Performance evaluation of phasor measurement systems

After two decades of phasor network deployment, phasor measurements are now available at many major substations and power plants. The North American SynchroPhasor Initiative (NASPI), supported by the US Department of Energy and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), provides a forum to facilitate cultivating the efforts in phasor technology in North America and globally. Phasor applications have been explored and some are in today’s utility practice. The IEEE C37.118 Standard is a milestone in standardizing phasor measurements and defining performance requirements. To comply with the IEEE C37.118 and to better understand the impact of phasor quality on applications, the NASPI Performance and Standards Task Team (PSTT) has prepared two comprehensive documents which leverage prior industry work (esp. in WECC) and international experience. The first document describes PMU testing based on both IEEE C37.118 requirements and required dynamic performance tests. The second document describes characterization of PMUs and instrumentation channels based on practical information. This paper summarizes the accomplished PSTT work and presents the methods for phasor measurement evaluation to assure consistent PMU system performance.