Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The electric power industry is undergoing a period of extraordinary change. Electric power utilities are under pressure to operate more efficiently while confronting a business and operating environment that's increasingly fragmentedwhere different companies handle generation, transmission, and distribution functions that in the past were handled by one company. At the same time, modern power systems are being operated closer to their stability and design limits. The desire to integrate renewable energy resources and plug-in electric vehicles has changed the structure of power systems at the transmission and distribution levels. This change in structure and operating practices has necessitated an urgent need for new and improved techniques & technologies for power systems protection, automation and monitoring so that reliability, safety and efficiency of the power systems can be maintained and enhanced. Existing protection systems are not always suitable for the changing structure of power systems and the challenges posed by new operating philosophies. The objective of the proposed research is to develop innovative techniques, technologies and devices for the protection, automation and monitoring of modern and emerging power systems. The research will aim at achieving reliable and secure protection of emerging distribution systems, improving measurement of synchronized phasors, developing a new and economical back-up protection strategy, in addition to developing effective protection during system restoration. In addition to improved power system operation of electric utilities, the research is also significant for the high-tech, power equipment manufacturers and relay manufacturing industries. The proposed research will contribute towards developing and training highly qualified personnel who are urgently needed by the Canadian electric utilities and industries, which are an important part of the Canadian economy.