IEC 61850 Protection & Control Seminar on 8-10 December in Prague: GET a 25 per cent last call Discount

As a kind of an early Seasonal gift, you could receive a 25 per cent discount of the attendance fee for the following seminar:

PROTECTION AND CONTROL WITH IEC 61850

3 DAYS SEMINAR WITH PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATIONS

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC, DECEMBER 8TH – 10TH

With focus on protection and control in HV/MV substations using GOOSE, SV, SCADA and SCL Language

Teachers:
Mr. Andrea Bonetti (FMTP Power AB)
Mr. Karlheinz Schwarz (NettedAutomation GmbH)

Click HERE to receive a 25 per cent discounted attendance fee [pdf, 530 KB]

Can IEC 61850 be Applied in the Industrial Automation Domain?

Sure: It can. Why? Because IEC 61850 uses native standards like Ethernet, Ethertype, TCP/IP, UDP/IP, XML, MMS, … defines a dictionary of common information models, like MMXU (electrical measurements of a 3-phase AC system) that are applicable wherever a 3-phase AC System provides measurements like phase voltage or phase-to-phase voltages.

A motor with 3 phases is a motor with 3 phases everywhere! Or?

A very interesting paper by Dustin Tessier (Canada) discusses that IEC 61850 could be used in the power and industrial domain:

The Dual-Domains of IEC 61850 – Power vs Industrial Domains

“ … Despite the popular belief that the “power” domain and “industrial” domain have
intrinsically unique principles, this paper suggests the gap is decreasing, and through the
use of IEC 61850 we can adopt a single strategy that capitalizes on a common
technology platform.

… Whether it’s the SAS, DCS or PLC applications, these all share a common goal of collecting, processing, distributing and visualizing the data.

… No longer is the day where we ask, "Is this an industrial product or a utility
product?, and the same applies to system integration services. IEC 61850 may have been
designed for the power domain, but it won't be long before we see it revolutionize the
industrial domain.”

Click HERE for the paper [pdf, 100 KB]

Wherever there is electricity, IEC 61850 will be be involved one way or the other!

Click HERE for further discussion on the topic: Industrial and Power domain.

New Models for Condition Monitoring: IEC 61850-90-3

IEC TC 57 just published a very comprehensive document (draft technical report, 57/1522/DTR) of 150 pages that suggests a lot of new models:

IEC 61850-90-3 TR:
Communication networks and systems for power utility automation –
Part 90-3: Using IEC 61850 for condition monitoring diagnosis and analysis

The CMD (Condition Monitoring Diagnosis) which diagnoses power grid health status has been one of the major issues to improve the reliability of the power system by preventing a potential failure in advance. Since too many different information modeling, information exchange, and configuration techniques for CMD in various forms from many vendors are currently used, they need to be standardized in TC57.

The new document contains a lot of new Logical Nodes and Data Objects like for:

• GIS (Gas Insulated Switchgear)
• Transformer
• Load Tap Changer (LTC)
• Under Ground Cable (UGC)
• Transmission Line (TL)
• Auxiliary Power System

Example of an extension of the very common Model for a tank (KTNK):

LevMaxSet - Maximum level reached setting
LevHlfSet - Half level reached setting
LevMinSet - Minimum level reached setting

LevMax - Maximum level reached
LevHlf - Half level reached
LevMin - Minimum level reached

Voting terminates on 2015-01-16

More to come.

COSEM Object Model (IEC 62056) carried with IEC 61850 Data Model

IEC TC 57 has just published a very interesting new draft (57/1521/CD):

IEC 61850-80-4 TS:
Communication networks and systems for power utility automation - Part 80-4:
Translation from COSEM object model (IEC 62056) to the IEC 61850 data model

The IEC 61850 is already THE international Standard series when it comes to (electric) power applications and information modeling and exchange. Metering Information is quite often exchanged with DLMS and COSEM:

COSEM (Companion Specification for Energy Metering) is part of the DLMS (Device Language Message Specification)

This information needs to be “fed” into the IEC 61850 world. That is done by defining how the corresponding COSEM information can be wrapped with IEC 61850 Logical Nodes and Data Objects. The title says: Translated … which means the same.

