*Eastern Interconnection Phasor Project*

Performance Requirements Task Team (PRTT)

A Guide for PMU Installation, Commissioning and Maintenance

Part I

PMU Acceptance Test Checklist

for Connecting to TVA SuperPDC

April 28, 2006

*Last Updated: May 8, 2006*

*Performance Requirements Task Team Leader:*

Damir Novosel, KEMA

*Task Force Contributors:*

Ken Martin, BPA -- *Task Force Leader*

Ritchie Carroll, TVA

Henry Huang, PNNL, CERTS

Virgilio Centeno, Virginia Tech

Damir Novosel, KEMA

Yi Hu, KEMA

*(Others to be added)*

Revision History

+---------+------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| *       | **   | **Description**                                     |
| *Date** | Rev. |                                                     |
|         | \#** |                                                     |
+---------+------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| 0       | 1    | -   Development started.                            |
| 4/24/06 |      |                                                     |
+---------+------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| 0       | 1.1  | -   Reviewed and revised per teleconference 5/5/06  |
| 5/08/06 |      |                                                     |
+---------+------+-----------------------------------------------------+
|         |      |                                                     |
+---------+------+-----------------------------------------------------+
|         |      |                                                     |
+---------+------+-----------------------------------------------------+
|         |      |                                                     |
+---------+------+-----------------------------------------------------+
|         |      |                                                     |
+---------+------+-----------------------------------------------------+

Table of Contents

[1. Glossary of Terms 4](#glossary-of-terms)

[2. Preface 5](#preface)

[3. PMU Acceptance Test for Connecting to TVA SuperPDC
5](#pmu-acceptance-test-for-connecting-to-tva-superpdc)

[4. Checklist of PMU Acceptance Test for Connecting to TVA SuperPDC
5](#checklist-of-pmu-acceptance-test-for-connecting-to-tva-superpdc)

[5. Concluding Remarks 6](#concluding-remarks)

[6. Appendix I: TVA PMU Connection Tester
8](#appendix-i-tva-pmu-connection-tester)

[7. Appendix II: TVA IEEE C37.118 Proxy Service
10](#appendix-ii-tva-ieee-c37.118-proxy-service)

List of Figures

[Figure 1 PMU Connection Test Tool with IEEE C37.118 selected
8](#__RefHeading___Toc135219385)

[Figure 2 PMU Connection Test Tool with IEEE 1344 selected
9](#__RefHeading___Toc135219386)

[Figure 3 Data flow diagram of the Proxy Service
10](#__RefHeading___Toc135219387)

# Glossary of Terms

**BPA/PDCStream** -- An extension of IEEE 1344, widely used by the BPA
PDC and human-machine interface software on the West Coast.

**GPS** -- Global Positioning System. A satellite based system for
providing position and time. The accuracy of GPS based clocks can be
better than 1 microsecond.

**IEEE 1344** -- A highly efficient protocol for real time SynchroPhasor
data. Typically data is streamed in this format over UDP/IP or across a
serial link.

**IEEE C37.118** -- Related to IEEE 1344, but adds much needed
capability. This protocol and its associated standard are intended to
replace IEEE 1344 and the BPA/PDCStream protocols. Typically data is
streamed in this format over UDP/IP or across a serial link.

**NERC** -- North American Electricity Reliability Council

**PDC** -- Phasor Data Concentrator. A logical unit that collects phasor
data, and discrete event data from PMU's and possibly from other PDC's,
and transmits data to other applications. PDC's may buffer data for a
short time period but do not store the data.

**PMU** -- Phasor Measurement Unit. A device that samples analog voltage
and current data in synchronism with a GPS-clock. The samples are used
to compute the corresponding phasors. Phasors are computed based on an
absolute time reference (UTC), typically derived from a built-in GPS
receiver.

**SuperPDC** -- The PDC which is implemented to collects all the phasors
of the Eastern Interconnection for the EIPP. It is physically located at
TVA.

**TCP/IP** -- TCP/IP is a low-level protocol for use mainly on Ethernet
or related networks. Most of the higher-level protocols use TCP/IP to
transport the data. TCP/IP provides a highly reliable connection over
unreliable networks, using checksums, congestion control, and automatic
resending of bad or missing data. TCP/IP requires time to handshake new
connections and will block if missing data is being resent.

