Bay Control Unit in an IEC 61850 Environment: A Generalized and Systematic Process Flow for Optimized Configuration

The bay control unit (BCU) is a fundamental component of an electric power substation that is required to perform various bay operations based on predefined control logic. It acts as an interface between the operator and the field devices in the bay. With the advent of substation automation systems (SASs), especially in IEC 61850 environments, communications settings have become a core requirement for data exchange among the devices. In order for a BCU to perform the required automation and control functions in an IEC 61850 environment, communications settings need to be based on an optimized process flow. This paper presents an optimized procedure for configuring a BCU in an IEC 61850-based SAS with emphasis on referring to the right engineering document to set a given parameter. This paper is based on a commissioned 110/13.8 kV substation with a double-busbar scheme and an SAS that uses IEC 61850 protocols. The paper discusses practical aspects of configuring an intelligent IEC 61850-based BCU and explains the role and importance of required engineering documents.