Integrating substation automation

Even though automation and remote control of electric power substations began as long ago as the early 1960s, the integration of intelligent electronic devices is still far from complete, especially in North America. The principal obstacle to greater interoperability is the plethora of incompatible hardware interfaces and protocols. The list includes intelligent electronic devices, computer platforms, operating systems, communications networks, and graphical user-interfaces. An analysis is given of how to integrate these assorted technologies into a single substation control system, while overcoming any obstacles to implementation. The benefits of the integrated system to the utility operations is also be enumerated.