Current Status and Experience of WAMS Implementation in North America

The 15 years of successful implementation of Wide-Area Measurement Systems (WAMS) in the WECC power grid have shown significant value of WAMS data in system dynamic modeling and validation, FACTS control validation and pilot implementations of wide area protection schemes. The August 14 2003 blackout in the eastern interconnection of the North America revealed the urgent need for wide-area information acquisition for better power grid operations. The Eastern Interconnection Phasor Project (EIPP) was launched in 2003 to deploy a WAMS system in the eastern interconnection. Development of IEEE C37.118, a standard for phasor data acquisition and transmission, will aid in deployment of phasor measurement systems for WAMS applications. Technologies of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) with high precision time synchronization and Phasor Data Concentrators (PDCs) for phasor data aggregation and event recording are key to the success of WAMS implementation. This paper reviews the WAMS development in the North America and presents current and potential WAMS applications including dynamic modeling and validation and wide-area control. Past experience shows a promising future of WAMS in improving power system planning, operation and control. However, there remain challenges to make phasor measurement consistent and to meet both slow and fast data application needs.