2013

D&NMTT
breakout
February 20, 2013
Dan Brancaccio

COMTRADE BRIEF
Using COMTRADE files as a Method for Exchanging Synchrophasor Data

CONTENTS
What is it good for? ................................................................................................................................................ 2
Data ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2
ASCII................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Binary................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Configuration ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
CFG file............................................................................................................................................................... 3
INF File ............................................................................................................................................................... 4
HDR File ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
COMTRADE for Synchrophasors schema ............................................................................................................. 4
Whats Missing? ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Appendix 1 Example INF file ................................................................................................................................... 6
Appendix 2 example CFG file .................................................................................................................................. 7
Works Cited ........................................................................................................................................................... 8

COMTRADE BRIEF
WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
IEEE C37.111-1999 (Power Systems Relay Committee of the IEEE Power Engineering Society)
Originally intended as a standard way to share Transient information (COMTRADE COMmon format for TRansient
Data Exchange for power systems) captured by signal samplers as point on wave scalar values (oscillography).
Sample rates between 960 Hz and 7680 Hz were typical
New specification in review IEEE C37.111-2011 important changes

New file extension .CFF, a single file that contains all four original files (.CFG, .INF, .HDR, and .DAT)
Two new binary data types for .DAT files BINARY32 (32-bit scaled integer) and FLOAT332 (single precision
floating point)
The maximum negative values of the binary, binary32, and float32 formats are reserved to mark missing
data. Question: For .DAT files of type ASCII use NaN to mark missing data?

DATA
Data comes in two flavors ASCII (CSV) and Binary
As an example a 5 minute data file with the data from 300 PMUs at 60 samples / sec (2100 phasors, 300 frequency,
and 300 df/dt) in the binary format would be approximately 165MB. A file with the same data 1 hour long is
approximately 2GB
ASCII is simply a CSV file with no header row (The header is effectively in the configuration file). ASCII data files are
approximately 5 to 10 times larger than binary files
Each line is terminated with a carriage return line feed pair, Each line starts with a record number and the
microsecond offset from the start Date Time value in the configuration file

ASCII
First columns are scalar values
0000000001,33333,60.004,60.01,773.4656,-103,774.8781,-103,174.797,-82,280.4568,93,220.2748,-93,110.8603,-68,206.3419,81
0000000002,66666,60.005,60,773.249,-102,774.6593,-103,174.797,-82,280.4568,93,220.2272,-93,110.8603,-68,206.3419,81
0000000003,99999,60.004,59.97,773.249,-102,774.4417,-103,174.797,-82,280.5156,93,220.2272,-93,110.8603,-68,206.1941,82
0000000004,133332,60.004,60.01,773.0336,-102,774.4417,-103,173.8074,-82,280.5156,93,220.2272,-93,110.8603,-68,206.1941,82
0000000005,166665,60.005,60,772.8195,-102,774.2254,-102,173.8074,-82,280.5156,93,220.2272,-93,111.234,-68,206.1941,82
0000000006,199998,60.004,59.99,772.6066,-102,774.9871,-102,173.8074,-82,280.5156,93,220.2272,-93,111.234,-68,206.1941,82
0000000007,233331,60.004,60,773.3725,-102,774.7735,-102,173.8074,-82,280.578,94,219.1849,-92,111.234,-68,206.051,82
0000000008,266664,60.004,59.98,773.3725,-102,774.7735,-102,173.954,-81,280.578,94,219.1849,-92,111.234,-68,206.051,82
0000000009,299997,60.004,60.02,773.1624,-102,774.5612,-102,173.954,-81,280.578,94,219.1849,-92,111.234,-68,206.051,82
0000000010,333330,60.004,60,772.9534,-102,774.35,-102,173.954,-81,280.578,94,219.1461,-92,111.234,-68,206.051,82
0000000011,366663,60.004,59.99,772.7457,-102,774.1402,-102,173.954,-81,280.6439,94,219.1461,-92,111.234,-68,206.051,82
0000000012,399996,60.005,60.06,772.5393,-102,774.9097,-102,173.954,-81,279.6462,94,219.1461,-92,111.234,-68,205.9126,82
0000000013,433329,60.005,59.98,773.5179,-102,774.9097,-102,174.1063,-81,279.6462,94,219.1461,-92,111.234,-68,205.9126,82
0000000014,466662,60.005,59.99,773.313,-102,774.7025,-102,174.1063,-81,279.7159,94,219.1461,-92,111.234,-68,205.9126,82
0000000015,499995,60.004,59.98,773.1093,-102,774.4966,-102,174.1063,-81,279.7159,94,219.1118,-92,111.6154,-67,205.9126,82

