COPA-DATA receives IEC 61850 Edition 2 certification

Standards and communication protocols in the energy sector are regularly renewed. The international standard IEC 61850 regulates, among other things, communication between different components in automated power stations and transformers. The current test bed for Edition 2 checks new functions and additions to the standard. It is usually the server providing data that is certified to the IEC 61850 standard. zenon acts as a client however and was one of the first worldwide to be successfully tested with the Edition 2 of the standard.

In Edition 2 of the IEC 61850 standard, apart from additions to the object model, it was the functional constraints permitted in spontaneous communication that were enhanced in particular. As a result, the standard offers more flexibility when designing efficient network communication. The most significant enhancement concerns service tracking. This allows queries on the current device status and detailed information on completed actions.

Albi Kospiri, Communication Protocol Engineer, TÜV SÜD Product Service in Munich, explains: “COPA-DATA came to our laboratories with clear ideas and the implementation of the Edition 2 of IEC 61850 standard seemed to be carried out by knowledgeable people with hands-on experience of the standard. The testing process didn’t bring up significant issues. The application being tested was a comprehensive SCADA application, which gave us the best chance to examine all the applicable test cases required by the test procedure.”

Jürgen Resch, Energy Industry Manager, COPA-DATA, adds: “The demand for comprehensive Edition 2 certification in the energy market is increasing – not just for hardware, but also software. It is expected that it will even become a benchmark in international tenders in the future. This new certification from TÜV SÜD is a further important building block for our international competitiveness.”