TÜV SÜD closes their IEC 61850 / UCAIUG Test Lab

TÜV SÜD (Munich, Germany) a long time provider of IEC 61850 Interoperability and Conformity Testing Services closes their Test Lab.
They emailed today says: "... Unfortunately, we do not supply Interoperability and Conformity Testing Services according to IEC 61850 any longer, which have been replaced by other focus areas in our portfolio. ...".
There was no specific reason for their decision provided.
You may ask me about my opinion. Here it is first brief statement:

• The standard series IEC 61850 is very comprehensive - applicable in many different application domains. 
• Implementations of the communication software for Client/Server (MMS based), Publisher/Subscriber (GOOSE), general APIs, and appropriate IED specific configuration tools are very comprehensive (and very complex!) as well.
• The IEDs tested and certified will likely operate in applications that need many times more logical nodes (and associated FUNCTIONS) than what was tested to get a certificate.
• MMS is also very complex regarding services and protocol. Unfortunately requires a lot of best skills to implement ... it has been implemented very well by a few companies like SystemCorp.
• The most crucial aspect of IEC 61850 is the huge number of logical nodes (that represent so many functions). This semantic is of great importance to the energy industries.
• One of the key issues in the years to come is this: Use the semantic of IEC 61850 and configuration language and map the needed (usually very simple and restricted) semantic configured in a SCL file automatically to JSON-Objects and communicate the JSON encoded information via http(s) or similar protocols. 
• This will allow to use IEC 61850 in any project that requires to exchange the well defined semantic of IEC 61850. E.g., the semantic of the schedule logical node (FSCH and FSCC) can easily be configured in JSON. The underlying function (the SCHEDULING) needs to be implemented independently of using MMS/ASN.1 or JSON. The benefit of using JSON is here: Everybody that can program in Python or JS or ... can use the JSON encoded messages directly in the application program.
• I am working on such a solution that makes IEC 61850 really applicable for simple applications ... http(s) and JSON are used everywhere and can be applied by everybody.
• More to come!
• Stay tuned.

For those simple applications with a dozen of points or so ... there would be a need for just a very simple and basic interoperability and conformance test.

IEC 61850 Seminar in INDIA CHENNAI 19 Nov, VADODARA 21 NOV

Dear All,

Please note the invitation to a great Seminar by Andrea Bonetti in INDIA
- CHENNAI 19 Nov
- VADODARA 21 NOV

Click HERE for details.

IEC 61850 Tissue Data Base - In Operation Under IEC

The IEC 61850 Tissue Data Base is in operation again - now under IEC Logo.

Click HERE for accessing the Data Base:



The registration as a new user will be possible soon.

Enjoy the crucial resources.

IEC 61850-7-1 CDV Amendment 1 available for comments

The Amendment 1 of IEC 61850-7-1 is now available for comments and voting:

Communication networks and systems for power utility automation –
Part 7-1: Basic communication structure – Principles and models

IEC TC 57 just published the document 57/2035/CDV.

Ballot closes 2018-12-28.

The CDV is publicly available for comments for everybody:

Click HERE for Public CDV Commenting - you just need to register.

Please note the following:

The distributed CDV reflects the amendment 1 (corrections and extensions) to IEC 61850-7-1 Ed2.

A second document (called consolidated edition 2.1) incorporates the amendment 1 (120 pages) and the existing Ed2. The consolidated edition (195 pages) is circulated as 57/2036/INF (unfortunately not publicly available).
After the CDV/FDIS approval process the consolidated version will be published together with the amendment 1 under reference IEC 61850-7-1 Ed2.1.

The version 2.1 will introduce the latest modelling extensions.

The new version of IEC 61850-7-1 will be one of the most crucial documents of the standard series IEC 61850. As the editor of edition 1 I see that most of the content of the version 1 is still the basic information presented in this part 7-1 😊

This document shows also that the standard series is growing and getting quite complex ... for simple applications you need to understand what is mandatory and what is optional!

Technical Report Considering Protection IEDs with Digital Inputs and Output under way

The IEC TC 95 Ad Hoc Working Group 3 (AHG3 meeting in Nanjing this week) 

is discussing the scope of a new document with the following Scope;

This Technical Report aims at considering protection IEDs with digital inputs and output complying with IEC 61850 and IEC 61869 standards, in particular 

1. subscribing streams of digital Sampled Values (SV) representing energizing inputs of the protection function.
2. subscribing GOOSE and/or reports by the protection function (eg. cb position, cb failure).
3. publishing GOOSE messages (e.g. trip orders).
4. subscribing time synchronization information.