0000000016,533328,60.004,60,772.9069,-102,774.2919,-102,174.1063,-81,279.7159,94,219.1118,-92,111.6154,-67,206.9034,82
0000000017,566661,60.004,60.02,773.6854,-102,775.0677,-102,174.2642,-81,279.7892,94,219.1118,-92,111.6154,-67,206.7704,82
0000000018,599994,60.006,60.04,773.4856,-101,774.8658,-102,174.2642,-81,279.7892,94,219.1118,-92,110.6933,-67,206.7704,82
0000000019,633327,60.004,59.92,773.4856,-101,774.8658,-102,174.2642,-81,279.7892,94,219.1118,-92,110.6933,-67,206.7704,82
0000000020,666660,60.004,60.03,773.2871,-101,774.6651,-102,174.2642,-81,279.866,95,219.0822,-92,110.6933,-67,206.7704,82
0000000021,699993,60.005,60,773.0899,-101,774.4656,-101,174.2642,-81,279.866,95,219.0822,-92,110.6933,-67,206.6422,83
0000000022,733326,60.005,60,772.8939,-101,774.2674,-101,174.2642,-81,279.866,95,220.0818,-92,110.6933,-67,206.6422,83
0000000023,766659,60.006,60.04,772.6992,-101,774.0704,-101,174.2642,-81,279.866,95,220.0568,-91,111.0856,-67,206.6422,83

Followed by digital status values

..0,1,0,0,0,1,1,0,1,1,0,1
..0,1,0,0,0,0,1,0,1,1,0,1
..0,1,0,0,0,0,1,0,1,1,0,1

BINARY
Fixed length records all values are 16-bit signed integers except for record number and microsecond offset which
are 32-bit unsigned integers.
0x000000010x000082350x7FF70x35AD0x832A0x7FF70x35AD0x832A0x7FF70x35AD0x832A0x7FF70x35AD0x832A0x7FF70x35AD0x832A0x7FF7
0x000000020x0001046A0x7FF20x7FF70x35AD0x832A0x7FF70x35AD0x832A0x7FF70x35AD0x832A0x7FF70x35AD0x832A0x7FF70x35AD0x832A

CONFIGURATION
ASCII text in human readable format contains information required to reconstruct the data in the data file and is
the same for both ASCII and binary data files.

CFG FILE
Line 1: Station Name, Recording Device ID, revision year (should always be 1999)
Line 2: Total Channel count in the data file, Analog channel count, Digital count
Line 3 through 3 + Analog channel count: A description of each analog channel
Line 3 + Analog channel + 1 through 3 + Analog channel + 1 + Digital count: A
description of each digital channel
Followed by
Line X
: Nominal Line Frequency
Next Line: Number of Sample Rates (this will be 1)
Next Line: Sample Rate in Hz, End Sample at this rate (this should equal total record
count). Note: Having a sample rate removes the requirement for the second field in
the data file to contain an offset in microseconds from the start Date Time Stamp.
(This is important in binary data files where the largest value in microseconds would
be 4,294,967,295 or a little over 1 hour)
Next Line: Data file start time dd/mm/yyyy,hh:mm:ss.ssssss
Next Line: Data file trigger time dd/mm/yyyy,hh:mm:ss.ssssss (used typically for
transient data, for synchrophasors will be the same as start time)
Next Line: File Type (ASCII or BINARY)
Last Line: Time Multiplier, this is another way around the 71 minute maximum duration
when using the microsecond offset field. I suggest neither be used.

