Standard platform for integrated soft protection and control

Increasingly powerful processors for substation automation systems make it possible to integrate and process many functions, for both protection and control, in the same computer. This article describes possibilities, experiences and challenges for a standard platform for integrated soft protection and control of AC substations. The benefits of such a solution have been described in several papers [X], [Y]. Field tests also show that it works in reality. With the development of the process bus IEC 61850–9–2 there is now also a solution for connecting distributed I/O's in a standardized way. The possibility to buy equipment from different vendors leads to competition and decreased prices. The next step is to create a scalable environment where the functions can adopt to the needs in the specific substation and the present situation in the network, ie future smart grids. Most of these functions can be implemented with the existing distributed solutions based on IEC 61850 but the development of an open system platform makes it possible to integrate functions from different vendors and thus create full flexibility. The article describes possible benefits as well as potential challenges before reaching a totally integrated solution.