June 2011 Issue
Editorial
The above applies not only to people, but to all areas of human activity, including electric power systems protection, automation and control. This does not mean that there were no communications between devices in the electromechanical PAC world of the last century. To understand this we just need to look at the definition of communications – an activity for the exchange of meaningf... MoreLetters
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News
Industry News
ABB - Relion® 615 series solution
ABB Relion® 615 series with pilot wire modems for line differential protection applications offers an ideal solution for retrofitting existing electromechanical relays with genuine IEC 61850 devices. With the genuine IEC 61850 IEDs, power system protection and control can now be retrofitted in chosen steps at bay level, substation level or in remote network systems. The new solutio... MoreAlstom - Grid Expertise
Alstom launches the new 2011 issue of the Network Protection and Automation Guide, with the accolade of the Universities of Bath and Manchester each signing deals to procure 400 copies. The Universities, based in England, are front-runners in the teaching of Electrical Power Systems programmes, with the book to be used as protection course reference material. In this ethos of ex... MoreBB FOCUS
Ametek - Broadband Multiplexer AMETEK announces the commercial launch of its Broadband Multiplexer (BB FOCUS), now with multiple T1/E1 stream support. BB FOCUS uses a packet processor to convert various individual analog and digital channels to packets for transmission over the internal or external GigE networks. When BB FOCUS is equipped with any of the optional 8 T1/E1 p... MoreEuropean Smart Grids - from innovation to deployment
On 12 April 2011, the European Commission has adopted the Communication "Smart Grids: from innovation to deployment". It sets policy directions to drive forward the deployment of future European electricity networks. Bringing together latest progress in Information and Communication technologies and network development will allow electricity current to flow exactly where and when it is n... MorePrice Reduced on IEC 61850 Option for SEL Products
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL) has reduced the price for its IEC 61850 option. The new price is the result of strong sales for protection, automation, control, and communications solutions within diverse international markets. IEC 61850 technology, Ethernet networking, and high reliability combine to optimize: station computing protection automation c... MorePTL Now Supporting 250 Relay Models
Many new relays added to OMICRON's protection testing library The OMICRON PTL (Protection Testing Library) provides test templates for a wide range of protection relays. These templates contain customizable test plans covering all important protection functions and XRIO Converters for modeling the relay in the test software. Using the PTL allows considerable time savings as test plans a... MoreSecuControl Introduces
Line of GPS Master Clocks and Time Distributors SecuControl presents a complete line of satellite synchronized clocks. The new GPS clocks deliver a robust time reference for use in a wide range of utility and industrial applications. A broad range of models is available - ranging from rack size high-end GPS master clocks to compact, DIN-rail mount time distributors. The ... MoreToshiba announces MV directional relay for GRE series
Toshiba announces the launch of GRE140, a new member of the low-cost, high-quality and compact GRE-Series of multi-function relays for protection and control applications in MV networks. The GRE140 - a numerical directional overcurrent protection device, provides four-stage directional overcurrent and earth fault elements augmenting the basic protection functions offered in the GRE110, ... MoreUpdate of Hirschmann? HiLCOS WLAN Firmware
Belden has announced the release of HiLCOS 8.50, a new version of its established WLAN firmware from the Hirschmann™ product range. Like its predecessors, this firmware is fully compliant with the European 5 GHz standard (EN 301893 V1.5.1). New to this firmware version, however, is that it permits access points and clients to be integrated into Profinet and Ethernet/IP netw... MoreTechnology News
RFID - Radio-frequency identification
Radio-frequency identification is a radio waves communication based technology using the exchange of data between an electronic tag attached to an object and a reader that finds many applications in different domains for identification and tracking. Léon Theremin's 1945 spy invention is considered the grandfather of RFID technology. With the continuous improvements in technolog... MoreSmart Pens - moving handwriting into the digital domain
We all know the PAC specialist are creative people that may engage in technical discussions at any time and location, when they don't have a laptop to record their ideas or the results from the arguments. That is why many of us may find a useful tool in the smart pens that have been available for several years. The second generation of this technology and the applications developed ... MoreToshiba SEDs - Self-Encrypting Hard Drives
The increased requirements for cyber security are not only related to wide area communications, but to the handling and storage of sensitive data. Considering the huge amounts of data that will be stored in the future, especially with the wider spread of multifunctional Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) and Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs), securing this data will become a critical ta... MoreCover Story
Communications Based Protection of Transmission Lines
Phase Comparison Protection is one of the unit protection principles that can be used successfully with communications channels with relatively low throughput. This is due to the fact that the messages exchanged between the relays at the ends of the protected line contain binary 1 (ON) or 0 (OFF) information, based on the conversion of the sinusoidal into a square waveform. Comparison o... MoreIEC 61850 Update
IEC 61850 and Smart Grids
What is it that makes IEC 61850 attractive for Smart Grids? I will try to answer that question without providing another definition of a Smart Grid. I think we all agree that Smart Grid means a suite of applications requiring distributed automation and a significant amount of information exchange. So Smart Grid means adding a communication and automation infrastructure to the existing power n... MoreLessons Learned
GOOSE Enabled Automatic Bus Transfer Scheme
