Is IEC 61850 still there?

A very interesting discussion was started by a retired substation protection and automation engineer from one of the big German transmission operators. The engineer stopped at the boot 45/1 (hall 13) at the Hannover Messe last week. He saw the letters “IEC 61850” (see photo) and asked me: “Is IEC 61850 still around?”

He thought that IEC 61850 was just a hype some 10 years ago. His expectation was that IEC61850 is far to complex and expensive … and disappeared before it really hit the market. One of his babies was a very well know IEC 60870-5-101 profile for substation automation. In this profile you will find a nice “information model” of substations:

Ok, that is what many (not only retired) engineers guess. I helped him to understand the current situation of the big success of IEC 61850 all over.

Then I showed him an embedded Controller IED (Beck com.tom) that integrates IEC 61850 AND IEC 610870-5-104 (running separate or both at the same time):

This small box runs both … and it’s really affordable.

Then I showed him the requirement specification of Vattenfall’s VHP Ready that specifies both: IEC 60870-5-104 and IEC 61850:

There is almost no difference between the implementation of the information and services in both worlds. The difference is just, that IEC 61850 has standard models, a configuration language, GOOSE, SMV, and self-description. The price of a com.tom with 104 or 61850 is (I guess) the same.

Finally he said: “I am a consultant to a manufacturer of substation automation and protection systems; I have to tell them this story! They will like it – because they have already enquiries for IEC 61850 conformant IEDs.”

There is a need to educate more engineers to understand the situation!

High speed wireless support for IEC 61850 GOOSE

Full Spectrum Inc. (Palo Alto, California) announced yesterday a new version of its wireless communications software which supports the utility industry’s IEC 61850 Generic Object Oriented Substation Event protocol (also known as “GOOSE”). The protocol is designed to reduce the scope and impact of power outages by implementing instantaneous and intelligent switching decisions without human intervention. It is a critical element in the implementation of the self-healing smart grid. To date IEC 61850 has been deployed primarily at electric utility substations over high capacity fiber connections. The challenge, until now, has been to operate the high capacity, low latency protocol over wireless infrastructure. Full Spectrum’s IEC 61850 wireless support includes custom compression and quality of service algorithms to address this challenge.
Full Spectrum’s new software release allows the IEC 61850 protocol to be pushed deep into the distribution electric grid where wired infrastructure is not cost effective to install and maintain. With IEC 61850 intelligent devices along the distribution grid, sensors can isolate faults and reroute power almost instantaneously. The implementation of IEC 61850 greatly reduces the number of customers impacted by outages. This is especially important for industrial and commercial power users where even brief power outages can be costly and dangerous.

Click HERE to download the press release on GOOSE.

Italian Norm CEI 0-16 revised – now referring to IEC 61850

The Italian Norm CEI 0-16 has been revised and published end of 2012. The new norm (High and Medium Voltage) refers to IEC 61850 – similar compared to CEI 0-21 (Low Voltage). The norm even requires GOOSE messaging … more to come.

Title:
Regola tecnica di riferimento per la connessione di Utenti attivi e
passivi alle reti AT ed MT delle imprese distributrici di energia elettrica

(Reference technical rules for the connection of active and passive
consumers to the HV and MV electrical networks of distribution Company)

Click HERE to download the norm CEI 0-16 [Italian, pdf, 3.1 MB]

Click HERE for Information on CEI 0-21.

The German Roadmap E-Energy/Smart Grid 2.0 available

The German Roadmap E-Energy/Smart Grid 2.0 has been published recently. The 82 page document gives an overview about the status of many projects that had been involved in recent years: IEC, DKE, …

One key standard mentioned more than 20 times is (of course): IEC 61850. The Web2Energy project is introduced as a project that intensively uses IEC 61850.

Download the German Roadmap E-Energy/Smart Grid 2.0 (English version) (pdf, 8.5 MB)

Download the German Roadmap E-Energy/Smart Grid 2.0 (German version) (pdf, 4.3 MB)

Wednesday at Hannover Messe

Today (10 April 2013) was the busiest of the first three days. People … people, people walked the rows. Even more people than the other days stopped at the booth of TQ Systems, Beck IPC and SystemCorp. There was a huge interest in learning how to get IEC 61850, IEC 61400-25, IEC 60870-5-104, DNP3, Modbus … integrated into IEDs.