On this base, this document will give recommendations and guidelines concerning requirements and testing of protection IED with digital inputs and outputs within TC95.

Requirements regarding characteristics of the communication network are not within the scope of this Technical Report. Delays and jitter due to the network have to be taken into account by network engineering. Figure 1 below shows the functional chain of a protection function.  This Technical Report only considers the data received and publish by the protection IED as shown in figure below. 

More to come ...

IEC 61850 Applications in Germany - DKE Documents Online for Free Download

The German National Committee of IEC TC 57 (DKE K 952) has many members of various Working Groups (in the national as well as in the international groups) that discussed the IEC 61850 standard series in general and particularly how the standards could be applied to substation automation and protection. One of the key issues is the modelling and configuration using SCL.

Several documents in German and in English are available:



Click HERE for the link to the above page.

Enjoy the documents.

Cyber Security for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) is Going Where?

Cyber Security for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) has been discussed over many years - and it will be discussed forever. There seems to be no end of discussions and solutions ... the end may come when electric power will be switched off - caused by insecure systems.

As long as we have ICS in operation - which is very crucial! - we will see products being developed and offered that are marketed to safe the world of ICS.

Dale Peterson wrote a very nice and interesting article about "The Future of the ICS Cyber Security Detection Market" (23 July 2018).

Dale seems to expect that the ICS Cyber Security Detection Market will completely change in a few years. He may be right. My expectations is that the change will happen for ever - and ever faster.

So, you may decide to wait! This would be the worst decision you can make.

Whatever is available for your system today - use it! The wait for getting started with, e.g., encrypted ICS protocols is over - use TLS wrapper as much as possible - as soon as possible.

Click HERE for the complete article - worth to read.

Our power system highly depend on ICS - ICS highly depend on power systems. The two can live together only. Non of the two will survive without the other!!

I hope we have enough people to understand that we need more smart people to keep power flowing: means electrical engineers and IT experts ... and ...

My recommendation is that we need to get a better holistic understanding how power systems and ICS are interdependent ... we should not isolate one from the other ... already understood some hundred years ago:

"Hence we must believe that all the sciences are so interconnected, that it is much easier to study them all together than to isolate one from all others. If, therefore, anyone wishes to search out the truth of things in serious ernest, he ought not to select one special science, for all the sciences are cojoined with each other and interdependent."
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

Finally we will have to accept that reliable electric power will be more expensive soon - moderate increased price in case we care about ICS Cyber Security - extremely expensive if we fail to protect the power system.

New Smart Grid Controller with IEC 61850, IEC 61850-5-104, and DNP3

System Corp (Perth/Australia) offers a new very powerful Smart Grid Controller for applications in:

1. Secondary Substation Control
2. Transformer and Asset Management
3. Micro Grid Control and Automation
4. Data Gateway Application
5. IoT and Cloud Service Interfacing

Click HERE for more details.

HMS Networks AB takes over Beck IPC

HMS has taken over the German based company Beck IPC. Beck IPC has a range of products providing IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5, and DNP3 connectivity - I have reported about their products from time to time ... just search for Beck on the blog.

Click HERE for the HMS press release.

HMS (IXXAT) sells some of the Beck com.tom (as Gateways):

Click HERE for Beck com.tom products with above standards implemented.
Click HERE for HMS Gateway products with above standards implemented.

IEC TC 57 just published FDIS IEC 61850-8-2 (Mapping to XMPP)

IEC TC 57 just published FDIS IEC 61850-8-2 (Mapping to XMPP) - 253 pages !

(57/2020/FDIS)

Voting ends: 2018-08-24

Part 8-2: Specific communication service mapping (SCSM)
– Mapping to Extensible Messaging Presence Protocol (XMPP)

The long wait for a second SCSM is over!

The new mapping of IEC 61850 describes a specific communication service mapping
(SCSM) over the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP), providing detailed
information on how to create and exchange concrete communication messages that
implement abstract services and models specified in IEC 61850-7-4, IEC 61850-7-3, and
IEC 61850-7-2.

Note that the MMS messages (defined using ASN.1) are used in IEC 61850-8-1 AND -8-2 ! The only crucial difference between the two message and model mappings (in 8-1 and 8-2) is this:

8-1 uses BER (Basic Encoding Rule) for the messages on the wire, while 8-2 uses (XER (XML Encoding Rule). The complexity of the MMS messages is the same in both mappings - because the structure and how to build messages and how to carry the 7-2 services and 7-x models are the same!

The challenges to implement 8-2 message mapping are more or less the same as with 8-1. Note that the messages in XER are far longer than with BER.

