Latency Characterization of a Wide Area Monitoring Protection and Control Application in the Italian Transmission System

In current power systems, Phasor Measurement Units and Phasor Data Concentrators are the main elements of the Wide Area Monitoring System. Transmission Systems Operators (TSOs) are interested in upgrading the monitoring system to implement Wide Area Monitoring Protection and Control (WAMPAC) applications. In this context, the time constraints are critical, so latency of WAMPAC systems needs to be properly considered and characterized. Following this necessity, this paper explores the latency characteristics of a WAMPAC prototype developed by the Italian TSO through an ad-hoc real-time characterization system specifically designed. The instrument is firstly metrologically characterized and then used for an experimental campaign in a real-world WAMPAC.