The Value of Integrating Power and Process for the Petrochemical Industry

The coord ination of large distributed measurement and control systems, like supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and other process control implementations, require networks that connect thousands of remote devices. Demand for infrastructures to deliver a full spectrum of control and monitoring capabilities within global operations is increasing. The conventional infrastructures and process automation domains don't commonly communicate. The advancement of industrial communications provides value to the industry when logically integrated to combat rising costs. Unifying power and process systems within an operation gives value by creating one visualization and reporting environment. This article outlines a convergent use of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard 61850 within process control networks to provide enhanced process control, monitoring, and energy management. It discusses the benefits of unified power and process architecture with enhancements provided by visualization, archiving, and reporting.