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With the spotlight on smart grid development around the world, it is critical to recognize the key factors contributing to changing power-system characteristics. This is more apparent in distribution systems with the integration of renewable energy sources, energy storage, and microgrid development. Source and load control at the distribution level is a key requirement of the evolving system. These activities require distribution automation (DA) strategies that take advantage of available technologies, while promoting newer solutions. It is necessary to create a roadmap for holistic DA strategies in a smarter grid. Sustainable and resilient grid development is a paradigm shift requiring a new line of thinking in the engineering, operation, and maintenance of the power system. Distributed control architectures based on dynamic load and source data should be explored as a possible solution. This paper discusses a novel approach that integrates protection, control, and monitoring using high-performance computing at the primary distribution substation level. The business case for infrastructure investment in the distribution systems is also discussed. This paper concludes with a discussion on emerging and future technologies for DA to improve the resiliency of a sustainable grid. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the ongoing process to create a competitive electricity market, the problem of Ancillary Services is assuming a fundamental role. Ancillary Services are those services performed by generators, transmission and control equipment, which are necessary to support basic services and to maintain reliable operations and system security. In this paper, we focus our attention on one of these services, load following, and propose a competitive way to provide this service through bilateral contracts between supplier and customer. In general, we assume that there will be both a competitive market for the provision of load following and an authority responsible for the amount of load following not met by bilateral contracts.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including planning and operating approach for active distribution grids, voltage control for photovoltaic inverters, and optimal scheduling model of microgrid considering battery lifetime.

A three-phase dynamic phasor (TPDP) model of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems, especially the converter, is proposed. The proposed model can rapidly solve the dynamic characteristics of the converter for symmetrical and asymmetrical operating conditions: 1) the symmetrical faults occur at the ac side or the dc side and 2) the asymmetrical faults occur at the ac side of the converter. Switch functions are used to indicate the commutation process of the converter. By using the sequence component method, it is observed that the vd should contain the 0th and 2nd components and ia,ib,ic should contain the 1st and 3rd components. The TPDP model of the HVDC converter is proposed based on these observations. The interface and the details to establish the proposed model are presented and a method to represent the commutation failure in the TPDP model is also proposed. Simulation results show that the proposed model is effective and acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Accurate bus-oriented, three-phase modeling of power systems is desirable for advanced applications and has become practical due to increased computational capability. To assist research activities in this area, this paper presents a benchmark three-phase test system. The proposed system is based on the 24-bus IEEE Reliability Test System that has been converted into a 24-substation, breaker-oriented, three-phase model. The model is available in electronic form at the site: http:llpscal.ece.gatech.edu/testsys/. The proposed model is intended for use in research for three-phase power flow analysis, reliability analysis, fault analysis, transient stability, evaluation of fault currents through specific breakers, risk assessment of breaker failures, and other applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a systematic procedure of designing a centralized damping control system for power grid interarea oscillations putting emphasis on the signal selection and control system structure assignment. Geometric measures of controllability/observability are used to select the most effective stabilizing signals and control locations. Line power flows and currents are found to be the most effective input signals. The synthesis of the controller is defined as a problem of mixed H2 /H∞ output-feedback control with regional pole placement and is resolved by the linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach. A tuning process and nonlinear simulations are then used to modify the controller parameters to ensure the performance and robustness of the controller designed with linear techniques. The design process is tested on the New England 39-bus ten-machine system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we review the functions and architectures of control centers: their past, present, and likely future. The evolving changes in power system operational needs require a distributed control center that is decentralized, integrated, flexible, and open. Present-day control centers are moving in that direction with varying degrees of success. The technologies employed in today's control centers to enable them to be distributed are briefly reviewed. With the rise of the Internet age, the trend in information and communication technologies is moving toward Grid computing and Web services, or Grid services. A Grid service-based future control center is stipulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power grid is not only a network interconnecting generators and loads through a transmission and distribution system, but is overlaid with a communication and control system that enables economic and secure operation. This multilayered infrastructure has evolved over many decades utilizing new technologies as they have appeared. This evolution has been slow and incremental, as the operation of the power system consisting of vertically integrated utilities has, until recently, changed very little. The monitoring of the grid is still done by a hierarchical design with polling for data at scanning rates in seconds that reflects the conceptual design of the 1960s. This design was adequate for vertically integrated utilities with limited feedback and wide-area controls; however, the thesis of this paper is that the changing environment, in both policy and technology, requires a new look at the operation of the power grid and a complete redesign of the control, communication and computation infrastructure. We provide several example novel control and communication regimes for such a new infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the design ofa localized competitive market for reactive power ancillary services at the level of individual voltage-control areas. The concept of electrical distance has been used to identify the different voltage-control areas within a power system. The proposed reactive power market is settled on uniform price auction, using a modified optimal power-flow model. Uniform prices for various components of reactive power service are obtained for each voltage-control area. In the study cases described in the paper, we examine whether such a localized reactive power market is more desirable than a common system-wide reactive power market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]