Asset Management & Maintenance
Smart Grid and Aging Infrastructure
Storm Hardening Utility Communications
Asset Management & Maintenance
Smart Substations and Their Role in the Evolving Smart Grid
A Smart substation digitizes protection and control, enabling utilities to detect faults faster, manage DER volatility, and reduce outage risk. The payoff depends on architecture, cybersecurity, and edge analytics, not just new relays.
The shift toward smart substations is inseparable from broader grid modernization, renewable integration, and rising resilience requirements. Utilities are no longer operating in a predictable, one-directional power flow model. Distributed energy resources, bidirectional load behavior, and electrification pressures demand substations that can...
Related Articles
Storm Hardening Utility Communications
Save money and increase reliability. BY JEFF GROSSHAUSER, Motorola Preparing for winter is more than just a seasonal ritual for utility providers. Electricity and gas must still power cities during violent snowstorms and extreme cold. Arguably, that power is never more needed than when extreme...
Improving Grid Cyber Security
Addressing the impacts and the drawbacks BY ELIZAVETA MALASHENKO, CHRIS VILLARREAL, & J. DAVID ERICKSON, California Public Utilities Commission With grid modernization or “Smart Grid” efforts underway, cyber security is being recognized as an increasingly important factor in ensuring...
Hardening the Power Grid
How to improve reliability by hardening the power grid BY BO ZENG, WEI YUAN & LONG ZHAO, University of South Florida North America relies heavily on its interconnected power grid. Throughout its history, the grid has provided years of reliable electricity to 300 million people to power home...
A Grid With Multiple Applications
Examining the foundational elements in architecture decision BY TOM WILSON, Itron In recent years, the utility industry has seen a diverse set of use cases for Smart Grid deployments emerge. North American electric utilities are carefully considering architecture decisions to ensure that the...
Smart Substations and Their Role in the Evolving Smart Grid
A Smart substation digitizes protection and control, enabling utilities to detect faults faster, manage DER volatility, and reduce outage risk. The payoff depends on architecture, cybersecurity, and edge analytics, not just new relays. The shift toward smart substations is inseparable from broader...
Unlocking More Value from Wind Energy Through Smart Monitoring
As the global demand for renewable energy intensifies, wind farms are emerging as pivotal players in the transition to sustainable power sources. In 2023, the wind industry added a remarkable 117 gigawatts (GW) of global capacity, underscoring its growing significance in the energy landscape....
FERC Complaint Targets Duke, PJM Transmission Planning
A coalition of large energy consumers and ratepayer advocates has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging the agency to prohibit transmission owners from independently planning "local" transmission projects exceeding 100 kilovolts (kV). The coalition argues...
Advanced Sensor Technologies for Intelligent Transformers and Substations
In the evolving landscape of power grid management, integrating advanced sensor technologies in intelligent transformers and substations is revolutionizing monitoring and control. These sensors provide real-time data collection and analysis, significantly improving asset management and fault...
Smart Transformers: Enhancing Grid Efficiency and Reliability
The evolving demands of modern power grids necessitate the adoption of advanced technologies that can provide enhanced efficiency, reliability, and flexibility. Smart transformers are at the forefront of this technological revolution, offering a range of capabilities that significantly improve the...
The End of the Road for Transmission Incentives
In a significant shift, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has decided to abandon its transmission incentives policy, particularly the construction work in progress (CWIP) incentives. This decision marks a pivotal change in how transmission projects are financed and regulated,...