logic Controller
Orion offers a toolkit to logically and arithmetically manipulate any data point retrieved from any IED, adding intelligence to alarming schemes and reducing the need to process data downstream. The optional Orion LogicPak module provides five preconfigured logic operations: And, Or, Negate, Primary-Secondary, and LocalRemote. Configuration is accomplished using drag-and-drop without any scripting.

Distribution Automation (DA) Controller
The Orion DA Logic option enables Orion to function as an independent DA Controller in a single or multi-feeder, single or multi-substation Distribution Automation (DA) System. Orion DA Logic polls substation IEDs and feeder-mounted IEDs for system information, analyzes the data, and initiates trip-close commands to isolate permanent faults and restore service to unfaulted feeder sections.

Relay Communication Processor
Orion’s offers “port switch” and “communication processing” features to enable engineers and asset managers to directly access critical data from protective relays, recorders and monitoring equipment, including: relay settings, fault records, oscillography records, and breaker and transformer health. Orion offers keystroke-by-keystroke emulation of SEL^® communication processors.

Orion WEBserver provides web-based visualization of substation data via a standard web browser. Users can create custom screens to display animated substation one-line diagrams, alarm summaries, sequence of events records and trends. Password-protected drill-down screens can also be set up to control breakers, view IED data and pass through to IEDs.

Sequence of Events Recorder and Alarm Annunciator
The Orion Alarm/Archive/Retentive option enables any IED point to be archived in a resident SQL database. Archive and alarm parameters can be configured for each point, creating a flexible Alarm Annunciator and Sequence of Event Recorder (SER). Alarm and SER points can be easily viewed with any browser, or users can directly access using SQL queries.

Orion Support Website

Videos: Smart RTU Configuration

To learn more about how Orion is configured for various applications, watch these videos:

Configuring Orion as a Smart RTU for SCADA Applications: Part 1 of 2

Configuring Orion as a Smart RTU for SCADA Applications: Part 2 of 2