Introduction

CIGRE Study Committee B5 commissioned a study to explore the use of Information Technology (IT) application for remote on-line management of Substation protection and automation. Information technologies were to be considered as a general concept; intranet and internet technologies are subset of IT. Study Committee B5 limited the scope of work to the management of protection and automation functions, and explicitly excluded any analysis or implication related to the execution of protection and automation functions. Specifically, traditional Energy Management System (EMS), Distribution Management System (DMS), and adaptive (and automated) protection operations are excluded.

Remote on-line management refers to an application "remote" from the substation (where the IEDs are located) and using data exchanged with the IEDs. Communication technologies offered by new standards such as IEC 61850, 61968 and 61970 will enable the management of their operations in a coordinated and integrated fashion through the use of secure access to all data. Protection and automation data all share the characteristic of being predominately structured; the context is mainly well defined by the configuration parameters and limits of measured data.  Imagine a utility that can automatically obtain the protection and automation data from any repository to find the evidence needed to characterize and respond to a particular fault before it grows out of control. Such a capability could dramatically lower the cost and time to take corrective action and maintain reliable power delivery services.

Imagine a utility that can automatically obtain the protection and automation data from any repository to find the evidence needed to characterize and respond to a particular fault before it grows out of control. Such a capability could dramatically lower the cost and time to take corrective action and maintain reliable power delivery services.

The capabilities are now emerging from the research laboratories and being deployed by forward thinking utilities to address a multitude of operational opportunities. As the technologies for remote on-line management mature, new solutions that merge the value of controlled access and use of protection and automation data will become ubiquitous.
Examples of core information technology used for remote on line management of protection and automation are presented to highlight the operational advantages of the enabling technologies. It is our belief that remote on line management will play a fundamental role in helping utilities to integrate the capabilities within a scaleable enterprise. It will also stimulate the research community toward greater advances in remote on-line management techniques and technologies - advantages that will arise from a growing ability to integrate a collection of protection and automation techniques and to use the community's collective capability to provide results of much higher quality.

There are several possible applications but only some of them are within the scope of this technical brochure. Figure 1 describes a series of applications categorized by names; there is no agreed taxonomy here, so the definition is within the scope of this technical brochure only. The brochure is restricted to three categories: Network Maintenance, Product Maintenance, and Product Coordination.

Recomendations and Findings ? what we learned

This work has considered the various experiences gained in many locations over a number of years in the use of remote on-line management of protection devices.  It is recognized that there have been a number of levels and complexities of such techniques and technologies employed to date and several new ones that are already being deployed.

This work cannot hope to define "the" right technology to use to meet a particular utility's operational objective.  However it can serve as a guideline to utilities seeking to determine the range of solutions available and the issues that need to be considered in the final choice.

The following findings and recommendations are considered highest of importance and deserve to be addressed in more depth by future CIGRE working groups.

Version control for asset management

Version control is required for reliable operations of the power system during pre-configuration, commissioning, and operation.

Suppliers need to provide version control at every level needed by the user. Version control requirements are driven by:

• Hardware: Define maintenance lots, keep asset records, ensure appropriate training of maintenance operators, and define recertification requirements.
• Software: Define when to upgrade software based on functional or bug correction, optimize cost, and define recertification requirements.
• Pre-configuration: Define IED generic behavior for a given use in order to simplify the final setting and configuration.
• Configuration: Define consistent functions split between IEDs and client software.
• Setting: Optimize the system behavior for both local and global network use.

Improving the bridge between coordination studies and remote management

An advanced concept to improve the bridge between coordination studies and remote management is illustrated in Figure 2. It is common practice today to coordinate device settings between Engineering, who is responsible for the settings, and Planning, who is responsible for overall system safety, reliability and stability. Two conceptual improvements are highlighted in Figure 1. First, enabling read-only privileges for mission critical settings by an automated remote on-line rule-based expert system can provide expert assistance of recommended options to Planning.  Secondly, if settings are going to be changed, a two person enabling rule can be implemented to securely provide independent coordination of mission critical settings.

A brief summary describing why a "one person" approach is not a good idea and the vulnerability of automated tools is discussed in the technical brochure.

Information security ? you can't do without it

Surveys by EPRI and others have identified the Insider threat as one of the highest intrusion threats in today's environment. Clearly, one can deduce from Figure 1 that Identity Management (IM) and Role Based Access Control (RBAC) are required to minimize these threats. For example, the Engineering and Planning group within a Utility may have the role of controlling the setting of parameters in IEDs while the Operations group may only have the authority to monitor these parameters and behavior of the system with these parameters. After an individual has been identified as a genuine member of an organization and member of one of these groups, separation of these levels of authority may be achieved with a standards-based RBAC scheme.  

The way forward

The CIGRE technical brochure provides a roadmap for your consideration of new technologies for remote on-line management.

• How best to improve coordination of mission critical device setting to prevent blackouts.
• Role Based Access Control schemes to improve access to and use of data and field device operations.
• Use a proxy server to improve security without changing existing protection and automation equipment.