NASPI February Meeting featureed multi-vendor demonstrations.
Press Release Summary:
Demonstrations at NASPI meeting featured multiple vendors, including CISCO, GE Digital Energy, OSIsoft, InStep, SISCO, Space Time Insight, Verizon, and Electric Power Research Institute. Demonstrations included interoperable IEC 61850 90-5 based phasor data exchange over WAN, IP Multicast routing of phasor data across WAN, common API support for C37.118 and IEC 61850-90-5, as well as CIM-based phasor measurement unit registry data exchange using secure web services over wide area.
Original Press Release:
NASPInet Demo at North American SynchroPhasor Initiative Working Group Meeting February 24, 2011
A multivendor demonstration was held at the NASPI meeting in Fort Worth, TX on February 24, 2011. The participating vendors were CISCO, GE Digital Energy, OSIsoft, InStep, SISCO, Space Time Insight, Verizon and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
Demo Goals
Actual Geography Involved
The demonstration utilized live synchrophasor measurements that were streamed across Verizon-provided communications links between three EPRI labs in Lenox, Massachusetts, Charlotte, North Carolina and Knoxville, Tennessee and the demonstration presentation site in Fort Worth, Texas. The Knoxville site also simulated a utility operations center and was also sending data to Fort Worth. The demonstration also included a local area network in Fort Worth with a local PMU live generating data.
Architectural Schema Used in the Demonstration
Demonstrate interoperable IEC 61850-90-5 based phasor data exchange over a Wide Area Network (WAN).
The demonstration illustrated how the IEC 61850 standard can be used to transport PMU data over a wide area, PMU data with protection and control systems, and enabling subscription to specific PMU data streams using MPLS and IP Multicast.
The benefits of this approach are:
- IEC 61850-90-5 for transport encryption
- GDOI key exchange protocol (under review in IEC)
Demonstrate IP Multicast routing of phasor data across the WAN
Another goal of the demo was to show how routing of phasor data across the Wide Area Network could be accomplished efficiently using IP Multicast, as opposed to using IP Unicast. This approach allows the interested receiving entities (Subscribers) to specify which PMU's (Publisher's) data they wish to receive; the network automatically builds a single data distribution tree to support all receivers of the same data.
Data replication (i.e. IP Multicast packet replication) is done efficiently within the network routing layer. Use of IP Unicast requires that a data stream be created by the PMU for every receiver that wishes to receive the phasor data. This is neither scalable nor efficient, and leads to overly complex architectures with latency-inducing PDC stacking approaches to make data available to all interested receivers.
All of the IP Multicast related routing technologies demonstrated have been in use in various industries (eg. Live video distribution) for many years and have a proven track record. Examples of receivers can include PDCs, historians, protection and control systems, analytics and visualization systems, and other devices and applications. The demonstrated architecture can scale to support PMU data distribution within a single utility network as well as between utility networks.
The benefits of this approach are:
Demonstrate common API support for C37.118 & IEC 61850-90-5
The value of a common API that supports C37.118 and IEC 61850-90-5 is that it simplifies migration of legacy protocols and devices and enables integration of phasor measurement data with CIM and PMU registry.
The benefits of a common API are:
Demonstrate CIM-based PMU Registry data exchange using secure OPC Unified Architecture (UA) web services over a wide area.
The IEC Common Information Model is a well thought-out power system data model easily adapted to support the PMU registry. OPC UA provides a set of secure, cross-platform web services that support model driven exchange. Using OPC UA enables a secure exchange of connected power system models with current and historical phasor data; support also is available for alarms and events.
The benefits of a CIM-based PMU Registry exposed using OPC UA are:
Summary
A successful demonstration of key technologies took place at the NASPI meeting that included:
The team is currently looking to expand the demo foundation to include cyber security features, system performance measurement, network management, and other features necessary to implement the full NASPInet architecture.
Contact:
Don Kintner
Manager, Communications
EPRI
dkintner@epri.com, 704-595-2506