One of the most interesting questions asked today was from a small company that was looking for IEC 61850 software to be included for a substation switchgear drive system. The person I talked to said: IEC 61850 is very complex and we have figured out that the integration would cost some 100,000 Euro (one hundred thousand!) !! He asked me about my opinion.

My response was: It could be even more than 100.000 Euro – if you do it wrong! But it could be in the range of less than a tenth of that amount: some 5.000 Euro may be sufficient to get it running and integrated in the application … it all depends …

The Alarm Annunciator system developed by EES (Backnang, Germany) is one of the companies that recently implemented IEC 61850 within a few days … this integration proves that it is feasible in very short time.

Detlef Raddatz (SystemCorp, left) and Uwe Scholz (EES) in front of the display that shows the topology:

… it’s me (left) …

EES presented a nice “power box” that promised that you reach the “finishing line” with IEC 61850 faster than without!

TQ System’s products were well received by many visitors.

Some companies were quite fast in immediately ordering the IEC 61850 stack/API solution during the fair – there is a lot of pressure in various markets to make smart IEDs speaking IEC 61850 and IEC 61400-25 … fast-to-market and at a reasonable price.

What happened today at Hannover Messe?

The second day at the Hannover Messe was a quite interesting one. Many people came by and asked for IEC 61850 to be applied for building SYSTEMS that help to bring together PV Power, storages, Combined Heat and Power, Loads, Heating systems, … The time has come where many more people are looking for support to integrate many of these individual “pieces” into smarter systems!

IEC 61850 is about to play a major role in this regard. Many interested companies showed up and asked for a simple and easy integration of IEC 61850 into their applications (devices) … After a first wave of devices that used IEC 61850 one way or the other (roughly from 2004 to 2012), there is now a new wave coming that requires simple and easy to integrate solutions.

I have heard from several experts that they have tried to use IEC 61850 the recent years – and failed because it was too costly for their applications. Many of them are now back and checking again to get IEC 61850 integrated into their IEDs. Guess they will get what they are looking for. Most of them want just to use IEC 61850 – not struggle with the implementation (integration) of it.

More to come tomorrow and the other days. Many people have reported that IEC 61850 is an issue at many more booths in 2013 than last year.

IEC 61850 – Brief Report from first day at Hannover Messe 2013

The Hannover Messe has opened today (Monday, 08 April 2013). Some 6,800 exhibitors demonstrate their industrial products from industrial fieldbusses and PLCs to Power Generation and Power System Automation and Protection.

I am personally involved (as a Missionary for IEC 61850, IEC 61400-25, IEC 60870-5-104, DNP3, Modbus, …) in helping interested people at the booth of TQ Systems, Beck IPC and SystemCorp to get a brief introduction of IEC 61850, answering questions and helping them to navigate trough the above standards … mainly: How to get from standards to market-ready products!

There was a lot of interest in the solutions the three companies could provide. Many people just stopped at the booth and were excited to see how easy it is these days to get their IEDs and systems to speak the above standard communication languages!

In case you are visiting the Hannover Messe this week, please come by at booth C45/1 in hall 13.

Download the information package I am giving away at the Hanover Messe this week [pdf, 4.3 MB].

Some impressions:

Building up the booth

… does it fit Detlef? Yes!

… smart people to install smart devices:

… Wow ! It is all working according to IEC 61850 … it’s REAL !

… ruggedized IEC 61850 gateway to Modbus:

TQ Systems HMI with IEC 61850 Client:

Beck IPC Products:

Any question … when you see this price for a special RTU?

The com.tom also supports DNP3, IEC 61850, Modbus, …

IEC 61400-25 - Poster from REpower at AWEA Windpower 2013

REpower is presenting an excellent poster about the application of IEC 61400-25 at the AWEA Windpower conference in Chicago (IL) in May 2013.

The poster concludes:

IEC 61400-25 is a new standard for Wind Turbine communications. It can
facilitate and simplify the integration of new wind projects in a multiple-vendor,
multiple-system industry.
From the experience of the author of this article, the adoption of IEC 61400-
25 by customers in new projects in the last year has been 100%. All new
projects with REpower turbines in North America selected this interface.
The most benefit will be made once a critical mass of manufacturers, wind
farms owners, and equipment providers will use and support it.
This communication standard is needed for the wind industry to become
more efficient and competitive with traditional power sources.

