IEEE 1588 time synchronisation performance for IEC 61850 transmission substations

Abstract Accurate timestamping with 1 µs precision is required by power system monitoring and control equipment, including: Phase Measurement Units (PMUs) for real-time measurement and control; travelling wave detectors for fault location, protection and control; and sample value measurement techniques associated with the IEC 61850 process bus. The conventional way of achieving this is to transmit 1-PPS or IRIG-B timing signals using dedicated cables but such an approach is expensive and difficult to update as secondary control systems evolve. IEEE 1588 precision time protocol (PTP) allows the transmission of time information with sub-microsecond accuracy in an Ethernet network. However, a comprehensive study is required to enhance the confidence of the power industry in using PTP in present and future IEC 61850 based substations. This paper delivers a design and experimental validation of the real-time time synchronisation characteristics achievable with IEEE 1588. Several factors which can potentially affect the synchronisation accuracy in delivering a time reference from the master clocks to the end devices during both steady-state and transient changes were investigated. The objective is to increase the understanding of the real-time performance of a complete IEEE 1588 timing system applied in transmission substations, and identify the limitations of commercially-available devices.