by James Formea, Eaton, USA
The IEEE PES Power System Communications and Cybersecurity Committee (PSCCC) was pleased to conduct another series of virtual meetings jointly with the Power System Relaying and Control Committee (PSRCC) January 11-15, 2021.
As the third such virtual series conducted since our last in-person meetings in January 2020, the meeting series proved to be successful, with excellent participation from many first-time and returning attendees. The committee held 26 meetings of its various study groups, task forces, working groups, and subcommittees over four days, followed by a culminating meeting of the main committee.
The Power Line Carrier Subcommittee (C0) reported that IEEE Std C93.5, IEEE Draft Standard for Power Line Carrier Transmitter/Receiver Equipment used to Transfer Discrete Teleprotection Signals, passed through its first recirculation ballot with 100% approval.
The draft has been submitted to RevCom and is expected to be approved in March. Work continues on the revision of IEEE Std 643, Guide for Power-Line Carrier Applications.
The subcommittee also requested and received approval from the main committee to form a new Study Group to consider possible updates to IEEE Std C93.4, IEEE Standard for Power-Line Carrier Line-Tuning Equipment (30 kHz to 500 kHz) Associated with Power Transmission Lines.
The Wire Line Subcommittee (E0) reported that progress continues on revisions and addendums to multiple standards documents, including:
- IEEE Std 820, Standard Telephone Loop Performance Characteristics
- IEEE Std 1692,Guide for the Protection of Communication Installations from Lightning Effects
- IEEE Std 487a, Standard for the Electrical Protection of Communications Facilities Serving Electric Supply Locations — General Considerations, and
- IEEE Std 367, Recommended Practice for Determining the Electric Power Station Ground Potential Rise and Induced Voltage from a Power Fault
In addition, E0 received approval from the main committee to submit an Addendum to IEEE Std 487.3-2014, Standard for the Electrical Protection of Communication Facilities Serving Electric Supply Locations Through the Use of Hybrid Facilities, for balloting by IEEE-SA; this addendum provides requirements for implementation a new powering option at Copper to Fiber Junction (CFJ) equipment locations.
The Optical Fiber Subcommittee (F0) provided an update on accomplishments in 2020, which included the publication of IEEE Std 1222, Standard for Testing and Performance for All-Dielectric Self-Supporting (ADSS) Fiber Optic Cable for Use on Electric Utility Power Lines. The subcommittee shared goals for 2021, including completing revisions to IEEE Std 1595, Standard for Testing and Performance for Optical Phase Conductor (OPPC) for Use on Electrical Utility Power Lines.
The Protocols and Communications Architecture Subcommittee (P0) announced the recent approval of a PAR for revisions to IEEE Std 1615, Recommended Practice for Network Communication in Electric Power Substations.
Additionally, Study Group P13 was approved to become a Task Force to develop a Beginners’ Guide to IEC 61850 in the form of a Technical Report. A new Study Group was also formed to investigate the need for a standard document to address system architectures supporting the virtualization of substation protection and control applications.
Finally, the subcommittee requested and received approval from the main committee to form a joint WG with IEC TC57 WG10 to revise IEC/IEEE Std 61850-9-3 Ed. 1, Communication networks and systems for power utility automation – Part 9-3: Precision time protocol profile for power utility automation.
The Cybersecurity Subcommittee (S0) reported that Working Group S1 is in the final stages of preparing the draft of IEEE Std 1686, Standard for Intelligent Electronic Devices Cyber Security Capabilities, and received approval from the main committee to start ballot pool formation and to submit a draft for balloting to IEEE-SA contingent upon Working Group approval no later than the end of February 2021. The subcommittee also announced the end of Steve Kunsman’s term as Chair of S0, with Scott Mix assuming the role upon Steve’s departure. The PSCCC extends its thanks to Steve for his leadership and dedication!
The PSCCC will meet again jointly with the PSRCC in a virtual format in May 2021.
Please visit our website at http://sites.ieee.org/pes-pscc/ for more information and follow @IEEE_PES_PSCC on Twitter to keep up with our upcoming meetings and events!
Biography:
James Formea earned his BSEE from Marquette University and is Engineering Manager for Control Systems & Technology in the Power Systems Division of Eaton, where he leads a diverse team of engineers in the specification, implementation, and field support of system protection, communications, automation, and cybersecurity features across Eaton’s portfolio of medium voltage distribution system controls. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and is the Secretary of the IEEE PES Power System Communications and Cybersecurity Committee. He is also a member of IEC Technical Committee 57 Working Group 15. When not working on utility solutions or industry standards, he can be found supporting public safety communications interoperability and incident management initiatives as an officer with his local fire department.
