California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE)

The smart grid revolution is creating a paradigm shift in distribution networks marked by intermittency and uncertainty in power supply and demand. These developments dramatically increase the need for tools to monitor, manage and protect distribution networks, fast, reliably and accurately. Monitoring tools such as phasor measurement units (PMUs) that have had success in the transmission system can be adapted for a variety of distribution applications. This presentation addresses opportunities and challenges of developing and implementing advanced monitoring techniques to support distribution planning and operations, specifically exploring the use of precise and time synchronized PMU data with monitoring, control and protection systems in distribution networks.