Information Technology Needs and Trends in the Electric Power Business Mladen Kezunovic Texas A&M University PS ERC Industrial Advisory Board Meeting December.

Information Technology Needs and Trends in the Electric Power

Business

Mladen KezunovicTexas A&M University

PSERC

Industrial Advisory Board MeetingDecember 6-7, 2001

2

PSERCOpening Remarks

What are the pressing IT needs: - data integration and information exchange What are the promising IT trends: - real-time processing, fault-tolerant architectures,

wireless communications and mobile agent computing

Can IT play a major role in providing greater security:

- Yes, both through using public networks and implementing customized (closed) solutions

3

PSERC

ISO Open system Requirements and IT Needs

• Access to network monitoring data• Access to relevant databases• Ability to understand possible

contingencies/risks/limits associated with particular energy transactions

• Coordination of maintenance schedules for improved generation and network availability and reliability

4

PSERCTechnician

SummaryReport

ComprehensiveReport

System Users

Brief Report

Engineer Dispatcher Technician

according to the need of a particular category of users. Reports are disseminated via etc.

5

PSERC

The IT’s Role in Implementing Open Systems

Concept for EMS

• Power system monitoring, control and protection infrastructure is still “closed” for data integration and information exchange with EMS

• Old, substation legacy solutions, need to be substituted with open systems

• New applications are needed to fully motivate and utilize open systems

6

PSERCExisting Infrastructure

CFL MS PE EMS

LMS

FL

IS SC

RC

DFR IED DPR RTU SOE

A S A S A AS AS AS

LEVEL ICENTRALIZED

LOCATION

LEVEL IISUBSTATION

LEVEL IIISWITCHYARD

INTERFACE

7

PSERC

Mobile AgentServer

System wideanalysis

COMTRADEIEC 61850

Email, Fax, Hosting,WWW, Pager Notification

IntranetInternet

Wide-area networks(hubs, routers, gateways)

SER

DFR

GPS

Substation Analysis and Control

DDR

IED

RTUDPR

System widecontrol

SER

DFR

GPS

Substation Analysis and Control

DDR

IED

RTUDPR

Future Infrastructure

8

PSERCMaintenance Scheduling

In a deregulated environment:1. GENCO and DISCO Submit the initial

schedules to ISO2. ISO may approve or disapprove the

schedules

schedule schedule

response response

9

PSERCMaintenance Scheduling

In a deregulated environment:1. GENCO and DISCO Submit the initial

schedules to ISO2. ISO may approve or disapprove the

schedules

schedule schedule

response response

10

PSERCDifficulties

• Diverse ownership of the equipment

• Distributed information among multiple entities

• Communication and coordination among market participants

11

PSERC

Requirement on New Method

• Work on heterogeneous hardware platforms and operating systems.

• Able to authenticate and authorize the users. • Provide secure communicate channels in the

cases that the public network is used to connect the GENCO and the ISO.

• Integrate with the existing systems well.

12

PSERCNew Method

• Each GENCO is represented by an agent• The agent is traveling between the GENCO

and the ISO to exchange information• Agents can adjust their acts to adapt the

changed situation• Some negotiation algorithm can be used to

control the action of agents

13

PSERC

Substation Automation IT Needs

• Wireless communications: - enable introduction of new IEDs - provide required robustness - facilitate data integration• Mobile agent computing: - facilitates use of distributed databases - enables integration of legacy systems - provides effective means of information

exchange

14

PSERC

Substation Automation IT Needs (continued)

• Real-time processing:

- smart sensors

- analog/digitals signals processing

- “continuous” data processing• Fault-tolerant architectures:

- substation/device applications

- distributed data bases

- alternative communication paths

15

PSERC

Data collection zones for protection functionsin a typical transmission substation

Data forline protection

Data fortransformer protection

Data forbus protection

Transformer

Line

Bus

16

PSERCDistributed System

TR 1640 TR 100TR 1620

.

Report ViewerReport Viewer

Viewerinvoked

Reportreceived

Datadisplayed

New event detected

Event is copied

Event is analyzed

Event is copied

Event isarchived

Databasequeried

Requestprocessed

CentralCentralServerServer

SubstationSubstationClientClient

17

PSERC

Fig 7. Report Viewer Displays Waveform Plot for Event # 617

Example of Report Viewer

18

PSERC

IT role in providing greater security

• Intrusion detection and attack mitigation• Redundancy capability for supporting

enhanced tolerance to failures• Ability to dynamically reconfigure and/or

switch data sources• Graceful degradation for reduced

functionality and fail-safe provision for forced system shut down