ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND SCADA - BEE713A

Module 4
SUBSTATION AUTOMATION
Conventional substations: Islands of automation, New smart devices for substation
automation

Substation automation: Technical issues, Substation automation architectures, Substation

automation (SA) application functions – intelligent bus failover, automatic load restoration,
adaptive relaying, equipment condition monitoring, intelligent alarm processing, power
quality monitoring

Substation automation:
Substation automation involves the deployment of substation and feeder operating functions
and applications ranging from supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and alarm
processing, to integrated volt-var control in order to optimize the management of capital
assets and enhance operation and maintenance (O&M) efficiencies with minimal human
intervention.

Conventional substations: Islands of automation

Conventional substation design encompasses the high-voltage switchgear with copper cables
interfacing the primary and secondary equipment. The substation control room has many
relays and other devices for protection, SCADA, metering, and so on. They required more
control room space as well as more devices. The analog voltage and current signals and the
binary switch positions reach the control room via copper cables. Figure 4.1 presents a
conventional substation and the wiring requirements.
Cables of different lengths and sizes are used in a substation for carrying the signals,
depending on the location of the switchgear and complexity of the control and protection
system. It may be noted that a typical substation will have multiple instrument transformers
for protection, control, and measurement purposes. Cables are cut to specific lengths and
bundled together, and any future modification is very labor-intensive, especially in older
substations where the cabling is starting to deteriorate. The large distances between the
devices and con control room expose the cabling to electromagnetic interferences and
damages. The resistance of the cables also becomes important when selecting the instrument
transformers and protection equipment. CT saturation plays a vital role in protection relays
operating under fault conditions.

In a conventional substation, there were distinct islands of automation as shown in Figure 4.3.
SCADA systems had a dedicated set of devices, including instrument transformers, doing the
monitoring and control of the system, mostly utilizing hardwire, as discussed earlier. Metering
used a separate set of devices to ensure accuracy. The instrument transformers with iron cores
were designed for different functionalities. The protection functions received priority, and had
CTs and PTs directly connected to the relays with dedicated hardwired channels from relays to
the trip coils of the circuit breakers. Digital fault recorders were installed to record the fault
waveforms for further analysis and evaluation. When the substations became automated, the
islands started merging, and a need was felt to eliminate duplication and hardwiring while
migrating to digitized substations. At the same time, there was a need for the individual groups
who maintained only their equipment in the substation to work closely with other groups.
There was also a need to define a new skill set of a “super IED specialist” that combined the
skills of remote terminal unit (RTU) support, protection, and communications into one
position. An array of new devices and technologies has revolutionized the substation design
and the following section elaborates a few of them. It may be noted that the monitoring has
become “intelligent” with the new instrument transformers for measurement and circuit
breakers for control.

New smart devices for substation automation

It is evident that substation automation is implemented to reduce human intervention and to
improve the operating efficiency of the system. Optimization of assets and reduction of
operating costs in the long run are added advantages of the substation automation. It is
apparent that a set of new devices has been developed and implemented in the substation,
which is making the substations intelligent. The following are some of these smart devices.
1. IEDs:
IEDs are key components of substation integration and automation technology.
Substation integration involves integrating protection, control, and data acquisition
functions into a minimal number of platforms to reduce capital and operating costs,
 reduce panel and control room space, and eliminate redundant equipment and
databases. IEDs facilitate the exchange of both operational and non-operational data.
Operational data, also called supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) data,
are instantaneous values of power system analog and status points such as volts, amps,
MW, MVAR, circuit breaker status, and switch position. These data are time-critical and
are used to monitor and control the power system (e.g., opening circuit breakers,
changing tap settings, equipment failure indication, etc.). Non-operational data
consists of files and waveforms such as event summaries, oscillographic event reports,
or sequential event records, in addition to SCADA-like points (e.g., status and analog
points) that have a logical state or a numerical value. These data are not needed by
the SCADA dispatchers to monitor and control the power system. The IEDs combine
protection, metering, control, and automation functions into a single device, thus
simplifying the new substation design.