Downlad the IEC 61400-25 poster [pdf, 370 KB]

… more to come.

Open Source C-Code for IEC 61850

Some six weeks ago I reported about the open source Java code for IEC 61850. The group that developed the Java code has now also published the open source C code.

“In cases where Java is not an option (e.g. if you want to implement a server on very resource constrained systems) you can also consider libiec61850 which is an alternative implementation in C.”

libIEC61850 provides a simple API for MMS. This API is in no way specific to IEC 61850 but provides a generic MMS client API.

This MMS API seems to be an option in case you have to decide to use (on one side) Modbus, DNP3, Fieldbus, or CAN in Automation OR (on the other side) to use IEC 61850. It may help you to get started with IEC 61850. There is no reason anymore not to start with IEC 61850!! The cost argument has gone.

As a Siemens employee I wrote two remarkable papers on the standardization:
one about the future of Fieldbusses/MMS and one about MAP/MMS in 1991:

Click HERE for the paper “Fieldbus standardization: Another way to go”
[PDF, 720 KB].

Click HERE for the paper “Bridging MAP/MMS to Ethernet” [PDF, 720 KB]

It took some 30 years from the fist baby steps to the availability of open source MMS code and other IEC 61850 solutions like the one from SystemCorp that is quite powerful and comprehensive. The time where you have to pay high (“voltage”) prices is over! “High voltage” refers to the application domain high voltage substations – the domain that first used IEC 61850 some 10 or 15 years ago.

IEC 61850 as a kind of template for Modbus based SunSpec Standard

The standard IEC 61850 has influenced other groups defining domain specific standards like IETF EMAN (Energy Management) and SunSpec Alliance. I have reported on the IETF EMAN group in March 2012. The SunSpec Alliance is new to me. So I browsed a bit their website and figured out that they have “copied” parts of the IEC 61850 information models, remodeled them and mapped them to Modbus registers.

Example: The electrical measurements from logical node MMXU (right) have been used by SunSpec (smdx_00101.xml) to some extent:

Unfortunately the names are slightly different! “PPV.phsAB” in IEC 61850 and “PPVphAB” in sunspec … I would have expected that the names (that carry the semantic) are the same! This would make the mapping between the two worlds much simpler --> reducing the costs …

Path could map to the following Modbus address (as an element inside the value … using the SystemCorp IEC 61850 stack/API):

The mapping of the IEC 61850 model to Modbus could be easily specified in the corresponding SCL file as Private Elements!! This could even be done automatically if the models (the names and semantic) in both standards would be equivalent!! Then a gateway device could offer both protocols (IEC 61850 and Modbus) running at the same time using a SINGLE specification file!

IMHO this is putting some soft pressure on IEC 61850 community! Why? Because why are the vendors implementing SunSpec not using IEC 61850 (the mother of SunSpec … to some extend)? One reason seems to be that it is not easy (and not for free) to get the models for PV applications. Another issue is that the implementations of IEC 61850 stacks/APIs are in some cases too expensive for these vendors.

Fortunately there is a solution available that provides a full set of services and support of any model specified in SCL notation: The SystemCorp Stack/API. There is a free of charge IEC 61850 DLL (for server and clients) available that runs for six months … enough time to evaluate the solution.

With the approach shown above we have implemented a device that is configured by SCL and that runs an IEC 61850 server AND an IEC 60870-5-104 slave at the same time (running on Beck IPC com.tom)!

Please come by at the booth 45/1 in Hall 13 at the Hannover Messe next week.

Security Standard IEC 62351-3 on its way

The Technical Specification IEC TS 62351-3, First edition, 2007-06 is underway to become an International Standard (57/1319/CDV):

Power systems management and associated information exchange –
Data and communications security –
Part 3: Communication network and system security – Profiles including TCP/IP

The CVD is out for ballot until 2013-07-05.

IEC 62351-3 specifies how to secure TCP/IP-based protocols through constraints on the
specification of the messages, procedures, and algorithms of Transport Layer Security (TLS)
(defined in RFC 5246) so that they are applicable to the telecontrol environment of IEC TC57. It is intended that this standard be referenced as a normative part of other IEC TC57 standards that have the need for providing security for their TCP/IP-based protocol.