There is - of course - a difference between the two: The transport of messages in 8-2 uses XMPP.

Some may argue, that there are more tools available for XER than for BER. Ok.

IEC 61850-8-2 is far away from something simple and easy to implement and use - especially when you need only a few simple services and models.

WOW -- IEC 61850 Models Publically Available for Download

After long time, IEC has accepted to provide free online access to the IEC 61850 Models!!

Congratulation!

Excerpt from 57/2023/INF (2018-07-13):

"With IEC 61850-7-7, a machine processable format for the distribution of IEC 61850 data models has been defined. Based on that, in the future, all IEC 61850 models will be as well available in this format as namespace files (NSD files).
The namespace files are code components, that are intended to be directly processed by a computer. The purchase of the associated IEC standard carries a copyright license for the purchaser to sell software containing Code Components from this standard to end users either directly or via distributors, subject to IEC software licensing conditions, which can be found at: http://www.iec.ch/CCv1. ..."

Screenshot from the TC 57 Supporting Documents page:



Click HERE to get to the above page.

First Draft IEC 61850-90-16 Requirements for System Management for IEC 61850

The first Draft on IEC 61850-90-16 (97 pages) has been published (57/2014/DC):

Requirements for System Management for IEC 61850

"The distribution grid is facing a massive roll out and refurbishment of automation equipment to
implement deeper monitoring and new smart grid applications. The new equipment to be deployed in order to solve today’s issues (MV voltage and reactive power regulation for example) will necessarily have to be adjustable and upgradeable in order to face challenges of tomorrow (for example massive electric vehicles fleets, low voltage automation, …) which will arrive long before the end of its 20 years’ service life. Furthermore, there is a necessity for the equipment to adapt to the evolving and growing cybersecurity threats.
The equipment will therefore need to be patched, updated and reconfigured, and this has to be done remotely due to the great number of equipment. This is a cornerstone of the System Management (SM), which refers to functionalities that are not directly linked to the operational role of the equipment but allow it to perform its operational functions in the best conditions possible. Smart Grid Devices Management also includes other functions such as asset management or supervision.
These functionalities need to be managed by the grid operator and address multiple devices from different vendors through independent Information Systems and thus the requirements and exchanges need to be standardized. As these are to be applied to IEC 61850 compliant equipment, these mechanisms need to be integrated in the standard. ..."

Comments are due by 2018-09-28

Role-based Access Control - On its way to become Standard

IEC 62351-8 is on its way to become an IEC Standard (57/2017/CD):

Power systems management and associated information exchange – Data and communications security –
Part 8: Role-based access control

The part 8 is currently a Technical Specification. This will change in the next step.

The 62 page CD has been published for commenting until 2018-09-28

"This document provides standard for access control in power systems. The power system
environment supported by this standard is enterprise-wide and extends beyond traditional
borders to include external providers, suppliers, and other energy partners. ...

The following interactions are in scope:

• local (direct wired) access to the object by a human user;
• local (direct wired) access to the object by a local and automated computer agent, e.g. another object at the field site;
• direct access by a user to the object using the objects’ built-in HMI or panel;
• remote (via dial-up or wireless media) access to the object by a human user;
• remote (via dial-up or wireless media) access to the object by a remote automated computer agent, e.g. another object at another substation, a distributed energy resource at an end-user’s facility, or a control centre application."

IEEE Spectrum July 2018: 6 WAYS IoT IS VULNERABLE

IEEE Spectrum 2018-07 publishes an opinion by Stacey Higginbotham about the vulnerability of IoT devices and systems:

6 WAYS IoT IS VULNERABLE

Here is an excerpt of the six reasons why security for the Internet of Things (IoT) is different from—and more difficult to tackle than—traditional IT security:

1. We’ve raised the stakes by connecting more physical systems and facilities to wireless networks -> Consequences of failure are more dire.
2. IoT security is a special challenge:The adversaries are unlike any we’ve seen before.
3. For traditional IT system, one can count on the software company’s support for a
   set amount of time. What we see: it could be 10 years, 7, 3, 2, or even 0 ...
4. A connected product that generates a small profit may require years of updates, patches, and security evaluations.
5. Many connected devices are built with software, hardware, and firmware that are created
   by different companies and pieced together at the end. It takes only one weak link to create a vulnerability ...
6. Many connected devices live in environments unlike any IT system. In a home, there’s no IT manager to push patches to a connected fridge. And in an industrial setting, patching one machine might cause it to stop working with other equipment on the line.