2. New instrument transformers with digital interface:

New instrument transformers are available in the market. They can be directly linked
to a merging unit, which in turn sends digital data over a network to the protection
and metering devices and can eliminate the hardwiring to a large extent. New coreless
instrument transformers are revolutionizing the substation automation scenario, with
protection and metering capabilities. The root cause of many limitations of
conventional instrument transformers is their reliance on an iron core. The core is a
source of inaccuracy, due to the need to magnetize it, but at the same time should not
cause saturation. In the case of conventional CTs, achieving the low-level accuracy and
dynamic range to satisfy both measurement and protection duties is a challenge.
Conventional VTs may experience ferroresonance phenomena resulting in thermal
overstressing. The new instrument transformers use capacitive, optical, and Rogowski
techniques to capture the voltage and current from the field, thus making the systems
robust, smaller, and reliable. Optical sensors use the Faraday effect, wherein a fiber-
optic loop sensor carrying a polarized light beam encircles the power conductor. Due
to the magnetic field created by the primary current flow, the light will experience an
angular deflection. Based on the real-time optical measurement, the primary current
is accurately detected. In Rogowski sensors, four quadrants of a multilayer printed
circuit board are clamped together to form a toroid around the primary conductor. The
sensor output becomes a low-level voltage measurement that can be accurately
correlated to the primary current. Capacitive dividers are replacing conventional core
voltage trans formers. Printed circuit boards are used on the enclosures of gas-
insulated substations (GIS), and slim-line film stacks are used for air-insulated
substations. The outputs of the instrument transformers are connected to the merging
unit, which sends the digitized signals to the substation automation higher hierarchy.
Nonconventional instrument transformers with digital interfaces based on IEC 61850-
9-2 (process bus) result in further improvements and can help eliminate some of the
issues related to the conflicting requirements of protecting and metering IEDs.

3. Intelligent breaker:
 Intelligent breaker has a digital interface that can access digital data from a local area
network (LAN) and take action accordingly. It can also transmit back information,
especially status changes and other data, through the LAN. An intelligent breaker has
a controller inside that can be programmed to make appropriate decisions as per the
system conditions.

4. Merging units (MUs):

The interface of the instrument transformers (both conventional and non
conventional) with different types of substation protection, control, monitoring, and
recording equipment is through a device called a merging unit. This is defined in IEC
61850-9-1 as follows: “Merging unit: interface unit that accepts multiple analogue CT/
VT and binary inputs and produces multiple time synchronized serial unidirectional
multi- drop digital point to point outputs to provide data communication via the logical
interfaces 4 and 5.” The existing merging units have the following functionalities:
• Signal processing of all sensors—conventional or nonconventional
• Synchronization of all measurements—three currents and three voltages
• Analogue interface—high- and low- level signals
• Digital interface—IEC 60044-8 or IEC 61850-9-2

The merging units should be able to interface with both conventional and
nonconventional sensors in order to allow the implementation of SA in existing or new
substations. The merging unit is similar to an analog input module of a conventional
protection device or another multifunction IED. The difference is that in this case the
substation LAN performs as the digital data bus between the input module and the
protection or other functions in the devices. The units are located in different devices,
representing the typical IEC 61850 distributed functionality.

Levels of automation in a substation

Substation integration and automation can be broken down into three levels of activity. First
there is the power system equipment such as transformers, circuit breakers, and intelligent
instrument transformers and sensors. The first level is IED implementation where different
IEDs are installed in the substation. The second level is IED integration, utilizing the two-way
communications of the IED. IEDs from different vendors and with different functionalities have
to be integrated to form a cohesive protection, monitoring, and control system, which also
performs a number of other functions like waveform recording and metering. Once the IEDs
are integrated, a number of substation automation applications, the third level, can be run to
effectively monitor and control the substation and associated feeder and customer
automation functions in the power system. Last, there is the utility enterprise where the
integration of different control centers can be performed and utility- wide data sharing and
applications can be run.

Substation automation: Technical issues

Automating a substation reveals many technical issues where critical decisions have to be
taken at the utility level. The investment requirements play a major role in the final
automation plan of the substation; however, there are certain aspects that cannot be
compromised while making decisions, as discussed below.
1. System responsibilities:
The system must interface with all of the IEDs in the substation. This includes polling
the IEDs for readings and event notifications. The data from all the IEDs must be sent
to the utility enterprise to populate the data warehouse or be sent to an appropriate
location for storage of the substation data. The system processes data and control
requests from users and from the data warehouse. The system must isolate supplier
proprietary functionality by providing a generic interface to the IEDs. In other words,
there should be a standard interface regardless of the IED supplier. The system should
be updated with a report-by-exception scheme, where status-point changes and
analog-point changes are reported only when they exceed their significant deadbands.

