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Brazilian utilities experience in acceptance, commissioning and maintenance testing techniques for protection and automation systems based in IEC-61850

Abstract:

The paper will address the changes and new practices from the point of view of electric utilities, with respect to testing procedures in various stages of implementing protection and automation systems based on IEC-61850. This work is the result of the contributions made by the Brazilian mirror group of WG B5.45: Acceptance, Commissioning and Field Testing Techniques for Protection and Automation Systems. It will examine various aspects of the conformance tests (including interoperability tests), homologation or qualification tests, factory acceptance tests (FAT including interoperability tests), site acceptance tests or commissioning, and maintenance tests. Also presented will be a flowchart typical of the practices adopted in various stages considering: How the tests are defined, who defines the tests, who validates the tests procedures, who executes the tests, how are the tests documented, and who validates the results of the tests. In addition to the theoretical aspects, there will also be presented practical difficulties encountered by companies to adequately perform in each step, and the strategies that companies adopt to overcome problems and achieve deadlines and costs, and guarantee safety and quality from the point of view of operating and maintenance of protection and automation systems. Also management and integration of legacy systems will be presented especially considering the difficulty of the execution of tests.