Addressing impacts of geomagnetic disturbances on the North American bulk power system

Abstract

In a joint report issued in June 2010, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identified geomagnetic disturbances as a high-impact, low-frequency (HILF) event risk to bulk power system reliability. The potential impact of geomagnetic disturbance events has gained renewed attention as recent studies have suggested that solar storms may be more severe and reach lower geographic latitudes than formerly expected and can affect bulk power system reliability. The most well known power system experience with geomagnetic disturbances in North America was the 13-14 March 1989 storm, which led to the collapse of the Hydro-Québec system in the early morning hours of 13 March 1989, lasting approximately 9 hours. NERC is actively addressing a range of HILF event risks to bulk power system reliability through the efforts of four of its task forces: Geomagnetic Disturbance, Spare Equipment Database, Cyber and Physical Attack, and Severe Impact Resilience. These task forces operate under the direction of three NERC committees: Planning, Operating, and Critical Infrastructure Protection. The NERC Geomagnetic Disturbance Task Force (GMDTF), which was established in September 2010, is charged with investigating the implications of geomagnetic disturbances to the reliability of bulk power systems and developing solutions to help mitigate these risks. The objective of these efforts is to develop models to better understand the nature and effects of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), the vulnerabilities of equipment, bulk power system design considerations, our ability to reduce the operational and real-time impacts of geomagnetic disturbances on the bulk power system, and restoration methods, as well as to inventory long-lead-time equipment. For more information on the current activities of the GMDTF, please visit: http://www.nerc.com/filez/gmdtf.html. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.