Value of High Speed Communications to the Grid and the Community Lee Ayers Vice President of Engineering Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative, Inc. 55,000 meters 4,200 miles of line ~1000 square mile territory GPON ISP in 5 counties Near Columbia, SC

History of Distribution System Communications 1983 - Analog Leased Lines for SCADA 1989 - 2 Ghz Analog Microwave and 900 Mhz Analog MAS for SCADA 2003 - Leased 56k Frame Relay for SCADA and AMI 2005 - Private single mode fiber optic network for SCADA / AMI 2016 - Begin construction of Drop Ready FttM

What Led to FttM Small sporadic additions to existing fiber plant Changed all hydraulic reclosers to electronic 250 recloser locations, less than 100 connected to SCADA Needed more connectivity But how far to go, where to stop Aging AMI technology and infrastructure

Lessons Learned Along the Way Be careful when choosing “Tried and True” technology Always consider more than today’s needs and requirements Consider more capacity than anticipated IP, IP, and IP Fill it up Capacity will reveal solutions to unknown problems

Why Drop Ready FttM As deep as could be built into the distribution network What will Next Gen AMI look like? AMI data returned to member in near real time Unserved and Underserved members How to pay for network plant

Could MCEC be an ISP? Yes, But!!! How to provide ISP A new cooperative! CarolinaConnect Cooperative

Outside Plant Design Follow the power Standard cables and hardware ADSS in Supply Space Splice cases and multi-ports brought down pole Distributed split GPON CO / ONT at existing substations

Develop Standards Design Cable, hardware, and connectivity Construction O&M including restoration Scalable deployment

The Future Limitless with fiber

Questions?