NOVEC Expands Fiber Optics Network

Contact: Priscilla Knight, 703-392-1580, pknight@novec.com

NORTHERN VIRGINIA—The Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative announced today that it will have 25 of its 52 substations connected by fiber optic technology by the end of 2007. NOVEC says it plans to connect all of its substations with high-capacity bandwidth that relies on NOVEC's expanding fiber optic cable network.

What Does This Mean To Customers?

According to Jim Moxley, the Cooperative's senior vice president of administration, substations and telecommunications, fiber optics helps the Operations Center monitor NOVEC's 6,306 miles of power lines and 52 substations 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When a fault occurs, NOVEC must locate and repair it to restore power.

"Fiber optic technology is part of a larger infrastructure that helps operators identify the location of a fault in the circuit" says Moxley. "Operators can then dispatch crews to that spot. As the fiber optics network expands and substations are fitted with sophisticated new electronic equipment, crews will spend less time traveling on Northern Virginia's busy roads looking for the problem's source."

Moxley says fiber optics have helped NOVEC keep power flowing to its customer-owners nearly 99.99 percent of the time since 2005. "Statistical comparisons show that NOVEC is the most reliable electric utility in the Washington, D.C., region," says Moxley. 

Ken Blaylock, substations and telecommunications manager, says, "NOVEC customers expect us to find and fix power problems quickly. No one likes an outage. Fiber optic communication contributes to getting the power back on faster and more cost-effectively than any other technology available today.  That's why we're connecting more and more substations with fiber optic cable."

A fiber optic cable consists of multiple fibers or strands of ultra-pure glass that are as thin as human hairs.  Each strand core is encased in a cladding that reflects infrared light that is transmitted through it.  The light transmits data and voice communications digitally between NOVEC's five offices as well as to its substations.  This light carries much more data over longer distances than can be sent by copper wire and wireless methods.

Moxley says NOVEC's fiber optic network can also support future technology applications such as advanced remote meter reading, more sophisticated load management and demand response programs.  In addition, he envisions the technology enabling NOVEC to expand the use of automated wireless communications for monitoring and controlling new sophisticated protective devices, and controlling voltage regulators and capacitors along the electric distribution network.

Moxley is confident that fiber optics will help reduce outage time: "While time required to identify the precise fault location can be reduced from hours to minutes, the time needed to reach the fault by specialized equipment and to complete the repairs is still affected by traffic congestion and by the extent of the damage. But, overall, technology is reducing total outage times."