Wide-area, real-time monitoring and visualization system

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.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wide-area real-time performance monitoring computer system for monitoring events on an interconnected electric power grid in real time over a wide area and for analyzing the events on the interconnected electric power grid, the computer system comprising:
 one or more computers including an interface for receiving a plurality of data streams, each of the data streams comprising sub-second, time stamped synchronized phasor measurements wherein the measurements in each stream are collected in real time at geographically distinct points over the wide area of the interconnected electric power grid;   one or more interfaces to receive grid data from other power system data sources, the other power system data sources comprising at least one of transmission maps, power plant locations, EMS/SCADA systems, or one-line diagrams to map the events to specific locations; and   one or more interfaces to non-grid data sources for receiving non-grid data,   wherein the one or more computers are configured to monitor metrics, the metrics comprising at least one of reliability metrics, power grid operations metrics, generation metrics and transmission metrics, over the wide area of the interconnected electric power grid,   wherein the one or more computers are configured to detect the events in real-time from the plurality of data streams from the wide area and to enable an analysis of what if scenarios in accordance with the events,   wherein the one or more computers are configured to display a plurality of dynamic stability metrics via a graphical user interface coupled to the one or more monitor computers, the derived dynamic stability metrics including at least one of frequency instability, voltages, power flows, phase angles, damping, or oscillation modes,   wherein the other power system data sources comprise tracking data, historical data, prediction data, and summary data, and   wherein the one or more computers are configured to receive and accumulate the data from the data streams, the dynamic stability metrics, grid data, non-grid data, and EMS data in real time as to wide area and local area portions of the interconnected electric power grid.   
     
     
         2 . The performance monitoring computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more monitor computers are further configured to identify power grid events, and to display the event analysis results using the graphical user interface. 
     
     
         3 . The performance monitoring computer system of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more computers are configured to determine whether an event took place by determining whether one or more limits, sensitivities, and rates of change of one or more of the measurements from the data streams and the dynamic stability metrics crosses a threshold or pre-established margin and, when the at least one of the monitored metrics crosses the threshold in a local area portion of the wide area or across the wide area of the interconnected electric power grid, to identify at least one of a control area, a transmission company, a utility, a regional reliability coordinator, or a reliability jurisdiction responsible for the local and/or wide portion of the interconnected electric power grid in which the threshold is crossed. 
     
     
         4 . The performance monitoring computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computers are coupled to a global computer network for receiving the plurality of data streams from the wide area, the data streams further comprising power system data and third party data streams, and
 wherein the performance monitoring computer system is configured to store data associated with the events and to replay the stored data on the graphical user interface for power grid system performance assessment, event diagnostics, root cause analysis of events and situational assessment of dynamic stability of the interconnected electric power grid in real time.   
     
     
         5 . The performance monitoring computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the wide area comprises a geographic area comprising one or more cities, counties, states, or countries. 
     
     
         6 . The performance monitoring computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computers are configured to enable a user to drill down and to visualize the metrics displayed on the graphical user interface at various geographical resolutions ranging from wide-area to local-area and to map event location by displaying phase measurement units associated with events on a transmission map. 
     
     
         7 . The performance monitoring computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computers are configured to activate an alarm when an event is detected in at least one metric of the monitored metrics and/or the derived metrics or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The performance monitoring computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computers are configured to provide a notification when an event is detected. 
     
     
         9 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more computers are configured to display notifications using at least one of on-screen messages, floating windows, pop-up windows, or dialog boxes. 
     
     
         10 . The computer system of  claim 1  wherein the one or more computers are configured to display one or more composite indicators of reliability that are indicators of power grid vulnerability and received from the non-grid data sources. 
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical user interface is configured to be displayed in a web browser. 
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the web browser is configured to run on a monitor computer of the one or more monitor computers. 
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more computers are arranged in a client-server environment. 
     
