Introduction: The Role of Wide Area Monitoring Systems in Dynamic Vulnerability Assessment

This chapter presents a general overview of concepts related to power system vulnerability assessment and phasor measurement technology and subsequently highlights the fundamental relationship between these in modern control centers. Wide area monitoring systems (WAMS) permit access to distributed phasor measurements throughout the network by means of adequately located phasor measurement units (PMUs). For this purpose, in addition to PMUs, advanced signal processing algorithms, specialized communication systems, and a real time dynamic infrastructure are required. The post‐contingency data offer a new framework for system vulnerability assessment that is known as dynamic vulnerability assessment (DVA), which is oriented to coordinating corrective control actions. In this connection, a Wide Area Monitoring System (WAMS), based on synchrophasor technology, constitutes the basic infrastructure for implementing a comprehensive scheme for carrying out real time DVA and afterwards executing real time protection and control actions.