Here is an example:

IEC 61850 Data	COSEM OBIS Code	Explanation
TotVAh	(1-b:9.8.0.255) – (1-b:10.8.0.255)	Net apparent energy
TotWh	1-b:1.8.0.255 - 1-b:2.8.0.255 (¦+A¦ - ¦-A¦)	Net real energy
TotVArh	1-b:3.8.0.255 - 1-b:4.8.0.255 (¦+R¦ - ¦-R¦)	Net reactive energy
SupWh	1-b:1.8.0.255 (+A)	Real energy supply (default supply direction: energy flow towards busbar and is equivalent to Energy Export[+])
SupVArh	1-b:3.8.0.255 (+R)	Reactive energy supply (default supply direction: energy flow towards busbar and is equivalent to Energy Export[+])
DmdWh	1-b:2.8.0.255 (-A)	Real energy demand (default demand direction: energy flow from busbar away and is equivalent to Energy Import[-])
DmdVArh	1-b:4.8.0.255 (-R)	Reactive energy demand (default demand direction: energy flow from busbar away and is equivalent to Energy Import[-])

These IEC 61850 Logical Nodes are of interest for the translation:

MMTR - Metering 3 Phase
MMTN - Metering Single Phase
MMXU - Measurement
MMXN - Non-phase-related measurement
MMDC - DC measurement
MSQI - Sequence and imbalance
MHAN - Non-phase-related harmonics or interharmonics
MHAI - Harmonics or interharmonics
MFLK - Flicker measurement

Closing date for comments: 2015-02-20

HMS offers IEC 60870-5-104 and IEC 61850 Gateways to Industrial Communication

Some four weeks ago I reported that HMS offers Smart Grid solutions that support building a power network for the future.

In the meantime HMS has posted more details on their corporate website.

One of the most interesting news is, that the LABLINE SG gateways can also communicate with industrial fieldbus or industrial Ethernet networks such as Profibus, Profinet or any other industrial network thanks to the HMS Anybus technology.

Click HERE to link to the new web pages.

What does IEC 61850 mean for Power Systems?

A lot. There are many different approaches to describe the benefits. You can start with the System Specification Description (SSD according to part IEC 61850-6, SCL) and go down to the signals and communication. Or you can describe it bottom-up. I like the bottom-up approach:

1. Take a signal (e.g. Voltage phase A in kV) coming trough a serial Modbus (Address 12122) by polling into an IEC 61850 Server device
2. Give it a NAME (MyMMXU1.PhV.phsA) based on a STANDARDIZED Structure (Logical Node MMXU), and
3. Use the protocol (MMS, ISO 9506) to just poll the current value with a MMS Read.

We may have 10 bays with each providing the voltage phase A: then we could model this as follows:
Bay1MMXU1.PhV.phsA
Bay2MMXU1.PhV.phsA
Bay3MMXU1.PhV.phsA
...
Bay10MMXU1.PhV.phsA

That's some basic benefit ... for a first “"brief introduction”.

In addition (there are many other features to look at), e.g.:

1. MMS allows to retrieve the Signal List (device model comprising all logical nodes ...) ...
2. The system configuration language (SCL) allows to carry the "signal list" in form of an XML file ...
3. SCL could carry the complete signal flow between any device in a system: who has which signal to offer, who needs which signal, how are signals carried between the many devices (real-time, non-realtime ...) ...
4. SCL could carry the single line diagram (topology) of an electrical system ...
5. SCL could carry how the information is related to the single line diagram ...
6. …

So, does IEC 61850 add to the complexity of power systems? No that much! See also:

http://blog.iec61850.com/2014/10/does-iec-61850-add-complexity-for.html

Be aware: There is more than IEC 61850 that has to be learned, understood and managed!

