Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

This strategic project application is to develop, evaluate, and apply an advanced online modeling tool forelectric power grids, for improved monitoring and better operation of large power systems.The Canadian electric power system is a network of interconnected provincial and territorial subsystems thathave been designed and adapted over time to meet local needs, operating somewhat independently. Such anenergy infrastructure is a blend of existing and new technologies, and is constantly changing and expanding,because new systems are often added to cope with increasing demand in energy consumption. There are manychallenges in maintaining and operating such power generation and transmission systems, the most prominentone being lack of an efficient and effective online technology to determine changing grid conditions andparameters in a timely fashion. This proposal outlines a new research area of developing online (real-time)modeling tools for electric power grids, based on synchronized phasor measurement units; the research topicsinclude recursive algorithm development and validation for static and dynamic grid models, and application toreal-time voltage stability analysis (power transfer margin estimation) of large power systems.Because power grids undergo constant changes in demand and supply, we think the proposed online modelingtool would be an enabling technology for many wide-area online (real-time) operations such as state estimation,active monitoring and protection, fault detection and isolation, and stability analysis. The tool to be developedwould provide our industrial partner, and Canadian utility and electric power industries in general, atechnological edge to remain globally competitive, and have a high potential for significant economic benefitsin terms of improved quality and reliability, and reduced cost in electric power delivery.