     
         14 . A method of detecting events on an interconnected electric power grid in real time over a wide area and automatically analyzing the events on the interconnected electric power grid, the method comprising:
 receiving a plurality of data streams, each of the data streams comprising sub-second, time stamped synchronized phasor measurements wherein the measurements in each data stream are collected in real time at geographically distinct points over the wide area of the interconnected electric power grid;   receiving grid data from other power system data sources, the other power system data sources comprising at least one of transmission maps, power plant locations, or EMS/SCADA systems, or one-line diagrams to map the events to specific locations;   receiving data from one or more non-grid data sources;   detecting events in real-time from the plurality of data streams from the wide area based on at least one of limits, sensitivities, margins, deviations, aggregations, or rates of change for one or more measurements from the data streams and dynamic stability metrics derived from analyzing the measurements from the data streams, the measurements comprising frequency instability, voltages, power flows, phase angles, damping, and oscillation modes, the measurements being derived from the phasor measurements and the grid data in which the dynamic stability metrics are indicative of events, grid stress, or grid instability, over the wide area;   displaying on the graphical user interface the dynamic stability metrics directed to the wide area of the interconnected electric power grid in maps, tables, charts, or combinations thereof, along with data comprising at least one of monitoring data, tracking data, historical data, prediction data, or summary data; and   accumulating the measurements from the data streams and the dynamic stability metrics, grid data, non-grid data, and EMS data in real time as to wide area and local area portions of the interconnected electric power grid.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 analyzing the measurements from the data streams and the dynamic stability metrics; and   displaying the results of analyzing the measurements from the data streams and the dynamic stability metrics.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 determining whether an event took place by analyzing whether one or more limits, sensitivities, and rates of change of one or more of the measurements from the data streams and the dynamic stability metrics crosses a threshold; and   when the at least one of the measurements from the data streams and the dynamic stability metrics crosses the threshold in a local area portion of the wide area or across the wide area of the interconnected electric power grid, identifying at least one of a control area, a transmission company, a utility, a regional reliability coordinator, or a reliability jurisdiction responsible for the local and/or wide portion of the interconnected electric power grid in which the threshold is crossed.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving data from the wide area over a global computer network or cloud, and   storing and replaying event data for power grid system performance assessment, event diagnostics, root cause analysis of events and situational assessment of dynamic stability of the interconnected electric power grid in real time.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the wide area comprises a geographic area comprising one or more cities, counties, states, or countries. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising enabling a user to drill down and visualize the metrics displayed on a graphical user interface at various geographical resolutions ranging from wide-area to local-area. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising activating an alarm when an event is detected in at least one metric of the measurements from the data streams and the dynamic stability metrics or combinations thereof utilizing a composite event logic technique. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising generating a notification when an event is detected. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising storing phasor measurements and a plurality of derived metrics in a database. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising storing in the database the dynamic stability metrics associated with a detected event and allowing a user to query the database for event data by type, location, and history of metrics. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising storing in the database the phasor measurements, a plurality of detected events, and the plurality of derived metrics in real time. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising deriving a composite indicator of reliability that is an indicator of at least one aspect of power grid vulnerability and is derived from a combination of one or more real time measurements or computations of measurements from the data streams, the dynamic stability metrics covering the wide area, and non-power grid data received from the non-grid data source. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the displaying the event analysis results and associated ones of the metrics from different categories of data and the derived metrics in tables, charts, or combinations thereof comprises displaying the tables, charts, or combinations thereof in a web browser. 
     
     
         27 . A wide area monitoring and analysis system for the electric power grid, the system comprising:
 a processor;   a memory accessible by the processor;   a graphical user interface coupled to the processor;   wherein the processor is configured to receive a stream of time stamped synchronized phasor measurements collected from remote and geographically distinct points on the electric power grid located in separate control areas, and to receive grid data, non-grid data, and EMS data;   wherein the processor is further configured to:
 provide a plurality of dynamic stability metrics from the phasor measurements from the data streams across the wide area; 
 accumulate the data from the data streams, the dynamic stability metrics, the grid data, the non-grid data, and the EMS data in real time as to wide area and local area portions of the interconnected electric power grid; 
 concurrently display grid data and non-grid data on the graphical user interface, including user-selectable views of wide area and local area; 
 detect events on the electric power grid based on the dynamic stability metrics; 
 provide a notification if at least one of the derived dynamic stability metrics crosses a corresponding predetermined threshold. 
   
     
     
         28 . The wide area monitoring and analysis system of  claim 27 , wherein the processor is further configure to present overlays of grid data and non-grid data in real-time on the graphical user interface. 
     
     
         29 . The wide area monitoring and analysis system of  claim 27 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether an event took place by analyzing whether one or more limits, sensitivities, and rates of change of one or more of the measurements from the data streams and the dynamic stability metrics crosses a threshold or pre-established margin. 
     
     
         30 . The wide area monitoring and analysis system of  claim 27 , wherein the processor is further configured to store data associated with the events and to replay the stored data on the graphical user interface for power grid performance assessment, event diagnostics, root cause analysis of events and situational assessment of dynamic stability of the electric power grid in real time.