Wide-Area Damping Control Proof-of-Concept

The primary objective of this project is to design and demonstrate a prototype control system for damping inter-area oscillations in large-scale interconnected power systems. This is a collaborative effort involving the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Sandia National Laboratories, and Montana Tech University. The damping control strategy employs real power injections at strategically located points in the grid based upon real-time Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) feedback. A key element of the control strategy is a high-level supervisory controller that monitors the behavior of the power system, the PMU network, and the real-time control loop to ensure safe and reliable damping performance. The project team is investigating two promising actuation schemes for injecting real power into the grid.  One scheme centers on modulating the active power flow through the Pacific DC Intertie (PDCI) and has advanced to the demonstration phase. The other scheme centers on modulating real power injections from distributed energy storage systems and is currently in the analysis phase. Since the system incorporates real-time PMU measurements, an important part of the effort includes the development of control algorithms that are robust to variations in network performance (e.g., latencies, dropped messages). The BPA Technology Innovation Program, the DOE Transmission Reliability Program, and the DOE Energy Storage Program provide financial support for this project.