IEC 61850 as a flexible tool for electrical systems monitoring

In the last decades there have been great advances in electronic, information and communication technologies. Up to date, any of these advances have been implemented in electrical systems, but some difficulties have been encountered, particularly regarding to the integration of intelligent electronic devices from different manufactures into a centralized system. With the aim of solving the above mentioned problem, the standard IEO 61850 was developed to specify communication networks in substations. In addition to control and protection functions, the information model created around IEO 61850 series can help the development of other applications related with electrical monitoring systems. Monitoring can be used to achieve a variety of benefits for utilities, including maintenance prediction, failure prevention, active control, improved commissioning tests and more accurate end of life assessments. Examples of application that could be highly benefited by the adoption of IEC 61850 as standard for communications in the power electrical industry are power quality monitoring and condition based maintenance.In this paper, the new standard IEC61850 and the new opportunities that it can offer to the electrical industry are presented. Firstly, a brief presentation of IEC61850 and the main benefits it provides are described. Finally, a more detailed description of the possibilities that IEC61850 can offer in the field of power quality monitoring and condition based maintenance (CBM) is highlighted.