How to convert old substation to a digital substation?

electrical-engineering-portal.com/convert-old-substation-to-digital

By Bishal Lamichhane September 7, 2020

Substation digital communications

Typically, substations comprise power elements like power transformers, switches, busbars,
etc. and control elements like protection units, metering units, RTUs, SCADA, etc. While the
power elements are mandatory requirements, the control elements vary as per the function of
a substation and the capital investment available.

How to convert old substation to a digital substation?

In between all these, digital communication, data acquisition, automation, intuitive features
and, information sharing via Ethernet or any other modern communication protocol
separates a conventional substation with a modern digital substation. During the initial days
of power system development, substations served the sole purpose of power distribution with
few automation and digital data acquisition provisions.

Advanced communication protocols were not ready to be used in the power sector back then.
To bring it in perspective, IEC 61850, an international standard that defines the modern
communication protocol for digital electronic devices within substations, was introduced

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only in 2003.

The use of integrated Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) to enable real-time

monitoring and remote management has risen exponentially ever since.
This article will discuss the fundamentals of the up-gradation of old substations into digital
substations capable of full automation, real-time data acquisition, and monitoring, along
with lots of additional features.

Figure 1 – Relay panels in an old 132 kV substation

Table of contents:

1. Typical operation and communication mechanism of old substations

The primary components of a substation have not changed much over the decades, and the
basic functionality remains more or less the same. Thus the focus of advancement and
change shifts to secondary setup. Concisely, most of the substations built before or during
the 1990s were hardwired for any level of the substation automation system and remote
control available.

The electromechanical and static protection systems were dominant before and during the
1990s. Static protection developed during the early 1990s was a boost in the field of
substation automation, but still way short of modern-day advancement and flexibility of the

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digital system.

Figure 2 – Typical connection principle of the conventional substation control system

As illustrated in Figure 2, conventional substations have a vast network of physical copper

wiring, creating a network of all primary sensors like CTs, VTs from the switchyard, or RTU
to the control room. Likewise, connections to relays, switchgear, or existing HMIs are
hardwired, with individual copper wires too, with a bare minimum possibility of automation
and limited data acquisition.

Even today, the number of substations in operation with very little or no automation is very
high compared to a modern digital substation. Barring some minor maintenances, once
commissioned, power substations last for 30-40 years or even more.

So, most of the old substations we see today are in operation since the time even before or
during the advancement in substation communication protocols defined by IEC 61850.
Substations developed during this transition phase of communication protocol integrated
numerical relays and other few IEDs along with electromechanical technology and
open protocols like IEC60870-5-102, 103 for substation operation.
These substations would still be considered old and outdated for their lack of flexibility in
connectivity within devices, a vast tiresome network of hardwired copper cabling, lack of
extensive data acquisition, and lack of full automation to the potential of installed numeric
relay and so on.

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2. Digital substation and communication protocol in a nutshell

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IEC 61850 is the core of any modern-day digital substation. Rather than emphasizing the
perks of a digital substation, we will focus more on the bus architect used in a digital
substation related to the up-gradation of older substations, which we will discuss later in this
article.

The digital substation comprises three levels in terms of communication:

1. the station level,

2. the bay level, and
3. the process level.

In the process level, primary sensing elements like CTs and VTs transmit signals in digital
form to the bay level, consisting of an interconnected network of protection and monitoring
units termed as IEDs. The station level is mostly for supervision, data logging, and control
overrides whenever required. It comprises HMIs, SCADA, and other operating stations.
In a digital substation, only a few fibers and Ethernet cables connect all these
components and levels mentioned above, which makes the physical realization much
easier and also much reliable at the same time.

In a conventional substation, a vast network of copper wiring makes the system both
unreliable and cumbersome.

Figure 3 – Typical bus principle in a digital substation

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The digital substation comprises some key elements. IEDs, Generic Object Oriented
Substation Event (GOOSE), GPS, station and process bus, merging units, and non-
conventional transducers are integral parts of a digital substation.

An IED is any device within a substation that consists of one or more processors and can
control data from external sources like sensors and transducers. Digital relays, controllers,
power analyzers, etc. used for protection and control fall in this category.

