KEY FEATURES: -Gives a basic understanding of the electric protection system and the various protocols as developed by the new international standards (IEC 61850). -Details the principles of different IEC 61850 distributed functions and analyses the factors that will affect their performance. -Introducing the various aspects of communication to enable the coordination between power systems function effectively. ABOUT THE BOOK: The restructuring of the electric utility industry has generated the need for a mechanism that can successfully coordinate the different entities in a power market, enabling them to communicate effectively and efficiently, and to perform optimally and reliably. Power System Protection and Communications is an important book to primarily address the fundamental issues on electrical protection which is essential in understanding the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. There is always a need to provide education in the theory and practice of protection engineering, for engineers and technical personnel, because of its importance in design and operation of the power system. The definitions of the individual components of distributed functions are presented in detail, including the different possible allocation of sub-functions and functional elements in physical devices. Secondly, the book examines in detail the importance of communication between power systems-discussing relevant issues such as the protocols, middleware, communication architecture, information embedded power systems and fibre optic network infrastructure.