Power systems 路 Free
IEC 61850 Substation Automation: GOOSE, SCL and IEC 60870-5
The utility side of SCADA, taught the way a substation automation engineer meets it: the IEC 61850 object model and its logical nodes, SCL files from ICD through SCD to CID, MMS reporting against GOOSE against Sampled Values, the engineering process a system configuration tool follows, testing from office simulation through factory and site acceptance to maintenance isolation, and the IEC 60870-5-101 and 104 link that carries the substation to the control centre.
Inside the course
From the lessons
The IEC 61850 object model and SCL
Triangle MicroWorks
Communications: MMS reporting, GOOSE and Sampled Values
Triangle MicroWorks
The engineering process: from ICD to SCD and back
Triangle MicroWorks
Testing a 61850 system: factory, site and in service
Triangle MicroWorks
Simulating and testing your SCD design
Triangle MicroWorks
IEC 60870-5: the link to the control centre
Triangle MicroWorks
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Read an IEC 61850 object reference and say what every part of it means, navigate an SCL file and tell ICD, SSD, SCD and CID apart, decide whether a signal belongs on MMS reporting, GOOSE or Sampled Values, follow the engineering process from vendor capability files to a substation configuration and back to the relays, plan the tests a substation automation system needs at each stage of its life, isolate a bay with test mode instead of a lifted link, and map a substation into IEC 60870-5-101 or 104 for the control-centre link.
- Read any IEC 61850 object reference down to the data attribute and name the logical node behind it
- Tell ICD, SSD, SCD and CID apart and say who produces each and when
- Decide whether a signal belongs on MMS reporting, GOOSE or Sampled Values
- Engineer and then trace a GOOSE subscription, including the case where it never arrives
- Isolate a bay with test mode and the simulation flag instead of lifting a trip link
- Write the point list and message sequence for an IEC 60870-5-104 link to the control centre
For you
Taking IEC 61850 Substation Automation: GOOSE, SCL and IEC 60870-5 from the United States
- Free in the United States, as everywhere, and self-paced: lessons, notes and the final assessment are open at any hour, so your time zone and shift pattern do not matter.
- The optional certificate for learners in the United States is a one-off US$44.99. What you get for it
- Plants across the Americas most often run Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Inductive Automation; each has its own free course to take next.
- See automation and engineering jobs in the United States, and what the industry looks like in Houston, Detroit and Chicago.
- EDWartens also has a regional site for the United States, for classroom training and local support: edwartens.com/us.
The course project 路 about 18 hours
A 33/11 kV substation on IEC 61850: two vendors, GOOSE interlocking, and a 104 link to the utility
Design and document the automation of a new 33/11 kV distribution substation for an industrial park: sixteen IEDs from ABB and Siemens with their logical nodes, a GOOSE interlocking and reverse-blocking scheme, the SCL engineering from ICD to SCD, a PRP station bus with its IP plan, and an IEC 60870-5-104 gateway to the utility control centre. You deliver your own logical-node register, GOOSE dataset, cause and effect matrix, SCD extract and test report, built and measured with libiec61850, lib60870 and Wireshark. The sample pack shows what the substation automation contractor hands over.
Sample document pack, 6 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Network designStation Bus and Communication Design: 33/11 kV Substation SS1
- IP planIP Address Plan and Device List: Station Bus SS1
- RegisterLogical Node Register and GOOSE Dataset Register: SS1
- Cause & effectCause and Effect Matrix: Interlocking, Reverse Blocking and Breaker Failure
- Single lineSingle Line Diagram: 33/11 kV Substation SS1 (bay schedule)
- Test reportTest Report: GOOSE Performance, Interlocking and Site Acceptance with the Utility
Read inside the course and download as a workbook. The project is optional practice, marked when you submit it; the certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
Course content
8 modules 路 11 lessons 路 4h 12m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01The IEC 61850 object model and SCL2 lessons42m
- 02Communications: MMS reporting, GOOSE and Sampled Values1 lesson39m
- 03The engineering process: from ICD to SCD and back1 lesson42m
- 04Testing a 61850 system: factory, site and in service1 lesson43m
- 05Simulating and testing your SCD design1 lesson28m
- 06IEC 60870-5: the link to the control centre2 lessons30m
- 07IEC 60870-5 in service: application layer, stack and security3 lessons27m
- 08Final assessment0 lessons0m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Advanced. Assumes you already work with protection relays, switchgear and a SCADA system, and are comfortable with Ethernet and TCP/IP. This is not a first course in electrical engineering.
