Summary changes in 2013 IEEE/IEC Dual Logo COMTRADE standard

The globally used COMTRADE standard was initially developed by IEEE and later adopted by IEC. The first IEEE version was published in 1991 and was later revised in 1999. The IEC version was adopted in 2001. The 2013 revision of the COMTRADE standard is an IEEE/IEC Dual Logo standard planned for publication during the first quarter of 2013. The main motivations for the current revisions are: 1) to remove restrictions that were only relevant for computing technologies of the 1990s and 2) to satisfy the requirement of universal time information in COMTRADE files. The second need was identified during the 2003 Northeast Blackout analysis to time synchronize data from different substations. The working group has also addressed other issues, including the availability of a single file. Industry users feel very strongly about this need to easily exchange and manage COMTRADE files, and the working group's recommendations address these concerns.

I. Introduction

The history of the COMTRADE standard can be narrated in many different ways. However, the common themes are innovation, cooperation and success over the last twenty years. The COMTRADE standard evolved in four stages: the first stage is represented by the IEEE 1991 standard, the second stage is represented by the IEEE 1999 revision, the third stage is represented by the consequences of the 2003 Northeast blackout, and the fourth stage is represented by the 2013 IEEE/IEC Dual Logo COMTRADE standard. The goal of the first COMTRADE standard [1] was to assist relay engineers in evaluating the relay performance based on Digital Fault Recorder data. The first standard was quite successful: it was accepted by many relay manufacturers and utility engineers who recognized the value in sharing and using data from many devices scattered over a large geographical area, including simulation laboratories, test laboratories, and field installations. Noting the success of the COMTRADE standard in North America, users in other countries also began using the standard, resulting in a COMTRADE version of the standard coming from European manufacturers with 1993 identified as the standard year. Users were attracted to the simplicity and the interoperability provided by the standard. One critical focus of future power system development is interoperability; the COMTRADE standard is identified as a key SMART Grid standard for such development.