IEC 61850 Devices installed worldwide by Siemens: 300.000

The amount of IEDs installed in China (see post of yesterday) is amazing: some 10.000 by each of the major vendors … in some 10.000 substations (by 2013).

Siemens reported that they have installed 300.000 already:

Siemens reported in 2010:
As the world’s leading supplier of IEC61850 installations with over 1,000 reference sites,

Siemens was proud to deliver the first IEC61850 installation for a transmission utility in Australia
http://www.siemens.com.au/files/Energy/Distribution/ea_cs_electranet.pdf

and in 2012: Siemens has the largest installed base worldwide:
more than 200,000 Siemens devices with IEC 61850 are in operation around the globe.

http://www.energy.siemens.com/MX/pool/hq/energy-topics/standards/iec-61850/IEC61850_e.pdf

and in 2014: More than 300,000 devices with IEC 61850 are in operation around the globe
http://w3.siemens.com/smartgrid/global/en/products-systems-solutions/smart-communication/pages/iec-61850.aspx

These figures speak for themselves.

IEC 61850 in China: More than 10,000 Substations with IEC 61850 Devices in Operation

One of the many responses to my newsletter dated 04 November 2014 informed me about the BIG SUCCESS of IEC 61850 in China.

In a 2 page fact sheet dated October 2014 the authors report that by now more than 10,000 Substations in China (35KV to 1000kV) are equipped with IEC 61850 compliant devices. The top four vendors have each more than 10,000 IEC 61850 compliant devices in operation.

I guess there have been more than 100.000 IEC 61850 compliant devices installed in the first 10 years after first substations equipped with IEC 61850.

More to come.

Click HERE for the 2 page fact sheet.

New Training in Ecuador: Protection and Control with IEC 61850

FMTP and NettedAutomation (in cooperation with Power Technologies, Lima, Peru) offer a new crucial Seminar:

PROTECTION AND CONTROL WITH IEC 61850
4 DAYS SEMINAR WITH PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATIONS

LOCATION: GUAYAQUIL (ECUADOR)
DATE: 16 - 19 DECEMBER 2014

With focus on protection and control in HV/MV substations using typical Relays, Tools, GOOSE, SV, SCADA and SCL Language.

The IEC 61850 standard has been applied for several years to many new substation designs all over the world. It provides a compact solution, flexibility in engineering and installation and interoperability between devices from different manufacturers.

During the seminar, truly experienced engineers will help you to see and understand how use the core parts of the IEC 61850 standard are applied in substation design, engineering, configuration, communication methods for real-time information exchange, monitoring, protection and control applications.

You will learn all crucial lessons learned since the first projects with IEC 61850 in 2004.

Seminar content:

• IEC 61850 Introduction (Edition 1, 2, and 2.1) and experience after 10 years in operation. Where are we today? What to expect for the next year?
• Return of experience, applications and practical demonstrations:
• Protection and Control in Substation Automation
• Engineering and Configuration
• Maintenance
• Monitoring and SCADA system

Click HERE for details and contact information [pdf, 370 KB]

IEC 61850 in Hydro Power Plants

I have been asked recently about the application of IEC 61850 in Hydro Power Plants. Yes, there is growing interest to apply IEC 61850 conformant monitoring and control systems in the hydro domain.

A nice presentation from (Ingeteam Power Technology S.A.) with the title

HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS AUTOMATION USING IEC 61850:
EXPERIENCES AND IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE USER
presented in April 2014

closes with the statement that “IEC 61850 is a valid solution for hydro power plant automation … More than 10 IEC 61850 hydro projects mainly in Spain.”

Click HERE for a nice presentation [pdf, 0.5 MB]

The use of IEC 61850 for conventional power plants is also growing. I have conducted several training courses in 2014 for engineers working in the power plant business.

Be sure: More to come.

UCAIUG Interoperability Report (Munich 2013) available – And Now?