I would summarize the challenge as follows:

IoT devices and systems require in principle the same attention, efforts and resources like traditional IT systems. The sheer unlimited number of interconnected IoT devices will work securely only if we except to spend much more money than what the market expects!

Or: Today´s solutions will be the problems of tomorrow.

Click HERE for the complete document (1 page).

Real-time Access to German Generation and Consumption of Electricity

You have real-time access to the German generation and consumption of electricity:




Click HERE for the real-time data access.

Version 2 des OE/BDEW-Whitepaper Anforderungen an sichere Steuerungs - und Telekommunikationssysteme

Version 2 des OE/BDEW-Whitepaper (komplett überarbeitete Version!; 80 Seiten):

Anforderungen an sichere Steuerungs - und Telekommunikationssysteme
(Requirements for Secure Control and Telecommunication Systems)

verfügbar

Click HIER für den Zugriff auf das gesamte Dokument.

"Das vorliegende Dokument definiert grundsätzliche Sicherheitsanforderungen für Steuerungs- und
Telekommunikationssysteme für die Prozesssteuerung in der Energieversorgung und gibt
Ausführungshinweise zu deren Umsetzung. Hierzu werden von Fachexperten zusammengestellte,
aktuelle und branchenspezifische Empfehlungen zur Sicherstellung der Informationssicherheit
aufgeführt.
Das Whitepaper definiert Anforderungen an Einzelkomponenten und für aus diesen Komponenten
zusammengesetzte Systeme und Anwendungen. Ergänzend werden auch Sicherheitsanforderungen
an Wartungsprozesse, Projektorganisation und Entwicklungsprozesse behandelt.
Fokus dieses Dokuments sind die im Rahmen der Beschaffung zu berücksichtigenden Anforderungen
an technische Komponenten und Systeme und für die Projektabwicklung relevanten Prozesse.
Ebenso wichtig sind organisatorische Sicherheitsmaßnahmen im Unternehmen, wie der
Aufbau einer Sicherheitsorganisation, ein angemessenes Risikomanagement oder die Schaffung
eines umfassenden Sicherheitsbewusstseins bei den Mitarbeitern (Security Awareness). Diese
organisatorischen Anforderungen stehen nicht im Fokus des Whitepapers, hierzu sei insbesondere
auf die Normen ISO/IEC 27001 und ISO/IEC 27019 verwiesen.
Das vorliegende Dokument ist eine vollständig überarbeitete Neuauflage des BDEW Whitepapers
und der zugehörigen Ausführungshinweise von Oesterreichs Energie und BDEW. Beide Dokumente
wurden zusammengeführt und die Inhalte gemäß aktuellen Technologienentwicklungen
umfassend aktualisiert und ergänzt."

Die englische Version wird in Kürze erscheinen.

Die hier beschriebenen Anforderungen haben erheblichen Einfluss auf Unternehmen im Kontext der Energieversorgung: mehr Mitarbeiter und mehr technische Hilfsmittel, mit denen die Anforderungen erfüllt werden könnten - und damit höhere Kosten!

New Title of IEC TC 57 WG 17

The new title of IEC TC 57 WG 17 is:

“Power system intelligent electronic device communication and
associated data models
for microgrids,
distributed energy resources and
distribution automation”

Séminaire PowerOn Dakar Sénégal 18 et 19 Juin 2018

Cet évènement vous permettra de partager des connaissances et de rencontrer des experts et spécialistes de différents horizons afin d’échanger sur les solutions aux problèmes que vous rencontrez, les outils de mesures-test-diagnostic des équipements électriques, et d’obtenir de l’aide ou des conseils, ou simplement découvrir les nouvelles techniques innovantes disponibles pour tester les transformateurs et autres équipements des postes HT.

• Protection des réseaux :
• CEI 61850 et Réseaux électriques intelligents : impact sur les spécifications, essais et maintenance des postes électriques. Présenté par Andrea Bonetti.
• Protection Différentielle des transformateurs : influence physique des relais sur les transformateurs. Présenté par Andrea Bonetti.
• Plan de protection : mesure de l’impédance de ligne. Présenté par Andrea Bonetti.
• Charge filerie : mesure d’impédance avec le SVERKER. Présenté par Andrea Bonetti.
• Vérification des TC/TP. Présenté par Mamadou Keita.
• Efficacité de la Maintenance :
• Informatisation du Suivi de Parc et de la Gestion des données de test
• Réseaux Souterrains :
• Localisation de défauts de cables. Présenté par Adeola Adebomi.
• Diagnostic des câbles souterrains. Présenté par Adeola Adebomi.
• Transformateurs de puissance :
• Test et Diagnostic. Présenté par Mamadou Keita.
• Et bien d’autres thèmes qui seront abordés basées sur le retour d’expériences terrain

