Staff Directory

Bruce Muschlitz

Principal Consultant
  • Year joined firm: 2005
  • Industry years: 16
  • Education: B.S., Computer Engineering and a M.S., Electrical Engineering, Lehigh University
  • Expertise: software architecture, utility communication, protocols, IEC 61850, embedded systems, system requirements
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Bruce Muschlitz works at EnerNex as a Consulting Engineer in Utility Data Communications. Experience in electric power systems with emphasis on utility communications protocols and development and design of monitoring instrumentation makes Bruce a valuable asset to EnerNex.

Bruce chairs the UCA International Users Group conformance testing committee for IEC 61850-based products. He was previously at Areva/Alstom/Bitronics, where he was heavily involved in software architecture and communication protocol design and implementation. He has decades of experience in the design of real-time embedded firmware and hardware for a variety of systems. He has extensive experience with SCADA systems and a strong knowledge of communications security concepts. Bruce also served as the chief software architect of the Areva/Alstom/Bitronics PowerServe measurement unit. He developed software from low-level drivers through the high-level UCA software integration. He also designed both the hardware and software for a substation-hardened Ethernet adapter with both optical and electrical connections. Bruce’s experience includes integration of the Bitronics demand metering systems with the ITRON MV90 system. Bruce is currently providing support to both the Consumer Portal Project and the OpenAMI initiative.

Bruce has led requirements analysis workshops for Southern California Edison to support their advanced metering initiative project. He helped to design and launch the EnerNex Knoxville electrical parameter testing laboratory where device operations can be examined in a controlled environment. Bruce is also familiar with overall utility communication system requirements including security needs.

Bruce has more than twenty years experience in project team leadership and participation with recent emphasis on utility communications protocols. He has very strong experience with industry/national/international standards. Bruce has decades of experience in the design of real-time embedded firmware/hardware for a variety of systems, and a track record of completing designs on time and under budget while meeting all specifications.

Bruce is an expert in embedded software development. His experience includes:

  • Being involved with a team deciding upon creation of UCA2 capable device (Bitronics PowerServe)
  • Chose a Compact PCI-based multi-processor shared memory architecture
  • Software selection – chose the compiler/real-time OS/protocol stack components of the PowerServe
  • Software design – created basic architecture with massive multitasking (about 50 threads). He led the software team to adopt a (more-or-less) consistent style

His communication protocols include:

  • IEC 61850-6 SCL (Substation Configuration Language)
  • XML/DTD/Schema/XPath
  • some XHTML, XSLT
  • ISO/OSI and IP protocols
  • miscellaneous 802.X protocols (2.3.3af, etc.)
  • MMS
  • 61580/UCA2
  • DNP3 (serial/IP)
  • Modbus (serial/TCP)
  • BiCOMM (7-bit binary proprietary Bitronics protocol)
  • XMODEM

Bruce is the co-inventor of “Inserting machine with audit trail and command protocol,” #4,734,865. He is a member of IEEE –Communications Society, Computer Society, Power Engineering Society and Standards Association. He is a member of the DNP3 Technical Committee, a member of the UCA International Users Group Technical and Testing Committee, and Chair of the UCA IUG Testing Committee. Bruce is also a U.S. delegate of IEC TC 57 working group 10.