2. System architecture:
The types of data and control that the system will be expected to facilitate are
dependent on the choice of IEDs and devices in the system. This must be addressed
on a substation-by-substation basis. The primary requirement is that the analog
readings be obtained in a way that provides an accurate representation of their values:
• Level 1 Field Devices: Each electronic device (relay, meter, PLC, etc.) has internal
memory to store some or all of the following data: ana log values, status changes,
sequence of events, and power quality. These data are typically stored in a FIFO (first
in, first out) queue and vary in the number of events maintained.
• Level 2 Substation Data Concentrator: The substation data concentrator should poll
each device (both electronic and other) for analog values and status changes at data
collection rates consistent with the utility’s SCADA system (e.g., status points every 2s,
tie line and generator analogs every 2 s, and remaining analog values every 2 to 10 s).
The substation data concentrator should maintain a local database.
• Level 3 SCADA System/ Data Warehouse: All data required for operational purposes
should be communicated to the SCADA system via a communication link from the data
concentrator. All data required for non-operational purposes should be communicated
to the data warehouse via a communication link from the data concentrator. A data
warehouse is necessary to support a mainframe or client-server architecture of data
exchange between the system and corporate users over the corporate WAN (wide area
network). This setup provides users with up-to-date information and eliminates the
need to wait for access using a single line of communications to the system, such as
telephone dial-up through a modem.

3. Substation host processor:

The substation host processor must be based on industry standards and strong
networking ability, such as Ethernet, TCP/ IP, Windows operating system, Linux, and so
forth. It must also support an open architecture, with no proprietary interfaces or
products. An industry-accepted relational database (RDB) with structured query
language (SQL) capability and enterprise-wide computing must be supported. The RDB
supplier must provide replication capabilities to support a redundant or backup
database.
4. Substation LAN:
The substation LAN must meet industry standards to allow interoperability and the use
of plug-and-play devices. Open-architecture principles should be followed, including
the use of industry standard protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.x [Ethernet]). The LAN
technology employed must be applicable to the substation environment and facilitate
interfacing to process-level equipment (IEDs, PLCs) while providing immunity and
isolation to substation noise.

5. User interface:
The user interface in the substation must be an intuitive design to ensure effective use
of the system with minimal confusion. An efficient display hierarchy will allow all
essential activities to be performed from a few displays. It is critical to minimize or,
better yet, eliminate the need for typing. There should be a common look and feel
established for all dis plays. A library of standard symbols should be used to represent
substation power apparatus on graphical displays. In fact, this library should be
established and used in all substations and coordinated with other systems in the
utility, such as the distribution SCADA system, the energy management system, the
geographic information system (GIS), and the trouble call management system.

6. Communications interfaces:
There are interfaces to substation IEDs to acquire data, determine the operating status
of each IED, support all communication protocols used by the IEDs, and support
standard protocols being developed. There may be an interface to the energy
management system (EMS) that allows system operators to monitor and control each
substation and the EMS to receive data from the substation integration and
automation system at different periodicities. There may be an interface to the
distribution management system with the same capabilities as the EMS interface.

