The Remote Control and Communications (RCC) system has primary target:
“to ensure that the National Natural Gas Transmission System will supply the natural gas market with sufficient quantities in all foreseeable conditions, normal and abnormal”
and secondary targets:
“the remote supervision of the natural gas stations, the management of the alarms and the acquisition of technical and statistical data to the departments of DESFA such that the transmission of natural gas is performed in a safe, reliable and cost-effective manner”.
It consists of the following subsystems:
- Fiber optic cable, which is installed parallel to the high pressure natural gas pipeline and is the main carrier of all kinds of internal communications (voice and data) of DESFA.
- Telecommunication system based on Ethernet and Internet protocols (Internet Protocol – IP) with routers and/or layer 3 switches installed at each station of the National Natural Gas Transmission System, which achieves the transmission of voice and data through the fiber optic cable as well as the connection to backup communication lines of telecommunications providers.
- Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which achieves remote monitoring and remote control of all metering and/or regulating stations and valve stations of the National Transmission System from the Gas Control and Dispatching Centers.
- Cluster of three IP call centers installed at DESFA’s headquarters, the Operation and Maintenance Center of South Greece (Patima Elefsinas) and the Operation and Maintenance Center of North Greece (N. Mesimvria, Thessaloniki) for the management of all internal and external telephone calls of DESFA.