IEC 61968-3-2021 PDF

Full title and description

St IEC 61968-3-2021 — Application integration at electric utilities: System interfaces for distribution management — Part 3: Interface for network operations. This international standard specifies the information content of a set of message payloads to support network operations functions such as topology supervision, switching, outage and fault management, data acquisition, and coordination between control-room systems (DMS/SCADA/OMS) and field crews.

Abstract

IEC 61968-3:2021 defines standardized message payloads and information models for network operations in distribution utilities. It enables exchange of network state, measurements, switching plans and events, outage and trouble management information, and crew coordination between heterogeneous systems. The third edition (2021) is a technical revision that reorganizes switching and outage profiles, separates measurement and control profiles, adds new action/profile types, expands use cases and examples, and documents profiles in a serialisation-independent form.

General information

• Status: International Standard (Edition 3.0) — active.
• Publication date: 27 April 2021.
• Publisher: International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), TC 57.
• ICS / categories: 33.200 (Telecontrol / Telemetry / Distribution management interfaces).
• Edition / version: Edition 3.0 (2021).
• Number of pages: 756 pages.

Scope

Specifies the information content of message payloads used to support business functions related to network operations for electric distribution utilities. Typical functions covered include topology supervision (substation and feeder topology), measurement and control exchanges, switching plans and execution, outage and fault reporting (planned and unplanned), trouble orders and crew scheduling, and data acquisition from SCADA, AMI and other sources. The standard focuses on payload and information models (not transport), and supports implementation as integrated or modular systems (DMS, OMS, SCADA supplied by one or multiple vendors).

Key topics and requirements

• Reference and information models for network operations and static network objects (CIM-based extensions where applicable).
• Standardized message payload profiles for measurements (PSRMeasurements) and controls (PSRControls).
• Comprehensive switching-related profiles: SwitchingPlans, SwitchingActions, SwitchingEvents, SwitchingPlanRequests and related action types (MeasurementAction, ControlAction, GenericAction, VerificationAction, ClampAction).
• Outage and fault management profiles separated into UnplannedOutages, PlannedOutages, EquipmentFaults and LineFaults, plus PlannedOutageNotifications.
• TroubleOrders, TroubleTickets and crew/task-level scheduling information for field operations.
• Config and linkage profiles for assets, locations and power system resources to support data integration and mapping between enterprise and network systems.
• Use cases, sequence diagrams and informative annexes demonstrating end-to-end flows and inter-system coordination (control room ↔ field crews, DSO ↔ TSO interactions for FLISR scenarios).
• Serialisation-independent documentation of profiles (tables) with example XML and guidance for implementation profiles and mappings (see companion implementation parts).

Typical use and users

Primary users are distribution utilities (DSOs), DMS/SCADA/OMS vendors, system integrators, solution architects, controls and operations engineers, and consultants involved in utility application integration. The standard is used when implementing or integrating distribution network operation functions, building inter-system interfaces, specifying vendor deliverables, or developing middleware/message brokering for utility control and operations workflows.

Related standards

Part of the IEC 61968 series (application integration at electric utilities). Closely related documents and families include IEC 61968-1 (architecture and recommendations), IEC 61968-2 (glossary), IEC 61968-4 (records & asset management), IEC 61968-9 (metering and meter data interfaces), IEC 61968-11 (CIM extensions for distribution), IEC 61968-100 (implementation profiles), and neighbouring families such as IEC 61970 (EMS/CIM), IEC 62325 (market CIM extensions), and IEC 62351 (security for power system information exchange). ISO/IEC and common IT formats (e.g., ISO 8601 for time, XML serialization guidance) are also commonly referenced during implementations.

Keywords

network operations, distribution management, DMS, SCADA, OMS, message payloads, switching plans, switching events, outages, fault management, PSRMeasurements, PSRControls, TroubleOrder, CIM, IEC 61968, application integration, utilities, crew coordination.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: IEC 61968-3:2021 is the third edition of the international standard that defines information models and message payloads for network operations in electric distribution utilities, enabling interoperable exchange of operational information between systems.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers the information content (payloads and profiles) needed for topology supervision, measurements and controls, switching plans and execution, outage and fault reporting, trouble orders and crew coordination, and related integration scenarios. It documents use cases, sequence diagrams and examples to guide implementations.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Distribution system operators, DMS/SCADA/OMS vendors, system integrators, utility IT architects, consultants, and test laboratories use it when building or integrating network operations software and interfaces.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The current edition is Edition 3.0 published on 27 April 2021. This edition cancels and replaces the previous (2017) edition and is the authoritative version until its stability/sunset schedule; implementers should check for later revisions or companion implementation parts when planning projects.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — IEC 61968-3 is part of the IEC 61968 series on system interfaces for distribution management and is intended to work with other parts of IEC 61968 as well as the IEC 61970/EMS (CIM) and related IEC standards for implementation and security.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: network operations, DMS, SCADA, OMS, switching, outage management, PSRMeasurements, PSRControls, TroubleOrder, CIM, message payloads, IEC 61968.