7. Protocol considerations:
A communication protocol allows communication between two devices. The devices
must have the same protocol (and version) implemented. Any protocol differences will
result in communication errors. The substation integration and automation
architecture must allow devices from different suppliers to communicate
(interoperate) using an industry-standard protocol. The utility has the flexibility to
choose the best devices for each application, provided the suppliers have designed
their devices to achieve full functionality with the protocol. There are two capabilities
a utility considers for an IED. The primary capability of an IED is its stand-alone
capabilities, such as protecting the power system for a relay IED. The secondary
capability of an IED is its integration capabilities, such as its physical interface (e.g., RS-
232, RS-485, Ethernet) and its communication protocol (e.g., DNP3, Modbus, IEC
61850 MMS). Utilities typically specify the IEDs they want to use in the substation
rather than give a supplier a turnkey contract to provide the supplier’s IEDs only in the
substation. However, utilities typically choose the IEDs based on the IED’s stand-alone
capabilities only, without considering the IED’s integration capabilities.
The new digital substation
The new digital substation will have smart devices and smart wiring with smart controllers. It
will have integrated protection, metering, data retrieval, monitoring, and control capabilities.
The substation is organised in three architectural levels.
1. Process level:
Conventionally, the data from the equipment in a substation reaches the devices for
processing via hardwire. In the modern substation, the equipment (primary systems)
in the substation is embedded with smart sensors, which can directly communicate
over a LAN, which is referred to as a process. The current, voltage, and other data
(pressure and temperature from GIS, etc.) from the field are transmitted over the
Ethernet process bus. The devices, such as protection relays, recorders, PMUs, bay
controllers, and PDCs, can readily subscribe to this information as clients to this data
flow over the process bus. The information from the field devices (primary equipment)
travels to the SCADA control center via the process bus, and the control signals from
the control station reach the field devices through the process bus. In a fully digital
architecture, control commands are also routed to the primary devices via the process
bus. The process bus enables time-critical services for both protection and control.
Thus, the process bus aids in effectively communicating the information from the “eyes
and ears” of the power system to the bay level more effectively and efficiently than
the conventional means.
 2. Protection and control level:
There are devices in a substation that link the process bus with the station bus. These
include the secondary equipment like bay controllers, protection relays, Ethernet
network and switches, time synchronization units, measuring devices, and recording
devices. The bay level or the protection and control level includes these devices and
the panels that host them.
3. Station bus and station level:
The station bus is the LAN that supports peer-to-peer communication and multiple
devices and clients to exchange data. The communication of data to higher hierarchy
also originates from this layer. The IEDs perform the time-critical protection functions
by directly interacting on the process bus. The point-on-wave switching is also done by
the IEDs. The station will host the substation human-machine interface (HMI) required
to visualize the events in the substation so that the personnel will get the real-time
data of the operations. Coordination of multiple IEDs and also the condition
monitoring of the equipment in the substation (transformers, circuit breakers, and
bushings, etc.) are managed by the station-level HMI via the station bus.
The migration of a legacy substation to a digital substation may be done in stages. When IEDs
with additional functionalities are added to the substation to replace the electromechanical
relays, the substation will resemble that depicted in Figure 4.12. Still hardwired inputs and
outputs remain in the substation for other functionalities.

The new digital substation architecture can be designed in multiple ways. The IEC 61850 may
be implemented gradually by starting with adaptation of existing IEDs to support the new
communications standard over the station bus and at the same time introducing some first
process bus-based solutions. Two types of station architectures are discussed.
1. Station bus architecture:
The functional hierarchy of a station bus- based architecture is shown in Figure 4.13.
It represents a partial implementation of IEC 61850 and brings only some of the
benefits that the new standard offers. The current and voltage inputs of the devices
(protection, control, monitoring, or recording [PCMR]) at the bottom of the functional
hierarchy are conventional and wired to the secondary side of the substation
instrument transformers using copper cables. This architecture still offers some
significant advantages compared to conventional hardwired systems. It allows for the
design and implementation of different protection schemes that in a conventional
system require a significant number of cross- wired binary inputs and outputs.

2. Station bus and process bus architecture:

Full advantage of all the features available in the new communications standard can
be taken if both the station and process bus are used. The IEC 61850 communications-
based distributed applications involve several different devices connected to a
substation LAN, as shown in the simplified block diagram in Figure 4.14. A merging unit
(MU) will process the sensor inputs, generate the sampled values for the three-phase
currents and voltages, format a communications message, and multicast it on the
 substation LAN. Another device, the IO unit (IOU), will process the status inputs,
generate status data, format a communications message, and multicast it on the
substation LAN. All multifunctional IEDs will then receive sampled values messages
and binary status messages. The units that have subscribed to this data then process
the data (including resampling in most cases), make a decision, and operate by sending
a GSE message to the IOU to trip the breaker or perform any other required action.

