Abstract
To manage stability and operational security in the future integrated Nordic and European synchronous power grids, there is a need for improved situational awareness. By utilization of synchronised measurements throughout the grid, transmission system operators can make use of wide area system information to obtain early warnings of critical situations. Further, this information must be combined with more automatic control and protection solutions to stabilise and balance the increasing variability and uncertainty in operation.
In a Nordic research and development project, NEWEPS - Nordic Early Warning, Early Prevention System, the main objective is to develop design requirements for new operator tools to improve the identification and visualisation of dynamic phenomena, and to develop a framework for coordination of control actions. This paper presents design considerations and examples of wide area monitoring, protection and control applications developed.
A main message from this work is that close collaboration and coordination among power system operators in the different parts of the grid – between TSOs and between TSOs and DSOs – are essential to achieve full utilization and benefit from a wide area monitoring system. One challenge is related to coordination when going from monitoring and situational awareness to performing the correct control actions. First, who decides where and when to take actions? Secondly, in the planning phase, careful considerations must be made on which phenomena that require automatic control actions. Optimal design, arming and use of System Integrity Protection Schemes are main challenges in this regard.