Reflections on security [power systems]

The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) has been responsible for the reliability of the interconnected grid, of which safety and security are essential ingredients, since 1968. NERC has undertaken several key initiatives (many of which began well before September 11) to focus attention on security matters and to encourage electric power industry participants to act. They include: establishing an Information Sharing and Analysis Center for the Electricity Sector (ES-ISAC); developing security guidelines for the electricity sector; deploying a public key infrastructure (PKI); and creating a spare equipment database. NERC's security initiatives are coordinated by the Critical Infrastructure Protection Advisory Group (CIPAG), which reports directly to the NERC board of trustees. The group comprises electric industry experts in the areas of cyber security, physical security, and operational security. Because of NERC's unique position within the industry, CIPAG has become the focal point for security issues within the electricity sector. To ensure the broadest degree of expertise and experience, CIPAG works closely with other industry groups. This coordination is vital to ensuring the electric industry in North America speaks about security with one voice and acts in a coordinated manner.     

Electric vehicles: The role and importance of standards in an emerging market

After nearly a century with the internal combustion engine dominating the personal transportation sector, it now appears that the electric vehicle is on the verge of experiencing rapid growth in both developed and developing vehicle markets. The broad-scale adoption of the electric vehicle could bring significant changes for society in terms of not only the technologies we use for personal transportation, but also moving our economies away from petroleum and lessoning the environmental footprint of transportation. This article investigates the role of standards, related training and certification for the electric vehicle. It is argued that the potential for the electric vehicle will be stunted without adequate attention being paid to standards, not only in terms of the speed of its uptake and smoothness of this transition, but also in terms of maintaining compatibility between jurisdictions, safety of the public, and helping to ensure environmental sustainability. We highlight a number of areas where new or adaptations of current standards, training and certification may be needed, notably in terms of batteries and charging infrastructures, electricity distribution and accounting for the environmental characteristics of this electricity, and different aspects of vehicle-to-grid and smart grid technologies.     

Reliability and security: the NERC new standards development process

The August 14, 2003 blackout is expected to have a significant impact on the North American Electric Reliability Council's (NERC) reliability standards. The voluntary compliance and peer pressure NERC depended on for years to ensure compliance to its reliability rules are no longer sufficient to ensure reliable performance. The performance standards also need to be objective and measurable, and they must be developed in an open, inclusive, balanced and fair manner. The process also needs to be able to accommodate market solutions and business practices. NERC's new standards process is intended to establish standards necessary for reliable system operation and acceptable to industry participants. In the meantime, while new or revised reliability standards are being developed, NERC's existing planning standards and operating policies continue to be in effect until they are replaced by the new reliability standards.     

Spillover effects of distribution grid tariffs in the internal electricity market: An argument for harmonization?

In many countries, distribution grid tariffs are being reformed to adapt to the new realities of an electricity system with distributed energy resources. In Europe, legislative proposals have been made to harmonize these reforms across country borders. Many stakeholders have argued that distribution tariffs are a local affair, while the European institutions argued that there can be spillovers to other countries, which could justify a more harmonized approach. In this paper, we quantify these spillovers in a simplified numerical example to give insight and an order of magnitude. We look at different scenarios, and find that the spillovers can be both negative and positive. To be able to quantify these effects, we developed a long-run market equilibrium model that captures the wholesale market effects of distribution grid tariffs. The problem is formulated as a non-cooperative game involving consumers, generating companies and distribution system operators in a stylized electricity market.     

基于改进欧氏距离协调发展度评估模型的电网投资决策方法

电力体制改革新背景下电网投资与经济、电量的协调发展作为电网投资决策的约束条件得到进一步加强。基于广义协调性建立了一套电网投资与经济、电量协调性表征指标,综合考虑电网公司、政府监管部门和电网投资、经济电量各子系统,引入模糊隶属度改进传统的欧氏距离协调发展度模型的理想值取定。并以某省2016~2018年指标进行验证,通过经典判别分析比较与传统方法评估的准确性。结果表明,改进的欧氏距离协调发展度评估模型准确率更高,能较好地应用于电改形势下电网投资、经济和电量的协调发展评估。     

Welfare implications of capacity payments in a price-capped electricity sector: A case study of the Texas market (ERCOT)

The aim of this paper is to analyze the welfare consequences of introducing capacity compensation payments in restructured and liberalized electricity markets. For that purpose, we set up a two-stage framework in which two kinds of electricity generators, peak load and base load generators, choose their capacity investment levels first and then compete on the basis of bids in a centralized market to sell electricity to consumers. We use data from the Texas ERCOT to evaluate consumers' welfare. We find that the introduction of capacity payments has two countervailing effects. On the one hand, it increases the wholesale electricity price. On the other hand, it reduces price volatility and increases the reliability of the system. We find that capacity payments are more beneficial for consumers in a perfectly competitive market than in the presence of certain degree of market power.     