 Nous serions honorés de votre présence et nous vous remercions de cliquer ci-dessous pour vous enregistrer.
Pour toute autre question, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter.

http://fr.megger.com/seminaire-poweron-dakar-senegal

Pour toute demande d’informations, envoyez un e-mail à infos@megger.com

Hôtel King Fahd Palace
Route des Almadies
Dakar 8181
Senegal      

Megger Offers a Wide Range of IEC 61850 GOOSE Test Tools and Experiences

Megger (Sweden) offers a wide range of test tools and experiences for testing and commissioning of systems based on IEC 61850 GOOSE.

They just published a brochure that shares some light on IEC 61850 interoperability problems and solutions for the horizontal communication (GOOSE):

IEC 61850 - GOOSE Interoperability

Click HERE for the brochure.

This document (written by one of the most experienced senior protection engineers) is really worth to download and to read! Andrea Bonetti will give you a deep inside look into the use of GOOSE messaging and how to reach interoperability.

"Interoperability is one of the most misunderstood of all business terms. It is, however, one of the most important of all predictors of success or failure. In short, interoperability is the ability of diverse systems to work together effectively and efficiently. Interoperability is a property of a product or system, whose interfaces are completely understood, to work with other products or systems, present or future, without any restricted access or implementation.

There is absolutely no doubt that Interoperability facilitates valuable business connections—across
processes, between people and information and among companies. Interoperability yields improved
collaboration and ultimately increased productivity. Providing interoperability helps customers decrease complexity and better manage heterogeneous environments—while enhancing choice and innovation in the market. Importantly, the interoperability requirement of the IEC 61850 standard has beneficially increased the “interoperability among different engineers” working for companies that are formally in competition. This increased communication among different vendors has contributed to the fact that GOOSE messaging can today be considered a working technology, even if problems still arise, like in any other technology.

With more than six years of field experience with IEC 61850 GOOSE communication in protection and control applications, it is possible today to list the main reasons for interoperability problems for multi- and single-vendor systems; however, the list of causes of interoperability failures would be longer than what indicated in this document, especially if considering the cases found during the beginning of the use of GOOSE messages.

In order to commission substations with the new IEC 61850 technology, there is need to use some new tools and methods. The key for these tools and methods is, paradoxically, implicitly available in the IEC 61850 standard itself."

Enjoy!

IEC 61850-90-11 - Modelling of Logics for IEC 61850 Based Applications

IEC TC 57 just published a 50+ page proposal for a very interesting topic:

57/2001/DC

Proposed IEC TR 61850-90-11, Communication networks and systems for power utility automation – Part 90-11: Methodologies for modelling of logics for IEC 61850 based applications

Comments to this draft are expected by 2018-07-27 at the latest.

This is likely the first time where application modelling (using a single configuration language!) integrates basic logic functions like AND, OR, Timer, ... including a Mapping of IEC 61850 data types and IEC 61131-3 / PLC Open XML data types.

The document introduces a couple of use cases describing mainly the control and monitoring of switchgears and electrical measurements.

Use case 1 – Busbar disconnector coupled in a double busbar arrangement
Use case 2 – Delayed breaker trip and blocking after 1st low gas pressure alarm
Use case 3 – Bay connected to busbar A
Use case 4 – Definite trip
Use case 5 – "Direct transfer open operation"
Use case 6 – Line outage detection in a breaker and a half scheme
Use case 7 – Unit trip logic
Use case 8 – Data quality management
Use case 9 – Switchgear control on the example of a busbar change-over

The modelling of logics could be of interest for many other applications.

IEC TS 62351-5 ED2 - Security for IEC 60870-5 and derivatives

IEC TC 57 just published a new proposal to revise TR IEC 62351-5 and convert it into a standard:

57/2000/DC

Proposed revision of IEC TS 62351-5 ED2 and transformation of the TS into an IS (Power systems management and associated information exchange - Data and communications security - Part 5: Security for IEC 60870-5 and derivatives)

Excerpt from the background:

"... Since IEC TS 62351-5 was first published, IEC 60870-5-7 has been published defining specific security requirements for IEC 60870-5 protocols based on IEC TS 62351-5, while similar specific security requirements have been defined for IEEE Std. 1815 (DNP3). In addition, implementations have been undertaken by vendors. As a result, some issues with IEC TS 62351-5 were identified. At the same time, the security requirements for IEC 60870-5 have matured since these specifications were released as a Technical Specification. At this time, it is important to update these security requirements and convert them into an International Standard in order to ensure that implementations of IEC 60870-5 can include the appropriate security measures. ..."

