EET&D : What were the main drivers in your decision to work with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)?

Karim : PG&E has been an Alstom EMS customer for many years using our core product e-terraplatform to manage their grid. It was a natural progression to include the new suite of PMU-based applications to augment their EMS.

EET&D : Can you tell us something about Phase I of the synchrophasor project?

Karim : Phase 1 consisted of several deliverables to PG&E’s Proof of Concept facility. We deployed the openPDC – phasor data concentrator – to collect and align PMU data. Our full suite of synchrophasor applications were integrated into our existing EMS solution, enabling us to improve the accuracy of our State Estimator by accessing PMU data. We also integrated an advanced Dispatcher Training Simulator to help train PG&E operators on the new tools.

EET&D : Is the solution limited in any way? Does a utility have to be a certain size before the technology can be applied?

Karim : The solution is not limited or constrained by utility size. It can be applied to a smaller utility with just a few PMUs as we have done in Iceland, or could be as large as 1200 PMUs for a very large national grid like we are doing in India and the Western US.

EET&D : Please explain how Phase II will work?

Karim : Phase II is about moving from proof-of-concept (POC) to a hardened production system. Measurement-based PMU applications in e-terraphasorpoint will be integrated with the model-based EMS applications and DSA tools to provide decision support tools in PG&E’s control room.

EET&D : How well would you expect Alstom’s Grid Stability Package to perform in a utility in Tornado or Hurricane alley where blackouts and system failures are most common?

Karim : PMU data are typically received in the EMS via channels that are different from the RTU data. So there is some physical backup here. In fact, at Entergy during Hurricane Katrina, the RTU data were lost but the PMU data continued to give them grid visibility for a while.

The high-fidelity synchrophasor data provides early detection of events, so this helps accelerate reconnection and restoration of service.

EET&D : Is installation of Phases I and II dependant on the age of the utility’s existing system/How adaptable is the EMS to systems already in place?

Karim : Phases 1 and 2 can be installed at virtually any utility regardless of the EMS system they use. The PMU measurement-based applications in e-terraphasorpoint have well-defined standard industry interfaces for integration with any existing EMS, and the system offers a unified visualization of EMS and PMU information via e-terravision.

EET&D : What impact, if any, will the program have on a utility’s ability to integrate renewable energies into the grid?

Karim : Our Grid Stability Package monitors grid conditions at a sub-second rate – much faster than SCADA. Installing PMUs at the terminals of the renewable resources - where they tie into the grid – will enable much quicker determination of the highly variable and unpredictable output changes which are typical of wind and solar generation. The PMU measurement-based voltage and oscillatory stability monitoring capabilities can identify imminent stability issues, which when coupled with sub-second control actions can therefore greatly improve utilities’ ability to integrate renewable energies into the grid.

EET&D : Can Synchrophasor Grid Monitoring be applied to a rural co-op situation involving multiple utilities?

Karim : Yes. The concept of wide area monitoring across multiple utilities is the fundamental basis of our Grid Stability Package. It can be deployed for a single utility or across several utilities, as is the case with Peak RC, the Reliability Coordinator for the Western Interconnection Bulk Electric System, where they are using Alstom software to monitor system conditions at all times across the region.

EET&D : In a cost sensitive environment, is this cost effective?

Karim : The PMU itself is not very expensive. The overall cost is really dependent on the network communication system. If already in place, the incremental cost is low. Furthermore, most modern relays and disturbance fault recorders (DFRs) have inbuilt PMU capabilities, which further reduces the deployment costs.

EET&D : Karim, we really appreciate your taking this time to speak with us. It’s a very busy time for you and, indeed, in the life of smart grid going forward.

About the Author

Karim El Naggar is Vice President of the Alstom Grid Network Management Solutions product line. He held the same position at Areva T&D, from 2009 until the company was acquired by Alstom in 2011. Today, he has worldwide responsibility for all Network Management business including: Transmission, Distribution, Energy Market and Demand Response, Smart Grid software solutions, Telecom solutions for Utilities and Energy Market Participants, as well as SCADA software solutions for Oil & Gas.

Early in his career, Karim held various positions in Product Management, Supply Chain and Information Systems, as well as Project Management, in France, East Asia and Egypt. His extensive Telecom background comes from having worked over 12 years in the Mobile Communication Industry. This includes being named Vice President of the Circuit Core Switching Product Line within Alcatel in 2005, before heading the Wimax Product Line of Alcatel-Lucent from 2006 to 2009. Karim holds both a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School (USA) and a Master’s in Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris (France).