2012 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference

This paper proposes a multi-agent based control system for real-time and adaptive Volt/VAR Optimization (VVO) and Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) in Smart Substations. The design and implementation of the proposed distributed control system using agent technology is discussed in the paper. Furthermore, the architecture, tasks and limits of each Intelligent Agent (IA) as a component of a multi... View full abstract»

The Distributed Network Protocol (DNP) is the communication protocol standard for Electric Power Systems (EPS) and it is a promising communication standard for the Electric Intelligent Devices (IEDs) found in Smart Grids. This paper presents a hardware implementation of the Data Li nk layer specified in version 3.3 of DNP (DNP3). A 100 Mbps Ethernet-based Distributed Network Protocol has also been... View full abstract»

The smart home contains a network that connects home elements like sensors, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), appliances and thermostat. In our previous work, we proposed an approach that used web services to remotely interact with smart home elements in a smart grid environment. These interactions include adjusting the temperature or reading energy consumption. We assumed a smart... View full abstract»

Condition monitoring of smart grid assets in a near real time manner is essential for the success of emerging smart grid applications. Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks (WSANs) are likely to be widely employed in a wide range of smart grid applications due to their various advantages. Transmitting delay-critical data from smart grid assets to the controller base station may require data prioritiz... View full abstract»

High demand for sustainable electric energy makes the use of Distributed Generators (DGs) inevitable for future systems. However, introducing DGs into distribution networks increases fault current levels with potential for causing serious damage to power system apparatus. Increasingly, power quality during fault and recovery periods is also adversely affected. To alleviate these problems, a Static... View full abstract»

This paper presents the design of a load management device for the load management of a distribution network in presence of Electric Vehicles (EV). With a projected EV penetration of up to 50% by 2050, the life expectancy of already overloaded utility transformers and other network assets needs to be investigated to accommodate large penetration of EV loads. This research work has been done in col... View full abstract»

A thorough analysis of the harmonic characteristics of a feeder in the London Hydro distribution system is presented in this paper. This feeder interconnects several solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays as well as two shunt capacitor banks. Harmonic measurements were acquired over one week at critical locations in the feeder. The analysis highlights higher than expected harmonic distortion levels, thoug... View full abstract»

The use of wireless technologies in high voltage environments is increasing with the growing need for monitoring and preventive maintenance in electricity utilities. The feasibility of deploying wireless technologies in high voltage environments such as substations is addressed in this paper. High voltage substations are different from common area due to the presence of many metallic structures ca... View full abstract»

Sub-synchronous resonance is a phenomenon in which electrical energy is exchanged between generators and transmission systems below the nominal power frequency (50/60Hz). It can be caused due to many reasons such as interaction of a series compensated transmission line with a synchronous generator, interaction of a generator with a power electronic controller in HVDC transmission system, interacti... View full abstract»

It is critically important to understand steady-state and dynamic performance of phasor measurement units (PMUs) to ensure reliable and secure operation of the synchrophasor based wide area monitoring, control, and protection systems. The recently published IEEE Standard C37.118.1 provides necessary guidelines to characterize both steady-state and dynamic performance of a PMU. This paper presents ... View full abstract»

This research presents the electrical performance of metal-oxide surge arresters with polymeric housing, applied on the power distribution network, as a function of the physical-chemical degradation which over the time they are exposed. The surge arresters are submitted to an immersion test/aging in water with sodium chloride at 90°C for three months, in order to simulate about 20 years of ... View full abstract»

In this paper a new islanding detection technique for grid-mode distributed-generation (DG) is proposed. Twenty one features are extracted from measurement of the voltage and frequency at the point of common coupling (PCC) in order to identify islanding occurrence with high accuracy. An IEEE 34-bus system was used in this paper to generate islanding and non-islanding training cases. Then a Support... View full abstract»

The unit size optimization analysis for a typical IT company is performed considering hybrid wind - solar systems. The stochastic effects in all the parameters in the optimization models are taken into consideration for estimating power reliability. While weibull distributions are representatives of wind speed and solar insolation data, normal distributions are assumed for hourly load variations. ... View full abstract»

Sizing the physical components, choosing proper brands, setting the optimal operation parameters, and the computation time are crucial issues when designing a diesel-hybrid renewable energy system. In this paper, a variant of one of the conventional methods used for designing and configuring these systems is proposed. This variant employs a hybrid genetic algorithm resulting in a time-efficient se... View full abstract»

Traditionally, electricity networks are dimensioned on peak demand. This is inevitable due to the fact that storage of substantial amounts of electricity is technically and economically infeasible. As a result, a vast amount of currently unused network capacity is available. When this could be used, much more energy could be transported with the same network so that investments on network reinforc... View full abstract»

The increasing demand especially in intensive industrial energy sectors dictates the development of smarter energy management systems. Industrial customers need to understand their energy consumption for the purpose of reducing energy costs, improving company ecological profile, and suggestive feedback scheduling. In this study, an industrial facility was used to demonstrate the importance of mana... View full abstract»

`Smart Grid' is an initiative to modernize the existing electric power system, which is envisioned to be integrating necessary devices for its most efficient operation. One such operation is increasing electric power flow in existing transmission lines with the use of a goal-oriented SMART power flow controller (SPFC). A SPFC controls the flows of active power and reactive power in a transmission ... View full abstract»

This paper evaluates the performance of a demand response (DR) system, installed in the remote community of Hartley Bay, British Columbia, which is used to reduce fuel consumption during periods of peak loads and poor fuel efficiency. The DR system, installed to shed load during these periods, is capable of shedding up to 15 per cent of maximum demand by adjusting wireless variable thermostats and... View full abstract»

Insulation resistance (IR) or Megger test has been commonly performed in both preventive and corrective maintenance activities to verify power transformers' insulation condition. Other insulation diagnosis tests such as oil breakdown voltage (BDV), water content and dissolved-gas-in-oil analysis have been conducted along with the IR test. In this paper, a prediction model is developed to correlate... View full abstract»

In this paper, investigations are carried out to explore the impact of generator distance phase backup protection (Relay (21)) on the generator overexcitation thermal capability. These investigations have included the performance of Relay (21) when it is set to provide thermal backup for the generator during two common system disturbances, namely a system fault and a sudden application of a large ... View full abstract»

In this paper, grounding resistance is measured using grid and rods near Gadong substation of Brunei Darussalam. The soil resistivity is measured near the testing site and the fall-of-potential method is used to measure the grounding resistance. The minimum value of the grounding resistance for grid with four rods is found to be 7.08Ω. The CYME GRD software is used to find the simulation re... View full abstract»