A method and apparatus for operating a power distribution system circuit breaker is provided. The circuit breaker includes an associated node electronics unit wherein a node electronics unit redundancy requirement is predetermined. The method includes monitoring electrical system parameters associated with the circuit breaker with the node electronics unit, communicating the electrical system parameters over a digital network to at least one central control processing unit, receiving commands and actions from the at least one central control processing unit over the digital network, determining circuit breaker actuation commands based at least partially on the received commands and actions, and operating the circuit breaker based on the circuit breaker actuation commands.