Challenges and Lessons Learned from
Commissioning an IEC 61850-90-5 Based
Synchrophasor SystemVahid Madani - Pacific Gas & Electric
Stéphan Picard, Yujie Yin, Mark AdamiakGE Digital Energy
Texas A&M Relay Conference 2015
IntroductionImplementation ProcessCommissioning ProcessGeneral and Specific Lessons LearnedConclusions
Outline
How do you ensure the smooth installation of 432 PMUs and 26 Aggregate PDCs across a 70,000 sq mi service territory?
Introduction
Source: www.pge.com
Scale of the SolutionCutting Edge Technology (availability of implementation, developing standards)Multi-Vendor SolutionGeographical DistancesProduction EnvironmentEnd-user Compliance RequirementsTraining for All Parties Involved
Main Challenges
System OverviewPMU and PDC Naming ConventionDeployment in NERC CIP Environment
Implementation Process
System Summary
STN Name SS_511_B1_1P_ACSS is the substation identification511 refers a 500 kV (5) multifunctional relay (11)B is followed by the Bay number1P is for the P-Class stream out of the 1st magnetic module AC is one of the two redundant systems
ID Code 200132 is the voltage level (115 kV, 230 kV, 500 kV, 60 kV)00 is the substation number1 is the PMU device number (in that substation)3 is the PMU instance of a given PMU device
PMU & PDC Naming Convention
PMU and PDC Access Limited by Strong PasswordsRBAC (Role-based Access Control) & RADIUSThird-party Communication Tests
Denial of Service AttacksNetwork CongestionPing of DeathPassword Attack…
NERC CIP Environment
Proof of ConceptPilot Site VerificationPMU Testing at the SubstationsAggregate PDC TestingSystem Level Testing
Commissioning Process
Proof of Concept
Power System &Virtual PMUs
Real PMUs
AggregatePDCs Network
BreakerSimulator
SecondaryInjection
Amplifiers
3 sites selected for easy access by the field teamsProve end-to-end connectivity under real conditionsRefine the procedures with field-specific details
Pilot Sites
Multi-functional relays upgraded to PMU functionality to Remedial Action Scheme devicesRedundant system and standard clearance allowed for RAS and PMU testingPMU configured for automatic 90-5 streaming on power up
PMU Testing at Substations
More relaxed testing:Not a production environment90-5 means no command needed to be sent to PMUsHierarchical construction means upper levels were not yet dependant on PDC
Aggregate PDC Testing
PMU to Fault Location to EMSPMU to Super PDC
System Level Testing
Errors in the Standard TextE.g. the count of bytes was required.
Interpretation of Standards Vary Among PartiesAlthough C37.118-2005 specified that “Phasor messages shall also be mapped in their entirety into […] TCP or […] UDP.”, we encountered:
1. TCP commands and TCP data2. UDP commands and UDP data3. TCP commands and UDP data4. No command, unsolicited configuration frame and UDP data
What have we learned?
Protection Engineers and ITDo I need to say more?
Do not trust the Specs!It is easy to lose track of the important pieces when dealing with such a large system: CT/VT errors, clock precision, relay precision, … Do not take the received measurement accuracy/precision for granted
IEEE 1588 and IRIG-B Time SourcesPMU on 1588 and Aggregate PDC on IRIG-B allowed the discovery of discrepancies between clocks
What have we learned?
Implementation AgreementIEC 61850-90-5 Data transmission
Unicast for LAN communication (eg substation)Network-assisted Multicast for WAN comm (eg enterprise-level)
Setting File Conformity ToolsWith a few 1000’s settings in each PDCs and a few 100’s in each PMUs, it is easy to make mistake and diverge from established internal standards.
Monitoring ports and Network Traffic Tools
What have we implemented?
Testing Procedures
What have we implemented?
Progress Tracking ToolsThe extent of the work involved, combined with the intermittent nature of working on a live system, made it necessary to have a detailed work progress tracking mechanism
What have we implemented?
This is doable but it requires:Strong Technical LeadGreat Deal of Collaboration and FlexibilityMethodical and Systematic Approach to Realisation
And do not trust the specs!
Conclusions
Thank You
Questions?