Evolution Pathway Towards Wide Area Monitoring and Protection—A Real-World Implementation of Centralized RAS System

Remedial action scheme (RAS) is an automatic protection system designed to maintain system reliability. As result of green initiatives and mandates, there will be a proliferation of RAS in order to accommodate many new generation interconnections. With enabling technologies such as advanced intelligent electronic devices, fast computing technologies, utilities´ extensive telecommunication network infrastructure, and the continued development of international standards, the opportunity allows a breakthrough in wide area monitoring and protection solutions. This paper describes how Southern California Edison systematically moved through stages from problem definition to ultimately deployment and system operation. Both the business and technical challenges during the project execution are discussed. Starting with the pressure on business practice, the evolutionary process of problem solving not only demonstrated how advanced information and telecommunication technologies can address the power utility business needs, but also paved a pathway for even more advanced wide area monitoring and protection applications.