The conformance is very strict:

8 Conformance
Conformance to this part shall be determined by the implementation of all parts of clause 5.

The definition of clause 5 could be implemented today already: the content is available in the Technical Specification IEC TS 62351-3.

There is no (and never was an) excuse to not implement quite secure communication.

IEC 61850/61400-25 for QNX available

Please note that the SystemCorp IEC 61850/61400-25 Stack/API has been ported to QNX 6.5 and PREEMPT_RT Linux. You are invited to visit the SystemCorp booth to discuss further details.

Invitation to Hanover Fair 2013 from 8th to 12th April | E-Energy, Smart Grids

Dear All,
We invite you to visit the booth of SystemCorp (Hall 13, booth C45/1).

SystemCORP offers their IEC 61850 (IEC 61400-25) Stack/API for Substations, Decentraliced Energy Resources , Distribution Automation, Hydro Power Plants, and Wind Turbines, to name few.

The communication stack with integrated APIs has been developed by SystemCorp and most efficiently ported to QNX 6.5 and PREEMPT_RT Linux. Both APIs are also supported by the advanced SoftPLC DACHSview++ with realtime targets under QNX 6.x or PREEMPT_RT Linux..

At the booth you will see an overview about the possibilities, how to apply Embedded Controllers to realize most powerful and cost efficient implementations of standards for Protection Relays, Automation Devices, SCADA, Gateways and Systems.

Best Regards,
Your Team from SystemCorp and STEINHOFF Automation

Mr Karlheinz Schwarz, NettedAutomation will be available at the booth to answer your questions related to the standards.

http://systemcorp.com.au
http://www.steinhoff-automation.com

See you there.

Cause of New Orleans Superdome partial Blackout

The Superdome in New Orleans was hit by a partial blackout on February 03, 2013. Some six weeks later you can find a technical report on the causes of the interruption of power flow.

There are multiple reasons reported why the circuit breaker tripped:

• Misoperation of the protection function under certain conditions
• Using factory default settings that had not been adjusted for the application at the Superdome
• Unclear technical documentation and communication between manufacturer and user

It is likely that the responsible technicians had a lack in experience and education or that they had to do the commissioning and testing in some haste. You know: Haste produces waste! Who knows.

Lessons learned: The electrical system requires highly experienced and educated protection engineers!! The application of more and more information and communication technology will require even more educated and experienced engineers!!

Click HERE to download the report [pdf, 560 KB].

There was another crucial “misbehavior” of technical people that caused a very crucial outage. Relay settings are very crucial … care must be taken to prevent outages … or you will see huge outages like the one in Europe Nov 04, 2006 which was caused by inconsistent alarm and trip settings (from UCTE Report, link see below):

The limits on both ends of a line must be the same (!!) … at least both sides need to take the values of the other side into account.

But what happens if you don’t take them into account? a big outages maybe the result (usually) as on Nov 04.

IEC 61850 would have help to prevent this situation: if each side gets read access to the alarm and trip settings … let’s say once a week, then you will figure out an inconsistent situation … or send an spontaneous report in case any setting value changes …

Click HERE for the Final Report of the Nov 04, 2016 outage [pdf, 2.8 MB] 

Information and communication technology can help to do routine tests and checks and help to get consistent settings. But it will not replace the well trained and experienced engineers.

IEC 61850 for Fault Protection, Isolation and Restoration (FPIR) equipment

Brisbane, Qld, Australia – Electrical switchgear engineers NOJA Power today announces its support for the adoption of IEC 61850 for Fault Protection, Isolation and Restoration (FPIR) equipment. NOJA Power says the use of IEC 61850 would significantly enhance coordination between Automatic Circuit Reclosers (ACR)––pole- or ground-mounted electricity distribution network protection devices––allowing such equipment to form an essential element of smart grids.

“ACRs will form a critical part of smart grids and IEC 61850 is rapidly gaining unstoppable momentum as the preferred communication and control standard for the smart infrastructure of the future,” said Neil O’Sullivan, CEO, NOJA Power.

Click HERE for the press release on IEC 61850 for DA application.

Tissue Database opened for IEC 68150-80-1, 90-1 and 90-5

Please note that we opened the IEC 61850 Tissue Database for three additional parts: 80-1, 90-1 and 90-5:

Click HERE for the IEC 61850 Tissue Database.

Smart Grids at Hannover Messe 2013

An exclusive area “Smart Grids” is dedicated to themed presentations and products spanning all aspects of smart grid technology.

