Siemens has formed a global strategic alliance with the Electric Power Group (EPG), based in Pasadena, USA, with a view to improving grid stability and resilience.
The partnership combines Siemens’ global grid automation expertise with EPG’s cutting-edge analytics, creating an intelligent solution to enhance grid resilience. Integrating EPG’s synchrophasor technology and Wide Area Monitoring Systems (WAMS) directly into Siemens’ power automation portfolio empowers utilities and grid operators worldwide to master growing grid complexity, streamline operations, and improve grid stability and resilience.
The energy transition is rapidly transforming power grids, introducing challenges from variable renewable generation and dynamic loads that necessitate complementing traditional supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA). This creates the need for a more dynamic and precise approach to grid management. EPG’s technology addresses this by leveraging high-speed, time-synchronized data to provide a real-time, comprehensive view of grid behavior.
Specifically, synchrophasors offer highly precise, GPS-synchronized measurements of voltage and current waveforms, capturing magnitude and phase angle multiple times per second. The WAMS then collects and processes this data from numerous points, providing a dynamic, holistic, and real-time perspective of the entire grid.
The joint solution offers significant benefits to transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs and DSOs), energy companies, and operators of critical power infrastructure. Key advantages include improved grid stability through real-time monitoring, faster fault detection and response to reduce the risk of downtime, and enhanced situational awareness for grid operators.
Improved predictive control
“This collaboration represents a significant advancement in grid intelligence. Precise, synchronized data acquisition via EPG – integrated into our automation solutions – enables enhanced transparency and improved predictive control. This is a key element of a resilient, self-optimizing grid of the future that not only manages the complexity of the energy transition but actively shapes it,” said Bernd Meyer, Vice President of Research & Development at Siemens Smart Infrastructure.
Scalable solution
“The partnership’s long-term framework agreement enables a standardized and scalable deployment model for projects across the globe. The open and interoperable design of the WAMS architecture ensures seamless integration into existing grid infrastructure, providing a scalable solution for both regional and national grids,” said Vikram Budhraja, CEO of EPG.