IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2017 - 62

TNY in Philadelphia offers a diverse composition
of load, asset, and customer class leading to multiple
categories of microgrid manifestations.
successful completion of the CHIL tests will determine the
readiness of the microgrid controller for installation at TNY.

Test 3: Field Integration/System Testing
Following the successful completion of these testing activities, the GE team will install the hierarchal microgrid control
system at TNY and connect the controller to the monitoring
and control equipment field equipment including DER asset
controllers and other field equipment. A series of tests will
then be performed to verify that the microgrid controller can
interface properly with all the field devices. These tests will
verify that all real-time measurements are properly received by
the microgrid controller and that the controller can interface
properly with all asset controllers. The purpose of this testing is to verify that data are being exchanged properly without
exceeding the maximum latency. No control equipment control actions will be executed. However, suitable mechanisms
will be provided to verify that expected control commands
are sent to the asset controllers of 13.2-kV switching controls
without operating the assets. The successful completion of the
field interface test will constitute readiness of the microgrid
controller for the final test activity that involves live control of
the microgrid assets.

Live Demonstration with Active Controls
(GridSTAR Microgrid Test)
Following the successful completion of all testing, the GE
team will conduct a live demonstration of the hierarchal
microgrid control system functionality, including active
control of the DER asset controllers within the GridSTAR
microgrid. During this demonstration, all necessary precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of all personnel to
protect the energized assets against damage and to avoid service interruption or disruption to any TNY customers.

Summary
TNY in Philadelphia offers a diverse composition of load,
asset, and customer class leading to multiple categories of
microgrid manifestations. This has been one of the most
challenging aspects of this project. However, this allowed the
project team to innovate a generalized microgrid system and
the testing methodologies to address the diverse scenarios
required for readiness verification. TNY microgrid system
design activity provides novel design constructs that one can
leverage at the grid-design level across different classes of
microgrids. The development of a hierarchal microgrid management control system allows the monitoring and control
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schemes at different layers. The architecture and design provide the flexibility and capability to meet the communication
and control performance for the next generation of microgrid
systems. In addition, a newly developed microgrid test methodology has produced a robust framework for testing the nextgeneration microgrid system.
The forward thinking and vision of the PIDC described in
TNY energy master plan is the foundation of this work. The
project teams combined experience of control room energy
management, grid substation automation, and electric market management turned the PIDC's vision into reality. TNY,
including the GE hierarchal microgrid management system,
is visited by various industry leaders, regulators, and utility
representatives across the United States and the world.

For Further Reading
"Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability and National Energy Technology Laboratory, Microgrid Research, Development, and System Design," U.S. Department of Energy,
Funding Opportunity No. DE-FOA-0000997, Jan. 31, 2014.
Recommended Practice and Requirements for Harmonic
Control in Electric Power Systems, IEEE Standard 519, 2014.
Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric
Power Systems, IEEE Standard 1547a, 2014.
GridLAB-D [Online]. Available: http://gridlab.org
IEEE Guide for Electric Power Distribution Reliability
Indices, IEEE Standard 1366, 2012.
Electric Power Systems and Equipment-Voltage Ratings (60 Hz), ANSI Standard C84.1, 2006.

Biographies
R. Uluski is with GE Grid Solutions Inc., Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
J. Kumar is with GE Grid Solutions Inc., San Jose,
California.
S.S. (Mani) Venkata is with GE Grid Solutions Inc.,
Redmond, Washington.
D. Vishwakarma is with GE Grid Solutions Inc., Dallas, Texas.
K. Schneider is with Pacific Northwest Laboratories,
Richland, Washington.
Ali Mehrizi-Sani is with Washington State University,
Pullman.
Rudy Terry is with Philadelphia Industrial Development
Corporation Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Will Agate is with NetZero Microgrid Solutions, LLC,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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july/august 2017

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2017