IEEE PSCC Update Industry Updates

IEEE PES PSCC Update

by James Formea, Eaton, USA

The IEEE PES Power System Communications and Cybersecurity Committee (PSCCC) held its regular winter meeting at the IEEE PES 2022 Joint Technical Committee Meeting (JTCM) in Garden Grove, CA. Sessions were held January 10-13, 2022.

This was the first time the PSCCC has met in person since January 2020. As with the last five meetings, virtual attendance was the option for most. Thirty PSCCC working groups, task forces, study groups, and subcommittees met throughout the week, with the main committee meeting on Thursday to close out the busy week with reports from each of its subcommittees.

The Power Line Carrier Subcommittee (C0) reported that a ballot body is currently forming to vote on approval of corrigendum 1 for IEEE Std C93.5, IEEE Draft Standard for Power Line Carrier Transmitter/Receiver Equipment used to Transfer Discrete Teleprotection Signals, to address a table that was omitted from the draft which was approved through balloting.

The Main Committee approved C0’s request for a two-year extension to PAR P643, Revision to IEEE Standard 643-2014, Guide for Power Line Carrier Applications, in order to add and update content before going to ballot.

The Main Committee also approved a motion from C0 to form Working Group C2, Working Group for Revision of IEEE Std C93.4-2012, IEEE Standard for Power-Line Carrier Line-Tuning Equipment (30 kHz to 500 kHz) Associated with Power Transmission Lines.

The Optical Fiber Subcommittee (F0) announced the publication of IEEE 1138, Standard for Testing and Performance of Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) for use on Electric Utility Power Lines, in November 2021. IEEE Std 1595, Standard for Testing and Performance for Optical Phase Conductor (OPPC) for Use on Electrical Utility Power Lines, has been completed and is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2022. The subcommittee plans to continue its work into the harmonization of the 1591 family of standards and aims to publish IEEE 1591.1, IEEE Standard for Testing and Performance of Hardware for Optical Ground Wire (OPGW), by the end of 2022.

The Protocols and Communications Architecture Subcommittee (P0) made a motion that was approved by the Main Committee, to develop an IEEE Standard for Universal Utility Data Exchange (UUDEX). The Main Committee also approved a motion by P0 to appoint a liaison to coordinate PSCCC co-sponsorship of IEEE Standards Coordinating Committee 21 (SCC21), Fuel Cells, Photovoltaics, Dispersed Generation, and Energy Storage, for the IEEE P1547, Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power Systems, revision and new PAR 1547.10.

The Cybersecurity Subcommittee (S0) reported that it expects to go to recirculation ballot by May 2022 for IEEE Std 1686, Standard for Intelligent Electronic Devices Cyber Security Capabilities. Other working groups continue to work on their respective projects, but some work has been delayed due to changes in groups’ leadership and quorum challenges.

The PSCCC will meet again in May as part of a joint meeting with the Power System Relay and Control Committee (PSRCC) in Reno, NV. It is anticipated that this will be another hybrid meeting with in-person and virtual attendees. Meetings will be held on May 9-12.

Details are available at https://www.pes-psrc.org/meetings.html.

Please visit our website at http://sites.ieee.org/pes-pscc/ for more information on our ongoing projects and follow @IEEE_PES_PSCC on Twitter to for other news and announcements from the Committee!

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 Vice Chair 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.