- Software
- None required. A text editor to read SCL files. The IEC 61850 simulation and test tools demonstrated in the videos are the publisher's own and are optional. What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None. An IED on the bench helps but nothing here needs one.
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Nothing to install
Any text editor will open the SCL files. The IEC 61850 test tools in the videos are the publisher's own and are optional.
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 01Free
Visual Studio Code
Microsoft
- Runs on
- Windows 64-bit (supported Windows client versions), macOS (latest and two previous releases), Linux (Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 10, RHEL 8, Fedora 36 or later)
- Account
- None needed
- Size
- Less than 200 MB download, under 500 MB installed
Free to download and use. Extensions from the Marketplace each have their own licence.
Steps
- 1.Open code.visualstudio.com/download.
- 2.Pick the installer for your system (on Windows, the User Installer is fine).
- 3.Run the installer. On Windows, tick "Add to PATH" if it is offered.
- 4.Open VS Code and install the extensions your course uses, for example the Python extension.
- Hardware needs are small: a 1.6 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM.
- On Windows, the "Open with Code" options in the installer let you open folders from File Explorer.
Official download pagecode.visualstudio.com
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
IEC 61850 Substation Automation: GOOSE, SCL and IEC 60870-5 at a glance
IEC 61850 Substation Automation: GOOSE, SCL and IEC 60870-5 is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for electrical and power engineers. It has 8 modules and 4h 12m of video lessons by Triangle MicroWorks, with written notes and worked problems, a practical project with a document pack and a 15-question final assessment (pass mark 60%). Learning is free with an account; an optional certificate with a public verification code is issued when you pass. Last updated 27 September 2026.
All course factsHide course facts
- Price
- Free, for good. No trial, no card. The only paid item is the optional certificate, a small one-off fee.
- Who it is for
- Electrical and power engineers
- Format
- 8 self-paced modules, 4h 12m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Advanced. Advanced. Assumes you already work with protection relays, switchgear and a SCADA system, and are comfortable with Ethernet and TCP/IP. This is not a first course in electrical engineering.
- Brand
- Vendor-neutral
- Software
- None required. A text editor to read SCL files. The IEC 61850 simulation and test tools demonstrated in the videos are the publisher's own and are optional.
- Hardware
- None. An IED on the bench helps but nothing here needs one.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- Triangle MicroWorks (independent creators, credited below)
- Language
- English
- Last updated
- 27 September 2026
A shareable EDWartens certificate
Finish every module and pass the final assessment, and the optional EDWartens certificate is yours. It carries a unique verification code on a public page anyone can check, so it stands up when a recruiter looks it up. See it below.
The course itself stays free whether or not you ever buy one.
Stuck? Ask a practising engineer
A free course usually means a comment section and hope. This one does not. Every module has an Ask-your-trainer panel that reaches the same engineers who teach our paid programme: people who commission panels for a living, not moderators.
Pairs well with
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA PortalFrom zero electrical knowledge to a working, simulated S7-1200 program, for nothing.
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA Portal in Three HoursThe first three hours of the Siemens TIA Portal course, cut to end on a win: what a PLC is, how it is wired, a project configured in TIA Portal, and your first ladder program running in simulation. Finish it in an evening or two, earn a certificate, and carry straight on into the full course.