New versus existing substations

The new substation will typically have many IEDs for different functions, and the majority of
operational data for the SCADA system will come from these IEDs. The IEDs will be integrated
with digital two- way communications. Typically, there are no conventional remote terminal
units (RTUs) in new substations. The RTU functionality is addressed using IEDs, PLCs, and an
integration network using digital communications. Previously, 100% of the points in a
substation were hard wired, and conventional RTUs were used to process the hardwired input
and output (I/ O) points. In a new substation, fewer than 5% of the points are hardwired, so
conventional RTUs have been replaced by data concentrators that are designed to support
both operational and non-operational data from IEDs. In existing substations, there are several
alternative approaches, depending on whether a substation has a conventional RTU installed.
The utility has three choices for their existing conventional substation RTUs: integrate RTU
with IEDs (assuming the RTU supports this capability); integrate RTU as another IED; or retire
RTU and use IEDs and data concentrator, as with a new substation. As utilities upgrade the
legacy equipment on their distribution systems, an opportunity arises to capture more value
from the resulting hybrid configuration of new and existing technology. Utilities are refreshing
the basic equipment of the substation, and they also are upgrading its automation gear. The
focus is on the addition of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) to the existing array of remote
terminal units (RTUs) and data concentrators, both in the substation and downstream on
distribution feeders, and the resulting opportunity to capture more value from the resulting
data.

Microprocessor- based IEDs with two- way communications capabilities are augmenting
analog RTUs because the former provide much greater functionality than the latter.
Specifically, RTUs provide operators only with operational data. IEDs provide operational data
and non-operational data with high potential value to most if not all utility business units.
The substation upgrade is a series of steps or levels of activity. First comes the addition of IEDs,
which support the three functional data paths— operational, non-operational, and remote
access—taking data upstream to operators in the control center and to the enterprise data
mart. Second is the integration process, which takes advantage of the two-way
communications capabilities in IEDs for their operational data and recording of non-
operational data to tap the other 80% of their value. Third, the utility must consider which
applications to run at the substation level to optimize the operation of the substation and
downstream distribution feeders. Initially, IEDs were integrated with some legacy RTUs, but
that arrangement still fell short of delivering the full value of such an upgrade. But the
development of a family of products known as data concentrators enabled the collection and
transmission of non-operational data from the IEDs to the enterprise—the key to greater value
described here. (Operational data, meanwhile, are routed to the control center.) The result of
this transition from an RTU-centric arrangement to a distributed network architecture with
IEDs and data concentrators is in contrast to the legacy, serial, point-to-point communications-
based architecture. With the distributed network architecture, the legacy RTUs, if they can be
maintained, simply assume the role of an IED until the end of their useful lives. Figure 4.15
shows the migration of an RTU-centric hardwired system to the distributed network
architecture with data concentrators.

The migration path from a nonautomated substation to a fully digital substation can be
achieved in different ways, depending on the availability of resources and the speed at which
the migration is desired. Migrating from a non-SCADA system to a SCADA system begins with
installing RTU, IEDs, hardwired I/ Os to the RTU and the software interfaces. The migration
from no SCADA can also be to a hybrid system as shown in Figure 4.16 where the IEC 61850
IEDs can be added and inte grated. Process bus and merging units are optional in this case.
These hybrid systems can migrate to the full IEC 61850 functionality easily by replacing the
existing IEDs to IEC 61850 compliant ones, adding process bus and merging units. Migration
from non-SCADA to legacy to hybrid to full digital substation can be achieved by following any
of the mitigation paths, as decided by the utility management.

Substation automation (SA) application functions

A. Intelligent bus failover and automatic load restoration

This scheme is generally used in a distribution substation where there are two
transformers and a normally open bus tie breaker. When a transformer in a substation
fails, the simple bus failover scheme transfers the load to the healthy transformer in
the substation, which may overload the healthy transformer and lead to another
failure; hence, the bus failover schemes have been disabled in some cases. The
substation firm capacity is limited by the load (overload) that can be carried by the
healthy transformer. However, in an intelligent bus failover scheme, the substation
automation system will ensure that the healthy transformer is not overloaded. This
can be done by load shedding one or a few of the outgoing feeders temporarily. These
feeders can be supplied from an adjacent substation by closing a tie switch, and the
disruption in load can be minimized. The benefit of this scheme is primarily
improvement in reliability as the transfer of load is done as quickly as possible. Outage
duration can be reduced from 30 min to 1 min. The scheme also allows better
equipment utilization. “Intelligent” load transfer will allow higher loading under
normal conditions, as the substation firm capacity is limited to the amount of load that
can be carried following a single contingency, like a transformer failure.
 Figure 4.19 shows the fault on transformer B. Circuit breakers 1 and 2 will trip and
isolate transformer B, and circuit breaker 3 will be closed to transfer the load on to
transformer A, which will get overloaded and may have to shed load by opening circuit
breaker 4. However, the load can be transferred subsequently by connecting the line
to the adjacent substation automatically by closing breaker 5.

