PJM Smartens Up Transmission Grid With More Synchrophasors

PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization (RTO) in the Eastern Interconnection, and 12 member transmission owners are deploying more than 80 additional synchrophasors to optimize the transmission system and its reliability. Supported by a $14 million DOE matching stimulus grant, the Smart Grid technology deployment will give grid operators much more information about the condition of the transmission grid and at a much faster rate. Synchrophasors can measure voltage and current at a specific location more than 30 times per second. PJM President and CEO Terry Boston likened the move to upgrading from an old black and white TV to an HDTV. The units will be installed at substations in 10 states. The RTO has just under 20 synchrophasors in operation now.

Quick Take: Our aging transmission infrastructure can use all the help it can get, particularly as we try to figure out the most practical, cost-effective way to deal with rising demand for power and finite delivery capacity. Synchrophasors are one of the Smart Grid technologies that can protect and maintain the grid now and in the future.

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