Testing the protection system in IEC 61850 communication based substations

IEC 61850 became the widely used standard for power utility automation. It defines different methods of communication to be used for protection, control and automation of substations. The usage of IEC 61850 communication technology has a big impact to the engineering of the system, its commissioning and maintenance procedures. Performing tests can be quite challenging to the protection engineers if compared with conventional substations. GOOSE and Sampled Values messages through a communication network are used instead of hard-wired copper connections. New methods and tools are required for performing maintenance and testing such a system. This paper describes the possible testing scenarios for commissioning IEC 61850 based substations. The paper also presents the testing functionalities proposed by Edition 2 of the standard, recommends a testing strategy that fits to different requirements and discusses its impacts on actual testing procedures for conventional substations. The paper gives special emphasis on new testing methods and testing tools required for this application.