HANNOVER MESSE is more than just an international meeting place for smart grids stakeholders. Thanks to its interdisciplinary and fully integrated format, the event exposes exhibitors and trade visitors to all the key technologies needed for today’s and tomorrow’s intelligent energy supply systems.

Exhibitors at the themed presentations in Hall 13, Stand C45 are:

Advantech Europe B. V.
Beck IPC (C45/1*)
E-Energy Begleitforschung
EuroSkyPark
Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI)
Landis + Gyr GmbH
Magtech
mdex GmbH
Nexans Deutschland GmbH
Operation Technology Inc. (ETAP)
PcVue GmbH
Robotron Datenbank-Software GmbH
SAG
SSV Software Systems GmbH
SystemCORP (C45/1*)
TQ-Systems GmbH (C45/1*)
VDE

Some 40 presentations and discussions are planned for the five days.

Download complete program and list of exhibitors [EN/DE, pdf, 1.5 MB]

* These three companies show their excellence in smart communication systems according to IEC 60870-5-104/DNP3, IEC 61850 and IEC 61400-25: Hardware, Software, Applications, … Gateways.

When to use Operate Service and when SetDataValues?

The IEC 61850-7-2 abstract services Operate and SetDataValues are both mapped to MMS Write in IEC 61850-8-1. So, what makes a MMS Write service an Operate or a SetDataValues?

The two services and the mapping are sketched here:

The first mapping is showing the Operate service (as part of the control model):

The Operate service is used in conjunction with the control model (defining state machines, select-before-operate, time-activated control,…). Control service models require a special information model: controllable Common Data Classes, e.g., SPC – Controllable Single Point. The model comprises attributes defined by the CDC and the service parameter ctlVal: these are shown in the MMS Variable as a structure “Oper” with the components: ctlVal, origin, ctlNum, T, Test, Check. These have to written at MMS level. These are always required for Operate even if you need just ctlVal !!

The settable DataObjects require the MMS Write as shown in the following figure:

In IEC 61850-7-3 it is defined exactly which services are to be used for the various attributes in the Common Data Classes. Example for controllable DataObjects:

 
Note that the FC=CO is defined in 8-1 !

Note also that client user interfaces (like the IEDScout) may use different service names than 7-2 or MMS.

Security and IEC 61850: Is it about Bug Fixes or Systematic Issues?

These days experts discuss the future of more secure IEDs and systems in the world of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). Note: ICS is also used in power systems – no question.

There are people that focus on single bugs and how to solve them by patching et cetera. Other experts are more looking at the systematic security problems in control systems.

Eric Byres, CTO and vice president of Tofino Security, a division of Belden, says “It will take major players like Exxon, Duke Energy, for instance, and other corporations with the ICS purchasing power, he says, to force vendors to step up and fix the systemic security issues."

Read a comprehensive discussion about the two positions – quite crucial and interesting.

What do you think about translating this statement into the issues we have with IEC 61850 Interoperability?

It will take major players like AEP, SCE, E.ON, EDF, RWE, Duke Energy, for instance, and other corporations with the ICS purchasing power, to force vendors to step up and fix the systemic interoperability issues with regard to IEC 61850."

This would help to prevent a lot of frustrations during factory and site acceptance tests.

Why do we see just a few major players from the utility domain using their force to improve interoperability? There are several reasons I see:

• Wall Street, Frankfurter Börse, …
• Ignorance of issues
• Not enough experts
• Attitude: just fix what brakes
• …

Recommendation from my side: Vendors and users should cooperate more in Teamwork and agree on writing documents like “How to profile IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5, …” to get specific profile specifications for a specific application that have (hopefully) not left options to ignore or to chose from.

A good example is the Vattenfall VHP Ready specification (Virtual Heat an Power). This spec defines the IOA for signals according to IEC 60870-5-104 and the Logical Device, Logical Node and Data Object Names.

Example 104:

Example IEC 61850:

If utilities do not specify what they want, they may experience a big surprise when they get the system delivered and installed. They may get much less or much more than what they expected.

And note this: When we get more standard conformant and interoperable IEDs installed, they are definitely linked to the Security issues discussed at the beginning!

What we are looking for is: Interoperable and Secure IEDs and Systems. We should not separate these two requirements! They are highly interrelated.