Comments are expected by 2018-07-20 at the latest.

IEC 61850 - Model Extensions To Support Microgrids

IEC TC 57 just published a proposal for a new work:

57/1888/DC

Model extensions to IEC 61850 to support microgrids

From the preamble:

"An important market trend is to enable the operation of DER in islandable mode supplying a local process such as campus, buildings, industries, …. Thus it is important to complement the existing and/or coming IEC 61850 series of standards to support such an operation mode, including the protection of considered assets, the management of their transitioning between grid-tied and islanded mode, but also to the support the management of frequency, voltage, and quality of supply to the process. ..."

Comments to the proposal are welcome by 2018-07-20 at the latest.

IEC 61850-90-9 - Use of IEC 61850 for Electrical Energy Storage Systems

IEC TC 57 has just published a 114 page new draft technical report:

57/1998/DC

Draft IEC TR 61850-90-9, Communication networks and systems for power utility automation – Part 90-9: Use of IEC 61850 for electrical energy storage systems

Comments are welcome until 2018-08-17

"This technical report provides necessary information within 61850 based object model in order to model functions of a battery based electrical energy storage system as a DER unit. For intelligently operated and/or automated grids, storing energy for optimising the grid operation is a core function. Therefore shorter periods of storing energy with charging and discharging capability is also an indispensable function. Charging and discharging operations need to be modelled thoroughly and are in the focus of this technical report. ...
An Electrical Energy Storage system (EESS) is a system which is used for the purpose of intermediate storage of electrical energy. The type of storage, the amount of energy, charging and discharging rates as well as self-discharge rate and many other characteristics are technology dependent and therefore can be very different. However, the general meaning of the characteristics and parameters are identical.
The objective of this document is to define a standardized and general approach to information
modelling for operating an EESS regardless of any specific technique, which supports an efficient way of integrating an EESS into grid operation and other businesses.
Various types of EESS, such as battery, pumped hydro, superconducting magnetic energy storage, flywheels, etc., are defined in “IEC White Paper on Electrical Energy Storage.” According to the the white paper, EESS systems are classified by energy form, advantages/disadvantages to the specific usages or the purpose of the implementation. ... "

Part 7-420 - Distributed energy resources and distribution automation logical nodes

After tremendous work on the revision and extension of the IEC 61850-7-420 Edition 1, IEC TC 57 just published the 366 page committee draft IEC 61850-7-420 ED2:

57/1997/CD

Communication networks and systems for power utility automation – Part 7-420: Basic communication structure – Distributed energy resources and distribution automation logical nodes

Commenting period closes 2018-08-17

Excerpt from the introduction:

"Increasing numbers of DER (distributed energy resources) systems are being interconnected to electric power systems throughout the world. As DER technology evolves and as the impact of dispersed generation on distribution power systems becomes a growing challenge – and opportunity – nations worldwide are recognizing the economic, social, and environmental benefits of integrating DER technology within their electric infrastructure.
The manufacturers of DER devices are facing the age-old issues of what communication standards and protocols to provide to their customers for monitoring and controlling DER devices, in particular when they are interconnected with the electric power system. In the past, DER manufacturers developed their own proprietary ...

This document addresses the IEC 61850 information modelling for DER, although some types and aspects of DER information models have been developed or are being developed separately through technical reports before they are added to this international standard DER model. These consist of the following:
• IEC 61850-90-6: Use of IEC 61850 for Distribution Automation Systems
• IEC 61850-90-8: Object model for electric mobility
• IEC 61850-90-9: Use of IEC 61850 for Electrical Storage Systems
• IEC 61850-90-15: DER Grid Integration using IEC 61850 "

This document is one of the crucial parts for the application of IEC 61850 in distributed power systems.

Great Article on Internet Insecurity - a New Approach!?

Yes - the title is about "Internet Insecurity" ...

The paper suggests a radical new approach in dealing with security or insecurity.

The papers closes:
"Every organization that depends on digital technologies and the internet is vulnerable to a devastating cyberattack. Not even the best cyber hygiene will stop Russia, North Korea, and highly skilled, well-resourced criminal and terrorist groups. The only way to protect your business is to take, where you can, what may look like a technological step backward but in reality is a smart engineering step forward. The goal is to reduce, if not eliminate, the dependency of critical functions on digital technologies and their connections to the internet. The sometimes higher cost will be a bargain when compared with the potentially devastating price of business as usual."

Click HERE for the article.

