MR's many type-TAPCON 260-D voltage regulators delivered to DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Administration) have successfully passed an important test. At ABB in Baden (Switzerland) they passed the so-called Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) and the conformity test of the IEC61850 control system protocol with flying colors.

Using almost 70 protective devices, a DEWA plant was simulated and tested as a network while the customers looked on. The IEC61850 control system protocol was the center of attention. This innovative protocol is based on the "network connection" of every individual device. It provides a server-client structure for control purposes and for communication of information. This network included three TAPCON 260-D voltage regulators that contained the IEC61850 control system protocol and various special functions in addition to the actual voltage regulator (TAPCON 240) and the OLTC operating control system (TAPGUARD 240). Supplemental functions offering "Buffered Report Control Blocks" had just been added to the control system. Today ABB and MR are the only companies that offer these blocks worldwide.

When a communication system crash occurs, all recorded data that have not yet been sent can now be automatically forwarded to the control system without losing a single piece of data. With conventional devices, these data would have been irretrievably lost as "Unbuffered Report Control Blocks" after a breakdown in communication.

The conformity test performed after the FAT represented a certification of the IEC61850 control system protocol. The TAPCON 260 was tested by the SVC (System Verification and Validation Center) of ABB for scope of protocol, structure, system control and documentation. This certification is internationally valid and is comparable to the KEMA certificate which the TAPCON 260 had already been awarded (September 2005).