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.