FNN-Lastenheft "Steuerbox" veröffentlicht

Der FNN-Hinweis "Lastenheft Steuerbox - Funktionale und konstruktive Merkmale" ist jetzt verfügbar und kann zum Preis von 39 € erworben werden.

Das Lastenheft "Steuerbox" liefert die erste Grundlage für ein standardisiertes Steuerungssystem, das in der Architektur des intelligenten Messsystems betrieben werden kann.

Hier für die Leseprobe klicken.
Hier finden Sie den Shop.

Die FNN-Steuerbox kommuniziert mit IEC 61850

Die FNN-Steuerbox basiert auf standardisierten Lösungen für den Informationsaustausch. Für die Fernkommunikation mit den Steuerboxeb wurde eine Untermenge an Modellen und Diensten aus der Normenreihe IEC 61850 ausgewählt und näher spezifiziert.

Es kommen Services wie DataSet, Report Control, Log und Log Control, Control ... zur Anwendung. Als wesentliche Modell kommt das Scheduling (Fahrplansteuerung) zum Einsatz.

"In der Niederspannung sind basierend auf den FNN-Anwendungsfällen folgende Teilaspekte relevant.

Fahrplansteuerung

Die Realisierung einer netzdienlichen Fahrplansteuerung dient in erster Linie dem Ersatz der heutigen Heizungssteuerung (Nachtspeicher, Wärmepumpen, Warmwasser) durch das intelligente Messsystem und unterliegt u. a. den Anforderungen einer autarken und zuverlässigen Schaltfahrplansteuerung sowie einer zeitsynchronen Tarifierung.

Steuern einer Einzelanlage Last/Erzeuger in kurzer Zeit

Die Steuerung von einzelnen Lasten und Erzeugern in der Niederspannung kann durch externe Marktteilnehmer erfolgen und ist i.d.R. als unkritisch zu bewerten.

Steuerung von Anlagengruppen in kurzer Zeit

Die Steuerung von Lasten und Erzeugern in der Niederspannung kann durch Gruppierung der Anlagen zu erhöhten Anforderungen führen. Dies kann bei kritischen Netzsituationen erforderlich werden. Entsprechend sind dabei erweiterte Maßnahmen in der Steuerungsarchitektur
zu treffen.

Die dabei betroffenen Stückzahlen sind im Anwendungsfall der Heizungssteuerung mit deutschlandweit ca. 2 Mio. Anlagen sowie einer Leistung von ca. 15 GW erheblich. Im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energien sind derzeit ca. 1,5 Mio. PV-Anlagen installiert, von denen perspektivisch ein großer Teil steuerbar sein soll - Tendenz steigend."

Click HIER für mehr Informationen.

Draft TR IEC 61850-7-6 published: Guideline for definition of Basic Application Profiles (BAPs) using IEC 61850

IEC TC 57 just published the 68 page draft Technical Report IEC 61850-7-6:

57/1986/DTR

Communication networks and systems for power utility automation –
Part 7-6: Guideline for definition of Basic Application Profiles (BAPs) using IEC 61850

Voting closes 2018-06-08.

"The IEC 61850 standard series offers a broad basis for communication networks and systems in power utility automation. Due to its broad coverage of power utility automation applications, it is up to the standard’s user (utility, vendor, system integrator…) to pick and choose specific options from the standard in order to meet the requirements of the intended objective. As a consequence, implementations of IEC 61850 represent specific subsets of the standard.
In the context of standards the term “profile” is commonly used to describe a subset of an entity (e.g. standard, model, rules).
Accordingly an IEC 61850 standard profile contain a selection of data models (mandatory elements), communication services applicable and relevant engineering conventions (based on the Substation Configuration Language SCL defined in IEC 61850-6) for an application function of a specific use case in the domain of power utility automation.
Depending on the scope and objective different profile types can be distinguished:

• User profile – defined subset that is valid for a specific user / organization (e.g. utility)
• Product / Device profile – implemented subset in a specific vendor product /device
• Domain profile – defined subset for a specific domain and relevant use cases (e.g. monitoring of substation)
• Application / function profile - subset covering a specific application or function (e.g. substation interlocking)

These profile types target on reducing complexity and facilitate interoperability for their specific scope and during engineering and device / substation lifetime. In order to achieve both these goals - a properly defined profile and appropriate implementations (processes, tools, products) that support the profile are required."

Note that IEC 61850 is not that complex - but it is very comprehensive!!
Comprehensiveness with regard to:

1. Number of parts: some 50 inclusing drafts
2. Number of Logical Nodes
3. Number of Data Objects
4. Configuration language
5. Number of task forces working on new stuff
6. Number of applications that can be covered
7. ...

