New York Independent System Operator, Inc. Smart Grid Project

New York Independent System Operator, Inc., located in Rensselaer, New York, will receive $37 million in funding to develop a smarter energy grid. The U.S. Department of Energy selected New York Independent as one of 100 companies to receive federal stimulus funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) and eight transmission owners are deploying synchrophasor technologies and smart grid-enabled capacitors across the New York transmission system. The project aims to improve the reliability of the transmission grid and prevent the spread of local outages to neighboring regions through enhanced monitoring capabilities. The transmission owner partners in this project are deploying phasor measurement units (PMUs) and phasor data concentrators (PDCs). New transmission capacitor banks increase the ability of grid operators to regulate transmission voltage. Advanced transmission software determines real-time grid stability margins. These systems increase grid operator visibility of bulk power system conditions in near-real time, enable earlier detection of disturbances that could result in instabilities or outages, and facilitate sharing of information with neighboring regional control areas. Access to better system operating information helps NYISO engineers to improve power system models and analytical techniques, and improve the overall reliability of the NYISO system.

Equipment

• 39 Phasor Measurement Units
• 8 Phasor Data Concentrators
• Synchrophasor Communications Network
• 788 MVAR of Transmission Capacitors

Targeted Benefits

• Improved Electric Service Reliability and Power Quality
• Optimized Generator Operation
• Reduced Costs from Line Losses
• Reduced Wide-Scale Blackouts