Summary changes in 2013 IEEE/IEC Dual Logo COMTRADE standard

The globally used COMTRADE standard was initially developed by IEEE and later adopted by IEC. The first IEEE version was published in 1991 and was later revised in 1999. The IEC version was adopted in 2001. The 2013 revision of the COMTRADE standard is an IEEE/IEC Dual Logo standard planned for publication during the first quarter of 2013. The main motivations for the current revisions are: 1) to remove restrictions that were only relevant for computing technologies of the 1990s and 2) to satisfy the requirement of universal time information in COMTRADE files. The second need was identified during the 2003 Northeast Blackout analysis to time synchronize data from different substations. The working group has also addressed other issues, including the availability of a single file. Industry users feel very strongly about this need to easily exchange and manage COMTRADE files, and the working group's recommendations address these concerns.