Adding a Transformer: The relocation of a large industrial customer to the suburb of Otara made necessary the installation of a third transformer, shown in Figure 1, at the local primary substation to increase network capacity. Unfortunately with the addition of this transformer, fault levels were to rise beyond design limits when operated in parallel with the other two existing transformer... MoreIEC 61850 Communications
Application of IEC 61850 for Protection Communication between Substations
The concept of IEC 61850 is based on a local Ethernet network, providing high bandwidth and thus removing many limitations induced by former low-bandwidth communication structures. IEC 61850 for SS-to-SS communication is most easily applied when such high bandwidth channels are also available between substations, which will become more and more common with modern communication infrastructures... MoreSmart Grid
Enabling Smart Grid Communications
When trying to determine the communications requirements for the Smartgrids in a distribution application, first of all we must focus on the business-oriented application and service requirements. Smartgrid related services require the deployment of a new telecom network at the secondary substation level. A careful analysis of the requirements will ultimately determine the performance (... MoreLegal Issue
Legal & Ethical Concerns
By Yana Alexis St. Clair, Esq. This powerful statute encompasses the prohibition of discrimination based on: color, race, religion, sex and natural origin in hiring, firing, pay, and different job assignments and their components (access to training, etc). Important features of Title VII are the following: Covered Entities:Encompassing all employers with 15 or more employees, who p... MoreWind Power
On-line Security Analysis of Wind Penetration
This task can be performed using the Wind generation Secure Level Assessment Tool (WSAT) jointly developed by EirGrid and PowerTech based on stability analysis of transfers between wind power generation and conventional power generation on the power system. In real-time (RT) application, WSAT obtains a modified power flow snapshot file and a set of contingency files from SCADA/EMS and runs ... MoreThe Guru
Interview with John Ainsworth
PAC World: Can you tell us something about where you were born and where you grew-up? JA: I was born in Sydney NSW Australia in 1938. Early years the family lived in the Bondi area in walking distance of Bondi Beach. The time in Bondi was during the war years. We lived directly under the flight path near the base at Rose Bay and I have vivid memories of... MoreHistory
Protection History- Generator Protection
The first article covering stator ground protection was published in the Autumn-2009-issue of this magazine, where we discussed the beginning and focused on busbar operation of generators. With bigger machines or connected grids it became important, to connect the generators using unit transformers. 90% Earth Fault Protection In case of unit (generator-transformer) connection the g... MoreI Think
Smart Grids & the Human Factor
We are all human and as humans we all share a number of similar characteristics and needs. One can argue that in many cases we share the same basic needs and behaviors. We all know however that the situation in different regions of the world is not as simple as this and that many differences exist between races, cultures and individuals. Differences that in many cases are used to emphasize ou... MoreIndustry Reports
Looking at CIGRE Australia Panel B5 Protection & Automation
Looking at CIGRE Australia Panel B5 Protection & Automation by Rodney Hughes - Convener of the CIGRE Australian Panel B5 The world of electrical power is one of those industries that at first glance seems to be something that just never changes. The community now expects the ability to connect renewable energy sources, avoid unlimited expansion of the grid capacity and want ... MoreThe "Star of Laufenburg"
IEEE Milestones in Electrical Engineering and Computing The substation of Laufenburg in Switzerland is today one of the largest substations in Europe, connecting the electrical networks of multiple countries. This was the place where for the first time electrical power networks from different countries were interconnected: in 1958, the electrical power networks of Switzerland, France and Ger... MoreConference Reports
South East Asian Protection & Automation Conference, Sydney, Australia
South East Asian Protection & Automation Conference, Sydney, Australia by Rodney Hughes, Australia SEAPAC - the only protection engineering focused conference in the region was held 9-11 March, 2011 CIGRE Australia Panel B5 host the SEAPAC every two years which has become a very popular event. The Australian B5 committee committed to the first event in 2007 to pro... MoreTexas A&M Conference for Protective Relay Engineers
Texas A&M Conference for Protective Relay Engineers The 64th Annual Conference for Protective Relay Engineers was held 12 -14 April 2011 at College Station, Texas, USA. The Conference was hosted by Texas A&M University. In his Welcome address the conference Chair Prof. B. Don Russell writes: "For 64 years the Annual Conference for Protective Relay Engineers has provided the bes... MoreWPDAC - Western Power Delivery Automation Conference
WPDAC - Western Power Delivery Automation Conference This conference focuses on the issues of automation and control of power system substations. The theme of the conference this year was "Advancing the technology of the smart grid". The 13th Annual Western Power Delivery Automation Conference was held 29–31 March 2011 at the historical Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Wa... MoreBook Review
Computer Relaying for Power Systems
Second Edition The authors of the book are two of the most distinguished professionals in the electric power system protection community, with combined experience in industry and academia approaching one hundred years. They have witnessed and participated in all stages of the development of the computer relaying of power systems, which makes their book a valuable contribution that can he... MoreHobby
Running for a Reason
by Dave Dolezilek, SEL, Pullman Washington, USA I enjoy participating in endurance races, so I try to fit in running every day. Training and competing in various races throughout the world has allowed me to combine two very important priorities- keeping physically fit and raising awareness and money for charity. I travel a lot to teach, present technical papers, and help with fro... MoreFinal Thoughts
Asking the Right Questions
As we can see from the different articles in this issue of the magazine, there are many different ways that we can use communications for a variety of protection, automation and control applications.
In order to take advantage of the advances in communication technology in the most efficient way, we need to select the right technology to meet the requirements o... More
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