IEC 61850-10-3 - Released For Comment

The topic of IEC 61850 functional acceptance testing is not new, and has been widely discussed/debated for quite some time. Although IEC 61850 provides standardized test modes (On/Blocked/Test/Test-Blocked/Off), most have resorted to programming customized logic within the IEDs to emulate IEC 61850's standard test modes (mod/beh). Edition 2/2.1 has added/improved the testing features, in addition to the development of guidelines for IEC 61850 functional acceptance testing, which is being defined under IEC 61850-10-3. This Draft Technical Report has been released for comments and we encourage users to request a copy and provide comments. The more scrutiny we have on this important document, the better fit it will be for industry.

The current scope (draft) of work states:

This technical report is applicable to testing of applications within substations. It intends to 86 give practical guidelines to perform the stages of quality assurance defined in IEC 61850-87 4:2011. However while the quality assurance in that documents begins with the IED manufacturer development stage and focuses on the role of the system integrator this document focuses on end-user requirement fulfillment. The report may be useful to users applying IEC 61850 to other domains, however testing of IEC 61850 systems outside the substation domain is not within the scope of this document. The document describes: 

• Methodical approach to the verification and validation of a substation solution;
• The use of IEC 61850 resources for testing in Edition 2;
• Recommended testing practices for different use cases;
• Definition of the process for testing of IEC 61850 based devices and systems using communications instead of hard wired system interfaces (ex. GOOSE and SV instead of hardwired interfaces);
• This document does not cover the conformance testing of devices according to IEC 61850-10 nor methodologies for testing of abstract device independent functions'

If you're interested in reviewing and commenting on the draft IEC 61850-10-3 Technical Report, please contact your National Committee representative. You can also contact us ([email protected]) and we'll help put you in touch with your National Committee. Comments are due within next couple of weeks so act fast!