Outage Estimator for Power Grid Premises
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power grid systems face challenges in accurately estimating the power state of premises without having to ping each smart meter individually, especially during events where some meters may not send messages due to power outages, leading to inefficiencies in outage detection and response.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a two-stage analysis system that identifies feeders with event messages and those without, requesting pings only from smart meters on transformers and laterals not previously evaluated, allowing for accurate power state estimation without pinging every smart meter, using a utility server and smart meter monitor to generate and update outage data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the system pings every smart meter individually to estimate power state, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to the extensive time and resources required
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the power grid into hierarchical levels (feeders, laterals, transformers, smart meters) and applies different analysis strategies to each segment. The two-stage analysis processes feeders with event messages separately from those without, and within each stage processes different levels of the hierarchy with appropriate ping strategies, enabling efficient parallel processing while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of pinging every smart meter, the system performs partial action by selectively pinging only those meters necessary for accurate estimation. The first stage analyzes feeders with event messages using selective pinging, and the second stage analyzes feeders without event messages using similar selective approaches, avoiding unnecessary pings while maintaining measurement precision.
2Device complexity
If the system uses a simplified single-stage analysis approach, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to inability to handle different feeder types appropriately
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a dynamic two-stage analysis approach where the analysis strategy adapts based on the presence or absence of event messages from smart meters. The first stage dynamically processes feeders with event messages using selective pinging, while the second stage dynamically processes feeders without event messages using different criteria, allowing the system to maintain precision without excessive complexity.
3Productivity
If the system processes all feeders simultaneously with the same analysis method, then productivity is improved through parallel processing, but measurement precision deteriorates due to uniform treatment of heterogeneous feeders
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments feeders into two distinct groups based on the presence of event messages and processes them through different analysis stages. This segmentation enables parallel processing of multiple feeders within each stage while applying precision-optimized methods appropriate to each segment's characteristics, resolving the contradiction between speed and accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
An outage estimator that generates outage data characterizing a power state for a number of premises serviced by a power grid, the number of premises comprising a first set of the premises and a second set of the premises different from the first set of the premises. The generating includes executing a first stage analysis that estimates the power state for the first set of the premises associated with a set of transformers coupled to a first feeder in the power grid in response to detecting an event message from a smart meter associated with the first set of the premises. The generating also includes executing a second stage analysis that estimates the power state for a second set of premises associated with a set of laterals coupled to a second feeder in the power grid in response to detecting that no event messages have been provided from smart meters associated with the second set of the premises within a predetermined amount of time.