PLC programming 路 FreeTIA Portal: Build a MachineOne machine, start to finish. Take a bottle filling line from a written specification and an I/O list to a structured S7-1200 program with a fill station, a capper, a reject sorter and an operator screen with alarms, then test it against a written record and archive it for hand-over. The lessons are the reference; the machine is yours, and it is what you submit.
Instrumentation 路 FreeInstrumentation for PLC EngineersThe half of the loop that is not code. Follow one measurement from the transmitter in the field, down the 4-20 mA loop, into the analog card, through NORM_X and SCALE_X into engineering units, out again to a valve, and back to the control room when the reading is wrong.More free courses: Free industrial networking courses 路 Free power system and ETAP courses
Learner reviews
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Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of IEC 61850 Substation Automation: GOOSE, SCL and IEC 60870-5, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Is the IEC 61850 Substation Automation course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate does the IEC 61850 Substation Automation course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you have finished every module and passed the final assessment at 60%, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a vendor credential and is never described as one.
Is this the same as an IEC 61850 certification?
No, and it is worth being clear about what that phrase means. IEC 61850 conformance certification, run through the UCA International Users Group and its accredited test laboratories, applies to devices, not to engineers. Vendors such as Hitachi Energy, Siemens and SEL run their own paid classes on their own tools. This course is preparation for that work and for the interview, and it is not equivalent to any of them.
Who made the video lessons in the IEC 61850 Substation Automation course?
Triangle MicroWorks, on their own YouTube channel, as free training they publish alongside their protocol test tools. EDWartens did not make the videos and Triangle MicroWorks is not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the module order, the practice tasks and the assessments.
Do I need to install any software?
No. The videos demonstrate the publisher's own simulation and test tools, and you can follow the method without installing anything. If you want to run the labs yourself, those tools are downloaded from Triangle MicroWorks on their own terms, and the course does not require it.
What should I already know?
Protection and switchgear basics, what a SCADA system does, and enough networking to be comfortable with Ethernet, TCP/IP, multicast and a managed switch. If you are new to industrial protocols, take the industrial communication course first.
How long is it?
Seven content modules and a final, about four and a quarter hours of video and roughly seven hours in total with the practice tasks and practice questions. The videos are long-form training sessions, not short explainers, so plan one module a sitting.
Where does this lead?
Substation automation work with transmission and distribution EPCs, grid utilities and their contractors, and the OEMs and system integrators who commission SAS panels. The same skill set is in demand on substation projects worldwide, including the Gulf, where IEC 61850 and a 104 link to the control centre are the normal specification.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for IEC 61850 Substation Automation: GOOSE, SCL and IEC 60870-5
Finish the course, pass the final, and this is the document with your name on it.
Verifiable by anyone
Adds to LinkedIn in one click
QR code on the certificate
Names what you can do
A permanent link
Earned, not attended
Learning is free. The certificate is optional.
Add it now and pay only when you have finished the course, or come back for it later. One-off, US$44.99, with a receipt.
Issued by EDWartens, the training division of Wartens, as a Certificate of Completion for this self-paced course. Sold by Wartens Ltd (England and Wales). It is not a vendor certification, a university award or a CPD-accredited activity, and it does not certify competence on live equipment. Delivered electronically; see the refund policy.
Credits
Who made the video lessons
The video lessons in this course were created by the people below, not by EDWartens. Every lesson streams from its creator's own YouTube channel; EDWartens neither hosts nor sells that footage, and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens and do not endorse this course. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
- Triangle MicroWorksthe whole course: the IEC 61850 hands-on training series and the IEC 60870-5 training series, both published free on their own channel
- Triangle MicroWorks: IEC 61850 hands-on training seriesdata modelling and SCL, communications, the engineering process, testing from simulation to maintenance, and simulating and testing an SCD design, which are modules IE1 to IE5
- Triangle MicroWorks: IEC 60870-5 training seriesthe introduction, ASDU structure, application layer, stack layers and security lessons behind modules IE6 and IE7
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.