Buying and selling power in the age of competition

The American electric power industry is currently in the throes of striving for workable competition. Driven by the converging forces of deregulation, technological revolution, and evolving customer expectations, electric utilities are having to compete as never before at both the wholesale and retail levels. At times, the transition has been particularly wrenching, with some utilities going through painful internal restructuring and others being caught up in external consolidation. Increasingly, the key to success in this more competitive environment is anticipating and actively responding to the forces that are shaping the new markets for electric power. Here, the author describes how such market management is the subject of pioneering research being conducted in EPRI's Utility Resource Planning and Management Program. On the wholesale side, this research centers on the development of powerful analytical methods to support utility decisions regarding new opportunities in the bulk power market. Research on retail market management is concentrated on developing innovative price-differentiated services that can enhance the value of electricity to customers and also foster a utility's long-term financial competitiveness     

Improving energy efficiency and smart grid program analysis with agent-based end-use forecasting models

Electric utilities and regulators face difficult challenges evaluating new energy efficiency and smart grid programs prompted, in large part, by recent state and federal mandates and financial incentives. It is increasingly difficult to separate electricity use impacts of individual utility programs from the impacts of increasingly stringent appliance and building efficiency standards, increasing electricity prices, appliance manufacturer efficiency improvements, energy program interactions and other factors. This study reviews traditional approaches used to evaluate electric utility energy efficiency and smart-grid programs and presents an agent-based end-use modeling approach that resolves many of the shortcomings of traditional approaches. Data for a representative sample of utility customers in a Midwestern US utility are used to evaluate energy efficiency and smart grid program targets over a fifteen-year horizon. Model analysis indicates that a combination of the two least stringent efficiency and smart grid program scenarios provides peak hour reductions one-third greater than the most stringent smart grid program suggesting that reductions in peak demand requirements are more feasible when both efficiency and smart grid programs are considered together. Suggestions on transitioning from traditional end-use models to agent-based end-use models are provided.     

Cost of power interruptions to electricity consumers in the United States (US)

The massive electric power blackout in the northeastern US and Canada on August 14–15, 2003 catalyzed discussions about modernizing the US electricity grid. Industry sources suggested that investments of $50–100 billion would be needed. This work seeks to better understand an important piece of information that has been missing from these discussions: what do power interruptions and fluctuations in power quality (power-quality events) cost electricity consumers? We developed a bottom-up approach for assessing the cost to US electricity consumers of power interruptions and power-quality events (referred to collectively as “reliability events”). The approach can be used to help assess the potential benefits of investments in improving the reliability of the grid. We developed a new estimate based on publicly available information, and assessed how uncertainties in these data affect this estimate using sensitivity analysis.     

A comparison of innovation policy in the smart grid industry across the pacific: China and the USA

Utilities are increasing their investment in smart grid technologies because of the rising demand for electricity, the aging transmission and distribution infrastructure in developed countries and the need for real-time visibility of energy supply and demand to optimize service reliability and cost. Government policies are contributing to this rising investment in the smart grid in many countries around the globe. Using Rothwell and Zegveld's innovation policy framework as a starting point, this paper compares innovation policy in smart grids across the Pacific; specifically, China and the USA. This research describes the policy tools used by both countries and presents results that indicate national preferences for innovation policy that differ in the ways in which they are linked with the state of the power system. China has preferred to use “supply-side policy,” which focuses on “public enterprise, scientific and technical development and legal regulation.” The USA has preferred to use “environmental-side policy,” which focuses on “scientific and technical development, financial, political and public enterprise.” This paper also describes in detail a number of innovation policies being pursued in the smart grid industry in both China and the USA.     

