IEEE PSCC Update Industry Updates

IEEE PES PSCC Update

by James Formea, Eaton, USA

The IEEE PES Power System Communications and Cybersecurity Committee (PSCCC) met again in a joint series of virtual meetings with the Power System Relaying and Control Committee (PSRCC) May 3-7, 2021. Despite the prolonged impacts of COVID-19 and restrictions on in-person meetings, participation in the Committees’ virtual meetings remains strong, with many new participants attending for the first time in May, and with many past participants continuing to contribute in the virtual environment. The committee held more than thirty meetings of various study groups, task forces, working groups, and subcommittees over four days, with a final meeting of the main committee to finish out the week, comprised of updates from many of the Committee’s active subcommittees.

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, while approved for publication, requires an amendment before being finalized. Work continues on the revision of IEEE Std 643, Guide for Power-Line Carrier Applications, and the working group seeks additional participation from any interested parties, especially those with expertise in drain coils as applied to PLC systems.

A new working group will meet in September to begin revising 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
  • IEEE Std 367, Recommended Practice for Determining the Electric Power Station Ground Potential Rise and Induced Voltage from a Power Fault, and
  • IEEE Std 487.3a, Standard for the Electrical Protection of Communication Facilities Serving Electric Supply Locations Through the Use of Hybrid Facilities.

The Protocols and Communications Architecture Subcommittee (P0) reported a successful first meeting of Study Group P21 investigating the need for a standard document to address system architectures supporting the virtualization of substation protection and control applications, with many volunteers offering to take on assignments for this new project. In addition, WG P20, the new joint Working Group 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, met for the first time, establishing the Dual Logo Maintenance Team (DLMT) for this joint work.

The Cybersecurity Subcommittee (S0) made a second request to the Main Committee to allow IEEE Std P1686, Standard for Intelligent Electronic Devices Cyber Security Capabilities, to proceed to Sponsor Ballot, as a result of additional revisions that took place after the January meeting. The subcommittee also reported that the recently created Study Group S14 on HTTPS and TLS will be converted to a Task Force to draft a report addressing implementation of TLS for usage in legacy and emerging power system applications.

The Main Committee also offered a welcome to the newly formed IEEE PES China Chapters PSCC Satellite Committee (PSCCC-CCSC). The PSCCC looks forward to future collaboration with the new satellite committee.

While participants enjoyed lively discussion on numerous topics and made notable progress toward completion of many in-progress projects throughout the week, multiple groups began with a solemn statement of remembrance for Ralph Mackiewicz, a familiar face and voice to many in the standards development community. Ralph was a valued contributor to many influential standards within the PSCC and PSRC Committees, and his presence will certainly be missed.

The PSCCC will meet again jointly with the PSRCC in September 2021.

Please visit our website at:

http://sites.ieee.org/pes-pscc/ for more information on the September meeting format and logistics and follow @IEEE_PES_PSCC on Twitter to keep up with other news and announcements from the Committee!

Biography:

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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.