IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2020 - 30

technology vendors, and research organizations together
to work on common challenges and opportunities that can
improve the performance, security, and efficiency of the
electricity grid.

Summary

figure 6. AGILe, the power systems laboratory located at
NYPA's offices. (Source: NYPA; used with permission.)

from around the world with a wide range of R&D tools. The
research work performed in the lab can help strengthen infrastructure, fast track the commercialization of new technologies, and expand renewable energy integration. The work performed at AGILe will accelerate improvements to New York's
energy infrastructure and lead to a more reliable and efficient
electric grid.
The specific general research areas at AGILe include
advanced transmission applications, cybersecurity, substation
automation, sensors, and power electronics controllers.
AGILe is located at the White Plains offices, as shown in Figure 6, and comprises a digital real-time grid simulation lab,
which will enable real-time simulations of New York State's
electrical grid. It is initially targeting transmission- and distribution-level research focusing on power system wide-area
monitoring and control, synchrophasor applications, renewable energy integration, and substation automation and control. AGILe has the potential to provide grid benefits, e.g.,
accelerating and streamlining the deployment of new equipment and technologies, analyzing peak demand stress, incorporating intermittent resources, and improving reliability and
bulk system control.
The lab will help deliver the following capabilities
and outcomes:
✔✔ advanced modeling of power grid components
✔✔ real-time simulations of New York State's electrical system
✔✔ hardware-/software-in-the-loop equipment testing
✔✔ the emulation and performance characterization of
power grid data communication schemes
✔✔ automated controls that improve network resiliency,
security, safety, and efficiency
✔✔ the integration of large-scale renewable energy resources as well as distributed energy resources
✔✔ a high level of situational awareness that enables optimal grid operation under various conditions.
It is envisioned that AGILe will create a collaborative re--
search environment that brings utilities, academic institutions,
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Like other utilities, NYPA has embarked on a digital journey in technical areas of grid monitoring/operations/control as well as business enterprise to take advantage of the
efficiencies from the effective use of information and data.
Although this is a bold endeavor for a conservative industry in terms of adopting new technologies, the benefits are
starting to be realized through asset health and longevity
enhancements, operation and maintenance and capital savings, and enhanced tools and methodologies for grid operation and control. This journey is envisioned to ultimately
result in a safer, more reliable, more secure, and more efficient power system.

For Further Reading
"Infographic: Understanding the grid," U.S. Department of
Energy, Washington, D.C., Nov. 17, 2014. [Online]. Available:
https://www.energy.gov/articles/infographic-understanding
-grid
B. Fardanesh, "Future trends in power system control,"
IEEE Comput. Appl. Power, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 24-31, 2002.
doi: 10.1109/MCAP.2002.1018819.
S. Ghiocel et al., "Phasor-measurement-based state estimation for synchrophasor data quality improvement and
power transfer interface monitoring," IEEE Trans. Power
Syst., vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 881-888, 2013. doi: 10.1109/TPWRS
.2013.2284098.
B. Fardanesh, "Direct non-iterative power system state
solution and estimation," in Proc. IEEE Power and Energy
Society General Meeting, San Diego, CA, July 2012, pp. 1-6.
doi: 10.1109/PESGM.2012.6345757.
"Smarter energy infrastructure: The critical role and
value of electric transmission," Edison Electric Institute,
Washington, D.C., Mar. 2019. [Online]. Available: https://
www.eei.org

Biographies
Bruce Fardanesh is with the New York Power Authority,
White Plains.
Adam Shapiro is with the New York Power Authority,
White Plains.
Philip Saglimbene is with the New York Power Authority, White Plains.
Ricardo DaSilva is with the New York Power Authority,
White Plains.
George Stefopoulos is with the New York Power Authority,
White Plains, New York.
Ahad Esmaeilian is with Avangrid, Orange, Connecticut.

p&e
march/april 2020

https://www.energy.gov/articles/infographic-understanding-grid https://www.energy.gov/articles/infographic-understanding-grid https://www.eei.org https://www.eei.org

IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2020

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