When related to substation architecture, these elements make up the bay level.
Similarly, GOOSE is specific formatting of data used as an essential part of the IEC 61850
optical network, ensuring reliable and timely operation of interconnected IEDs enables swift
signal transfer. The Station bus works as a communication bridge between IEDs in bay level
and station control, while the process bus links IEDs to primary sensing elements.
Interconnections exist between IEDs too.
Merging units act as an interface between the conventional transducers and the IED like
bay controllers and protection relays. Their primary function is to digitize the analog signals
and transmit them to IEDs as per the adopted protocol. Likewise, the trend of using optical
current and voltage transducers is evergrowing.

These modern transducers are capable of communication to IED via optical fiber with no
intermediate units.

Recommended reading:

IED (Intelligent Electronic Device) advanced functions that make our life better

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3. Why convert old substations into digital?

While the primary components like transformers, switches, busbars, etc. of a substation can
operate on their own when connected in proper sequence, it is the secondary components
that guide, control, and regulate the designated operation. In an older substation, those
operations are manual or with minimum automation.

Manual systems are very hard to troubleshoot and rectify when some interruptions
occur while also being tedious to operate. The modern digital substation has the flexibility of
data logging over a very long period, and also continuous real-time monitoring makes it
easier to rectify any problem immediately.
Older substations perform their primary functions but lack digital features like real-time
monitoring, data logging, and automation. Upgrading the old control network into a digital
network revives the whole substation.

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 Upgrading requires good planning and replacement and addition of some key elements
that can be done with pretty low expenses compared to the construction of an entirely new
digital substation.

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4. Architecture and essentials of conversion

Converting an older substation to a digital one should start with a thorough assessment
of the existing substation. The figure above is a switchyard of 132/33 kV 60 MVA power
distribution substation constructed during the mid-1980s. This substation represents a
general case of an older substation to a great extent.

This substation works fine manually and delivers power to nearby load centers as required,
but lacks proper automation.

Figure 4 – Power transformer and CTs in 132/33kV, 60 MVA Chanauta Substation, Nepal

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It lacks digital data logging, real-time monitoring, and supervision. Push buttons, indicators,
and some LCDs are the major HMIs. Almost every control cable is a part of a multi-core
copper cable that runs individually to each data exchange equipment.

Relays used for circuit protection are the numerical type, but with limited functionality,
in the absence of proper interoperatively between components.

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4.1 Equipment selection

The selection of equipment is one of the most critical decisions to ensure the cost of the
substation digitizing project is limited to a minimum.

4.1.1. Primary sensing elements and interfacing devices

CTs and VTs are the two major sensing elements of a digital substation. The engineers should
decide whether to replace the existing conventional instrument transformers or make them
work by adding appropriate interfacing devices. Unless the instrument transformers are
already in bad shape, it is better to add merging units (MU) instead of replacing them
altogether.

The primary function of these MUs is to merge the analog signals from conventional
instrument transformers, convert to digital signals and send them to IED at bay level
via IEC 61850-9-2 LE based process bus.
Hardwired copper wires link the conventional CTs and VTs to new merging units. Optic
cables or Ethernet cables connect those merging units to other protection and control devices
at the bay level.

In the case of GIS, engineers should decide how to install these merging units appropriately
in the switchyard near CTs and VTs in an AIS and panel room.

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 Figure 5 – Location of merging unit (MU) in the substation

If the project cost is flexible enough, engineers can also opt to replace the conventional CTs
and VTs altogether by Non-Conventional Instrument Transformers (NCITs). These NCITs
can be directly linked to IED via a fiber cable, and their polarity can also be configured as per
requirement.

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4.1.2 Integrating existing digital devices and new IEDs

Switchgear Control Units (SCUs) are another essential component required for
introducing automation in an old substation. These interfacing units are necessary since
most old VCBs or SF6 CBs cannot communicate in a digital protocol with preceding relays or
any other IED. The terminals of circuit breakers are hardwired to SCUs mounted ideally in
the switchyard.

The addition of SCUs allows remote control of circuit breakers, sending protection trips to
circuit breakers in the switchyard, acquiring breaker status, and real-time monitoring.