Exploitation of wind-energy resources in proximity to weak electric grids

Many sites with favourable wind conditions exist in proximity to relatively weak electric grids. This may imply that the sites only to a limited degree can be exploited for wind farms producing electricity due to technical constraints related to the weak grid. The paper first describes these constraints and secondly a number of ways for connecting more wind power to a weak electric grid are presented. The methods and technologies presented are relevant for all projects involving exploitation of wind energy in proximity to weak electric grids.     

Vehicle-to-grid power fundamentals: Calculating capacity and net revenue

As the light vehicle fleet moves to electric drive (hybrid, battery, and fuel cell vehicles), an opportunity opens for “vehicle-to-grid” (V2G) power. This article defines the three vehicle types that can produce V2G power, and the power markets they can sell into. V2G only makes sense if the vehicle and power market are matched. For example, V2G appears to be unsuitable for baseload power—the constant round-the-clock electricity supply—because baseload power can be provided more cheaply by large generators, as it is today. Rather, V2G's greatest near-term promise is for quick-response, high-value electric services. These quick-response electric services are purchased to balance constant fluctuations in load and to adapt to unexpected equipment failures; they account for 5–10% of electric cost—$ 12 billion per year in the US. This article develops equations to calculate the capacity for grid power from three types of electric drive vehicles. These equations are applied to evaluate revenue and costs for these vehicles to supply electricity to three electric markets (peak power, spinning reserves, and regulation). The results suggest that the engineering rationale and economic motivation for V2G power are compelling. The societal advantages of developing V2G include an additional revenue stream for cleaner vehicles, increased stability and reliability of the electric grid, lower electric system costs, and eventually, inexpensive storage and backup for renewable electricity.     

Grid parity analysis of solar photovoltaic systems in Germany using experience curves

The paper starts with experience curve analysis in order to find out the future prices of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. Experience curves for 75-90% progress ratio are extrapolated with the help of estimated future growth rate for PV installation worldwide and current module price data until year 2060. A kWh PV electricity generation cost has been calculated for coming decades with the help of local market parameters and module prices data from extrapolated experience curve. Two different prices for grid electricity - wholesale electricity price and end user electricity price - are separately analyzed. Household electricity consumption profile and PV electricity generation profile for Cologne, Germany, have been analyzed to find out the possibility for PV electricity consumption at the time of its generation. This result is used to calculate the real grid parity year - which lies somewhere between grid parity years calculated for wholesale electricity price and end user electricity price.     

我国电力投资布局研究

为了满足不断增长的电力需求,我国电力投资力度不断加大,如何优化电力投资空间布局,促进电力资源在全国范围内得到优化配置,成为很多学者和决策部门关注的焦点问题。目前,我国电力供需之间存在比较明显的空间错位,导致我国不同区域之间的电力交换不断增加,并对电力投资空间布局产生重要影响。在优化电力投资空间布局的时候,要坚持综合效益原则、结构优化原则、保护生态环境原则和坚持市场导向原则,进一步加大水电资源丰富地区的开发力度,在条件适合的煤炭资源富集地区发展大型坑口电站,在沿海经济密集地带建设大型滨海火电站带,不断加大电网投资力度,推进全国联网。     

Grid of the future

Many believe the electric power system is undergoing a profound change driven by a number of needs. There's the need for environmental compliance and energy conservation. We need better grid reliability while dealing with an aging infrastructure. And we need improved operational effi ciencies and customer service. The changes that are happening are particularly signifi cant for the electricity distribution grid, where "blind" and manual operations, along with the electromechanical components, will need to be transformed into a "smart grid." This transformation will be necessary to meet environmental targets, to accommodate a greater emphasis on demand response (DR), and to support plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) as well as distributed generation and storage capabilities. It is safe to say that these needs and changes present the power industry with the biggest challenge it has ever faced. On one hand, the transition to a smart grid has to be evolutionary to keep the lights on; on the other hand, the issues surrounding the smart grid are signifi cant enough to demand major changes in power systems operating philosophy.     

