Implementing the future today In Naperville, Illinois

Taking the initiative to move future technology into the present, the city of Naperville in 2005 began implementing the first IEC 61850 substation while many U.S. utilities were still reviewing and familiarizing themselves with the new standard. City engineers modified their existing substation drawings to remove the existing relays and add the Siemens 7SJ63 relays with dual-fiber IEC 61850 interfaces. The dual-fiber design allows for shorter fiber runs and provides an extremely reliable redundant loop. The Chicago 50 substation controls were modified to match their existing substation designs, which also used the 7SJ63 relays. Since standards were maintained, the relay files from the existing substations could be reused and modified with the required IEC settings and feeder specific protection settings. Siemens assisted with modifications since it was the first implementation of this type in the United States. Naperville hired a contractor and made the mechanical and electrical modifications. While Naperville was working to get the relays installed, Siemens was busy building an automation cabinet and designing the substation HMI based on the Chicago 50 substation single line.