A Power System Control Center of the Future

Summary form only given. On August 14, 2003, the largest blackout in the history of the North American electricity grid occurred. Three of the four root causes identified by the blackout investigation team were attributed to deficiencies in training, communication, and the tools used by the control room operators. Specifically, inadequacies in maintaining situational awareness, lack of understanding the power system and its real-time limitations, and improper reliability coordinator diagnostic support and oversight were three of the root causes identified. This presentation describes issues revealed in the August 14, 2003 and other blackouts, pertinent technology that has been applied to address similar issues in other domains, and presents a vision for a power system control center of the future that includes a discussion of enhanced diagnostic and decision support tools, monitoring, and visualization