Investing in expansion: the many issues that cloud transmission planning

The recent blackouts in the Western and Eastern regions of the US provide growing evidence that certain actions are urgently need to ensure that the electricity sector will continue to meet the nation's needs for reliable and affordable energy. Much of the concern in this respect is due to the fact that the electricity infrastructure has made minute provisions to meet the changing needs of the economy. It is widely believed that the current transmission and distribution systems were designed primarily for the industrial era of the 1950's and 1960's, when mechanical switching and radial network design were adequate. Furthermore, annual investment in the transmission system has been cut in half since 1975, and capital expenditure plans announced by utility companies suggest that the underfunding trend is not going to be reversed soon. There is concern that the gap is getting larger between the economy and the electricity infrastructure that is supposed to support the economy. Expanding the transmission system will benefit consumers by reducing the possibility of outages, promoting affordable and stable power prices, and encouraging the construction of cleaner, more efficient power plants. Although the electric transmission cost on average represent a small portion of the total cost of delivering the electricity, any transmission investment has the potential of yielding benefits far outweighing costs.     

Design for distributed energy resources

The blackout experiences have demonstrated the vulnerability of the interconnected electric power system to grid failure caused by natural disasters and unexpected phenomena. Changes in customer needs, additional stress due to liberalized electricity markets, and a high degree of dependency of today's society on sophisticated technological services also intensify the burden on traditional electric systems and demand for a more reliable and resilient power delivery infrastructure. This paper discusses the design of a restructured electric distribution network that employs a large number of small distributed energy resources (DER) units, which can improve the level of system reliability and provide service differentiations.     

A real options evaluation model for the diffusion prospects of new renewable power generation technologies

This study presents a policy planning model that integrates learning curve information on renewable power generation technologies into a dynamic programming formulation featuring real options analysis. The model recursively evaluates a set of investment alternatives on a year-by-year basis, thereby taking into account that the flexibility to delay an irreversible investment expenditure can profoundly affect the diffusion prospects of renewable power generation technologies. Price uncertainty is introduced through stochastic processes for the average wholesale price of electricity and for input fuel prices. Demand for electricity is assumed to be increasingly price-sensitive, as the electricity market deregulation proceeds, reflecting new options of consumers to react to electricity price changes (such as time-of-use pricing, unbundled electricity services, and choice of supplier). The empirical analysis is based on data for the Turkish electricity supply industry. Apart from general implications for policy-making, it provides some interesting insights about the impact of uncertainty and technical change on the diffusion of various emerging renewable energy technologies.     

从标准看智能电网的发展

目前世界各国在什么是智能电网、如何推进智能电网的发展等方面并没有达成一致意见。美国设想的未来电力系统是一个完全自动化的电力传输网络,能够保证从电厂到终端用户整个输配电过程中所有节点之间的信息和电能的双向流动。欧洲智能电网技术平台的目标是提高输配电系统的效率、安全性和可靠性,消除大规模集成配网与可再生能源的障碍。日本将主要以大规模开发太阳能等新能源、确保电网系统稳定作为智能电网建设的主要思路。结合中国的实际情况,我国智能电网业务框架应包含发电、输变电、配电、用户、运行、服务提供者、电力市场及统一信息平台等8个领域。现有标准与智能电网之间存在差距,主要体现在需求响应和电力市场、广域状态测量、电力存储、电力传输、AMI系统、配网管理等6个方面。其中,一部分差距已经有了清晰的发展方向和解决思路;而另一部分的具体发展方向和解决思路尚不明确。智能电网相关标准的开发需要以具体项目实施为载体,标准体系是否完备需要通过具体项目检验和修订,同时具体项目的顺利实施也有赖于标准体系的约束和规范。针对中国某省级电网的特殊性和典型性,建议其智能电网的发展,一是应重点关注标准研究方向,二是由此引出的示范工程项目。     

The effects of vehicle‐to‐grid systems on wind power integration

Renewable energy portfolio standards have created a large increase in the amount of renewable electricity production, and one technology that has benefited greatly from these standards is wind power. The uncertainty inherent in wind electricity production dictates that additional amounts of conventional generation resources be kept in reserve, should wind electricity output suddenly dip. The introduction of plug‐in hybrid electric vehicles into the transportation fleet presents an possible solution to this problem through the concept of vehicle‐to‐grid power. The ability of vehicle‐to‐grid power systems to help solve the variability and uncertainty issuess in systems with large amounts of wind power capacity is examined through a multiparadigm simulation model. The problem is examined from the perspectives of three different stakeholders: policy makers, the electricity system operator and plug‐in hybrid electric vehicle owners. Additionally, a preliminary economic analysis of the technology is performed, and a comparison made with generation technologies that perform similar functions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.