IEC 61850 defines Modeling Methods, Information Models, Abstract Services, Service Mapping to MMS, Configuration Language to specify a whole System composed of several substations et cetera. Some 10 years after the publication of the first edition of the core parts (3, 6, 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-4, 8-1 and 9-2) we expect the edition 2.1 of the core documents early 2014. There is a lot of progress during these 10 years of applications!

The well accepted tissue process has helped to increase the consistency of the various parts of the series and to help to reach a high level of conformity of devices and tools:

www.tissues.iec61850.com

In addition to Conformance tests it is obvious that Interoperability is one of the crucial issues that is expected by the users community. Many organizations are involved to further increase the Interoperability between the products provided by many vendors. One major step towards a higher level of interoperability is the UCAIUG Interoperability Test Session that was conducted at TÜV SÜD (Munich, Germany) the week of 27. October – 01. November 2013.

Click HERE to download the 240 page Report [pdf, 5.8 MB].

One of the crucial lessons I (and many other experts) have learned trough my long-term involvement in the standardization groups and more than 200 training courses is this: In case you are planning to use the new (IEC 61850) Technology in one of your next projects:

1. Get education and training from neutral trainers
2. Purchase or lent the devices and tools you are about to use in the real world: protection & control devices, SCADA systems, RTUs, Network Infrastructure like Switches and Routers, and Tools … and test them as a kind of “Multivendor Interoperability Test”
3. You can speed up this process by cooperating with FMTP Power Systems and NettedAutomation: They could come to you and provide the most well known and used devices and Tools and introduce Theory and Practice!!
   This helps to keep the cost low – you don’t need to figure out what to purchase … and how to use the Technology when you start.
   You would get the right support for a fast start … the most efficient way!

Please check these dates and locations:

Special Protection & Control Hands-On Training: 08.-10. Dec 2014 in Prague (Czech Republic)	Click HERE for the details
Special Protection & Control Hands-On Training: 16.-19. December 2014 in Guayaquil (Ecuador):	Click HERE for the details [pdf]
Common Hands-On Training in German: 24.-26. November 2014 (Karlsruhe) 12.-14. Januar 2015 (Karlsruhe) 23.-25. März 2015 (Karlsruhe)	Click HERE for more details

I look forward to meeting you there.

IEC 61850 Server integrated in CODESYS Development System, Version 3.5 Service Pack 3 or later

3S-Smart Software Solutions GmbH (Kempten, Germany) has developed a CODESYS IEC 61850 Server that is completely integrated in the CODESYS Development System and provides implementation for users according to the first version of the standard.

Intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) according to IEC 61850 can be configured directly from the CODESYS Development System and employed as servers in energy networks. The configured servers render real generated data from the network units (IED) into messages and reports that can be used for further processing by connected IEC 61850 clients.

Minimum software requirements are:

• CODESYS Development System, Version 3.5 Service Pack 3 or later
• IEC 61850 server library adapted to the runtime system, in order to be able to use the SNTP

Click HERE for more details.

It is likely that IEC 61850 will be used more often in the factory automation and process control applications – because CODESYS is well known in these domains.

IEC 61850 ICD Designer update available

A new update of SystemCorp’s IEC 61850 ICD Designer is available for download: Version 2.00.011

Upgrade / installation:
http://licenses.systemcorp.com.au/downloads/ICDDesignerSetupV2.00.011.exe

Standalone version:
http://licenses.systemcorp.com.au/downloads/ICDDesignerStandaloneV2.00.011.zip

This is the same version available on the SystemCorp website “Demo”. All versions will operate as a demo if the dongle is missing. The demo version becomes the full version when a dongle is present.

The latest documentation is Revision 2.01 (contained in the above uploads):

The latest ICD Designer offers several new features – worth to test.

Neu: IEC 61850 Seminar und Hands-On-Training in Deutsch (in Karlsruhe)

NettedAutomation GmbH hat seit 2003 weltweit über 200 Seminare im Zusammenhang mit IEC 61850 und IEC 60870-5-104 durchgeführt. Diese Seminare wurden in Englisch gehalten. Mittlerweile ist das Interesse an Seminaren und Trainingskursen im deutschsprachigen Raum so groß, dass NettedAutomation jetzt auch einen Trainingskurs in Deutsch anbietet.

