Improving safety with IEC 61850 over long distance

Electrical power system protection and control engineers strive to achieve safe installations by designing for speed of operation yet retaining a measure of security and selectivity. This paper documents an effort to Design for Safety in a large electrical system containing long cable feeders and numerous downstream substations. This paper illustrates how high speed IEC 61850 messaging between relays utilizing trips, blocks, and notifications can reduce arc-flash incident energy, improve system stability, and limit risk to operators. Fast line protection, blocking, and selective tripping for a load shed situation are implemented with limited delays. This implementation of IEC 61850 protection and control is uncommon in that it operates, not within a standalone station, but between stations more than a mile apart through a large network involving hundreds of devices.