Preliminary investigation in Wide Area Protection implementation using IEEE 1588 precision time protocol

Wide Area Protection (WAP) system is a protection system based on wide area synchronized power grid information through network communication. It can determine fault location and clear fault selectively and quickly. This paper first lists several problems solved by WAP technology, and Guizhou Duyun WAP project is taken as an example to illustrate the engineering experience in this area. Considering the potential risks of current GPS time transfer models, the necessity of using IEEE 1588 for WAP system is presented and multiple time source application framework together with GPS and Compass is proposed. Being implemented under the China Southern Grid Integrated Secondary Components Project, performance for IEDs within substation using IEEE 1588 is introduced. For WAP application, where synchronization between substations is necessary and further study on this application area is explained.