The distribution substations are often tapped off a supply line without high side
breaker protection. This creates a problem, and considerable load may be out of
service until the field crew arrives. The objectives of the scheme are to identify the
faulted section of supply line, isolate the faulted section, and restore supply to the
substations fed off the unfaulted section of the supply line. The benefit is that
improvement in reliability as the service to substations that are without power can be
restored as quickly as possible. The outage duration is reduced from 30 to 1 or 2 min.

B. Adaptive relaying
Adaptive relaying is the process of automatically altering the settings of protective
relay IEDs based on the system conditions. This can be of much help to an operator
when there is a crisis in the system, with main lines and generators tripping. The
special protection function of the substation automation system can play a role by
altering the settings of some of the relay IEDs. As an example, in the event of tripping
of a critical generator, a line may get heavily loaded due to the diversion of power from
other sources. Under normal circumstances, this will lead to the tripping of this line
which may escalate to an emergency situation. The master at the control center will
detect the trip and can inform the corresponding SA system of the event. The SA
system can switch the appropriate relays to the new settings to carry the required
power until the crisis is over and then can switch back to the original settings.

C. Equipment condition monitoring (ECM)

Many electric utilities have employed ECM to maintain electric equipment in top
operating condition while minimizing the number of interruptions. With ECM,
equipment- operating parameters are automatically tracked to detect the emergence
of various abnormal operating conditions, using specialized sensors and diagnostic
tools. This allows substation operations personnel to take timely action when needed
to improve reliability and extend equipment life. This approach is applied most
frequently to substation transformers and high- voltage electric supply circuit breakers
to minimize the maintenance costs of these devices, by eliminating the time- based
routine testing and thus saving significant labour and material cost. The number of
catastrophic failures is reduced by reducing the repair cost and avoiding forced
outages. Dynamic equipment rating is feasible by which more capacity can be
squeezed out of the existing equipment, thus improving the availability. The life of the
equipment is thus extended, and even a year or two extension can produce significant
savings. The ECM monitoring devices include
• Dissolved gas in oil monitoring samples
• Moisture detectors
 • Load tap changer monitors
• Partial discharge of acoustic monitors
• Bushing monitors
• Circuit break monitors (GIS and OCB)
• Battery monitors
• Expert system analyzers
Real-time equipment monitoring is an offshoot of the equipment condition monitoring
discussed earlier. Traditionally, power system equipment is loaded to the rated
capacity under normal conditions, whereas if the equipment is condition monitored,
the loading can be based on actual conditions, rather than on conservative
assumptions. As an example, a transformer detected with a “hot spot” will always be
loaded to a much lower value, due to the fear of a catastrophe; however, in a condition
monitoring environment, the transformer can be loaded to a higher value by
monitoring the true winding hot spot temperature. The loadability can be derived, and
it is reported that 5% to 10% additional loading can be achieved by this activity. Hence,
the utility can squeeze more capacity out of the existing equipment and delay
investment in new equipment.
D. Intelligent alarm processing
Intelligent alarm processing is of utmost importance in a control room to help the
operator from getting confused by the battery of alarms triggered by an event.

E. Power quality monitoring

Power quality is an important factor in today’s power system operation scenario for
two reasons. The quality of power deteriorates due to the influx of new power
electronic devices which flood the system with harmonics and ripples. But quality
power is a must for many devices to operate optimally, and a large number of
manufacturing facilities require quality power for precision manufacturing. The SA
system with the IEDs implemented and integrated can help in the power quality
monitoring by reporting the harmonic content in the voltage waveform and the total
harmonic distortion and can also send the oscillographic information to the monitoring
center for assessment. Necessary corrective action can be taken and the power quality
can be maintained by the utility.