Transmission Assets Research Articles

Interruption Cost Estimation for Value-Based Reliability Investment in Emerging Smart Grid Resources

Growing uncertainty in supply and demand in power systems causes significant challenges in maintaining supply reliability at affordable costs. Power grids are expected to undergo substantial transformations to address these challenges with upgrades and integration of emerging smart technologies that require significant investment costs. A value-based reliability assessment of these grid technologies is necessary to justify the worth of these investments. A key parameter required in such an assessment is the cost of power interruptions originating from transmission system failures. The interruption cost data available in published reports and past surveys relate to generation inadequacy since generation facilities comprise the most capital-intensive investment of an electric utility. Customer interruptions due to a lack of generation mainly occur due to generation failures during the peak demand period, whereas interruptions due to transmission component failures can occur at other periods with specific probabilities. This paper presents a methodology to estimate the cost of outages originating from transmission asset failures, which proposes a sector period model for each customer sector to obtain associated demand-normalized interruption costs. The proposed method can also be used to decide investment in grid resiliency enhancement against extreme weather that mainly impacts the grid network facilities.

Energy storage as a transmission asset: Definitions and use cases

There is growing interest in deploying energy storage as a transmission asset (SATA), as evidenced by an evolving body of supportive policies and regulations and an expanding body of literature on the topic. Despite nearly two decades of evolution, however, transmission planning processes in the United States rarely consider storage alternatives and only a handful of projects have been selected. Regulators have assigned the responsibility of proposing non-transmission alternatives to non-utility participants in the planning process, so the sparse record of SATA projects may therefore result from a lack of specificity about the use cases for SATA and uncertainty about when it should be proposed. Extensive literature has been devoted to the topic of SATA, but much of it relies on definitions that are inconsistent with regulatory precedent and that exacerbate confusion. This paper reviews regulatory proceedings to define three types of energy storage assets than can interact with the transmission system: storage as a transmission asset, storage in place of a transmission asset (SIPTA), and dual-use energy storage. It then provides an inventory of use cases for SATA and SIPTA projects, using brief case studies to illustrate each use case. By clarifying the definition of SATA and its roles in transmission system planning, this work may be of use to transmission system planners and other participants in transmission planning processes to identify situations in which SATA alternatives merit consideration.

The Expansion of Incentive (Performance-Based) Regulation of Electricity Distribution and Transmission in the United States

I examine developments in the application of performance-based regulation (PBR) to electricity distribution and transmission in the United States. Applications of comprehensive PBR to electricity distribution had been slow to diffuse in the U.S. prior to roughly 2000. PBR mechanisms are now being applied more frequently to electricity distribution, which reflects the changing structure of the electric power industry and the increasing obligations that are being placed on electric distribution companies. The new obligations are a consequence primarily of aggressive targets for decarbonizing the electricity sector in nearly half the states and the goal of using “clean” electricity to electrify transportation, buildings, and other sectors. PBR should be viewed as a set of “building blocks” that can be adopted in various combinations and should recognize that PBR and traditional cost-of-service regulation (COSR) are properly viewed as complements rather than substitutes. Recent reforms in the regulation of distribution companies in Great Britain—“RIIO”—have been influential in the U.S. The main reforms contained in RIIO are discussed. There has been essentially no application of PBR by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to owners of transmission assets or to independent transmission operators. FERC has applied targeted incentives to encourage investment in transmission facilities and membership in independent system operator organizations. However, the regulation of transmission rates relies primarily on COSR in the form of formula rates and has poor incentive properties. Regulation of independent system operators is a challenge because they are non-profit organizations with no equity to put at risk. Reforms here are suggested.

Assessing the Reliability Benefits of Energy Storage as a Transmission Asset

Assessing the Reliability Benefits of Energy Storage as a Transmission Asset

Research and Analysis of the Cost of Right of Way for Conventional Overhead Transmission Lines and Power Transmission Cable

The study explores the pros and cons of adding these advanced conductors to transmission lines. This study examines the costs of procuring RoW for standard overhead transmission lines and power transmission cables. The report details the costs and considerations of obtaining land for power transmission infrastructure. Research has two main parts. The document begins with transmission asset owner’s RoW acquisition methods and rules. It explains the regulatory framework and mechanisms for securing land rights for power transmission infrastructure. The second section analyses costs in detail. It compares the economics of installing overhead transmission lines with power transmission cables, focusing on subsurface XLPE cables. The study examines how RoW acquisition affects adjacent land prices and the economic effects on TAOs and surrounding communities. The research also evaluates transmission line dismantling costs, including waste metal value, considering metal price changes. RoW costs persist after the transmission line's tenure. The paper also examines a replacement model that estimates RoW costs for switching from overhead transmission lines to underground XLPE cables for outmoded transmission infrastructure. This analysis seeks to illuminate RoW Acquisition's financial elements for power transmission decision-makers.

