US DOE, utilities to install enhanced grid monitoring system

Washington  (Platts)--10Aug2004

A joint project by the US Dept. of Energy and several utilities will allow
transmission system operators in several states to see a clearer picture of
grid operations in a short period of time, improving grid reliability, DOE's
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory said Monday. The effort, dubbed the
Phasor Project, is designed to improve situational awareness among grid
operators, allowing them to see grid conditions in other regions that could
affect operations in their territory and it will play a large role in
preventing another blackout like the one that occurred Aug 14, 2003, DOE said.

Later this month, the Phasor Project will be operating on the systems of
Ameren, American Electric Power, Entergy, Tennessee Valley Authority, the New
York Independent System Operator and the Midwest ISO. Thus far, utilities have
invested about $1-mil toward the effort and DOE has provided $750,000.

The project is designed to cover major transmission corridors and it samples
grid conditions on a much faster basis than existing systems, which can take
up to several minutes to give operators a snapshot of conditions only in their
area, explained Matt Donnelly, project manager with the DOE lab. "A lot can
change in one minute" and the Phasor system can provide 30 samples per second
over a vast territory, giving operators "a better picture in a shorter time
frame." 

Future applications of the system could allow for automated control of grid
operations, leading to the type of "self-healing grid," that many in the
electric industry have been pursuing for years, Donnelly said. "If this system
had been in place last year, it may have helped system operators take steps to
avoid the Aug 14 blackout," he said.

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