Implementation of IEC-61850 in Substation Protection and Automation PLUS SPOT
Please join the Central Tennessee IEEE in Nashville on October 15th for a presentation on IEC-61850.
The IEC-61850 standard is gaining recognition as the future of power system protection, automation and control, offering a transformative approach to substation design and operation. This presentation will introduce the IEC-61850 standard and its protocols such as GOOSE and Sampled Values. Attendees will gain insight into the structure and purpose of configuration files like SCDs and CIDs, which define what information is exchanged between devices. The session will also explore how the ethernet-based protocol IEC-61850 GOOSE enables fast, reliable peer-to-peer communication for protection and control systems. A featured case study will showcase a real-world implementation of IEC-61850 GOOSE in a project aimed at resolving complex protection challenges associated with double-circuit poles. This practical example will illustrate the advantages of integrating IEC-61850 GOOSE and the flexibility the protocol offers in modern protection schemes:
Topics of Discussion:
- GOOSE (Generic Object Oriented Substation Event) Traffic engineering of OT networks
- SV (Sampled Values)
- IEC-61850 System Architecture
- Merging Units
- Protection Logic
The meeting will provide opportunities for questions following the presentation.
Also, during lunch Meet SPOT — Boston Dynamics’ Famous Robotic Dog
You’ve seen him in videos, articles, and news stories. Now, meet SPOT in person and see his agility and capabilities as an autonomous mobile sensor platform.
On the factory floor, SPOT becomes your eyes and ears — automating inspections, capturing consistent data, and logging everything digitally. His deployment helps reduce human exposure to hazardous environments, detect potential dangers, and alert teams to abnormal conditions.
At this session, you’ll learn how SPOT has been applied in real-world industrial settings to solve practical challenges — and yes, you’ll even have the chance to snap a photo with him!
PAYMENT METHOD: Pay online via registration. To bypass PayPal payment method, click “Pay with Debit or Credit Card”.
REGISTRATION FEE:
IEEE Members $20
Non-Members $35
IEEE Student Members $10
IEEE Life Members $15
PLEASE REGISTER BY: October 13th, 2025
PDH CERTIFICATES for 3 Professional Development Hours will be issued.
Date and Time
Location
Hosts
Registration
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Add Event to Calendar
- 500 Interstate Blvd South
- Nashville, Tennessee
- United States 37210
- Building: Tech Hill Commons
- Contact Event Hosts
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To cancel, contact James Lee via the email link or 615-967-0728 at least 3 business days before the meeting date.
For questions, contact James Lee.
- Starts 19 August 2025 05:00 AM UTC
- Ends 14 October 2025 05:00 AM UTC
- Admission fee ?
- Menu: Standard Lunch, Vegetarian Lunch
Speakers
Mr. Brett Cockerham, P.E. Senior Electrical Engineer of Burns & McDonnell
In 2014, Brett joined SEL focusing on power system protection and control. In this role he supported electrical utilities and industrial companies in their training efforts, event analysis, commissioning assistance, relay settings and testing, protection standards, and protective relay applications. Brett later served as an industry advisor for engineers at large-scale utilities to overcome many of their application challenges. Including but not limited to developing relay settings and schemes to enhance reliability in their protection systems when interconnecting inverter-based resources at both transmission and distribution level voltages. Brett has two patents for enhanced distribution system protection schemes. Brett has authored more than 18 papers, including technical papers and guides, centering around power system protection and metering applications. He has presented his work at many industry conferences and seminars. Additionally, he has been an invited guest speaker at several industry events. In 2023, Brett joined Burns and McDonnell as a Senior Electrical Engineer with a focus on protection applications within the transmission and distribution services division. While at Burns and McDonnell he has performed coordination studies and developed relay settings for both transmission, substation, and distribution relays. Additionally, Brett has designed, tested, and commissioned protection systems using IEC-61850 technology.
Mr. Patrck Legarreta. Staff Electrical Engineer of Burns & McDonnell
Patrick Legarreta is a Staff Electrical Engineer with Burns & McDonnell with four years of experience in the industry. He is a member of the Protection Applications group within Burns & McDonnell, specializing on topics such as IEC-61850 implementation and testing, Arc Flash studies, coordination studies, harmonics mitigation, etc. He has a wide range of experience across multiple levels of IEC-61850 implementation and testing, ranging across all major relay vendors and with varying levels of implementation (partial implementation, full implementation, and centralized protection). Patrick also leverages his passion for VBA to identify and implement large scale automation tools. He is currently digging into the field of utilizing HIL testing to evaluate both system impacts of various harmonics sources and "digital twin-esque" approaches for black start strategies, as well as testing virtualized protection systems. He completed a B.S. in Electrical Engineering at Kennesaw State University.
Mr. Chad Segal. T&D Projects Manager of Burns & McDonnell
Chad Segal serves Burns & McDonnell as a T&D Projects Manager specializing in SCADA systems and IEC-61850 implementation, as well as helping utilities to build out private communications infrastructure. Chad has been working with IEC 61850 for over 10 years, starting on projects using only GOOSE messaging, and most recently supporting full EPC delivery of substations utilizing Sampled Values, GOOSE and MMS. Chad leads a team to support the design of the station bus and process bus networks, the time synchronization design, the SCADA architecture, system testing, and the overall IEC 61850 system integration.
Rich Masulis of WESCO Managed Solutions
Robotics, IOT, and AI
Agenda
8:30 AM: Sign-in and refreshments
9:00 AM to Noon: Program
Noon - 1:00 PM: Lunch