Risk analysis and research based on IEEE 1588 in Smart high voltage substation

This paper describes the current Smart high voltage substation where Merging Units and other protection devices require high-precision time synchronization, and analyzes the time synchronization significant role in the Smart substation. With the expansion of the IEC 61850 standard in Smart substation automation applying, the IEEE 1588 which can achieve sub-microsecond level of accuracy seems to be a promising way to satisfy the synchronization requirements of Smart substation. The authors provide brief introduction to the time synchronization of Smart substation, then provide details of IEEE 1588 standard for precise time synchronization and describe the potential risks of the IEEE 1588 time synchronization system implemented in the Smart high voltage substation, and finally make a thorough research of the improved methods that have successfully applied in a 330kV Smart substation in the northwestern province of China.