The analog description lines are where all the important information is contained
describing each of the analog (scalar) channels (columns) in the data file
Each line contains the following fields:
Field 1: Analog channel index 1 through the number of analog channels. The actual
column where the channel is located is this number plus 2. The first two columns are
record number and offset.
Field 2: Channel Name 64 characters. This is where the synchrophasor specification
gets specific where the COMTRADE spec was open. From the PSRC H8:
This should be a combination of the station name and the channel names as given in C37.118. Those names are restricted to 16
bytes, so they will occupy 33 bytes (with colon) in the 64 byte field. They will be written as station name followed by channel
name connected with a colon. That is, station_name:channel_name. Note that the same name will be applied to two channels
since each phasor has two number values that are recorded in different analog channels. The channel phase identification field
(ph) is used to designate which component is represented in each channel. Channel names must be unique as they are used to
link the two components of the phasor together. If other information is to be added to this name, it must be added after the
channel name delimited by an underscore or other character. Since the colon delimits the station to channel name, it cannot
be used in any channel name and should not be used in any other name. With this convention, phasor data names (ch_id) will
always start with the station_name:channel_name.

Field 3: Phase Identification two characters e.g. Pm indicates Positive Sequence

magnitude, Ai would be phase A imaginary component.
Field 4: Circuit Component being monitored 64 characters. The PSRC H8 describes some
keywords can be used in this 64 character space e.g. Vnom=345. The important keyword
here is Vref=XXXX. This is how a current phasor will be linked to the correct voltage
phasor to be used for watt and VAR calculations.
Field 5: Channel units e.g. kV
Field 6: Channel multiplier (a)
Field 7: Channel offset (b) Field 6 and 7 are used together to calculate the value of
a sample when using binary data files value = ax + b. Suggestion: For angle
measurements us this field to represent the offset (e.g. 16.7 degrees) required for
some older PMUs, or, if known, wiring issues can be compensated here
Field 8: Time skew, see COMTRADE spec most likely not needed for synchronized values
Field 9: Minimum value in data file for this channel
Field 10: Maximum value in data file for this channel
Field 8: PT or CT ratio primary factor
Field 8: PT or CT ratio secondary factor
Field 8: P or S which scaling factor should be used
Example COMTRADE CFG file see appendix 2

INF FILE
Free form human readable text file that can contain information about the data file
not contained in the CFG file

HDR FILE
Free form human readable text file that can contain information about the data file
not contained in the CFG file

COMTRADE FOR S YNCHROPHASORS SCHEMA

4

Summary of document PSRC H8 Application of COMTRADE for Synchrophasor Data (Eric Allen, 2010) Approved by
IEEE PSRC Subcommittee H on July 31, 2009 as a PSRC Report.
This schema is actually a detailed description of how to use the pre-existing COMTRADE CFG file with the specific
application of synchrophasor data. As described in the C37.111-199 specification each analog (scalar) channel
contained in the data files (ASCII or Binary) is described in detail by a single line in the configuration file in the
analog section. Excerpts from this file are in the CFG file description. Presently the COMTRADE for Synchrophasors
schema is intended for use with synchrophasor data compliant with the C37.118-2005 (Power Systems Relay
Committee of the IEEE Power Engineering Society) specification it will work with any synchrophasor data, or any
time sequenced data.

WHATS MISSING?
The COMTRADE for synchrophasors schema has done what the original COMTRADE specification was unable to do.
It has brought structure to the configuration file in a standardized way that will allow consumers to extract more
useful information. However there is still the occasional use of the word optional in the specification, specifically in
the field where keyword Vref is used.

