GE Power to Deliver World's Largest WAMS

GE Power’s Grid Solutions business (GE) announced today the commissioning of the first leg of the mega grid-stabilization project by handing over what will be the world’s largest Wide Area Monitoring System (WAMS) solution to Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) for the Northern Grid (NR) in India. The project is part of the Unified Real Time Dynamic State Measurement (URTDSM) initiative that entails monitoring and controlling of the electricity supply across the country which will positively impact India’s total population. The project has been executed by GE T&D India Limited, listed entity of GE Power's Grid Solutions business in India.

This first stage will enable PGCIL to monitor power flow across 110 substations in the Northern Grid (NR) and respond to fluctuations within a fraction of a second. This will be critical in addressing power demand-supply imbalances and ensuring grid stability benefitting from the integration of renewable energy with the grid.  The northern grid covers nine control centers, namely Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Chandigarh.

When fully commissioned, this new WAMS solution will be the world’s largest comprised of 1,184 Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) and 34 control centers across India, 350 substations in the national grid. Part of GE Power’s Digital Energy portfolio, this solution obtains input data 25 times per second from all the PMUs installed (as compared to conventional SCADA, sampling once in nearly 5 seconds), with real time views on geographic displays, analytical applications and the capacity to store 500 TB of data. Moreover, it will also fully secure the grid from any cyber security threat, incorporating the latest firewall policies. The development and testing of the new software and substation devices was undertaken by GE teams from India, the UK and USA supported by PGCIL teams for a duration of two years.

On the commissioning of the project, Reinaldo Garcia, president and CEO of GE Power’s Grid Solutions business said, “GE is responsible for about one-third of the world’s electricity capacity. In today’s environment, this WAMS commissioning is considered a big leap forward – a remarkable, pioneering achievement which benefits the people in India.” Garcia added, “Our dedicated teams across the business are committed to successfully deliver on a project of this magnitude. Only GE can replicate this impressive solution for customers around the globe.”

In recognition of India’s commitment to digitize its power system and modernize its grid, GE Power Chief Digital Officer Steven Martin commented, “The digital transformation of the energy sector is one of the globe’s greatest imperatives today. It’s exciting to see PGCIL harnessing the benefits of real-time data monitoring, improved decision making, and stronger cyber protection in order to ensure a steady, resilient power supply.”

Today, the Indian electricity network is the world’s largest synchronized grid with a capacity of 363 GW.  In July 2012, India suffered the world’s biggest power blackout due to a grid failure which impacted more than 620 million people across 22 states. A committee of international experts formed by the government to minimize the future possibility and impact of grid failure, recommended the implementation of a Wide Area Monitoring System (WAMS) solution across the country to measure the dynamic state of the grid and detect the onset of any unstable oscillation event.

Commenting on the development, Sunil Wadhwa, MD, GE T&D India Limited and Leader of GE Power’s Grid Solutions business in South Asia said, “The commissioning of the Wide Area Monitoring System (WAMS) technology of this scale and size is unparalleled in the history of power transmission in India. This will prove to be an important milestone in ensuring supply of uninterrupted, 24X7 high-quality power supply and integration of renewable energy with the country’s electrical grid.”