Manajemen Isu Humas UPT PLN Madiun terkait Pemadaman Listrik Akibat Penerbangan Layang-Layang

Issue management is a management process within a company that aims to control the image that is an asset of a company. Public relations has an important role in carrying out issue management. The purpose of this research is to explain how the public relations of the Transmission Implementation Unit (UPT) of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) (Persero) Madiun in issue management related to kite flights causing power outages. This research uses descriptive qualitative research with in-depth interview techniques and a literature study. The theory involved in this research is the Five Stages of Issue Management Theory which resulted in the following research: 1) The Issue Identification Stage with Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and blusukan communication, 2) The Issue Analysis Stage found the cause of the issue, namely the community flying kites around transmission assets and the tradition of kite flights on holidays, 3) The Issue Change Strategy Selection Stage is an adaptive strategy, 4) The Issue Action Programming Stage is carried out by socialization involving opinion leaders, 5) The Results Evaluation Stage by monitoring the number of cases.

A congestion-based local search for transmission expansion planning problems

Transmission Expansion Planning (TEP) is a challenging task that takes into consideration future representations of electricity consumption behavior and generation capacity/technology. Besides, the investment in new transmission assets is a capital-intensive task, which motivates a clear and well-justified decision-making process. As the most frequent industry practice relies on cost–benefit analysis with the evaluation of individual reinforcements, Metaheuristic Algorithms (MAs) are the most suitable techniques to evaluate candidate projects efficiently. Likewise, the intrinsic features of the problem can be incorporated into these methods taking advantage of the stochastic knowledge, to build more efficient heuristics instead of considering the solver just as a black box. In this way, this paper proposes a congestion-based local search to improve the performance of metaheuristics when solving the TEP problem. The novelty of the method lies in the utilization of the congestion level of the transmission assets to guide the search procedure. Further, this work also presents an up-to-date comparison between five MAs in solving the TEP problem. The experimental experience is conducted using the mentioned MAs in different test systems, and the results confirm that the novel approach is successful in improving the performance of the solution technique while obtaining better solutions in all test cases.

IndiGrid: Transitioning into India's First Independent Power Transmission InvIT (B)1

This case is a sequel to the “IndiGrid: Creating India's First Power Transmission InvIT (A)” case. It describes the deal that would replace the trust's original sponsor, Sterlite Power, with a new set of KKR-led financial investors. It provides an opportunity to discuss the consequences of this change on the new investment manager's outlook for management and future acquisitions. The new investment manager, freed from the limiting interest of the original sponsor, had to search for investment opportunities from the perspective of incoming financial investors, which included the new sponsor. It also provides an opportunity to evaluate the trade-offs in investing in operational utility-scale renewable energy assets by the IndiGrid, which had so far only acquired operational transmission assets in its portfolio.

Utility applications and experience with resilient electric grid systems utilizing high temperature superconductor wires in Chicago

In spring 2020, Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) in Chicago, IL broke ground on Chicago's first permanent Resilient Electric Grid System utilizing high temperature superconductor (HTS) cable after successfully achieving the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval for the classification of this being a transmission asset. This permanent grid project, commissioned in August 2021, represents the first commercial adoption of the technology in North America, a major benchmark for the acceptance of HTS electric power applications.

