10 IEC 61850
This section describes how the IEC 61850 standard is applied to Alstom Grid products. It is not a description
of the standard itself. The level at which this section is written assumes that the reader is already familiar
with the IEC 61850 standard.
IEC 61850 is the international standard for Ethernet-based communication in substations. It enables
integration of all protection, control, measurement and monitoring functions within a substation, and
additionally provides the means for interlocking and inter-tripping. It combines the convenience of Ethernet
with the security that is so essential in substations today.
10.1 BENEFITS OF IEC 61850
The standard provides:
● Standardized models for IEDs and other equipment within the substation
● Standardized communication services (the methods used to access and exchange data)
● Standardized formats for configuration files
● Peer-to-peer communication
The standard adheres to the requirements laid out by the ISO OSI model and therefore provides complete
vendor interoperability and flexibility on the transmission types and protocols used. This includes mapping of
data onto Ethernet, which is becoming more and more widely used in substations, in favour of RS485. Using
Ethernet in the substation offers many advantages, most significantly including:
● Ethernet allows high-speed data rates (currently 100 Mbps, rather than tens of kbps or less used by
most serial protocols)
● Ethernet provides the possibility to have multiple clients
● Ethernet is an open standard in every-day use
● There is a wide range of Ethernet-compatible products that may be used to supplement the LAN
installation (hubs, bridges, switches)
10.2 IEC 61850 INTEROPERABILITY
A major benefit of IEC 61850 is interoperability. IEC 61850 standardizes the data model of substation IEDs,
which allows interoperability between products from multiple vendors.
An IEC 61850-compliant device may be interoperable, but this does not mean it is interchangeable. You
cannot simply replace a product from one vendor with that of another without reconfiguration. However the
terminology is pre-defined and anyone with prior knowledge of IEC
61850 should be able to integrate a new
device very quickly without having to map all of the new data. IEC 61850 brings improved substation
communications and interoperability to the end user, at a lower cost.
10.3 THE IEC 61850 DATA MODEL
The data model of any IEC 61850 IED can be viewed as a hierarchy of information, whose nomenclature
and categorization is defined and standardized in the IEC 61850 specification.
MiCOM P747 Chapter 7 - SCADA Communications
P747-TM-EN-1 223
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