The First National Grid Substation Equipped with a Substation LAN According to IEC 61850

The replacement of a Substation Control System at National Grid's Axminster 400 kV substation due to the existing substation control and protection devices reaching the end of their asset design life, presented the opportunity to develop a new solution with technology based on the suite of IEC 61850 standards. These standards define the substation Ethernet LAN, plant and equipment models and supporting communication services. This paper will present a brief background to the IEC 61850 standards, describe the approach adopted in implementing the project solution and summarise the issues faced, how these were overcome and the key benefits.