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 ...

Do we need Blackouts to Expose Flaws in the Grid?

From the viewpoint of a engineers: No! There are many engineers or other technicians that are aware of the condition of the whole system – including the aging work force. From the viewpoint of many people in charge to make decisions to invest or not to invest: Yes!

The New York Times published yesterday an article about the biggest power outage in the history of Northern America: the 2003 blackout. Since then a lot has improved – enough to keep the power flowing at mid November 2013. Is it enough for the years to come? We will see if the improvements payoff or not.

The article states: “The improvements were ideas that engineers had always liked, but had trouble persuading utility executives and public service commissions to pay for.”

Click HERE to read the article.

I hope that the voice of the engineers will convince more decision-makers to allocate sufficient resources for keeping the aging power infrastructure running, the power flowing, the grass green, and the sky blue.

Some 10 years after the first substation automation systems have been equipped with IEC 61850 based devices, a lot of smart engineers see the need to invest into defining a second layer on top of the standards and the many options they provide. This second layer could be named: Interoperability Profile Specifications. The standards comprise several hundred of options (in models, services, and extensions) that lead to a proliferation of implementations. A growing number of engineers is struggling to let two or more devices from multiple vendors understand each other.

I look forward to seeing more decision-makers from all stake-holders to provide the needed resources for the development of Interoperability Profile Specifications.

I always say in my courses that IEC 61850 is very scalable – BUT YOU have to SCALE each and every device! Scaling needs to be done in a way that for a given application ALL devices apply THE VERY SAME SCALE!! The scales have to be negotiated and applied by all participants of a system.

When does the users community want to get there? If the answer is: as soon as possible – you should invite experienced people to help you.