We’re looking forward to our New Orleans trip this week to meet IEC 61850 colleagues/friends, as well as attending the CEATI (Centre For Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation) Protection & Control Conference, which has the following objective:

“Bring industry professionals together to identify, discuss and develop solutions to common issues by sharing experiences and creating a networking opportunity for engineers concerned with application, optimization and the innovative use of advanced protection and control technologies in their power systems.”

There is a special track for IEC 61850 applications, and we look forward to participating in these discussions and learning more about North America’s needs for IEC 61850. We’re also grateful for the opportunity to tour a substation that has implemented IEC 61850 Process Bus, and appreciate the rare opportunity to witness this innovative pilot project. In the past North America may have been perceived as laggards in the IEC 61850 space, but we’re quickly catching up, and this conference and various pilot projects are proof-in-point.

Although most will agree that no trip to New Orleans will be complete without taking in a bit of Jazz; a bunch of gumbo; and a touch of voodoo; what we are most excited for is to see good friends and gain a better understanding of their IEC 61850 challenges. Vive la New Orleans!