The Situation Room: Control Center Analytics for Enhanced Situational Awareness

The modern power grid is one of the most complex engineering machines in existence. Its millions of components comprise the entire electricity supply chain, from point of generation to the end consumer. Each of these pieces must work together, reliably, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to power our homes and businesses. In 2001, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering voted to recognize the grid as the supreme engineering achievement of the 20th century. Making matters more complex is the reality that grid conditions are continually changing every second, every minute, and every hour of the day. Changes in demand for electricity necessitate instantaneous changes in electricity production; consequently, voltages, currents, and power flows are dynamically changing at all times across the electricity supply chain.