Nachdem über 3.700 Experten aus 800 Firmen und 80 Ländern in Englisch geschult wurden, haben Sie jetzt die Möglichkeit, das gerade neu aufgebaute dreitägige (deutschsprachige!) Seminar mit Theorie und viel Praxis in Karlsruhe zu einem günstigen Preis buchen! Es besteht auch die Möglichkeit, nur den ersten Tag mit der Einführung und Übersicht zu einem absolut niedrigen Preis zu besuchen.

24.-26. November 2014 (Karlsruhe)
12.-14. Januar 2015 (Karlsruhe)
23.-25. März 2015 (Karlsruhe)

Am ersten Tag wird ein Überblick über das Normungsumfeld und die einzelnen Normen gegeben. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei die grundlegenden Eigenschaften und Bedeutung der Normenreihe IEC 61850 für Engineering, Datenmodellierung, Datenmodelle, Kommunikationsmöglichkeiten, Sicherheitslösungen sowie deren internationale Umsetzung und Akzeptanz.
Am zweiten und dritten Tag werden Details behandelt und mit praktischen Übungen an realen Geräten begleitet. Ein Teil der eingesetzten Lösungen und Werkzeuge können auch nach dem Training weiter verwendet werden. Es wird vor allem die Frage behandelt: Was bedeutet der Einsatz dieser Normen für Hersteller von Geräten und Systemen, für die Systemintegratoren und die Anwender?

Hier für weitere Details, Programm und Anmeldeunterlagen klicken.

Hier gelangen Sie zu weiteren Seminar- und Trainingsangeboten.

Hier finden Sie mehr Informationen über meine Erfahrungen und weltweiten Einsätze [pdf, 3.9 MB] zur Unterstützung von Anwendern, Herstellern und vielen anderen Leuten … und weitere hilfreiche Einblicke in den Markt für Smart Grids und IEC 61850.

Approved for Publication as Standard: FDIS IEC 62351-3 Communication network and system security – Profiles including TCP/IP

The following document has been approved by 100 per cent of the IEC TC 57 national committees:

FDIS IEC 62351-3 (57/1498/FDIS):
Power systems management and associated information exchange – Data and
communications security – Part 3: Communication network and system security – Profiles including TCP/IP

Click HERE for some additional details.

Smart grid in Denmark 2.0: IEC 61850 and CIM are crucial

The following interesting report has been published recently:

Smart grid in Denmark 2.0
IMPLEMENTATION OF THREE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
FROM THE SMART GRID NETWORK

One of the key areas is related to information standards. The report summarizes on:

THE MOST IMPORTANT STANDARDS

Internationally, two standards for Smart Grids are singled out in particular, each including a number of part-standards and related standards. One is the IEC 61850 standard, which was originally developed for substations but which has today been developed to cover a wide range of other areas, e.g. DER units. The information model in IEC 61850 is based on the so-called Logical Nodes, whereby information can be structured in a harmonised way. The other standard is the IEC 61970 standard, which was originally developed for control centre environments, but which today, via related standards, covers a wide range of system activities in the power system, for example electricity markets. The information model in IEC 61970 is called the Common Information Model - CIM. The two information models are being harmonised with a view to defining a combined information model for the entire power system and its associated components and processes.

Click HERE for the report.

How to Generate IEC 61850 IED Models?

IEC 61850-6 (SCL – System Configuration Language) supports the design, engineering and configuration of systems … systems composed of many IEDs (Intelligent Electronic Devices). One key question is: How can I define a model of an IED?

Big vendors like ABB, GE, Siemens, … have their own vendor-specific tools. What’s about third-party tools? Or even freely available tools?

