Emerging Applications for IEC 61850 in Process Industry Power Distribution Systems

Applications for the usage of IEC 61850 in the industrial sector and process-based industries are emerging with products, technologies, and engineering practices. This emergence has enabled the "digitization" of the protection and controls schemes for industrial power distribution systems. Utility markets around the globe have been embracing and expanding this IEC standard to transform the current state of the legacy grid into the envisioned Smart Grid. The industrial sector has the desire to achieve real-time acquisition of data, communication and automatic control of the power system, integration of all types of components, high-availability of protection and control systems, and the interoperability of various intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) and other networkable devices. The techniques discussed in this paper accomplish such goals, thereby modernizing existing industrial Distributed Control Systems (DCS). A framework using IEC 61850 standards is an ideal means of realizing the future "Industrial Smart Grid."