Category Archives: ICCP / TASE.2

ICCP (TASE.2, IEC 60870-6) is the protocol utility control centers use to exchange real-time data with each other — neighboring utilities, regional operators, and power pools. This category covers the full standard: the MMS foundation, bilateral tables and access control, transfer sets and reporting, device control, conformance blocks, and securing ICCP links with IEC 62351-4.

ICCP Operations and Services: The Complete TASE.2 Map

TASE.2 defines its functionality as operations and actions on objects, then maps each one onto an MMS service. That mapping is the Rosetta Stone of ICCP work: vendor documentation speaks TASE.2 (“Start Transfer”), the wire speaks MMS (“Write”), and moving between the two is half of every troubleshooting session. This reference lays out the complete map in both… Read More: ICCP Operations and Services: The Complete TASE.2 Map »

ICCP Device Control: SBO Select and Operate Explained

Device control is where ICCP stops being a data feed and becomes an operational tool — and a liability if misunderstood. Conformance block 5 lets one control center trip breakers, raise taps, and write setpoints in another organization’s network. The protocol wraps that power in the select-before-operate pattern every operations engineer knows from local SCADA, adapted for the… Read More: ICCP Device Control: SBO Select and Operate Explained »

ICCP Security: Hardening TASE.2 Links With IEC 62351

An ICCP link is a standing, months-long connection between two organizations, carrying real-time grid data and — where block 5 is enabled — live control of primary equipment. It crosses an organizational boundary by definition: the other end is somebody else’s network, somebody else’s patching discipline, somebody else’s incident. That makes it one of the most security-relevant connections… Read More: ICCP Security: Hardening TASE.2 Links With IEC 62351 »

ICCP Conformance Blocks: What Servers Actually Support

Every ICCP datasheet says the same thing: “supports blocks 1, 2, and 5” or some variation. Conformance blocks are how TASE.2 capability is packaged, sold, tested, and written into bilateral agreements. They’re also where datasheets, the wire protocol, and the standard itself quietly disagree. This article decodes each block, explains why nearly half of them were deleted from… Read More: ICCP Conformance Blocks: What Servers Actually Support »

What Is the ICCP Protocol? TASE.2 (IEC 60870-6) Explained

ICCP is the protocol utility control centers use to talk to each other. Not to substations. Not to RTUs. To other control centers: the neighboring utility, the regional transmission operator, the power pool, an independent generator’s dispatch center. Its official name is TASE.2, the Telecontrol Application Service Element 2. The standard behind it is the IEC 60870-6 series,… Read More: What Is the ICCP Protocol? TASE.2 (IEC 60870-6) Explained »