From concessions to competition: A journey through the evolution of the Philippine electric grid system, 1892–2021

This article traces the development of energy generation in the Philippines, tracing its origins back to 1892 and spanning through the significant reforms ushered in by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) in 2001, and the subsequent two decades. The early chapters of this history witnessed the establishment of pivotal companies like Compania La Electricista and Manila Railway & Light Company (Meralco), which hinged on foreign investment and expertise. Meralco’s expansion encompassed the establishment of diverse power plants, including hydroelectric facilities, to cater to the escalating electricity demand. However, concerns surrounding foreign dominance and reliance on imported resources led to the creation of the National Power Corporation (NPC) in 1936 tasked with harnessing hydraulic power and increasing state participation in the energy sector. The post-war era witnessed the NPC’s significant role in bolstering the nation’s growing economy, especially through its expansive power development program and the nationalization of the electric power landscape. Despite progress in rural electrification, the NPC encountered challenges like financial constraints, political complexities, and the contentious Bataan Nuclear Power Plant project, which impeded its operational efficiency. The 1990 s unveiled a severe power crisis due to financial constraints and inadequate infrastructure. In response, the government sought to invigorate the sector by incorporating private sector engagement through independent power producers. To rectify inefficiencies and stimulate competition, the EPIRA was enacted in 2001 to steer the energy sector toward a comprehensive overhaul by restructuring the power industry and divesting NPC’s generation and transmission assets. This article provides insights into the historical trajectory of the Philippine energy sector, culminating in a series of reforms aimed at cultivating a more streamlined and competitive power sector, positioned to meet the nation’s ever-evolving energy needs.

Impacts of Measurement Errors on Real-Time Thermal Rating Estimation for Overhead Lines

To exploit additional capacity on legacy transmission assets, network owners have developed a variety of techniques to support real-time thermal rating (RTTR) of overhead lines so as to get the maximum possible capacity within their operating range. Most RTTR techniques are inferred from effective weather conditions (EWCs) that are used to assess the thermal equilibrium of conductors indicated by the measured temperature <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T}_c$</tex-math></inline-formula> , thus making RTTR estimates sensitive to measurement errors (MEs). To highlight the impacts that MEs have on RTTRs, this paper describes two EWC-based approaches to RTTR estimation and assesses the accuracy of their resulting estimates under steady state conditions given different levels of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T}_c$</tex-math></inline-formula> and weather variables. Furthermore, the paper develops a Monte Carlo-based approach to model the propagation of measurement uncertainties through to RTTR estimates. Numerous rating scenarios for a particular instance are generated through combining a Monte Carlo method, where possible MEs are sampled within the sensor specification based limits, with an enhanced EWC-based approach that models transient changes of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${T}_c$</tex-math></inline-formula> in each scenario. The lower RTTR percentiles extracted from the rating samples can not only mitigate the RTTR overestimation due to MEs, but also inform system operators of the risk associated with RTTR decisions.

Built &amp; maintained to last: Transmission and distribution assets

In the last issue, the focus was on the grid health monitoring. Instead of assessing the grid health in retrospect, when it is often too late to fix the observed issues, we must strategically address the prerequisite conditions for a grid in the good health condition. Enabling a noble grid (versus a degraded network) primarily requires transmission and distribution (T&D) equipment with fully functional components that can operate robustly under all specified operating conditions while allowing the network to meet grid code requirements. In contrast to many industries, the lifetime of properly dimensioned T&D equipment is expected to last several decades—sometimes as long as 40 to 60 years. While we should be proud of this achievement, it is also a barrier to innovation. Once equipment is installed, there is no incentive to change it. Otherwise, the operator will have, in the substation backyard, stranded assets that can still meet the minimum service requirements. Most maintenance checks only confirm the excellent condition of the component and further deter the operator from replacing the old stuff with new technologies. For this reason, innovation in T&D assets has been incremental. We can see, in the countryside, electric poles installed 60 years before that have barely evolved and are still operational.

Asymmetric effects of monetary policy and financial accelerator: Evidence from India

This paper analyzes the asymmetric effects of monetary policy shocks during low and high financial stress regimes in India. We explore the asymmetric effects through various monetary policy transmission channels, namely, interest rate, credit, asset prices, exchange rate, and expectations channels, using threshold vector autoregression (TVAR) models. Financial Stress Index (FSI) is used in the TVAR estimations as the threshold variable that endogenizes the regime-switching. We use a compressive FSI based on the dynamic conditional correlation-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (DCC-GARCH) method. The empirical findings indicate that a contractionary monetary policy shock through various channels has a stronger and more persistent effect on macroeconomic goal variables, output, and inflation during high financial stress than in a low financial stress regime. An expansionary monetary policy shock also shows a more significant effect on output during a high financial stress regime. Also, we found a stronger financial accelerator effect during high financial stress. This finding supports the literature that argues for the emergence of a stronger financial accelerator effect during financial stress. Finally, using nonlinear historical decompositions, we find that interest rate shocks contribute significantly to macroeconomic fluctuations in India.

