The adoption of emerging technologies and standards affects the operation and performance of the power system industry. This study evaluates the IEC 61850 standards on electrical protection relays using a combination of literature survey and conceptual approach. The three fundamental components of the framework are the principal equipment of energy-efficiency assessment, the auxiliary equipment of energy-efficiency assessment, and the building energy-efficiency evaluation. The outcome of the literature review revealed that although IEDs with IEC 61850 standards had several challenges, those challenges are better than the challenges of microprocessor-based relays with traditional automation protocols. Findings revealed that traditionalbased relays had more challenges than the IEC 61850 standards, such as maintenance, whereby over-current and earth settings caused tripping. This is not ideal for a consumer, especially in South Africa, experiencing higher incidences of load shedding. We recommend that a cost-benefit analysis study should be conducted by economists to establish what are the benefits of replacing all traditional relays with intelligent relays. A framework was developed that can be used to evaluate the energy efficiency of a substation using the latest automation protocols.
Keywords: automation protocols, energy efficiency, IEC 61850 standards, power-system industry, relays)
