Interoperability and interchangeability considerations in microgrids employing IEC61850 standard

Due to the recent changes in electrical networks, microgrid operation schemes have evolved dramatically. Coupled with smartgrid concepts, microgrids are required to be more intelligent and establish communication with its components. In order to sustain reliable and sustainable power delivery under heavy deployments of Distributed Generators (DGs), passive power network operation schemes have to be replaced with new generation dynamic methods. Utilization of communication in microgrids brings about new challenges such as communication reliability, time delays, plug-and-play and standardization considerations. Having a standard communication procedure has utmost importance in a network where there are different equipments manufactured by different vendors and having different features. IEC61850 substation communication standard has been introduced by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to address this challenge. It has received much attention in power engineering circles and several pilot projects have been implemented. As a result, it has been found out that several concepts such as interoperability and interchangeability have to be considered in networks designed with IEC communication standards. This paper summarizes the latest developments in this field and discusses the required steps that shall be taken to unleash capabilities of microgrids in current smart network era.