The Spanish Experience: Squeezing Line Ampacities Through Dynamic Line Rating

Dynamic Line Rating (DLR), also known in some instances as <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">real-time thermal rating</i> , is becoming a key component of modern energy management systems for transmission system operators (TSOs) or independent system operators (ISOs) to use transmission assets more efficiently while maintaining current reliability standards. However, the need for this tool will be even more overwhelming in a decarbonized future, given the foreseeable line congestion originating from the coincidence of several factors: 1) significant growth of the share of intermittent renewables; 2) the further electrification of the residential, transportation, and industrial energy demand; and 3) increasing difficulties and costs for the construction of new transmission assets.

ENSIGHTS: Intelligent Monitoring of Electric Power Transmission Assets

This work aims to use Data Science techniques to build predictive models that will eventually improve maintenance plans regarding power transformers by reducing shutoffs and transmission downtime. This work is part of a 36-month long Research and Development (R&amp;D) project started on January 2021, as of the writing of this report the project is halfway through. The analytic models described herein have already been tested while most of the remaining work is yet to be done. In a single Data Lake environment, we will consolidate several databases from information systems that support the company's operation and maintenance processes. Various machine learning models will run on this data, and their results will appear in a dashboard, alongside several traditional indicators. This process will be integrated and consolidated in a computing platform with cloud architecture. We use Machine Learning (ML) to develop the models. Based on an Agnostic Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) Learning study of the available datasets estimating their Vapnik–Chervonenkis dimension, we choose Random Forests (RF) algorithms to be used in the new indicators. So far, the project has produced two new indicators: Chromatographic Assay Indicator (CAI) and Electrical Failure Risk Indicator (EFRI). The CAI indicator evaluation uses a Random Forest Algorithm trained with an external dataset due to the small number of power transformers failures in the O&amp;M data. This indicator performed much better than classical chromatographic indicators to predict electric or temperature problems on the test set. The EFRI indicator correlates monitoring data available from an existing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system with maintenance data from an existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system through a RF algorithm capable of alerting to a higher risk of electric failure. ANEEL funds this work as R&amp;D project PD-00394-1907/2019 titled “Aplicabilidade de nova tecnologia voltada para o desenvolvimento de um modelo de monitoramento inteligente dos ativos de transmissão”.

ENSIGHTS: Intelligent Monitoring of Electric Power Transmission Assets

This work aims to use Data Science techniques to build predictive models that will eventually improve maintenance plans regarding power transformers by reducing shutoffs and transmission downtime. This work is part of a 36-month long Research and Development (R&amp;D) project started on January 2021, as of the writing of this report the project is halfway through. The analytic models described herein have already been tested while most of the remaining work is yet to be done. In a single Data Lake environment, we will consolidate several databases from information systems that support the company's operation and maintenance processes. Various machine learning models will run on this data, and their results will appear in a dashboard, alongside several traditional indicators. This process will be integrated and consolidated in a computing platform with cloud architecture. We use Machine Learning (ML) to develop the models. Based on an Agnostic Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) Learning study of the available datasets estimating their Vapnik–Chervonenkis dimension, we choose Random Forests (RF) algorithms to be used in the new indicators. So far, the project has produced two new indicators: Chromatographic Assay Indicator (CAI) and Electrical Failure Risk Indicator (EFRI). The CAI indicator evaluation uses a Random Forest Algorithm trained with an external dataset due to the small number of power transformers failures in the O&amp;M data. This indicator performed much better than classical chromatographic indicators to predict electric or temperature problems on the test set. The EFRI indicator correlates monitoring data available from an existing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system with maintenance data from an existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system through a RF algorithm capable of alerting to a higher risk of electric failure. ANEEL funds this work as R&amp;D project PD-00394-1907/2019 titled “Aplicabilidade de nova tecnologia voltada para o desenvolvimento de um modelo de monitoramento inteligente dos ativos de transmissão”.

