A GIC Estimator for Electric Grid Monitoring during Geomagnetic Disturbances

Abstract

Electric power system state estimation is a vital part of real-time monitoring and management for power grid operations and control. With increased interest in the effects of geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) and effective mitigation strategies therein, similar tools that provide situational awareness during GMD events are increasingly necessary. Therefore, a GIC estimator is developed by relating the known system parameters and measurements to the current 'GIC state,' from which the GIC currents in transformers can be quickly calculated. Due to the linearity of GIC relationships, the estimator solves quickly and efficiently. The proposed methods are tested on a small example and a synthetic Texas 2000 bus scenario. These studies show the effectiveness of a GIC estimator to provide situational awareness for real-time operations, as well as sensitivity to measurement uncertainty and availability.