The New York Power Authority (NYPA), along with partners in a U.S. Department of Energy-funded project, developed a monitoring and analytics application that uses phasor measurements unit (PMU) data streams to provide a real time assessment of the state's electric grid stress and forward intelligence about impending problems to system operators.

The DOE funded the $1.2 million collaborative project developed on EPG's (Electric Power Group) platform. Demonstration sites included facilities operated by NYPA and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) based in the Pacific Northwest. The study was coordinated and managed by Atena Darvishi, a senior engineer in NYPA's Research, Technology Development and Innovation group.

Electric utilities and Independent System Operators (ISOs) face many critical challenges including multiple energy resources with integration of renewables and distributed technologies, and lack of real-time assessment of grid stress such as voltage and phase angle margins and actions needed to withstand multiple additional contingencies.

The PMU analytics application developed during this project, focusing on utilizing PMU data combined with analytics, provides real-time assessment of the grid in steady state and stress conditions. The application provides operators with intelligence on fast detection of line outages, and grid stress levels and limits including voltage stability margins and phase angle limits.

This research initiative is one of many technical innovations being undertaken as part of NYPA's digital upgrades and overall asset management program. End to end digitization is a key pillar in NYPA's VISION2030 strategic plan.

For more information on the study, contact atena.darvishi@nypa.gov.

Source: New York Power Authority