Powering Europe with North Sea offshore wind: The impact of hydrogen investments on grid infrastructure and power prices

Hydrogen will be a central cross-sectoral energy carrier in the decarbonization of the European energy system. This paper investigates how a large-scale deployment of green hydrogen production affects the investments in transmission and generation towards 2060, analyzes the North Sea area with the main offshore wind projects, and assesses the development of an offshore energy hub. Results indicate that the hydrogen deployment has a tremendous impact on the grid development in Europe and in the North Sea. Findings indicate that total power generation capacity increases around 50%. The offshore energy hub acts mainly as a power transmission asset, leads to a reduction in total generation capacity, and is central to unlock the offshore wind potential in the North Sea. The effect of hydrogen deployment on power prices is multifaceted. In regions where power prices have typically been lower than elsewhere in Europe, it is observed that hydrogen increases the power price considerably. However, as hydrogen flexibility relieves stress in high-demand periods for the grid, power prices decrease in average for some countries. This suggests that while the deployment of green hydrogen will lead to a significant increase in power demand, power prices will not necessarily experience a large increase.

Impact of imperfect foresight on the optimal DER deployment, remuneration and policy

This paper proposes a decision-making framework to optimize electricity tariffs and remuneration policy for renewable energy sources operating in transmission- and distribution-level (T&D) marketplaces. We develop perfect and imperfect foresight models with a multi-level structure to investigate the effects of the inability of actors to correctly predict future remuneration on the efficiency of the decisions made by policymakers. The important advantage of the proposed models is that while they are capturing conflicting interests and different information availability of stakeholders involved, they also account for techno-economic constraints on operations of generation, transmission and distribution assets. The presented models can accommodate net metering, value stack, and distribution locational marginal price (DLMP)-based remuneration policies, which allows for their numerical comparison in terms of the effect on the optimal roll-out of distributed energy resources (DERs). The case study carried out for the NYISO and Manhattan T&D networks reveals that inaccurate foresight on the DER remuneration diminishes the social welfare under all DER remuneration policies, with the maximum loss of 1.6% across all considered scenarios.

An Enhanced Energy Management System Including a Real-Time Load-Redistribution Threat Analysis Tool and Cyber-Physical SCED

It is possible to launch undetectable load-redistribution (LR) attacks against power systems even in systems with protection schemes. Therefore, it is imperative to detect LR attacks in power systems and establish corrective actions to provide secure dispatch points. This paper develops a systematic real-time LR threat analysis (RTLRTA) tool to flag LR attacks and identify all affected transmission assets. Since attackers might introduce some forms of random strategies to create LR attacks, we introduce different optimization models to generate random LR attacks to determine accurate thresholds for our detection index and test the tool’s functionality. Additionally, based on an estimation for the actual loads in the post-attack stage, we design a set of physical line flow security constraints (PLFSCs) that can be added to the existing security-constrained economic dispatch (SCED) models. This leads to appropriate responses to the identified LR attacks and provides secure dispatch points. We generate multiple scenarios of LR attacks and random errors for different target lines in the 2383-bus Polish test system to validate our proposed methods’ accuracy and functionality in detecting LR attacks and responding to them.

Fuzzy Dynamic Thermal Rating System-Based Thermal Aging Model for Transmission Lines

Electricity demand has surged over the last several years and will persist in the future. Increased transmission loads cause transmission lines to operate much closer to their security limits, leading to thermal and mechanical stress and thus affecting the transmission reliability and thermal aging. Accordingly, monitoring the conductor temperature over time is critical to identifying power transmission networks that may need extra attention and perhaps maintenance. This paper presents a fuzzy thermal aging model for transmission lines equipped with a fuzzy dynamic thermal rating system based on the IEEE 738 standard. In this framework, the ampacity of the transmission line was calculated. The conductor temperature was computed with the back-calculation method by considering the fully loaded transmission line. The estimated conductor temperature was employed to determine the corresponding conductor fuzzy loss of tensile strength, i.e., the fuzzy annealing degree of the conductor based on the Harvey model. Additionally, a tensile strength loss cost profile is provided. Simulation and numerical results indicate that the proposed framework is robust against various operating conditions of the parameters considered in the study and provides crucial information for managing transmission assets and transmission network operation.