A review on synchrophasor communication system: communication technologies, standards and applications

The present-day power system is a complex network that caters to the demands of several applications with diverse energy requirements. Such a complex network is susceptible to faults caused due to several reasons such as the failure of the equipment, hostile weather conditions, etc. These faults if not detected in the real-time may lead to cascading failures resulting in a blackout. These blackouts have catastrophic consequences which result in a huge loss of resources. For example, a blackout in 2004 caused an economic loss of 10 billion U.S dollars as per the report of the Electricity Consumers Resource Council. Subsequent investigation of the blackout revealed that the catastrophe could have been prevented if there was an early warning system. Similar other blackouts across the globe forced the power system engineers to devise an effective solution for real-time monitoring and control of the power system. The consequence of these efforts is the wide area measurement system (WAMS). The WAMS consists of several sensors known as the phasor measurement units (PMUs) that collect the real information pertaining to the health of the power grid. This information in the form time synchronized voltage and current phasors is communicated to the central control center or the phasor data concentrator (PDC) where the data is analyzed for detection of power system anomalies. The communication of the synchrophasor data from each PMU to the PDC constitutes the synchrophasor communication system (SPCS). Thus, the SPCS can be considered as the edifice of the WAMS and its reliable operation is essential for the effective monitoring and control of the power system. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the various synchrophasor communication technologies, communication standards and applications. It also identifies the existing knowledge gaps and the scope for future research work. © 2018, The Author(s).