The eFORT consortium has delivered D4.3 – eFORT Intelligent Platform, a working demonstrator that helps operators make sense of substation data in real time and react faster to incidents. Built and hosted by the eFORT partner, SIA, on SIACloud, the platform securely ingests field telemetry and intrusion-detection events, normalises them, and provides an operator-friendly view with alerts and supporting tools. From September onwards, the demonstrator will be exercised with real data from the demo sites, allowing partners to validate functionality under realistic conditions and fine-tune where needed.
What the platform does
- Secure data ingest, one place: Field devices and partner tools send JSON to the platform over HTTPS/VPN using opaque company tokens (no JWT, no signing).
- Two data families, one view: The platform handles RTU telemetry (equipment status and measurements) and IDS events (e.g., IEC 61850 GOOSE anomalies).
- Actionable alerts: Entries are flagged as alerts when (i) an engineered threshold is breached, (ii) the anomaly-detection model sees unusual behaviour, or (iii) an incoming IDS event is explicitly marked as alarm. Operators can see what triggered each alert at a glance.
- Operator-first UI: Clear dashboards, an alerts panel (view/acknowledge), and utilities for islanding-related data management round out day-to-day operations.
- Interoperability by design: Field data are aligned with IEC 61850 logical-node naming, while security controls follow IEC 62351 recommendations at transport and access layers.
How it fits within effort
The Intelligent Platform is the integration point where different eFORT partners outcomes meet practical operation: RTU telemetry and IDS insights feed a unified backend; operator workflows are exercised through the UI; and Communication & dissemination activities can showcase a tangible, running artefact. Importantly, the build balances demonstrator pragmatism (simple token model, curated feature set) with a clear path to production (role-based access, company scoping, and a cloud architecture that can scale).
What’s new or distinctive
- Clarity for integrators: The ingest contract is intentionally simple. This keeps partner implementations straightforward while preserving a clean operator experience.
- Standards in practice: With support from Schneider Electric, the team validated logical-node conventions and security profiles using representative IEC 61850 traffic, helping to ensure a smooth bridge between legacy substation protocols and modern cloud APIs.
- Environments ready for pilots: SIACloud provides three dedicated environments (LAB, INT, DEMO), reachable via site-to-site VPN. The demonstrator is already deployed and will host upcoming pilot data.
What’s next
From September 2025, the partners will run the demonstrator with real datasets and network conditions from the demo sites. The focus will be on confirming end-to-end ingest, checking alert fidelity, and collecting operator feedback. Minor software/documentation adjustments may follow, but the goal remains the same: a usable, realistic platform that improves grid visibility and response.
Learn more
Deliverable 4.3 is accompanied by a User Manual (operator-focused), an Administrator Manual, a Technical System Documentation and an Integration Manual for API clients. Together, they provide the “how-to” needed for pilots while keeping the demonstrator footprint clear and reproducible.
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