Steven A. Kunsman

Status on the First IEC61850 Based Protection and Control, Multi-Vendor Project in the United States

The new IEC 61850 substation communication standard is almost two years old. Worldwide, there are already over one hundred substations that have been commissioned and running with this new standard. Several projects in North America have been implemented with IEC 61850 by using products from a single manufacturer. This paper will report on the status of a 500 kV project, which is the first multi-vendor project in the United States to use this new standard. The goal of the project is to utilize the new IEC 61850 standard to its fullest (as practically possible) therefore confirming that the standard is much more than just a communication protocol. Interoperability, one of the major advantages of IEC 61850, will be demonstrated. The focus of the paper is not to describe or explain the theoretical background of the standard itself but rather to show and demonstrate the practical use of an actual multi-vendor project and how the standard applies to protection engineers. In addition, the paper will describe to the relay engineers that an IEC 61850 based system must be considered an integral part of the protection and control system and not just another protocol integration for substation data/automation. The paper will describe the process that was developed and used during this project to configure the IEDs, clients, and the communication infrastructure as defined by the customer. The exchange of IED configuration data between different vendors was achieved by using the IEC 61850 defined substation configuration language (SCL). We will demonstrate how each vendors private tools can export data into a standard format and be integrated into a common product using standard tools as well. The meaning and the purpose of the standard ICD files (IED capability description) and SCD files (substation configuration description) will be explained. One goal of this project is to eliminate or significantly reduce wiring between the relays and between the control house and the breakers. The wire reductions are replaced with the communication infrastructure fulfilling the protection and control applications by exchanging IEC 61850 GOOSE messages over Ethernet (e.g. breaker position and protective trips). The paper will also cover test tools and procedures that were used to find and eliminate problems during the integration of the protection & control system and the new IEC 61850 standard. Lessons learned throughout the project will be discussed

Staged-fault testing for high impedance fault data collection

Faulted lines must be repaired and returned to service in the shortest possible time to provide reliable service to the customers. Fault detection is an important aspect of system protection, as it involves personnel as well as equipment safety. The research on high impedance fault (HTF) detection techniques is mainly based on conventional methods, familiar to the power system engineers. TXU Electric Delivery (TXUED) and ABB have initiated a project to collect HIF data from staged-fault testing, to assist ABB in the research and development of suitable techniques for detecting high impedance faults. Since most protective relay engineers have spent their careers avoiding faults on the electric system, they are not usually comfortable with the process of staging faults on a system in service. The purpose of this paper is to describe one method of staging faults that is both safe for utility personnel performing the tests and results in no interruption or break in service to the utility consumers connected to the distribution feeder. Also, the analysis of the resulting HIF test data is discussed. These staged fault tests occurred on January 27-29, 2004 and also on September 27-28, 2004 on a distribution feeder at the TXU Huntington Substation near Lufkin, Texas.

A novel approach for ground fault detection

Faulted lines must be repaired and returned to service in the shortest possible time to provide reliable service to the customers. Fault detection is an important aspect of system protection, as it involves personnel as well as equipment safety. The research on fault detection techniques is mainly based on conventional methods, not suitable for detecting high impedance ground faults. This paper discusses a novel approach for detecting high impedance ground faults using state-of-the-art signal processing technology. Some laboratory test results are reported. The reported work offers promise in realizing dependable and secure high impedance ground fault detection using latest technology.

Protection and control system impacts from The Digital World

Technology has changed significantly from over the past 30 years and will continue advance enabling more benefits from The Digital World. The early adoption of microprocessor relays started the era into The Digital World. Along with their significant advantages, they also introduced our world to software and communicating devices to the realm of Cyber Threats in our changing environment. The introduction of the IEC 61850 station and process bus standards for substations has provided a platform that all manufactures can develop upon to achieve the overall goal of interoperability. John Burgers visionary ideas are being realized with the technology available today. In addition to the interoperability benefits, footprint of primary switchgear reduction using sensors (NCIT) replacing conventional measuring transformers and breaker controls allows a much safer work environment and a massive reduction of cabling by going from a lot of copper cables to a few fiber optic communication cables. As for the challenges presented by the cyber threats, the industry must embrace modern device capabilities to deter, delay and detect the bad guys. Let us not forget that the multifunction relay is today the source of information that can enable higher level systems to be proactive in the overall power system stability. Most importantly, the “R” in NERC means reliability so while CIP standards might drive organizations to shutdown communication access to the substation information, it is so crucial that the substation data be accessible to higher level systems.

Texas A&M university 68th annual conference for protective relay engineers replacing fear with knowledge - cyber security for substation automation, protection and control systems

When we look at the organizations involved in maintaining utility system security (vendors, integrators, end users) its fair to say that security is “everybodys business.” To the extent these groups cooperate with one another throughout the system lifecycle, security will be enhanced. At the same time, perhaps the most important aspect of security for the various players to keep in mind is that it is a journey and not a destination. There will always be new threats. Likewise, there will be new methods and technologies for meeting those threats. Vigilance, cooperation and technical expertise, when applied in unison, offer the best defense.