Local- and wide-area network protection systems improve power system reliability

Increasing demands on electricity supply, with the need for system economic optimization and power system growth limitations, have a significant impact on power system reliability. When the system operates in extreme conditions, load shedding, generation shedding, or system islanding must occur to prevent total system collapse. Typical causes of system collapse are voltage instability or transient angle instability. New monitoring, protection, and communications technologies allow us to implement economical local- and wide-area protection systems that minimize risk of wide-area system disruptions or total system collapse. This paper presents solutions that use programmable logic capabilities, faster communications, and synchronized phasor measurements available in meters and protective relays to prevent system disruptions.