Improving Operator Situation Awareness by Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) Data Visualization

Abstract

The application of phasor measurement unit (PMU) data in the power industry is currently an area of intense interest. The key driver for PMU technology is to use the precise time sources provided by Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites to accurately measure the relative voltage and current phase angles at buses across an interconnect at a very high sampling rate. Presenting PMU data to power system operators in a format that is truly useful for them and that affords improved situation awareness (SA) and fast and accurate decision making is a particular challenge to display design. This report describes development of prototype displays of PMU data where the design criteria were derived from characteristics of the data as well as the situation awareness requirements of power system dispatchers. A prototype display that meets all these design criteria is described