The VAR-Voltage Management Software Tool provides a multi-dimensional, geographically-oriented, visual depiction of system voltage levels across an entire interconnection area and displays reactive reserves available at critical grid locations.  The same display also includes sensitivity calculations that determine the system's distance from voltage collapse and remedial action options to prevent collapse.  This visualization application provides operators and reliability coordinators with a single tool they can use to recognize early warning signals, diagnose potential problems, and maneuver the system to a safer operating region before a major reliability event can occur.  Recently, the tool was enhanced to incorporate, test, and validate various state-of-the-art algorithms (such as the direct method and boundary orbiting method) that have been under research at universities and national laboratories to perform voltage security assessment analyses closer to real-time.  The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has entered into an agreement with a vendor to produce a commercial grade voltage security assessment tool that is based on the VAR-Voltage Management prototype, which was developed by the Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS).

Synchronized Phasor Measurement Tool takes data snapshots of system voltage, current, and frequency 30 times per second and time-synchronizes these measurements with the Global Positioning System (GPS) timing function.  This allows grid operators to see dynamic conditions on the grid such as power oscillations and the rate of change of frequency and phase angles that are not visible with today's monitoring technology, which currently can only take this snapshot once every 4 seconds.  This tool provides operators a more accurate picture so they can verify that their systems are in fact operating within safe margins.  This information is critical to supporting higher regional and inter-regional electricity transfers while also maintaining grid reliability.  Working with transmission system operators, DOE has demonstrated interconnection-wide sharing of real time information from phasor measurement technologies.  DOE has also worked with CERTS to build and install the first real time visualization application that uses phasor measurement data to provide an interconnection-wide view of the grid and also has the capability to monitor and assess grid stress in real time.  In the Western Interconnection, major transmission providers transfer phasor data to the CAISO data concentrator for archiving and display.  The Eastern Interconnection feeds phasor data from its network to a prototype workstation at the Tennessee Valley Authority.  These visualization applications are undergoing prototype testing by 29 organizations in the eastern and western interconnections.  In 2007, the project was renamed the North American SynchroPhasor Initiative (NASPI) and aims to establish a phasor network in all North American interconnections.  To learn more about this exciting technology, visit http://www.naspi.org/.

Wide-Area Real-Time Resource Adequacy (ACE-Frequency) - Monitoring System
This application provides the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) 16 reliability coordinators and more than 38 control area operators (Balancing Authorities) with immediate alerts that the balance between generation and load has deviated significantly from scheduled values in specific control areas, and provides the location and amount of this deviation.  This simultaneous alert to reliability coordinators and operators allows them to work together to implement corrective action and move the system back to normal conditions.  It is also being used by NERC Reliability Subcommittees and Working Groups for reliability performance tracking, analysis, and resources inadequacy post-assessment.  The application creates wide-area, real-time, geo-graphical displays of the power grid using data generated every four seconds from more than 100 control areas in the United States.  This common visualization of the system is then made available to all 16 reliability coordinators in the Eastern and Western Interconnections.  The underlying data immediately lets the coordinators know when an area is out of compliance with NERC reliability based control standards, which are designed to ensure the reliable supply of electricity.  Identification and alert of generation control and frequency abnormalities allows operators to quickly identify the balancing authorities where the violation occurred in time to address the situation and ward off unplanned outages.  Before DOE developed, prototyped and assisted NERC in installing this tool in 2002, this type of system performance analysis took months to compile from archived data, and offered only retrospective solutions, rather than immediate corrective actions that are possible today.  DOE/CERTS has conducted initial training sessions for reliability coordinators on the resource adequacy (ACE-frequency) monitoring system and continues training for reliability coordinators, FERC, and operators to ensure their familiarity and utilization of the tool's full capabilities.  This tool serves NERC reliability coordinators as both a reliability standards compliance monitor, and a wide-area alert system to prevent or limit the type of cascading event that led to the August 14, 2003 blackout.