Ethernet in the substation

Trends in electric utility automation, specifically substation automation, have converged upon a common communications architecture with the goal of having interoperability between a variety of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) found in the substation. This initiative was begun back in the late 1980s driven by the major North American utilities under the technical auspices of EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute). The resulting standard that emerged is known as the Utility Communications Architecture 2.0 (UCA2.0) and is now becoming an international standard as IEC 61850. This architecture, which is now being adopted worldwide by utilities and IED vendors alike, has as its underlying network technology - Ethernet