The most crucial challenge is this: How can I find what may be of interest for my application? I hope somebody will do a good job in preparing an overview of models published and under preparation.
Let me know if you are aware of some good document or website ...

IEC TC 57 Proposes New Work on SCD Based Substation Network Auto-Routing

IEC TC 57 Proposes New Work on SCD Based Substation Network Auto-Routing:

57/1987/DC

Proposal to develop IEC TR 61850-90-22 –
Communication networks and systems for power utility automation –
Part 90-22: SCD based substation network auto-routing with visualization and supervision support

"The scope of the proposed TR is to provide a comprehensive analysis of increased challenges encountered in the field where substation network is adopted, and to propose a novel resolution which is SCD based substation network auto-routing with visualization and supervision."

The following issues are key: Network topology auto-discovery, IED auto-detection, GOOSE/SV auto-routing, QoS and traffic engineering, Redundant path and fast recovery, Traffic validation, policing and shaping, Network resource virtualization, ...

I am happy to see that this draft proposal as been published - it will implement what I have been said for years in my seminars: SCD documents are containing a lot more than just Logical Nodes ... more to come. Stay tuned.

Click HERE for the list of National Committees involved in IEC TC 57.

CEWE Instruments Exhibits a new Meter with IEC 61850 Interface

CEWE Instruments exhibits at the Hanover Fair the Prometer 100 family of high-precision four-quadrant energy meters with advanced measuring, logging, power quality monitoring and data storage capabilities.
Prometer 100 supports flexible and modular communications options enabling integration with existing AMR/AMI/SCADA systems, and provides an upgrade path to future substation automation systems (SAS).

Logical Nodes supported: LLNO, LPHD, MMXU, MMTR, MHAI, MABT

Please note that the meter has been certified by the UCAIUG for IEC 61850 compliance.

Visit CEWE at Booth (B09, Hall 12) at the Hannover Messe (23.-27. April 2018)

Click HERE for more information.
Cliock HERE if you need a ticket for the fair in Hanover.

Configuration Description Language for Extensions for Human Machine Interfaces

IEC TC 57 just published a very interesting committee draft for machine support of automatic mapping the SCL models to HMIs:

IEC 61850 (57/1984/CD):
Communication networks and systems for power utility automation –
Part 6-2: Configuration description language for extensions for human machine interfaces

Closing date for comments: 2018-06-01 

"This International Standard describes how the graphical components and their interactions
found within HMI applications are to be described using the Graphical Configuration
Language (GCL) and the HMI Configuration Language (HCL). It will describe how the
graphical elements – described in GCL – are to be bounded to the IEC 61850 elements
defined by IEC 61850’s System Configuration Language (SCL). ..."

The following excerpt from the CD gives an impression on how the HMI configuration is intended to be automatically derived (supported) by a new graphical configuration namespace:



Wow, this is really a major step forward!

FMTP, NettedAutomation and other Experts Offer New Training Courses for Power System Automation, Protection, Smart Grid, and Security

FMTP Power AB (Uppsala, Sweden), KTH (Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm), Håvard Storås (Security expert), and NettedAutomation GmbH (Karlsruhe, Germany) have each long-term experience in the application of standards for protection and control as well in secure communication and SCADA applications.
FMTP and NettedAutomation in coopration with other senior experts offer the most comprehensive and vendor-independent education and practical training courses – they combine their knowledge and practical experience in the following areas:

1. Substation control and protection, system design, engineering, and testing
   (Mr Andrea Bonetti who worked for ABB, Megger, and STRI),
2. Smart Grid (Mr Lars Nordström, Director and Professor at KTH – Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm), 
3. IT, OT & Cyber Security
   (Expert Mr Håvard Storås) and 
4. Communication technology and SCADA ... market penetration and solutions(Mr Karlheinz Schwarz who worked for Siemens in the 80s and 90s):

We offer the following comprehensive training options:

Stockholm/Sweden
(English: Andrea Bonetti, Prof. Lars Nordström, Håvard Storås, and Karlheinz Schwarz): 

12-16 March 2018 (book 3, 4 or 5 days)

Click HERE for details

Karlsruhe/Germany
(English: Andrea Bonetti, Håvard Storås, and Karlheinz Schwarz):

23-27 April 2018 (book 3, 4 or 5 days)

Click HERE for details

Karlsruhe
(Deutsch: Karlheinz Schwarz):

14-17 Mai 2018
04-07 Dezember 2018

HIER für Details in Deutsch klicken.