Issues Facing the North American Power Grid and Their Technological Solutions

Abstract:
The North American power grid is currently facing many challenges such as an aging
transmission infrastructure, concerns about the environment, rapidly increasing
electrical demand and changes to operating practices due to deregulation. The electric
power industry recognizes the importance of a revitalized grid to meet these challenges
and ensure reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally benign power throughout the
21st century. One area of focus is the development of real-time wide area tools for
visualization and control of an entire interconnection. Recent large-scale blackouts
have occurred because system operators were unaware of problems developing outside
their own control areas. The phasor measurement unit (PMU), which was developed at
Virginia Tech, has gained industry acceptance and is being widely deployed all over the
United States. There are several ongoing research projects at Virginia Tech aimed at
developing algorithms and technology to integrate phasor measurements into state
estimation, contingency analysis, advanced warning systems, adaptive protection
schemes, and other applications.