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 Figure 6 – Newly installed IED for bay control in a 220 kV substation

For protection relay, the engineers need to assess and analyze whether existing relays
comply with the communication protocol defined by IEC 61850 or not. Most of
the protective relays used for feeder protection, bay protection, transformer differential
protection, etc. have digital communication capability. If not, the ones that support IEC
61850 9-2LE should replace them.

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These protection relays subscribe to the sampled values coming from the merging units or
NCITs directly through an Ethernet network. These relays communicate to the SCUs using
GOOSE to receive the breaker status and send trip commands to auxiliary relays.

Figure 7 – Transmission protection relay in an old substation

The relays currently in use in an old substation can be of various types, models, modes of
communication, etc. Even for the same relays model, the availability of different connectivity
options depends upon the year of release and purchase options selected by the client.

Figure 7 above displays an old relay for the transmission protection system in a substation
with no modern-day communication option. It comes with an EIA-485 port, two EIA-232
port, one IRIG-B, and numerous terminals for signal inputs via hardwired copper cables.

During the substation’s digitalization, this relay needs a replacement that complies with a
modern communication protocol.

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 Figure 8 – Hardwired copper cable connection in a transmission protection relay

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4.1.3 Provision for synchronization and switches

Time synchronization is an essential part of digital substation architecture. A GPS-based time
server is not readily available in conventional substations. It must be added to enhance
digital data logging based on the timeline and essentially to synchronize the sampling
instant between the SCUs and MUs.

Recommended reading:

Critical role of time synchronisation in IEC 61850 based digital protection systems

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4.1.4 SCADA and HMI

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SCADA is an amalgam of whatever we see in a digital substation. Each digitally addressed
equipment within the system can contribute to SCADA. For extensive data logging and real-
time monitoring, data are collected from several digital components like IEDs, Ethernet
switches, merging units, and switchgear protection units as required.

The SCADA requires a central server, HMI screen, a console, and a web-based or mobile user
interface.

Figure 9 – HMI panels of an old 132 kV substation

Figure 9 above shows HMI panels of an older substation with annunciators, LCDs,
pushbuttons, TNC switches, etc. The control of breakers, observations of real-time
current and voltage, etc. are controlled via similar panels in old substations. Older substation
lacks proper GUI and HMIs and also proper remote communication.

The design engineers should make sure that the new upgraded digital substation comes with
all these missing features.

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 Figure 10 – Newly installed substation automaton server and workstation panels of a
220 kV substation

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4.2 Selecting bus architecture

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While converting an older substation to a digital substation, selecting appropriate
architecture for the data bus is critical. Since each bus has a different function to
execute, each network’s requirements differ in terms of data movement and process.

The station bus exchanges information between IEDs and station HMIs, while the process
bus acquires raw data from primary sensing elements or merging units and forwards it to the
bay level. Various interconnections are possible while designing digital substation. Switched
network and point to point architecture are the two most commonly used bus architecture for
a digital substation process bus.

Figure 11 – Point to point architecture

In switched network architecture, merging units (MUs) send data to IED via a common
Ethernet switch. GPS clock signal input helps to synchronize the data sampling. In point to
point architecture, data are directly sent from MUs in the switchyard to the protective relay
or IED in the control room. This avoids the necessity of an Ethernet switch, GPS clock signal,
etc.

This architecture is much simpler and has lower latency compared to the switched
network.

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 Figure 12 – Switched network architecture

While both architectures have their fair share of advantages and disadvantages, it is better to
opt for a simpler and more reliable option in case of conversion of older to a digital
substation. Since point to point architecture has fewer components, fewer terminations, and
no significant synchronism issues for data sampling, it is a better choice in most of the
cases.

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4.3 Final integration with the existing components

One of the challenging parts of upgrading an existing setup is the final integration and
commissioning. After completing the replacement of old equipment and the addition of
new equipment as per the requirement, it is equally important to make sure that they
function in conjugation with the existing setup with proper commissioning and calibration.

Since all old substations are not alike, the work and step of up-gradation also differ
accordingly.

At the end of the project, it should fulfill the primary objective of substation digitization with
all the tedious network of copper hardwired cables replaced by few Ethernet and optic, fast
digital communication, full automation, extensive data acquisition as well as easy remote
control and monitoring.

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