IEC 61850 Conformance Test

Conformity of Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) with IEC 61850

Intelligent electronic devices which communicate via interfaces and protocols as defined in IEC 60870-5-101 or -104 have been used for the control and management of power generation and distribution systems for years. However, the IEC 61850 communi-cation standard has become increasingly accepted in recent years as it also includes the definition and use of a logical link. New and modernised power or trans-former stations increasingly use this new communica-tion standard. Given this, almost all owners and operators of power stations and power distribution systems now make this standard a requirement. Manufacturers of IEDs are therefore forced to imple-ment this communication mechanism in accordance with the IEC 61850 standard in their devices.

On August 24th 2012, TÜV SÜD has been accredited by UCAIug as Level A Independent Test Lab.

TÜV SÜD is hereafter authorised to perform IEC 61850 Conformance Testing in accordance with the Users Group Quality Assurance Testing Program Procedures.

The design and development of control and management systems for the automation of elements of a power and/or transformer station is hardly rocket science. Things can become more complicated when we look into the requirements needed to implement a host of different protection and security mechanism, coupled with the integration of a communication solution in accordance with IEC 61850.

In addition to selecting a suitable MMS stack for communication and ensuring that the communication on this stack is effected via the mechanisms defined in the IEC 61850 standard, the configuration files, i.e. ICD files in SCL format, must be prepared for the Intelligent Electronic Devices (IED). The defined scope of application decides which characteristics an IED must ultimately have. However, do all required mechanisms, such as communication via GOOSE, or reporting or even sampled values, function accurately? Tests performed in the design and development laboratory can support to reveal fundamental problems to attain compliance to the IEC 61850 standard.

Manufacturers of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) with IEC 61850 implementation, e.g.

• IED Server
• IED Clients
• 61850 Network Switches and Stacks

Testing and certification of Intelligent Electronic Devices and their configuration for conformity with the IEC 61850 standard.

We provide testing and certification of the conformity of your devices with the IEC 61850 standard