The IntelliGrid Architecture is a comprehensive technical framework for linking communications and electricity into smart grid，and its predecessor is the integrated energy and communications system architecture（IECSA）. In the IntelliGrid Architecture the stream control transmission protocol（SCTP） is recommended as an optional transport layer protocol. The characteristics of SCTP and TCP are compared and analyzed. Network-level fault tolerance mechanism based on SCTP multi-homing path switch in the case of network link failure is simulated， which shows the ability of shortening the communication delay due to network link failure.