Continuous automated analysis of protection scheme communications leads to improved reliability and performance

As protection intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) have evolved, their communications and reporting capabilities have become more advanced. Protective relays can store, with high-accuracy time stamps, not only records of protection elements pertinent to the operation of the relay itself but also the arrival and departure of high-speed incoming and outgoing data that are used to coordinate other devices' protection algorithms. All the data can be sifted through and analyzed to locate maintenance indicators and to correct undesirable behaviors before a larger problem is created within the system. Some communications testing requirements are already outlined in NERC PRC-005-02 — Protection System Maintenance. This paper investigates how, by using the communications and reporting capabilities of these modern IEDs, a continuously running monitoring system can quickly identify and report signal transmission timing or delivery degradation in a protection system using high-speed peer-to-peer signals. This monitoring system functions regardless of protection scheme protocol selection or network design variations, and it provides immediately actionable data by delivering reports that indicate the exact contact or internal bit in a specific relay or set of relays involved in the problem.