Saudi Electricity Company / National Grid SA Selects Newtec Dialog

4 March 2015

Newtec has been selected by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) / National Grid Saudi Arabia (SEC/NG SA) to deliver Automatic Metering Reader (AMR), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), voice and video satellite connectivity between remote sub-stations to enable new applications.

SEC/NG SA, the leading electricity utility company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in the region, provides services to various governmental, industrial, agricultural, commercial and residential sectors. Initially, Newtec VSAT terminals will be installed at sites in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia, while the Newtec Dialog HUB6504 Hub Module will be located in the country’s capital city, Riyadh. The VSAT network provides control and data acquisition of the sub-stations, as well as enabling VoIP access and live feeds of video and images back to SEC/NG SA’s network operations center.

Installation of the hub is due to be completed soon, with additional terminals expected to be deployed shortly. BTC, a long-trusted integrator to SEC/NG SA, contracted Newtec for this critical infrastructure project. 

“We are very selective when it comes to choosing our technology partners and we look for market-leading companies with a strong commercial presence which can provide first class regional support,” said Omar Al Charif, SEC account director at BTC. “This is why we were very happy to work with Newtec. As well as having a great product, Newtec’s engineers have been very responsive to our requests and we are pleased to have found such a reliable partner.”

In addition to delivering and installing the platform, Newtec and BTC engineers will be providing fully fledged training and on-site support to SEC/NG SA. The modularity of the Newtec Dialog hub gives BTC agility to respond to its customer SEC/NG SA and market needs in a fast and cost-effective way. Additional satellite networks can be added easily and rapidly by installing extra modulators, multicarrier demodulators and server blades in the preconfigured rack slots. These can then be activated in the Newtec Dialog Network Management System (NMS). High-capacity multicarrier demodulator units can also be added to achieve the required capacity for MF-TDMA, SCPC, and Newtec’s patented Mx-DMA™ return link technology.

Abdul Aziz Al Sultan, telecom engineering and substation automation department manager at SEC/NG SA, said: “To develop the energy network into a full smart grid we face the challenge of a large number of sites which are difficult to connect due to the limited terrestrial infrastructure in this area. We require a robust solution for time-critical applications. With Newtec Dialog, we are confident that we have found a reliable and flexible platform that can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively integrated into our network.”

Hosting up to four satellite networks in a single rack, the Newtec HUB6504 enables any network configuration, from single to multiple service areas, one or more satellites, different frequency bands, multiple transponders and High Throughput Satellites (HTS).

Newtec’s CEO Serge Van-Herck said: “We are pleased that Newtec Dialog is able to meet the requirements of SEC/NG SA so efficiently. The platform will allow them to build their network as their business continues to grow and we look forward to a continued partnership with both SEC/NG SA and BTC.”