Chinese Protection Relay Earns IEC 61850 Ed2.1 Level-A Certification

Recently, the NSR-3611 low-voltage protection and control device and the NSD500M high-voltage measurement and control device—both developed by a Chinese protection and control equipment manufacturer—successfully passed the IEC 61850 Ed2.1 Server Level-A certification test conducted by DNV (Det Norske Veritas). The devices have been awarded the international Level-A certification by the Utilities Communication Architecture International Users Group (UCAIug). This milestone marks the manufacturer as a globally certified supplier of IEC 61850 Ed2.1 Level-A compliant devices, significantly enhancing the competitiveness of its overseas protection and automation products in the international market.

IEC 61850 is the core international standard for power system automation communication established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The latest Ed2.1 edition imposes stricter and more comprehensive requirements on device communication capabilities, data model accuracy, and functional completeness. This certification represents the first domestic application of UCAIug’s newest test specification (TP 1.3), which updates data model definitions and introduces enhanced test cases for critical services such as reporting, setting groups, and remote control.

To meet overseas market demands, the manufacturer’s R&D center developed an integrated communication solution featuring “embedded communication components + end-to-end toolchain.” The team overcame key technical challenges, including multi-version adaptability of IEC 61850, and successfully implemented advanced functionalities such as dynamic datasets, extended full remote control, and dynamic GOOSE data object encoding. A multi-version adaptive communication component was also developed. Additionally, a comprehensive end-to-end toolchain—covering both device-level and system-level development—was established, including the IED configuration tool (config-cid) and the system configuration tool (NariConfigTool), significantly improving efficiency and quality in model configuration and system integration.

Moving forward, the manufacturer will closely align with its global market strategy, deepen research and application of international standards, accelerate certification of additional products in high-voltage protection and low-voltage protection & control domains, and continuously enhance the internationalization level and service capabilities of its product portfolio.