**TVA** -- Tennessee Valley Authority

**UDP/IP** -- UDP/IP is a low-level IP protocol that provides
low-latency communication across Ethernet or related networks. UDP/IP
does not provide any error-control or resending of missing or bad data.
The Application will need to check data for correctness. UDP/IP however,
does not require time for handshaking and will not block, making it
ideal for real-time data communications.

**UTC** -- Coordinated Universal Time (initials order based on French).
UTC represents the time-of-day at the Earth\'s prime meridian (0°
longitude).

# Preface

This document intends to serve as a guide for connecting PMUs to TVA's
SuperPDC. Before a PMU can be connected to the SuperPDC and function
properly, several tests need to be performed as detailed in the
remainder of this document.

# PMU Acceptance Test for Connecting to TVA SuperPDC

This document is focused only on the series of tests performed prior to
connecting a PMU to the SuperPDC. Actually PMU acceptance test is a
broad topic and the checklist in this document is only a subset of it.
Acceptance tests should be performed when a PMU is commissioned to
service. The PMU acceptance tests include normal hard wiring check,
insulation test, calibration and functional tests to ensure that hard
wire connections are good, insulation meets substation requirements,
input signals are properly calibrated and the device is still
operational. For PMU devices, there are several additional things need
to be checked: designated A phase (it should be the same across the
whole EIPP system), phase sequence (ABC, not ACB), and GPS reception.
All these are beyond the scope of this document. But this document can
evolve to become a PMU commissioning guide which will address PMU
acceptance more broadly.

# Checklist of PMU Acceptance Test for Connecting to TVA SuperPDC

The intention of this section is to list the tests which need to be
performed before connecting the PMU to the SuperPDC. Examples of test
methods are introduced but they are not the only methods and this list
does not intend to provide detailed test methods and test setup. Users
should apply the checklist to their respective situations with their own
available resources.

**Network Connectivity Test**

This refers to the data link between a PMU and the SuperPDC. The data
link can be a dedicated data line, a dial-up link, LAN-LAN VPN, etc.
Tests in this section will include using the "ping" command to determine
connection and presence of devices at each end and a data rate test to
assure that the connection has sufficient capacity to carry the required
data. It should be pointed out that many currently used firewalls and
other security elements do not respond to "ping". This makes network
connectivity difficult to verify in some cases. It is suggested to use
the PMU Connection Test Tool as detailed in Appendix I to verify the
network connectivity.

**Protocol Test (TCP/IP or UDP/IP)**

The PMU-PDC communication will be by TCP/IP or UDP/IP. Once the
parameters are determined, the connection with the SuperPDC can be
tested. If it works, the protocol is probably ok. If not, further
investigation is required. In both cases, a monitor, such as Ethereal
(free download at [www.ethereal.com](http://www.ethereal.com/)) or UDP
Listener (free download at ???), should be used to be sure the protocol
guidelines are implemented correctly. TVA PMU Connection Test Tool (see
Appendix I) tests protocols and data formats. If the Tool is used, this
protocol test can be combined with the data format test below.

**Data Format Test (IEEE 37.118, PDCStream, IEEE 1344, OPC, etc.)**

Once the format is determined, the connection with the SuperPDC can be
tested. If it works, the format is probably ok. If not, further
investigation is required. All commands used in the IEEE protocol should
be tested with a close examination of the data to be sure it fully
conforms. A monitor, such as Ethereal, provides a good tool to allow
precise examination of the data to assure conformance. Ritchie Carroll
of TVA developed a PMU Connection Test Tool (see Appendix I), which can
be used to test both protocols and data formats. This tool can be
downloaded from the EIPP Tools website
<http://phasors.pnl.gov/resources_tools.html>. For IEEE C37.118 data
format, configuration frames are sent when requested if TCP/IP is used.
For UDP/IP, Ritchie developed an IEEE C37.118 Proxy Service application,
which requests configuration frames once every minutes. This service
also make PMUs secure. Details about this Service application can be
found in Appendix II. This Proxy Service application is free for
download at the EIPP Tools website
<http://phasors.pnl.gov/resources_tools.html>.

**Reporting Data Rate test**

Verify the reporting rate as it is supposed to be (e.g. 30
samples-per-second). It is suggest to use the PMU Connections Test tool
(see Appendix I) for this test.

**Latency Test**

Latency can be roughly determined from the difference between the
timestamp and the time when the data arrives at the SuperPDC. Currently
for EIPP PMUs, latency is typically 1\~5 seconds. It is suggested to use
the PMU Connection Test Tool (see Appendix I) to measure the latency.

