Optional Pre-Conference Tutorials - November 11, 2025

Tutorial 1

Title: IEC 61850 LAN Design

Time: 8:00 am - 12:00 pm 

Format: Lecture & Instructor Demonstration Labs 

Presenters:  

• Steel McCreery, OMICRON 
• David Bowen, SEL 

This tutorial offers a practical foundation in designing and testing Ethernet LANs for IEC 61850-based digital substations. Through a combination of lectures and instructor-led demonstrations, participants will gain insights into the key concepts, technologies, and tools essential for deploying reliable and high-performance digital substation networks.

Who should attend: 

This tutorial is ideal for protection, control, and communications engineers involved in the design and/or deployment of IEC 61850 digital substation systems, providing them with an overview of how to design and commission robust, high-performance digital substation LANs. 

Topics include: 

• Overview of digital substations and communication architecture 
• IEC 61850 communication services: MMS, GOOSE, and Sampled Values 
• Precision Time Protocol (PTP)  
• Ethernet Layer 1: physical infrastructure design considerations 
• Syslog  
• Zero frame loss redundancy (HSR and PRP) 
• Primary and alternate path planning using Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) 
• VLAN configuration and priority tagging for traffic management and CoS 
• Testing tools and procedures for LAN validation and commissioning 

Tutorial 2

Title: Rewiring the Future:  Powering Progress Through Digital Transformation 

Time: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm 

Format: Lecture & Live Demonstration

Presenters:  

• Emad Chamas, GE Vernova  

• Atef Boukadi, GE Vernova

• Mike Ramlachan, GE Vernova  

• Pascal Francis-Mezger, OMICRON  

• Kohl Stammers, OMICRON  

OMICRON Electronics Canada and GE Vernova will co-host this focused IEC 61850 tutorial, featuring live demonstrations and practical insights into digital substation testing.  

The tutorial will begin with a presentation of the digital substation demo panels, including a brief functional overview of key equipment, the communication network architecture, IEC 61850 communication services (GOOSE, MMS, SV), time synchronization (PTP), and configuration tools.  

A demonstration will follow, covering the testing of this system using the OMICRON DANEO 400 and CMC 500 test equipment.  

Who should attend: 

The session is designed for protection and automation professionals interested in IEC 61850-based systems and testing workflows.  

Topics include: 

• Proposed architecture, key components, and system functions  

• Overview of the protection scheme: elements under test and GOOSE messaging between devices  

• IEC 61850 communication services: MMS, GOOSE, SV, and PTP  

• Digital substation testing:  

• Commissioning  

• Maintenance  

• Test tools  

• Testing demonstrations  

• Q&A session  

Presentations

Keynote 

Alex Apostolov, PAC World 

Innovations in Protection methodology 

Using Incremental Quantities To Locate Faults: A New Double-Ended Method For Ultra-High-Speed Protective Relays

• Bogdan Kasztenny, SEL 

Digital Substation Sandbox for Project Commissioning Support

• Patrick Mclinnis, Mohawk College 
• Dr. Mariano Arriaga, Energy and Power Innovation Centre (EPIC) 

Arc Flash Risk Mitigation on 25kV Mainline – Lessons Learned

• Natalie Hilbrecht, ATCO 

Practices of Application and Experiences of Neutral Grounding Resistance

•  Dr. Prasad Shrawane, PSAI Power Engineering Labs

Verifying SSR Impacts on Protection Systems in Series-Compensated and Non-Compensated Networks Using RTDS Closed-Loop Simulation

• Dr. Mansour Jalali, Kinectrics 

IEC 61850 Real-world applications 

Streamlining the workflow through unification and simplification

• Fred Steinhauser, OMICRON 

Experiences in the commissioning of IEC 61850 digital busbar protection systems

•  Atef Boukadi, GE Vernova

Commissioning of transformer relay with IEC61850 design using sampled value streams with fault simulation

• Hasib Imam, Hydro One
• Weimin Wang, Hydro One 

Comparative Performance Analysis of Identical Protection Functions in the Same IED Fed by Conventional and Process Bus Connected Analog Quantities

• Mike Kockott, Hitachi
• Gerry Reesor, Alectra Utilities 

Implementing Low-Power Instrument Transformers in Digital Substations: Engineering, Testing, and Field Insights

• Stéphan Picard, BBA 

Enhancing Cybersecurity in HVDC and FACTS Systems: A Comprehensive Approach to Standards Integration and Intrusion Detection

• Walid Ali, GE Vernova 

Routable GOOSE for Inter-substation Communication via MPLS Implementation

• Winnie Yuan, Siemens
• Paul Lourenço, Siemens 

Into the future: Virtualized Protections  

An IPPs journey of transitioning to a vPAC-based grid tie substation

• Ahmer Hansa, Plus Power 

Panel Session: Virtualized Protection

• Brant Heap, SRP
• Vincent Duong, ABB
• David MacDonald, GE Vernova
• Ahmer Hansa, Plus Power
• John Archer, Red Hat

Latest Microgrid and Battery Energy Storage System studies 

Sub-Synchronous Ferro-Resonance (SSFR) Protection of Inverter-Based Resources - Design, Studies, and Engineering

• Dr. Farnam Hojatpanah, EPE Consulting 

An Investigation into the Fault Current Characteristics of Grid-Forming Inverters

•  Vatandeep Singh, Quanta Technology 

Welcome Reception

Where: Sportsnet Grill - located inside the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel, with views into Rogers Centre

When: November 11, 2025

Time: 5-7 pm

Networking Reception

Where: Northern Lights Ballroom, same Event Venue, the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel

When: November 12, 2025

Time: 5:30-7:30 pm

Our Sponsors

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