Vref, Vnom, and Inom will be information retrieved from the registry

While the schema goes a long way towards clarifying individual signals (channels) and signal pairs it does not
contain any information about lines or paths. One suggestion would be to use the INF file that can accompany the
CFG DAT file pair. A simple XML schema could be both human and machine readable for example see appendix 1.
Additional work has been done on the development of suggested XML for the .INF file. Effort is ongoing at the
NASPI D&NMTT

APPENDIX 1 EXAMPLE INF FILE

<?xml version='1.0' standalone='yes'?>
<paths>
<path>
<ID>10</ID>
<lines>
<line>
<name>Broadview to Colstrip 500kV #1</name>
<terms>
<term>
<name>Broadview</name>
<sigref>56</sigref>

<!-- this only has to reference the current synchrophasor -->

<equipment>
<vendor>SEL</vendor>
<model>451</model>
</equipment>
<asset>
<type>transformer</type>
</asset>
</term>
</terms>
<term>
<name>Colstrip</name>
<sigref>59</sigref>

<!-- this only has to reference the current synchrophasor -->

</term>
</terms>
</line>
<line>
<name>Broadview to Colstrip 500kV #2</name>
<terms>
<term>
<name>Broadview</name>
<sigref>72</sigref>

<!-- this only has to reference the current synchrophasor -->

<equipment>
<vendor>SEL</vendor>
<model>451</model>
</equipment>
<asset>
<type>transformer</type>
</asset>
</term>
</terms>
<term>
<name>Colstrip</name>
<sigref>75</sigref>

<!-- this only has to reference the current synchrophasor -->

</term>
</terms>
</line>
<line>
<name>Hardin to Colstrip 230kV</name>
</line>
<line>
<name>Hardin to Colstrip 115kV</name>
</line>
</lines>
</path>
</paths>

APPENDIX 2 EXAMPLE CFG FILE

WISP,Loss of greater than 1000MW,1999
3548,1548A,2000D
1,W001.BPA.W001BIG_EDDY__01:L500JOHN_DAY_2V1,Pm,Vnom=540,kV,0.04,0,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
2,W001.BPA.W001BIG_EDDY__01:L500JOHN_DAY_2V1,Pa,Vnom=540,Deg,0.006,0,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
3,W001.BPA.W001BIG_EDDY__01:L500JOHN_DAY_2I1,Pm,Inom=1200Vref=1,A,0.4,0,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
4,W001.BPA.W001BIG_EDDY__01:L500JOHN_DAY_2I1,Pa,Inom=1200Vref=2,Deg,0.006,0,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
5,W001.BPA.W001BIG_EDDY__01:A___JOHN_DAY_1FQ,F,,Hz,0.001,60,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
6,W001.BPA.W001BIG_EDDY__01:A___JOHN_DAY_1DF,df,,Hz/s,0.01,0,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
7,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:L500MALIN____4V1,Pm,Vnom=528,kV,0.04,0,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
8,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:L500MALIN____4V1,Pa,Vnom=528,Deg,0.006,0,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
9,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:L500MALIN____4I1,Pm,Inom=1200Vref=7,A,0.4,0,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
10,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:L500MALIN____4I1,Pa,Inom=1200Vref=8,Deg,0.006,0,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
11,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:A___MALIN____1FQ,F,,Hz,0.001,60,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P
12,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:A___MALIN____1DF,df,,Hz/s,0.01,0,0,-32767,32767,1,1,P

1996,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:PMUTR,SB,,0
1997,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:SORT,SC,,0
1998,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:SYNC,SD,,0
1999,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:PMUERR,SE,,0
2000,W001.BPA.W001CAPTJACK__01:DTVLD,SF,,0
60
1
30,27000
16/05/2011,17:57:10.033333
16/05/2011,17:57:10.033333
BINARY
1

WORKS CITED
Eric

Allen,
J.
I.-P.
(2010,
May
13).
Retrieved
from
PES-PRC.ORG:
http://www.pespsrc.org/Reports/Schema_for_Phasor_Data_Using_the_COMTRADE_File_Standard.pdf

Power Systems Relay Committee of the IEEE Power Engineering Society. (n.d.). C37.111-1999. Retrieved from IEEE
Store: http://webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?sku=C37.111-1999
Power Systems Relay Committee of the IEEE Power Engineering Society. (n.d.). C37.118-2005. Retrieved from IEEE
Store: http://webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?sku=IEEE+Std+C37.118-2005