Value of Faster Computation for Power Grid Operation

As a result of the grid evolution meeting the information revolution, the power grid is becoming far more complex than it used to be. How to feed data in, perform analysis, and extract information in a real-time manner is a fundamental challenge in today's power grid operation, not to mention the significantly increased complexity in the smart grid environment. Therefore, high performance computing (HPC) becomes one of the advanced technologies used to meet the requirement of real-time operation. This paper presents benefit case studies to show the value of fast computation for operation. Two fundamental operation functions, state estimation (SE) and contingency analysis (CA), are used as examples. In contrast with today's tools, fast SE can estimate system status in a few seconds–-comparable to measurement cycles. Fast CA can solve more contingencies in a shorter period, reducing the possibility of missing critical contingencies. The benefit case study results clearly show the value of faster computation for increasing the reliability and efficiency of power system operation.