IEC TR 61850-90-30:2025

Overview

IEC TR 61850-90-30:2025 (Communication networks and systems for power utility automation - Part 90-30) is a Technical Report that defines extensions to the SCL Substation/Process Section to enable comprehensive, hardware- and IED-independent specification of IEC 61850–based power systems. The document focuses on function modelling in SCL, enabling clear decomposition, classification and mapping of power-system functions, and describing information flow and engineering impacts while guaranteeing backward compatibility with existing SCL usage.

Key Topics

• Function decomposition and classification in SCL: model functions and their categories in a vendor-neutral way.
• Relationships: map functions to the SCL Substation and Process Section, to Logical Nodes (LNs), and to IEDs / Specification IEDs (S-IEDs).
• Information flow modelling: represent inter-function data and control flows in a hardware-independent manner, including SourceRef and ControlRef resolution.
• Application positioning: locate functions relative to Application Schemes, Distributed Functions and Protection Schemes.
• Alignment with Basic Application Profiles (BAP): show the relationship to BAPs defined in IEC TR 61850‑7‑6.
• Engineering process considerations: specify how function modelling affects SCL Process Section and overall system configuration.
• SCL extensions & new file types: additions to improve SSD content, plus new IED-specific file variants (ISD and FSD files).
• Collaboration and rights management: evolved engineering rights, improved SED usage, and a new System Configuration Collaboration (SCC) file concept to support multi-engineer projects.
• Backwards compatibility: SCL modifications are made to preserve compatibility with existing tools and files.

Applications

• Create hardware-independent functional specifications for substations and process systems using IEC 61850 and SCL.
• Document and exchange functional designs (e.g., breaker control, breaker failure, measurement, transformer applications) across vendors and engineering teams.
• Support system configuration, testing and simulation using S‑IED, ISD and FSD file types.
• Enable collaborative engineering workflows with SCC files and refined engineering rights.
• Facilitate tool vendors and integrators to implement richer SCL support for function-centric engineering.

Who should use this standard

• Substation automation and protection engineers
• System integrators and utility engineering teams
• IED and tool vendors implementing IEC 61850 and SCL support
• Project managers coordinating multi-engineer configurations and versioning

Related standards

• IEC 61850 series (core standard for communication and data modelling)
• IEC TR 61850‑7‑6 (Basic Application Profiles - BAP)
• IEC 61850‑6 (System configuration and SCL file handling)

Keywords: IEC TR 61850-90-30, IEC 61850, SCL, function modelling, power utility automation, IED, S-IED, FSD, ISD, SCC, Basic Application Profile.