Conprove at the XXVIII SNPTEE – Advances in Testing Virtual Protection, Automation, and Control Systems (vPACS)

Conprove demonstrated its leading position at the XXVIII National Seminar on Electric Power Generation and Transmission (SNPTEE), reaffirming its standing as a reference company in technology, testing, and diagnostics for electrical and digital systems.

During the event, the team presented the technical paper “Testing in Virtual Protection, Automation and Control Systems (vPACS),” which addressed the evolution of Substation Automation Systems (SAS)toward virtualization and the new challenges in testing Protection, Automation, and Control (PACS)systems within this emerging technological paradigm.

With advances in IEC 61850–based digital substations, the power sector entered a new era: decoupling software from dedicated hardware, opening the path to virtualized systems.

This evolution enabled the creation of a Software-Defined Smart Grid, which offered greater flexibility, scalability, and integration among intelligent devices.

The concept of vPACS (Virtual Protection, Automation and Control Systems) represented this transformation, demanding new methodologies for testing, validation, and synchronization between physical and virtual equipment.

Conprove’s paper aimed to investigate testing requirements for physical and virtual IEDs (vIEDs), analyzing the differences and similarities between them, and proposing suitable methodologies for performance validation in virtualized environments.

The study included:

• Comparisons between physical and virtual IED testing
• Commissioning tests (FAT – Factory Acceptance Test; SAT – Site Acceptance Test)
• Maintenance testing in virtualized environments
• Device Under Test (DUT) isolation, simulation, and response analysis stages
• Evaluation of time synchronization and comparison between COMTRADE and PCAP files

This approach provided a comprehensive view of virtualization’s impact on electrical system reliability and modern engineering test practices.

Conprove offered complete solutions for testing, diagnostics, and monitoring in IEC 61850–based digital substations, fully meeting the requirements of the new virtualization and smart automation context.

• 🔗 CE‑RNET4 – Rack Tester for Testing and Diagnostics in Digital Substations
• 🔗 CE‑MNET4 – Compact Tester for Testing and Diagnostics in Digital Substations

At the XXVIII SNPTEE, visitors learned about Conprove’s innovations firsthand and interacted with specialists in protection, automation, and communication. Conprove’s presence reinforced its commitment to advancing technologies that support the future of digital electrical networks, contributing research, innovation, and technical excellence to Brazil’s power sector.