Computers: Controlling and optimizing power systems: Economic dispatch, stability, security, and reliable system operation are principal tasks for the computer

Computer-oriented power system control as the wave of the future is represented by new control centers equipped with multiprocessor real-time computers and high-speed data acquisition systems. In a given center, more than a hundred programs are likely to be on call to run in response to changing power system conditions or dispatchers' requests, performing a multitude of monitoring, logging, display, analyzing, and control functions. Only a few of these computer-oriented dispatch centers are presently in operation, but many more are in the construction or planning stage and the trend is industry-wide.