An open communication architecture for distribution automation based on IEC 61850

•We propose an open communication architecture for distribution automation by using IEC 61850 standard.•Standard information model and information exchange model are given.•A new mapping method (Web Services+IEC 60870-5-104) is proposed.•A prototype system was also developed and verified in the communication architecture. A typical distribution automation system contains a great amount of remote terminal units (DRTUs) which along distribution feeders and communicate to a master station in the control center. To improve the interoperability and realize plug and play of DRTUs, this paper proposes an open communication architecture based on IEC 61850. First the requirements of distribution automation communication are studied and the communication system and functions are divided into four levels, master station level, circuit level, terminal unit level and process level. The logical nodes are added for distribution feeder fault detection. And the information exchange models are also extended. The Discover/Register model is defined for auto discovery of DRTUs. Mapping the information model and information exchange model to the standard communication protocols is studied. A new mapping method (Web Services+IEC 60870-5-104) is proposed, using Web Services for information model exchanging and IEC 60870-5-104 for transmitting real-time data. A prototype system was also developed and verified in the communication architecture.