# Concluding Remarks

This checklist is developed in the intention of facilitating PMU
connection to the SuperPDC. There are often questions about how to
connect PMUs to the SuperPDC and it has been a critical path for EIPP to
bring phasor data into EIPP real-time data stream. Hopefully this
checklist can serve as a starting point. This checklist is by no means a
complete one, and it will be updated when new situations come up.
Comments and suggestions are welcome and should be directed to:

Ken Martin, <kemartin@bpa.gov>

Or Ritchie Carroll, <jrcarrol@tva.gov>

PMU data communication involves many aspects. The EIPP Data Management
Task Team led by Paul Myrda maintains a frequently asked questions (FAQ)
site <http://phasors.pnl.gov/resources_data.html>. Please refer to that
site for more information on data communication.

With a broader scope, this checklist may evolve to become a PMU
commissioning guide, of which the checklist is only a subset.

# Appendix I: TVA PMU Connection Tester 

This tool is developed by Ritchie Carroll of TVA for testing connections
between PMUs and PDCs. It can test various data formats including IEEE
C37.118, IEEE 1344, etc. This tool can be downloaded from the EIPP Tools
website <http://phasors.pnl.gov/resources_tools.html>.

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="5.184722222222222in"
height="4.731944444444444in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc135219385 .anchor}Figure 1 PMU Connection Test
Tool with IEEE C37.118 selected

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="5.142361111111111in"
height="4.736111111111111in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc135219386 .anchor}Figure 2 PMU Connection Test
Tool with IEEE 1344 selected

# Appendix II: TVA IEEE C37.118 Proxy Service

This IEEE C37.118 Proxy Service is developed by Ritchie Carroll of TVA.
The purpose of this Windows service based application is to provide a
"proxied" data stream in native IEEE C37.118 format from a PMU or PDC
device at a utility without having to expose its internal substation
devices through an external connection. Figure 3 shows the data flow of
this Proxy Service. This service application can be downloaded at the
EIPP Tools website <http://phasors.pnl.gov/resources_tools.html>. The
source code is also included to allow utilities and vendors to establish
trust in what data processing steps the application is performing, but
is solely owned and copyrighted by TVA and is being provided exclusively
for purposes in conjunction with the Eastern Interconnect Phasor
Project, any other use of source code would have to be approved by TVA.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.534027777777778in"
height="3.7729166666666667in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc135219387 .anchor}Figure 3 Data flow diagram of
the Proxy Service

After installation, the service will need to be started to create the
initial configuration file ("C37.118 Proxy Service.exe.config") -- make
sure to stop the service before making modifications to the
configuration file.  The configuration file defines the settings needed
for rebroadcast of the PDC/PMU data streams.  Below is an example --
note that you can define as many connections as needed (i.e., one per
PMU or PDC).  Note that the destination port per given IP will need to
be unique -- you will need to work with TVA to select an appropriate
non-used port number for destinations pointing into the private EIPP
hosting network:

 

-   **Example configuration file for the Proxy Service**

\<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\"?\>

\<configuration\>

    \<appSettings file=\"\"\>

        \<clear /\>

        \<!\-- Define the total number of connections handled by proxy
service \--\>

        \<add key=\"TotalProxyConnections\" value=\"2\" /\>

 

        \<!\-- The section below begins definition of first connection
\--\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection1.Name\" value=\"Example PDC
Connection\" /\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection1.Host\" value=\"165.233.31.32\" /\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection1.Port\" value=\"5000\" /\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection1.PmuID\" value=\"1\" /\>

        \<!\-- This example defines two destinations for PDC output,
allowing data transmission to more than one location \--\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection1.Destinations\"
value=\"127.0.0.1:3200,152.85.98.5:3200\" /\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection1.LogFileName\"
value=\"D:\\apps\\IEEE C37.118 Data Proxy Service\\My PDC
Connection.log\" /\>

 

        \<!\-- The section below begins definition of second connection
\--\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection2.Name\" value=\"Example PMU
Connection\" /\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection2.Host\" value=\"165.233.31.15\" /\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection2.Port\" value=\"4712\" /\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection2.PmuID\" value=\"3\" /\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection2.Destinations\"
value=\"152.85.98.5:3300\" /\>

        \<add key=\"ProxyConnection2.LogFileName\"
value=\"D:\\apps\\IEEE C37.118 Data Proxy Service\\My XYZ PMU
Connection.log\" /\>

    \</appSettings\>

\</configuration\>