GE has announced the availability of the first product in its new Multilin 8 Series platform, GE’s next-generation protection and control relay platform, “designed to deliver the performance and reliability required to support the mission-critical electrical infrastructures of industrial and distribution utilities.” Built on GE’s more than 100-year history in industrial electrical automation, the 8 Series platform will enable industrial and distribution utilities to enhance the reliability of their electrical infrastructure and reduce costs associated with unplanned outages. To help customers better manage their electrical systems, the 8 Series delivers improved data fidelity in current and voltage sample rates, which GE says dramatically improves electrical system visibility, providing improved post-event analysis.
“We understand that our customers’ electrical infrastructures are mission critical to their operations,” said Juan Macias, General Manager, Grid Automation for GE’s Digital Energy business. “Our new Multilin 8 Series has been designed to deliver process reliability that our customers can count on to keep their operations up and running. This new platform takes advantage of advances in technology and design approach to maximise reliability and product life. We have also made significant investments in our business to ensure our manufacturing and quality processes will deliver a product that will exceed our customers’ expectations.”
Designed to withstand the harsh environments typically found in the mining industry, where downtime immediately translates into lost revenue, the 8 Series leverages detailed asset diagnostics so operators can make informed, proactive decisions to reduce unplanned outages and accurately plan maintenance schedules. Using GE’s environmental awareness module to actively monitor both the environment and its own internal components, the 8 Series generates data that operators can use to make decisions about when maintenance or downtime should be scheduled, increasing operational uptime. The standard harsh conformal coating on the 8 Series’ printed circuit boards helps protect against environmental factors to help deliver higher reliability and extend product life.
The 8 Series also has an integrated integrity engine that utilises customised algorithms which provide advanced diagnostics to ensure asset protection is not compromised. Coupled with the latest cybersecurity features, customers can comply with the latest NERC/CIP and NISTIR 7628 cybersecurity requirements. With many industrial processes using a variety of communication gateways, integrating a new product can potentially increase the overall system cost and downtime. GE has designed the 8 Series to include advanced and flexible communication options to make integration easier and faster.
The 8 series also is backed by GE’s new 10-year warranty—a warranty program for most GE-manufactured protection, control and substation automation products sold by GE’s Digital Energy business. With an ongoing commitment to delivering world-class products that help utility and industrial customers deliver power efficiently and reliably, GE is extending its warranty terms “to assure customers around the world of its continuous commitment to quality and innovation.” The company states: “All GE protection, control and substation automation products adhere to rigorous quality processes, certified to International Standard Organisation (ISO) 9001:2008 standards, encompassing the entire product development process from product design and testing to manufacturing and customer support.”
When all products in the 8 Series platform are introduced, the complete platform will include feeder, motor, transformer and generator protection that, when coupled with other GE industrial automation solutions such as industrial radios, switches and an electrical control system, will deliver a full industrial automation solution.