Being able to detect problems quickly and early is key to avoiding them or minimizing their impact. That is especially true in electrical power grids where sensing voltage sags or spikes can make the difference between a momentary flicker and brownouts and blackouts like the notorious August 2003 ‘event’ in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada.

 

That is what Dominion Virginia Power with Virginia Tech and Quanta Technology is working on, to make the smart grid smarter by developing and testing innovative technology that will improve the electric grid’s efficiency and reliability. This technology, known as “synchrophasors”, does this by providing dynamic real-time information about conditions on the transmission grid.

 

The research project, funded by a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, provides grid operators with the ability to better foresee, prevent and manage potential overloads and route power more efficiently. This enables maximum efficiency and reliability for Dominion’s transmission grid which serves customers with a portfolio of more than 27,500 megawatts of generation and 6,000 miles of electric transmission lines.

 

“A smarter, more efficient and reliable electric grid means better service for customers, benefits for the environment and lower costs in the long run,” says Dominion Virginia Power Chief Executive Officer Paul Koonce. “What is particularly appealing about this technology is that it can be applied to our existing transmission network, not just new projects.”

 

The new grid monitoring technology is much more advanced than the present tools. It has promise to prevent or mitigate a future blackout like that in 2003 or similar disturbance in Dominion’s service area, which lies south of the U.S. Capitol. While the downturn has shrunk electricity demand usage will climb up as the economy bounces back, thereby making development and deployment of such tools vital to enable utilities deliver reliable power.

 

“If you characterize the current state of technology for monitoring the power system as an X-ray image, synchrophasor technology will provide MRI-quality data,” explains Arun Phadke, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus. “Dominion’s system is a unique and good proving ground for application of these techniques.”

 

Phadke’s work with synchrophasor technology, which provides precise, real-time data on transmission system conditions, began nearly 27 years ago. He invented the key building block of this technology -- the phasor measurement unit -- and credits the 2003 blackout of the northeast United States for initiating the emergence of this technology.

 

As part of a larger project submitted by PJM and 12 member transmission owners, Dominion will also receive federal stimulus funds to help put these efforts to practical use and install the new systems as this tailored research and development is completed in the laboratories.  PJM is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia.

 

“I’m thrilled to see this technology moving from the lab to the grid,” says R. Matthew Gardner, Dominion’s lead engineer on the project. “For our system operators, it’s the ’Wizard of Oz’ moment when the world goes from shades of gray to full, living color.”