The steps and procedures a user should undertake to implement an IEC 61850 substation in both a single and multi-vendor equipment environment are outlined in this recommended practice. Intelligent electronic device (IED) specifi cation, procurement, configuration, and documentation to develop a general design philosophy that transforms the IEC 61850 standard are addressed in this recommended practice, using this as a practical working implementation guide. A general overview of an IEC 61850 implementation is given in this recommended practice. Future work may develop more detail behind the topics presented herein.