Alstom Grid, a global expert in electrical grid management systems, recently announced that it will supply smart grid synchrophasor software applications to Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) for its Western Interconnection SynchroPhasor Program (WISP). The synchrophasor technology offered by Alstom Grid will be used in the application area of e-terravision (for wide area situational monitoring display) and PhasorPoint (by Psymetrix, global experts for phasor-based wide area monitoring system) for phasor display and historical archiving.

Mark Maher, WECC CEO, stated, “Having received the largest Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), we selected Alstom Grid’s wide area situational awareness applications for our reliability coordination centers. When complete, the WISP project will involve 18 utility participants deploying over 340 Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) in a footprint covering all or part of 14 western U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, and a portion of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. We look forward to the successful deployment and integration of the applications of this transformational technology within WECC’s control rooms.”

"We are honored to be selected for such an important project,” said Jean-Michel Cornille, Senior Vice-President, Alstom Grid Power Electronics and Automation, in a statement. “This illustrates our combined capabilities with Psymetrix in wide area situation awareness (WASA) projects, allowing utility System Operators to efficiently visualize, monitor and control grid security and stability, including real-time, pertinent information and the impact of renewable energy.”

In related news, communications and information technology company Harris Corporation (News - Alert) (NYSE:HRS) has been awarded a five-year contract to provide a wide-area network to Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), enabling the latter to take timely actions to avoid widespread system blackouts. The network will help WECC detect and avert regional electrical system disturbances in a service area that extends from Canada through 14 western US states.

Rahul Arora is a TMCnet contributor. He has worked as an editor and freelance writer for several reputed organizations in India. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves