IEC 61850 BASED SUBSTATION AUTOMATION

SYSTEM (SAS)
Presented By : Nikunj Patel (176233)

For The Thesis Topic : “Communication Protocols of SCADA and

Protection relays, on the basis of AREVA DCS system PACiS”

Guided By: dr hab. inż., prof. Waldemar Rebizant

 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

INTRODUCTION
• Substation Automation Systems (SASs) are widely used for the
purpose of control, protection, monitoring, communication etc.
in substations to improve the reliability of the power system.
• SASs adopting IT based solutions such as Ethernet LAN have
recently become more common.
• Although hardwired control has been used in the past in earlier
versions of SAS utilizing simple communication methods.
• Moreover, the IEC61850 standard has been issued as the new
global communication standard for substations.
• The standard consists of ten parts, the final part being issued in
2005. Subsequently IEC61850 has been applied widely in SASs
around the world.
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

WHAT IS IN THIS PRESENTATION

• In this presentation, I will describe our experience
of an IEC61850 based SAS, including system
design and build methods.
• In addition, I will also cover concepts for system
build and detailed system configuration.
• The benefits of IEC61850.
• Points to be considered for implementation of
IEC61850 and issues that are experienced in
practical application of the standard together
with the measures that have been recently
developed to overcome these issues.
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)
OVERVIEW OF SUBSTATION AUTOMATION
SYSTEM (SAS)
• Background to SAS application :
 The SAS is a system that provides the automation functions for monitoring, control and
protection within a substation and utilizes recent improvements in the fields of
electronics, information and communication technologies.
 Application of SASs to substations began in the 1980's, and systems applied in
accordance with international standard specifications such as Ethernet and TCP/IP,
etc. as well as systems that utilized proprietary methods from different manufacturers
have been applied from the early1990's.
 IEC 61850, the international standard for communications within substations was
established between 2003 to 2005 and has become very popular and its application
has increased very rapidly in recent years.
 A major break-through has been achieved with the application of the IEC 61850
standard. This is the realization of “Interoperability” which is one of the key objectives
of this standard.
 The new standard continues to have a large impact on the design and implementation
of SASs.
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

• Basic functions of SAS :

 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

IEC61850 BASED SAS

• System design and build method :

• When the system configuration has been

• Types of Substations : agreed it is necessary to select the IEDs using
Small distribution substation
 Medium-sized distribution substation the following steps:
Large distribution substation (a) Select an IEC61850 based IED in accordance
Small transmission substation with the functional specification..
Large transmission substation (b) If an IEC61850 based IED is unavailable in
correspondence with the specification, we
• Redundant architecture should be considered in have to select an IED equipped with an
the SAS build based on the user philosophy and international communication standard (e.g.
importance of the substation. IEC60870-5-103) to ensure interoperability
together with the use of a converter to
IEC61850.
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

• When an IEC 61850 based SAS is applied to a substation, the following

two points should be considered:
(a) The avoidance of system unavailability due to a single point of failure.
(b) To provide an integration solution for non-IEC61850 devices/signals from other
equipment/substation.
• SAS configuration consists of the system components shown in Fig. which is the
minimum configuration necessary to achieve all of the SAS functions.
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

COMPONENTS OF IEC-61850 BASED SAS

(a) Operator workstation:
• This is an HMI (Human Machine Interface) device which is used to perform control and
monitoring operations for the entire substation. Engineering tasks, such as database
maintenance and relay setting can be equipped in this HMI device.
(b) Station computer:
• The station computer is a substation server device providing control and monitoring
functions, a remote control centre interface function, data recording function, etc.
Moreover, as it is one of the most important devices in the system the hardware that is
used is for industrial applications, with the emphasis on dependability.
(c) BCU (Bay Control Unit):
• This is a multifunction control and monitoring unit equipped with a control and
monitoring function at bay level for a single line.
• BCUs are provided for each line and mounted in the LCP (Local Control Panel) or control
device.
• The BCU executes control processing in response to commands from the operator
workstation or remote control centre under normal operational conditions.
• The BCU is also provided with an LCD having a system display function. Local control at the
BCU can also be achieved.
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

(d) Station bus:

• This shows an intra-substation LAN which is compliant with the IEC 61850 standard for
establishing connection with the various IEDs. The ring topology shown in Fig. 1 has the
following features:
- Shorter total cable length
- Redundant communication path
- Prevention of data looping for broadcasting data using RSTP (Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol,
IEEE802.1w)
• Ring-type configured LAN with application of RSTP is more widely used.
• RSTP is a protocol through which communication paths are logically formed in a star
configuration. It controls the transmission paths in such a way as to prevent a loop of multi-
address transmission data. In addition, in the event of a failure in one of the transmission
paths it also provides a function to reconfigure the paths at high speed .
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

