IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - September/October 2015 - 17

Researchers are beginning to look at
PMU data to spot "signatures" of equipment
misoperation and imminent failure.

created, and the IEEE and International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) have adopted, a suite of standards and
guides covering synchrophasors, including PMU functionality for static and dynamic measurements, PMU data, phasor accuracy, phasor data concentrator functions, PMU testing, and time synchronization.
NASPI works to build a community of knowledge around
synchrophasor technology. Its members are generous in sharing their time and information about synchrophasor technology successes and lessons learned. NASPI has identified obstacles to advancing synchrophasor technologies and
applications and worked to build consensus around effective,
objective solutions to technical and commercial challenges.
The group has tackled the challenges of cybersecurity, GPS
timing vulnerability, and delivered data quality. NASPI and its
members document and share information within and outside
the community, offering technical workshops and tutorials
on IEC 61850 (substation automation); synchrophasor-based
model validation; the use of synchrophasor data to measure
renewable resource performance; comparing synchrophasorbased tools for grid visualization, oscillation detection, and
voltage stability; and using PMU data for state estimation.
The U.S. national laboratories are leaders in many aspects
and uses of synchrophasor technology. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory provides technical and administrative assistance to NASPI and hosts its website (www.
naspi.org). In 2014, the DOE assumed NASPI funding from
NERC, with logistical assistance from EPRI.
Synchrophasor technology, with its links to high-speed
communications networking, advanced analytics, and big
data applications, is an appealing topic for young engineering students, and in 2012 the DOE issued grants to seven
universities for synchrophasor education. That same year,
the National Science Foundation and the DOE created the
Center for Ultra-Wide-Area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks (CURENT) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which is conducting extensive research and
education on synchrophasors and related topics.

Realizing the Value of
Synchrophasor Investments
Thanks to the long-standing partnership between the private
sector and the DOE to advance synchrophasor technology, this
young technology (by industry standards) is already yielding
great value for the grid. PMU data are being integrated into
wide-area visualization tools and state estimators to enhance
september/october 2015

situational awareness and grid reliability. PMU-based oscillation detection and voltage stability tools are operational
in many control rooms, where they can inform alarms and
alerts, limit-setting, and real-time event responses. In some
cases these synchrophasor-based limits allow greater use of
existing assets without compromising reliability.
PMU applications are creating enduring value. Static and
dynamic power plant and grid models validated with synchrophasor data can be updated continuously, avoiding costly power
plant testing. These model-validation efforts are also creating
insights into how intermittent resources interact with the bulk
power system so operators and engineers can integrate the
renewables with greater reliability and lower cost. And PMU
data are widely recognized for revolutionizing forensic analysis
of grid events, enabling investigators to determine "what happened" within hours rather than months of the incident.
Researchers are beginning to look at PMU data to spot
"signatures" of equipment misoperation and imminent failure, which help to avert costly and damaging equipment failures and customer outages. Others are investigating how to
use PMU data for early indicators of ground-induced currents
from geomagnetic disturbances, which would enable more
proactive asset management to protect the grid against geomagnetic overload. And the DOE is funding several efforts to
look at how PMUs could be used for monitoring, insight, and
control at the distribution level as well as transmission.
Thanks to the accelerated development and deployment
of synchrophasor technology, the electric industry is realizing real improvements in grid reliability and efficiency.
Many exciting value opportunities lie ahead.

For Further Reading
NASPI. (2015, 29 June). [Online]. Available: http://www.naspi.org
P. Overholt, D. N. Kosterev, J. H. Eto, S. Yang, and B. Lesieutre, "Improving reliability through better models," IEEE
Power Energy Mag., vol. 12, no. 3, p. 44-51, May/June 2014.

Biographies

Phil Overholt is with the U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.
David Ortiz is with the U.S. Department of Energy,
Washington, D.C.
Alison Silverstein is an independent consultant for the
North American SynchroPhasor Initiative, Pflugerville, Texas.
p&e
ieee power & energy magazine

http://www.naspi.org http://www.naspi.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - September/October 2015