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The US electric grid is facing operational, stability, and security challenges. Transmission system operators need some measure of visibility into distribution system renewable generation. Distribution system generation needs to support transmission system voltage. The grid is experiencing an expansion in measurement systems. How to take full advantage of this expansion and defend against attacks, both cyber and physical, poses additional challenges. This paper introduces software designed to meet these challenges. At the center of the software is an Integrated System Model (ISM) that spans from transmission to secondary distribution. The ISM is employed in real-time abnormality detection, voltage stability forecasting, and multi-mode control. The software architecture along with selected analysis modules is presented. Testing results are presented for: 1—attacks on utility infrastructure; 2—energy savings from optimal control; 3—distribution system control response during a low voltage transmission system event; 4—cyber-attacks on PV inverters, where physical inverters are used in hardware-in-the-simulation-loop studies. Contributions of this work include real-time analysis that spans from three-phase transmission through secondary distribution; an approach for detecting abnormalities that employs measurements from three independent measurement systems; and a multi-mode distribution system control that responds to cyber-attacks, physical attacks, equipment failures, and transmission system needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) recent direction and ever-growing interest in cloud adoption by power utilities, a Task Force was established to assist power system practitioners with secure, reliable and cost-effective adoption of cloud technology to meet various business needs. This paper summarizes the business drivers, challenges, guidance, and best practices for cloud adoption in power systems from the Task Force’s perspective, after extensive review and deliberation by its members, including grid operators, utility companies, software vendors, and cloud providers. The paper begins by enumerating various business drivers for cloud adoption in the power industry. It follows with the discussion of the challenges and risks of migrating power grid utility workloads to the cloud. Next, for each corresponding challenge or risk, the paper provides appropriate guidance. Notably, the guidance is directed toward power industry professionals who are considering cloud solutions and are yet hesitant about the practical execution. Finally, to tie all the sections together, the paper documents various real-world use cases of cloud technology in the power system domain, which both the power industry practitioners and software vendors can look toward to design and select their own future cloud solutions. We hope that the information in this paper will serve as helpful guidance for the development of NERC guidelines and standards relevant to cloud adoption in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems is expected to increase significantly in the next few years. Many studies have been conducted on analyzing transmission level voltage stability with high PV penetration, and recent efforts have also analyzed voltage stability at the medium- and low-voltage distribution levels. However, those studies have not considered detailed distribution secondary modeling extending from the primary feeder to the service transformer and all the way through the distribution secondary connections and service drops. This study investigates how variable rooftop solar PV generation impacts voltages at customers sharing a service transformer. Several different types of secondary system topologies are taken into account. A set of rules is presented that can be used to ascertain the level of voltage volatility expected as the solar PV generation varies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new method for studying electromechanical transients in power systems using three phase, combined transmission and distribution models (hybrid models). The methodology models individual phases of an electric network and associated unbalance in load and generation. Therefore, the impacts of load unbalance, single phase distributed generation and line impedance unbalance on electromechanical transients can be studied without using electromagnetic transient simulation (EMTP) programs. The implementation of this methodology in software is called the Three Phase Dynamics Analyzer (TPDA). Case studies included in the paper demonstrate the accuracy of TPDA and its ability to simulate electromechanical transients in hybrid models. TPDA has the potential for providing electric utilities and power system planners with more accurate assessment of system stability than traditional dynamic simulation software that assume balanced network topology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]