Wide Area Protection Coordination Studies Study Methodology, Benefits, and ConEd Experience

10/07/2021

Authors: Majida Malki, Jorge Velez, Kevin Judd, Hibourahima Camara, and David G. Hart

Intro:

It has been the standard practice at utilities to periodically perform wide-area protection coordination (WAPC) studies. A WAPC study systematically evaluates protective relay coordination using utility-defined scenarios and criteria to identify latent issues that can impact protection performance. The scope of the study can range from an entire utility transmission system to a smaller subset such as a region or voltage level. However, the power grid of the 21^st century is rapidly changing. Many utilities have already or are planning retirements of coal plants, increased deployment of renewables and battery storage, and continued capital investments. These changes are affecting the short circuit fault current levels and locations. In addition, the PRC-027 standard is requiring utilities to examine the changes on the system to ensure proper operation of the protection systems.

All of these factors create an urgent need to perform WAPC studies; however, the protection groups that would be responsible for such studies are typically overburdened. While a comprehensive WAPC program may seem like an overwhelming task, proven automation techniques can be applied to break it down into manageable steps and ensure a successful result. This white paper provides an overview of the methodology for WAPC studies, as well as some results from a study performed by Consolidated Edison (ConEd).

Quantifying Energy Justice Metrics to Adhere to State Initiatives, Enable Electrification Initiatives, and Meet Energy Justice Goals

As states strive to decarbonize, clean air, and achieve energy justice metrics, transportation electrification is one of the largest levers states have to achieve these goals. Medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) fleets are often selected as the targets to attain these objectives. In turn, this target challenges utilities seeking to make the investments necessary to accommodate the new load that MHD charging places on the electricity grid. Though leveraging energy justice benefits would be a clear differentiator in the use case justifying grid investments, utilities are currently challenged by the inability to incorporate the societal benefits of emission reductions into that analysis. This whitepaper discusses a solution to this challenge, where the soft benefits of emission reduction are translated into tangible financial metrics that can be incorporated into a standard benefit-to-cost analysis to justify the grid investments.

Wide Area Protection Coordination Studies Study Methodology, Benefits, and ConEd Experience

An Analytic Framework for Evaluating the Value of Distributed Energy Resources

Multiple state initiatives exist for establishing non wires alternatives (NWA) and valuations of distributed energy resources (DER), most notably the California Locational Net Benefits Analysis (LNBA) and the NY Renewed Energy Vision (REV). This paper reports on work that establishes a theoretical and computational framework for identifying a precise value to the grid in terms of avoided cost, down to each distribution service transformer, if desired. It identifies the marginal value of a kW or a kVar of distributed resources and deals with avoided cost not only for delivery capacity, but also for voltage control, reliability and renewables integration.

WASA and the Roadmap to WAMPAC at SDG&E

There is rapidly growing industry interest in the potential uses for streaming synchronized measurements from Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs). Vendors and users continue to develop and deploy new applications and infrastructure to take advantage of the accurate high-rate measurement data. San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) is among users who are deploying Wide-Area Situational Awareness (WASA) systems in which PMUs distributed across the grid are streaming data to control centers for situational awareness of dynamic wide-area electrical behavior to system operators, and as a tool for engineers to perform post-event analysis of disturbances and operations along with system model validation

Cost Benefit Analysis for IEC 61850 Implementation

IEC 61850 is a modern communications standard that enables advanced applications to access and process information from substations. This standard defines digital communications protocols and models for application functional information in protective relays and other intelligent electronic devices used in substations.

Smart Meters and Grid Modernization: A Guide to a Successful AMI Implementation

A major component of many plans is smart meters that make up an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system. To be a successful component of a plan, care must be taken in the planning, process development, implementation, and integration of the AMI system to ensure the utility’s goals and vision are met.

Reskilling the Utility Workforce

Reskilling. Upskilling. Downskilling. It’s no coincidence that the buzzwords around workforce development all contain the word skills, which the World Economic Forum calls the “currency of 21st century.” Whether it’s data analysis and visualization or problem solving and creativity, the fluidity and asymmetry of work in the coming age of automation will demand a versatile and talented bench of workers who can engage fluently in complex tasks, many of which will be unlike—and even completely unconnected to—their initial training or certification in their respective field. The companies of the future will flexibly select and position talent based on strategy and vision, not role; the worker of the future will need a skill base, that ability to apply know-how and practices in varied settings, that can keep pace.

Workforce Transformation: Powering the Utility of the Future

Virtually every component of the utility industry—the business models, the technology, the customer experience, et al.—is currently experiencing transformation. With nearly $800 billion dollars in grid infrastructure and operations investments expected over the next decade, the notion of dynamic wide-scale change is no longer merely an over-used and under-defined buzzword; it is fast becoming the primary work of utility companies.

Grid Modernization for Public Power and Cooperatives

More than 2,000 communities in the United States are served by public power utilities. These utilities typically provide electric, water, or gas service. Similarly, there are over 900 electric cooperatives that cover more than half of the nation’s landmass and serve more than 40 million people. Both public power utilities and electric cooperatives are vital parts of local economies, as they have a strong focus on serving their communities. Electric power grid and water services are delivery systems that interface to each home and business in a community. Historically, the utilities’ primary concern was the delivery of reliable power and water to its customers. However, the utility landscape is changing due to technical and societal drivers.

Wide Area Protection Coordination Studies Study Methodology, Benefits, and ConEd Experience