Founded in 1997, the Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) assumes responsibility for planning, installation, operation and maintenance of electricity distribution systems over more than half of the Kingdom of Jordan.
In 2015 EDCO went out to tender for a major project to connect selected substations to a new SCADA/DMS/AMR control center in Amman. The system should be responsible for monitoring, control and technical management of the existing and future generation distribution networks, covering EDCO’s entire field of operations.
EDCO put maximum stress on reliability and redundancy and initially hoped to use Fibre Optics for communication. Due to the topography and other physical restrictions, Fibre Optics was only possible over a very limited area. After extensive research with their consultants, they established that a UHF data network could also provide a good solution when optimal equipment would be used.
After lengthy research and testing, they decided to use RipEX and its 1+1 hot-standby redundant version RipEX-HS. These devices fully met current need as well as the specification requirements for future monitoring and control requests, a specific consideration from EDCO within the tender process.
Other key considerations for the project included, specific routing functionality, high levels of reliability, dual power supply option for RipEX-HS units (both AC & DC supply in every single unit) and a requirement at specific locations for 10 W RF power.
In total, the initial network comprises 12 RipEX-HS and 25 RipEX modems, all enclosed within indoor type wall mount cabinets, pre-assembled/wired with all ancillaries and built and tested to the customer’s exact specification by RACOM.
Support mechanisms provided by the RACOM technical support team also proved crucial at all stages of the project, keeping development on track and helping the contractor meet specific deadlines set by the customer. This involved remote support and also site visits to provide hands-on support in the field.
Both the end customer and contractor were extremely happy with the levels of professional assistance they received from RACOM staff, including sales, management and technical support. RACOM were praised for the quality of our products, high levels of service and full commitment to the project on a number of occasions throughout the life of the project. Discussions are already underway to discuss possibilities for RACOM to further support EDCO in the future for their network expansion.
