Markham, Ontario, July 16, 2008 -- GE Digital Energy announced the Multilin HardFiber System, which is designed to eliminate the need for thousands of copper wires in a substation and replace them with a few fiber optic cables. By eliminating the need to install and maintain thousands of copper wires, used for signaling and monitoring in electrical substations, utilities could save up to 50 percent of protection and control installation and maintenance costs, while at the same time increasing worker safety and power system reliability.

The HardFiber System, based on IEC 61850, the international standard for substation communications, is made up of four elements: the HardFiber Brick, the HardFiber Cross Connect Panel, the rugged HardFiber Outdoor Fiber Cables, and the Universal Relay IEC 61850 Process Card. The system's single, pre-terminated fiber optic connections reduce the multitude of copper wires that need to be pulled, spliced and terminated. It provides an identical interface to all primary system equipment. Its standardized components are designed to reduce chances for error and minimize costly and labor intensive testing and troubleshooting.

The HardFiber System is a complete IEC 61850 system available for a wide variety of protection applications, including generator, transformer, transmission line, bus, feeder, capacitor bank, and motor protection. For more information, visit GE Digital Energy at www.gedigitalenergy.com.

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Wed Jul 16 11:05:00 CDT 2008