• In the next step, the Logical Nodes (LNs) and communication services will be selected
in accordance with user requirements.
• If appropriate LNs or signals for the required functions are not defined in IEC61850,
the use of generic LNs such as GGIO or extension of LNs will be required. In this case,
the application of GGIO or extension of LNs must be kept to a minimum and with great
care in order to achieve interoperability between IEDs.
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

Introduction of Logical nodes

Communication relations in a Substation Automation System
• Information is exchanged between all devices (IED)which comprise the system.
• More precisely, data are exchanged between the functions and sub-functions residing
in the devices.
• The smallest part of the function that exchanges data is called Logical Node (LN) in
IEC 61850.
• The LN performs some operations for the overall function.
IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND FUNCTIONS

(a) To adopt a redundant configuration for the station computer and operator workstation, the
common devices at station level, in order to prevent the loss of the total system due to one failure.

(b) To ensure communication reliability by adopting a redundant configuration of Ethernet switches at

the station level connecting the station bus with the station computer and operator workstation
which are redundant as mentioned in above discussion.

(c) To ensure redundant paths by adopting a ring topology with a redundant feature for the station bus.
Furthermore separating the ring configuration into several rings can also improve the
dependability.

(d) Ethernet switches on the IED side are common to several IEDs. Failure of the power supply will have
the greatest impact as it will result in the total loss of function of the switch itself. Therefore it
would be preferable that the power supply for each switch was redundant to increase reliability.

(e) We also have to consider how to integrate information from non-digital devices or non-IEC 61850
devices in the substation or in protection relay panels .To integrate this information into the system,
an IFU (Interface Unit) can be used which has interface functions for serial communication and
binary inputs/outputs.
IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

The Fig. below shows the actual system configuration that adopts the concept and solutions
described above.
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)
GOOSE (GENERIC OBJECT ORIENTED
SUBSTATION EVENT.)
• The general functions for protection and control are equipped within
this SAS together with distributed functions using GOOSE messages.
• The GOOSE is one of the particularly important features of IEC61850.
• GOOSE is a high speed ‘peer-to-peer’ communication protocol used
between IEDs
• And by using GOOSE messaging it is possible to greatly reduce the
number of control cables and contacts between IEDs.
• Examples of GOOSE messages are listed for the following application
functions:
- Autoreclosing (between relay and BCU/CB)
- Intertripping (between relay and relay)
- Blocking (between relay and relay/BCU)
- Interlocking (between BCU and BCU)
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

CONFORMANCE AND PERFORMANCE TEST

• The communication conformance test procedures are
defined in IEC61850-10 and the communication
performance is specified in IEC61850-5. Conformance
tests have been carried out at an independent test
laboratory (e.g. KEMA).
• However, the communication performance test is out of
the scope of an independent test laboratory at the
moment, hence this test must be considered in the
product type test and/or routine test by the product
supplier.
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)
BENEFITS AND ISSUES TO BE IMPROVED IN
IEC-61850
• Benefits :
We have shown that it is possible to realize the following benefits using standard information
models (LNs) and communication services specified in the standard:

- Multi-vender interoperability
- High speed communication between IEDs
- Lower installation, extension and engineering costs
- Easier extension of functions and implementation of new functions

• ISSUES :
- In some parts of the standard, descriptions are not clear and interpretation is difficult. Hence,
it is possible that different users may reach a different understanding of a particular description.
- All functions and signals required in substations are not defined as LNs. Hence, generic LNs
(GGIO) are often used or extended LNs are defined and applied. But, these cause difficulty for
interoperability.
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

- The standard LNs contain many optional settings/signals and extension of LNs is
allowed to cover various kinds of applications. However, interoperability, which is
the purpose of IEC61850, can only be reliazed in the case of identical
communication services, LN data structure and definition for each set of data
exchanged between IEDs.

• For the above mentioned issues, the following measures are

also necessary in order to achieve interoperability:

- The improvement and revision to updating the standard is needed and this is ongoing
under IEC/TC57/WG10 and he second edition of the standard will be issued within
the next few years.
- Users should consider having their own document covering communications
requirements including standard LNs, communication services and definitions for
each data/signal for the LNs corresponding to their specified functions.
IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

QUESTIONS ???
 IEC 61850 Based substation automation system (SAS)

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION