vPAC: protection as software, not as a box
For decades, each substation protection function has run on its own dedicated, proprietary hardware. vPAC decouples the protection software from the hardware — the same shift IT went through years ago, now reaching the power grid.
From dozens of relays to a few standardized servers
A conventional substation relies on a proliferation of dedicated intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) and bay control units, each tied to a single vendor's engineering tools. Because the software is bound to the hardware, every evolution — a new function, an upgrade, a standards change — means replacing equipment. Utilities are locked into one supplier for the entire life of the asset.
Virtualized Protection, Automation and Control (vPAC) hosts multiple protection and control applications on a small number of redundant, standardized industrial servers, running on an open virtualization layer. Protection becomes a software application that can be deployed, updated and supervised — without swapping hardware.
Why virtualize protection now
A grid under unprecedented pressure
Electrification, massive renewable integration and surging demand (notably data centers) are driving the largest grid modernization wave in decades — an architecture that resists change simply does not scale.
The digital-substation promise, finally kept
Standardized data models were meant to simplify substations; too often they added complexity. vPAC removes the underlying constraint — proprietary, hardware-bound architectures — instead of layering more on top.
Operator-backed direction
Transmission system operators are already driving this transition. RTE leads SEAPATH, the open virtualization platform hosted by LF Energy — making vPAC an operator-backed direction, not a single-vendor bet.
The end of lock-in
Open, multi-vendor vPAC lets operators combine best-of-breed applications from different manufacturers in one standardized environment for the first time.
What vPAC changes, concretely
- Hardware reduction — protection and control functions consolidate onto a few redundant industrial servers rather than dozens of separate relays and bay control units.
- Architectural flexibility — new functions and upgrades ship as software, cutting lifecycle cost and obsolescence risk.
- Open ecosystem — vendors deploy their algorithms as applications in a shared, standardized environment, enabling true interoperability.
- Reduced engineering complexity — a unified environment and standardized tooling simplify configuration and commissioning.
See the architecture behind it
IEC 61850 process bus, Sampled Values, GOOSE, deterministic redundancy and an automated qualification bench.
Explore the technology