The following tools may be used for free (with some restrictions):

IEDmodeler from RedWind:

IED Modeler is a tool free for use as long as you have an access to the internet and accept their license … The program is free of charge for non-profit purposes including teaching and research at universities, colleges and other educational institutions, research at non-profit research institutions, and personal non-profit purposes.

Click HERE for more information.

ICD Designer from SystemCorp:

The ICD Designer can be used to model IEDs according to Edition 1 and Edition 2 of the core parts of IEC 61850. In addition to modeling IEDs it can be used to bind Models to real applications: bind the “XCBR2.Pos.stVal” to a specific memory location or to a Modbus Coil:

The “Pos.stVal” can be bound to a Modbus Slave:

This binding allows automatic configuration of the IEC 61850 Stack/API and binding to the corresponding Modbus device at address 321.

Other bindings are supported: DNP3, IEC 60870-5-104, …

The ICD Designer can be used to simplify the application of the SystemCorp IEC 61850 Stack/API.

Click HERE for more information on the ICD Designer. The ICD Designer can – of course – also be used for creating CID Files.

Does IEC 61850 Add Complexity for Technicians in Power Utilities?

This week I was asked the question in the title during an introduction of IEC 61850 to some 15 utility experts. My response was not just yes or no. Initiated by that question I thought it would be of interest to discuss this issue on the blog.

We have to understand that the expected complexity in power system information exchange has at least the following three crucial aspects:

1. Complexity of the network infrastructure (independent of protocols defined and used by standards like IEC 60870-5-104, DNP3, IEC 61850, IEC 61400-25, …). The infrastructure used and discussed these days seems to explode! Compared to dial-up-links and and fixed land lines used usually for remote access of something, the application of Switched Ethernet, Ethertype, VPN, VLAN, TCP/IP, UDP/IP, GSM, UMTS, LTE, … requires a good understanding of your needs and the various solutions that could be used.
2. Complexity of standards (like IEC 60870-5-104, DNP3, IEC 61850, IEC 61400-25, …) that use the above infrastructure.
3. Complexity of communication software and application interfaces between applications and communication software, and complexity of engineering and configuration tools.

In many cases I have experienced that users do have little understanding what they really need! And may even have lesser knowledge about the various solutions, how to use them for their systems, and to understand how they impact the dynamics of the whole system!

I have talked to many people that have complained about the complexity of protocols … but usually we figured out that the complexity was caused by a bit of everything … and mainly by the fact that people tend to NOT TRUST the chain of solutions from, e.g., a control system application to an API of a front-end, front-end application, protocol API, protocol IEC 60870-5-104, TCP/IP, VPN, GPRS, RTU, interface between RTU and remote application, and remote application.

Here is an example I have experienced recently (with the topology based on GPRS as listed above):

1. The control system does not trust that the information exchange with the RTU is reliable and available. Therefore the control system sends Pings every 2 seconds.
2. The front-end application does not trust that the RTU is reliable and available. Therefore the front-end applications issues a 104 control command (toggle bit) every 10 seconds … just to see if the 104 protocol is still alive.
3. The front-end application does not trust (even it figures out that the RTU is available) that the remote application is really receiving a parameter setting for a function in the remote application. Therefore the remote application copies a received setting value to another 104 information object and sends a spontaneous message with the just received setting value.
4. The protocol IEC 60870-5-104 exchanges flow control messages to acknowledge the received messages (in both directions).
5. TCP uses flow control messages and keep alive messages …

So, what do you think about such a bunch of deep mistrusts? Do you think that such a system would work properly and reliable?

I guess that there are many huge GAPS: in the understanding of the NEEDs, the various links in the chain like the dynamics of a system using, e.g., GPRS, … the APIs, the applications …

I recommended to the audience that there is a crucial need for: MORE EDUCATION !! 

A screw driver is not sufficient for future power delivery systems. And: Ignoring IEC 61850 is not sufficient to get the job done! IEC 61850 solutions can be very easy for simple needs.

You can experience it – if you want! Let me know!