Included within the IEC 61850 power utility automation architecture are its concepts, data models, communication protocols and the mapping data exchanges on the substation network. This extends beyond just IEDs to other IEC 61850 enabled devices like meters, system applications and remote access gateways.

This part of IEC 61850, which is a technical specification, considers the requirements of power utility automation applications; i.e. the scope is limited by the use cases relevant for meter data exchange in HV/MV substations and MV/LV substations. Only use cases that require the data exchange involving a revenue meter are considered. Applications not covered by the existing standards listed in Clause 2 are out of scope.