Real-time performance monitoring and management system

• US 20050033481A1
• Filed: 08/09/2004
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electric Power Group LLC
• Original Assignee: Electric Power Group LLC
• Inventors: Budhraja, Vikram S., Martinez Morales, Carlos A., Dyer, James D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,233,843 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/286
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/133 by using digital technique
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00001 characterised by the display of information or by user interaction, e.g. supervisory control and data acquisition systems [SCADA] or graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00002 characterised by monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00034 the elements or equipment being or involving an electric power substation
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2203/20 Simulating, e g planning, reliability check, modelling or computer assisted design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/003 Load forecast, e.g. methods or systems for forecasting future load demand
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/008 involving trading of energy or energy transmission rights
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/30 State monitoring, e.g. fault, temperature monitoring, insulator monitoring, corona discharge
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/40 Display of information, e.g. of data or controls
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/10 Energy trading, including energy flowing from end-user application to grid

Abstract

A real-time performance monitoring system for monitoring an electric power grid. The electric power grid has a plurality of grid portions, each grid portion corresponding to one of a plurality of control areas. The real-time performance monitoring system includes a monitor computer for monitoring at least one of reliability metrics, generation metrics, transmission metrics, suppliers metrics, grid infrastructure security metrics, and markets metrics for the electric power grid. The data for metrics being monitored by the monitor computer are stored in a data base, and a visualization of the metrics is displayed on at least one display computer having a monitor. The at least one display computer in one said control area enables an operator to monitor the grid portion corresponding to a different said control area.

Claims

1. A real-time performance monitoring system for monitoring an electric power grid having a plurality of grid portions, each said grid portion corresponding to one of a plurality of control areas, comprising:

a monitor computer for monitoring at least one of reliability metrics, generation metrics, transmission metrics, suppliers metrics, grid infrastructure security metrics, and markets metrics for the electric power grid;

a database for storing the metrics being monitored by the monitor computer; and

at least one display computer having a monitor for displaying a visualization of the metrics being monitored by the monitor computer,

wherein said at least one display computer in one said control area enables an operator to monitor a said grid portion corresponding to a different said control area.

2. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor computer includes an application for monitoring the reliability metrics, and wherein said application performs real-time monitoring of at least one of voltage/VAR (volt-ampere reactive), ACE (area control error)-frequency, and AIE (area interchange error) schedule.

3. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor computer includes an application for monitoring the generation metrics, and wherein said application performs real-time monitoring of at least one of suppliers and control area responses to AGC (automatic generation control), a frequency response, ancillary services and a ramping response.

4. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor computer includes an application for monitoring the grid infrastructure security metrics, and wherein said application performs real-time monitoring of at least one of system vulnerability and exposure in terms of at least one of population and cities.

5. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor computer includes an application for monitoring the markets metrics, wherein said application performs real-time monitoring of at least one of generation market power and price spikes.

6. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the monitor computer and said at least one display computer performs at least one of historical tracking, prediction and actions related to the metrics being monitored.

7. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 6, wherein the monitor displays a visualization of data representing said at least one of historical tracking, prediction and actions related to the metrics being monitored.

8. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 6, wherein the prediction includes at least one of a near real-time forecasting and a “

what if”

sensitivity analysis.

9. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor concurrently displays at least one dynamic geographic display and a plurality of data or text panels for at least one of monitoring, tracking, prediction, actions and mitigations.

10. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring of the metrics can be performed real-time and/or near real-time.

11. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring system utilizes data from or is integrated with at least one of SCADA (Security Control and Data Acquisition), EMS (Energy Management System), PMUs-PDCs (phasor measurement units-phasor data concentrators) and another control power system.

12. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein an operator of at least one of the monitor computer and said at least one display computer can define an application to monitor metrics that the operator desires to monitor.

13. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein a display format of the visualization on the monitor can be customized by the operator.

14. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor computer is a server and said at least one display computer comprises a client in a server-client architecture.

15. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor computer is a dedicated server.

16. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor computer and said at least one display computer communicate with each other in a web environment or over a secure proprietary network.

17. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the operator of said at least one display computer can interactively collect historical data and view a visualization of the historical data in tubular or a customized format.

18. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the operator of said at least one display computer can interactively create data reports from the metrics stored in the database.

19. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor computer monitors proximity to potential system faults, and said at least one display computer graphically represents the proximity to potential system faults on the monitor.

20. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor computer tracks, identifies and saves data on abnormal operating patterns in the database, and the display computer displays a visualization of the abnormal operating patterns on the monitor.

21. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said at least one display computer enables the operator to define a display level to at least one of the electric power grid, one said grid portion and multiple said grid portions.

22. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said at least one display computer enables the operator in one said control area to manage at least one grid portion corresponding to a different said control area.

23. The real-time performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the monitor computer performs wide area monitoring of the electric power grid using SCADA (Security Control and Data Acquisition) data and/or time synchronized data from phasors or other sources.

24. A method of monitoring a performance of an electric power grid in substantially real-time, the electric power grid having a plurality of grid portions, each said grid portion corresponding to one of a plurality of control areas, the method comprising:

monitoring using a monitor computer at least one of reliability metrics, generation metrics, transmission metrics, suppliers metrics, grid infrastructure security metrics, and markets metrics for the electric power grid;

storing the metrics being monitored by the monitor computer in a database; and

displaying a visualization of the metrics being monitored by the monitor computer on a monitor of at least one display computer,

wherein said at least one display computer in one said control area enables an operator to monitor a said grid portion corresponding to a different said control area.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising performing at least one of historical tracking, prediction and actions related to the metrics being monitored.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising displaying on the monitor a visualization of data representing said at least one of historical tracking, prediction and actions related to the metrics being monitored.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising concurrently displaying on the monitor at least one dynamic geographic display and a plurality of data or text panels for at least one of monitoring, tracking, prediction, actions and mitigations.

28. The method of claim 24, further comprising interactively collecting historical data and viewing a visualization of the historical data in tubular or a customized format.

29. The method of claim 24, further comprising interactively creating data reports from the metrics stored in the database.

30. The method of claim 24, further comprising monitoring proximity to potential system faults, and displaying a visualization of the proximity to potential system faults on the monitor.

31. The method of claim 24, further comprising tracking, identifying and saving data on abnormal operating patterns in the database, and displaying a visualization of the abnormal operating patters on the monitor.

32. The method of claim 24, further comprising user-defining a display level to at least one of the electric power grid, one said grid portion and multiple said grid portions.

33. The method of claim 24, further comprising managing from said at least one display computer in one said control area at least one grid portion corresponding to a different said control area.

34. The method of claim 24, wherein said monitoring comprises wide area monitoring of the electric power grid using SCADA (Security Control and Data Acquisition) data and/or time synchronized data from phasors or other sources.

35. A real-time performance monitoring system for monitoring an electric power grid having a plurality of grid portions, each said grid portion corresponding to one of a plurality of control areas, comprising:

means for monitoring at least one of reliability metrics, generation metrics, transmission metrics, suppliers metrics, grid infrastructure security metrics, and markets metrics for the electric power grid;

database means for storing the metrics being monitored by the means for monitoring; and

means for displaying a visualization of the metrics being monitored by the means for monitoring,

wherein said means for displaying in one said control area enables an operator to monitor a said grid portion corresponding to a different said control area.