Case study · Electricity networks and utilities

Protection and control for an HV substation

Protection scheme design, panel design and bespoke scheme logic for an HV substation, engineered to IEC 61850 and ENA standards.

The challenge

The substation required a protection and control scheme that would protect plant and people under fault conditions, discriminate correctly across the network, and be delivered with documentation an operator could set, test and maintain.

Context

An HV substation project in a UK network environment, with the scheme engineered to IEC 61850 and ENA standards. Client and site details are withheld for confidentiality.

Our scope

Protection scheme design, panel design and bespoke scheme logic for the substation, from scheme concept through to documented implementation.

Technical complexity

The scheme combined conventional protection requirements with an IEC 61850 communications architecture, and included bespoke logic where standard relay functions did not match the required operating behaviour. Logic of this kind must be specified, implemented and documented precisely: an ambiguity in a functional description becomes a hidden failure mode in service.

Engineering approach

Scheme design started from the network behaviour required, not from a preferred relay catalogue. Bespoke logic was specified with full functional descriptions before implementation, and the IEC 61850 signal engineering was documented so that commissioning and future modification would not depend on the original designer being in the room.

Key deliverables

  • Protection scheme design
  • Panel designs and documentation
  • Bespoke scheme logic with functional descriptions
  • IEC 61850 configuration and records

Result

A protection and control scheme delivered to IEC 61850 and ENA standards, with the design intent fully documented, giving the client a scheme that can be operated, tested and maintained with confidence.

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