Introduction

Each system is for a unique purpose and has its own data acquisition devices in the substation, dedicated communication channel between substations and control centers, and dedicated processing workstation in control centers. Furthermore, each system is maintained by a separate team, thus the maintenance of common system data models, parameters, and data itself is done repeatedly, and there is inconsistency between these systems. With the application of electronic instrument transformers and IEC 61850, it is possible to integrate these systems, optimize hardware configuration, re-allocate functions, unify data models and the communication interface, so as to share the power grid models, parameters, data and other resources, make it easy to maintenance or add new functions, and save investment. The roadmap to achieve a universal data acquisition platform proposed in this article includes the following steps:

• Update the conventional bay control unit to include functions of Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) and that of Disturbance & Fault Recorder (DFR)
• Update substation gateway interfaced with control centers to handle all the data collected by substation automation systems
• Design a new communication protocol to transmit all kinds of data between substations and control centers via a single communication channel (IEC 61850-90-2 may be the answer)
• Update the front end terminals at control centers to handle all the data for different purposes
• Set up a universal platform at control centers for data acquisition, data sharing, data display, and various applications, which are part of smart EMS (Energy Management System)

Reliability plays a significant part in the design process of a Universal Data Acquisition Platform, which should be taken into consideration during the hardware and software design of the whole system and can be achieved in four aspects: redundancy, security, robustness and resilience.