Grids get smart protection and control

As open transmission access is becoming a reality, a major concern of electric power utilities is to maintain the reliability of the grid. The framework and motivation for development of a multilayered protection and control scheme that starts with local measurement devices and integrated higher-level control schemes into an overall control strategy is presented. The Self-Managing And Reliable Transmission Grid (SMARTGrid) is seen as the best protection and control system. It is an automated system of monitoring, control, and protection devices that improves the reliability of the transmission grid by preventing wide-spread break-ups. It utilizes information technology to improve grid reliability and capability.