Bulgaria Enables the Reliable and Consistent Transmission of Electricity with Huawei

Electricity transmission is the backbone of critical infrastructure in any society.

Electricity System Operator (ESO) is the independent transmission system operator of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is responsible for the joint operational coordination and control of the Bulgarian power system as well as the electricity system of the countries from the synchronous grid of Continental Europe and the electricity market across the region.

Assessing the critical infrastructure of now and the future

In 2006, ESO implemented the SCADA system with an SDH network . With equipment reaching the end of its life, bandwidth proving insufficient, and the technology exiting the market, it saw an urgent need for network migration, prompting ESO to seek an alternative modern solution which could accommodate its future needs. In addition, ESO required a vendor which could both supply the equipment and offer training and technical workshops enabling the company to continue utilizing the solution independently.

An upgrade to higher encryption functions was also needed, for sending internal data between sub stations and which would also connect to SCADA link monitoring, providing 100% reliability and security .

A flexible, secure network solution

Huawei conducted a thorough analysis of ESO’s needs in order to arrive at the best solution.

Using the already build fiber optic infrastructure of ESO, Huawei proposed replacing the aging SDH network which is used over 10 years with Huawei NHP(Native Hard Pipe) solution and MS-OTN products which are known for its flexibility. Whereas the SDH network is facing the risk of end-of-life and also of end-of-support, Huawei proposed a future proof and smooth evolution solution.

Moreover, in order to meet the added requirement of network flexibility and small service granularity, which enables lower bandwidth, the MS-OTN solution using an OSN 1800 platform – providing a comprehensive transport network with large bandwidth, higher quality, and lower costs.

The package also includes line-side encryption with AES256 standard, promising the security of an ESO production network, which is high on ESO’s priority list.

Huawei's portfolio of integrated solutions offers a reliable, super-fast, and secure connection that addresses customer challenges, supports additional value-add services, and enables ultimate efficiency.

Huawei technology adapts to requirements

Huawei’s MS-OTN OSN 1800 series offers the best solution for a multi-scenario and multi-service integrated bearer. Traditionally used on metro and access networks, the suite of products provides network-level and device-level protections for improved security and stability, through the unified switching of OSU, OTN, PKT, and SDH, allowing services to be transmitted on the same platform.

This flattens the network, reduces network construction and O&M costs, whilst ensuring higher bandwidth, lower latency and power consumption, a unified transmission, and online visualization in real time for more efficient monitoring. Currently, ESO’s ICT team can use the automatic O&M capability to implement easy and efficient network management, monitoring, and quick fault diagnosis and recovery, improving the efficiency and quality of manual O&M.

The OSN 1800V Pro and OSN 1800II Pro models represent both the core and metro individually. Core being the backbone of the system which houses different metro routes in a ring, expanding out and connecting key transmission points, enabling expansive flexibility and power with a network traffic of a maximum capacity line rate between 2M to 10Gbit/second.

Additionally, MS-OTN can match almost all service granularities such as SDH, PDH, ETH, and storage. Premium private lines provide refined on-demand bandwidth resources for added flexibility, efficiency, and simplicity. As such, the installation of cabinets in substations containing different ports, which dependent on demand, can elastically expand to adapt to the required bandwidth.

During the implementation phase, Huawei can also provide the high-level design (HLD) and extracted low level design (LLD) files (such as the fiber optic connection diagrams) which provide a broad overview of the software architecture for the channel partner. The latter is responsible for equipment installation, site maintenance visits, and site transfer-to-maintenance training services. Doing this helped streamline the rollout, laying the foundations for reliable operation throughout the project lifespan.

Secure, reliable power for Bulgaria and beyond

Huawei’s partnership with ESO guarantees a strong, secure electricity network for the business and population of Bulgaria, its neighbouring countries, as well as the demands of a changing society which will only become more technologically advanced.

Uninterrupted power is a lifeline, and a secure network is essential for keeping countries and the economy moving. The criticality of this cannot be overstated and by opting for solutions from Huawei, with superior performance, security, and ease of installation, ESO now has a solid platform from which future energy transmission requirements can be met.