ISO-NE launches new “cradle to grave” repository of power system equipment dynamics data
The new system improves the reliability and cost-effectiveness of system operations, the accuracy of power system planning, and the customer experience
On March 1, ISO New England released a new Dynamics Data Management System (DDMS) that provides owners of certain power grid equipment, such as generators, dynamic reactive power devices, HVDC facilities, and special protection systems, with an easier, more efficient way to upload and update the dynamics data they are required to submit.
Dynamics data is detailed technical information about the physical and operational characteristics of power system equipment that ISO engineers use to create elaborate, sophisticated models of the highly networked power grid. The ISO runs simulations on the models to see how power plants and other critical components would behave individually and together under different operating conditions, including system disturbances. These simulations are critical to daily operation of the system and system planning.
Benefits to the region
The old process for communicating dynamics data relied heavily on email and manual actions, which complicated the process of locating the most recent data for a given piece of equipment and updating it when necessary. The new DDMS creates a single data repository and trail of documentation for equipment—from initial proposal in the ISO Interconnection Queue all the way through to commercial operation and any possible future sale of the equipment. It also streamlines the yearly recertification process now required by the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) to confirm with equipment owners that their data is still accurate.
More accurate data from the DDMS helps the ISO create more accurate system models. Models that overestimate the performance of the system can result in unsafe operating conditions, such as those that have led to major system outages in the past in other parts of North America. Conversely, models that underestimate performance can result in overly conservative operations that underutilize the system and reduce cost-effectiveness. Decisions made in system planning, including the determination of reliability needs and upgrades required for the interconnection of new resources, also rely on the accuracy of these models. What’s more, equipment owners are now able to see how the ISO is modeling their equipment.
Accessing the DDMS
The DDMS is part of an SMD application called Customer Ticket Management. Customers who need to submit dynamics data (see the complete list in the ISO Compliance Bulletin MOD-032-1, Data for Power System Modeling and Analysis) should ask their company’s Security Administrator (SA) to assign the appropriate rights in the ISO’s Customer Asset Management System (CAMS). For more information, see the DDMS online training, and contact Customer Support for questions or help.
Related ISO innovations
Read about how the ISO is using the region’s new phasor measurement units (PMUs) to better measure key elements of power system dynamics:
