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Role of Synchrophasor Technology in the
Development of a Smarter Transmission Grid
Navin B. Bhatt, Fellow, IEEE
Abstract—Synchrophasor technology was first introduced
in 1980s. Since then, many electric utilities such as American
Electric Power (AEP), Bonneville Power Administration
(BPA), Southern California Edison (SCE), New York Power
Authority (NYPA), as well as universities such as Virginia
Polytechnic Institute (VPI), have been conducting R&D to
explore and advance the application of synchrophasor
technology. The R&D pace has accelerated recently, mainly
due to active participation and leadership provided by US
Department Of Energy (DOE) and North American Electric
Reliability Corporation (NERC). These R&D efforts have
shown that the synchrophasor technology has promise to
greatly enhance the transmission planning, design &
operations processes. This paper provides a brief description
of synchrophasor technology and summarizes potential
synchrophasor technology applications that can contribute
towards the development of a smarter transmission grid.
Index Terms—Smart Grid, Modern Grid, Synchrophasor
Technology, Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU), Energy
Management System (EMS), SCADA, State Estimation (SE).
I. INTRODUCTION
S mart Grid has become a major driving force towards
the development of novel technologies in the energy
delivery industry around the world. While the meaning of
Smart Grid differs among various players, a broad,
comprehensive definition of Smart Grid was provided by
the US National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) [1]. Per
NETL, “Smart Grid is the integration of technologies that
allow us to rethink electric grid design and operations.”
Principal characteristics of a Smart Grid include: self
healing; empowerment of customer; tolerant to security
attacks; enhanced power quality; accommodation of a
variety of generation options; enabler of markets;
optimized asset utilization; and minimization of operation
& maintenance (O&M) expenses. The NETL primer cites
the following key technologies: 1) Integrated
Communication across the Grid; 2) Advanced Control
Methods; 3) Sensing, Metering & Measurement; 4)
Advanced Grid Components; and 5) Decision Support and
Human Interfaces.
Per FERC, the characteristics of a Smart Grid include:
increased use of digital information and control
technology; and dynamic optimization of grid operations
Navin B. Bhatt is with American Electric Power (AEP), Gahanna, OH
43230, USA (e-mail: nbbhatt@aep.com).
978-1-4244-6551-4/10/$26.00 ©2010 IEEE
and resources [2].
It is evident from above that power system measurement
technologies have a key role to play towards the
development of a Smart Grid. These technologies
encompass measurement of power system quantities (such
as voltage, current, frequency and power), as well as
monitoring of equipment health. Such information
facilitates the operator’s situational awareness. The
information can also be used to actuate automated controls
to improve reliability and efficiency of the grid, thus
contributing to the development of a self-healing grid.
The synchrophasor technology is a power system
measurement technology with potential to enhance the
transmission planning, design & operations processes, as
described below. By enhancing these processes,
synchrophasor technology is geared to make the existing
transmission grid even smarter that what it is today.
II. WHAT IS SYNCHROPHASOR TECHNOLOGY?
An electrical phasor is a complex number, made up of
magnitude and relative angle, to describe a sinusoidal
voltage or current waveform. When phasors are measured
simultaneously and synchronized with a precise clock
(through the Global Positioning Satellite or GPS), these
phasors are referred to as synchrophasors.
To measure an electrical phasor, a devise known as a
phasor measurement unit (PMU) is used. In addition to
measuring voltage and current phasors, a PMU can derive
the associated frequency and electrical power.
A representative synchrophasor infrastructure is shown
in Figure 1. It consists of 3 layers: 1) Measurement Layer,
made up of PMUs, usually connected at transmission
voltage levels; 2) Data Collection Layer, made up of
phasor data concentrators (PDCs) to centrally collect and
synchronize the data being streamed in real time from
PMUs across the grid; and 3) Application Layer, made up
of tools to convert the PMU data into real time information
for grid operators or to archive the PMU data for off-line
analysis.
Typically, PMU data from a transmission substation
consist of the following: positive-sequence bus and/or line
voltage phasors, line current phasors, bus frequency and
line MW/Mvar flows. All values are time-stamped using
Universal Time Coordinate (UTC) standard and
synchronized using GPS communication. PMU data have
high-resolution, with sampling rate in the 10-60 samples

per second range. PMUs can also measure individual
phase voltages and currents, as well as harmonics.
Fig. 1: A Representative Synchrophasor Infrastructure (Source: EIPP)
The conventional technology used by grid operators for
situational awareness (i.e. for knowledge of the current
state of power system) is supervisory control & data
acquisition (SCADA). SCADA data are used to derive
State Estimation (SE) solution, which provides the state of
the power system. Synchrophasor technology is well suited
to supplement and eventually replace the SCADA
technology. The advantages of synchrophasor technology
include: 1) direct measurement (as opposed to calculated
values using model-based SE solution from SCADA data;
2) time-stamped data, accurate within tens of micro-
seconds of UTC; and 3) high resolution (10-60 samples per
second) data.
Due to these features, PMU data are uniquely positioned
to provide situational awareness on a sub-second basis
across a wide area of power system. It can provide an
instantaneous measure of power system stress between 2
wide area locations (through angular difference between
the locations) or an instantaneous measure of power system
dynamics (swings), which requires high resolution data.
Synchrophasor technology has been often refereed to as an
MRI of power system, as opposed to an X-ray provided by
the SCADA technology. And, because of instantaneous
measurements, PMU data are well suited as input to
activate local or centralized automated controls. Such use
of synchrophasor technology for wide area monitoring and
control will facilitate the evolution of the existing grid into
a smarter transmission grid.
III. SYNCHROPHASOR TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
Synchrophasor technology was first introduced in
1980s. AEP & VPI were among the pioneers, who
continued to explore and advance its application [3, 4]. The
R&D pace accelerated in 2003, when US DOE started
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funding the Eastern Interconnection Phasor Project (EIPP).
In 2008, EIPP was transformed in to North American
Synchrophasor Initiative (NASPI), with NERC co-sharing
the project leadership with DOE. In recent years,
significant advancement has been made around the world
in the development of synchrophasor technology [5].
Figure 2 shows PMU locations in North America as of
March 2009. The recent US Smart Grid Investment Grant
(SGIG) awards will further provide a significant boost to
the synchrophasor technology.
Fig. 2: Networked PMUs in N. America as of March 2009 (Source:
NASPI)
As mentioned earlier, synchrophasor technology is
expected to play a key role in advancing the state of wide
area monitoring & control of transmission grid. A few
promising applications are outlined below.
A) Situational Awareness: Tools have been developed
to display PMU data in real time, in order to provide an
instantaneous view of power system quantities to grid
operators. The quantities include transmission voltages,
line currents & flows, bus frequency and phase angles.
When key quantities are monitored at important locations,
the information can measure power system stress and
foretell an impending system emergency. One such tool is
Real Time Dynamic Monitoring System (RTDMS),
developed through DOE funding, shown in the right half of
Figure 3. RTDMS has been deployed in CAISO control
center, where its application is being developed and
demonstrated since 2004.
B) State Estimation / State Measurement: EMS vendors
and electric utilities have been conducting research on
integrating PMU data into State Estimation calculations to
improve the accuracy of SE solutions. NYPA and TVA
have demonstrated this application on their EMSs. Entergy,
TVA, AEP, Areva and others are participating in furthering
this application to derive the benefits of direct, accurate
and high-resolution power system data provided by the
PMUs.
Research has indicated that if PMUs are installed at one

Fig. 3: Using Synchrophasor Technology to Facilitate Integration of Wind Generation
third of the bulk power system locations, the state of the
entire power system can be measured instantaneously. This
will require thousands of PMU installed and the
accompanying infrastructure, including EMS tools. When
this is accomplished, the industry will move from
estimating the power system state by using SCADA data to
measuring the power system state directly on a sub-second
basis by using PMU data.
C) Event Analysis: To analyze a power system
dynamics event, high-resolution data are essential. PMUs
provide such data. An analysis of PMU data captured
during the 8/14/03 US/Canada blackout provided an insight
into how the dynamic performance evolved over time
during the blackout [6]. NERC has reported that the PMU
data recorded during the 2/28/08 Florida event helped the
event analysis tremendously.
D) Model Validation: R&D is underway to use the PMU
data to validate power system models used in system
dynamics studies for analyzing power system stability
performance. High resolution data, such as PMU data, are
required for such validation.
E) Line Parameter Calculations: PMU data from two
ends of a line can be used to derive accurate line
parameters [7]. Such an exercise is useful to validate
design data based on line geometry. Further research is
needed to see how line parameter calculation on a
continuous basis can help in correlating the changes in line
parameters with external factors the line is exposed to such
as corona.
F) System Emergency/Restoration: During the 2008
hurricane Gustav, Entergy used PMU data to identify the
extent of system blackout, including the outages of specific
facilities [8]. This information was extremely useful in
restoring its system.
G) Integration of Wind Generation: As US is getting
ready to integrate a large amount of renewable generation
resources, the synchrophasor technology can help in
multiple ways. PMU data can assess how the dynamic
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performance of the system changes with various levels of
wind generation penetration. For example, AEP is
embarking on a small R&D project to see how modal
behavior in ERCOT changes with the integration of wind
generation. Also, as shown in Figure 3, PMUs installed at
wind generation collector points can provide instantaneous
data to system operator. This can help in acquiring
generation resources that can be ramped up or down, to
meet the energy balance requirements, taking into
consideration the wind variability.
H) Automated Control Techniques: Since PMU
measurements are instantaneous, PMU data can be used to
activate local or centralized controls. Such application has
been explored by some, but further investigation is
necessary.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
Synchrophasor technology holds promise to enhance the
planning, design and operation of transmission grid. The
technology can also help in making the grid self-healing, in
facilitating the integration of various generation options,
and in facilitating the optimization of asset utilization. This
would help in making the transmission grid smarter.
Significant momentum exists around the world for the
development, demonstration and deployment of the
synchrophasor technology. This is evident from the
industry participation in NASPI and the recent US DOE
Smart Grid Investment Grant activities. The next important
step for the industry is to focus on specific applications of
synchrophasor technology, some of which have been
identified in this paper.
V. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author acknowledges the contributions of Mr.
Sanjoy Sarawgi of AEP towards the preparation of this
paper.
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VI. REFERENCES
[1] US National Energy Technology Lab, "Smart Grid Primer,” 2006.
[2] http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/smart-grid.asp
[3] Phadke A. G., “Synchronized Phasor Measurements - A Historical
Overview,” Transmission and Distribution Conference and
Exhibition 2002, Asia Pacific, IEEE/PES
[4] Schulz, R.P., Van Slyck, L.S., Horowitz, S.H., “Potential
Applications of Fast Phasor Measurements on Utility Systems,”
IEEE PICA, 1989.
[5] California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE), “Phasor
Measurement Application Study,” Prepared for California Energy
Commission, 2006.
[6] J.F. Hauer, N.B. Bhatt, K. Shah, S. Kolluri, “Performance of
“WAMS East” in Providing Dynamic Information for the North East
Blackout of August 14, 2003,” Presented at a Panel Session at
IEEE/PES General Meeting, Denver, CO, June 8, 2004.
[7] Jensen K., Hendrickson R., Demeny K., Tuttle J., "Verification of
Transmission Line Impedance," Final Report, 2006-2007 Electrical
Engineering Senior Design Final Report, Michigan Technological
University
[8] Galvan F., Mandal S., Thomas M., "The Role of Phasor Data in
Emergency Operations," Transmission and Distribution World,
December 2008

VII. BIOGRAPHY
Navin Bhatt (F2009) is American Electric Power (AEP)'s Manager of
Advanced Transmission Studies & Technologies. He is responsible for
organizing, managing & coordinating activities related to advanced
analytical studies in support of planning, engineering, design and
operation of the AEP transmission system, and for managing the
Transmission R&D Program. Navin earned his MSEE and PhD degrees
from the West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. Since
joining AEP in 1977, he has been involved in conducting, managing and
coordinating advanced transmission studies in areas such as stability,
generator controls, system restoration and voltage security/collapse.
Navin has authored or co-authored more than 20 technical papers. He is a
member of Eta Kappa Nu and Sigma Xi honor societies and a Registered
Professional Engineer (PE) in the States of Ohio and New York. Since
1990s, Navin has been involved in synchrophasor technology R&D
activities. In 2006, he was also recognized by the North American
SynchroPhasor Initiative (NASPI) for his sustained leadership
contributions in the development, promotion and deployment of
synchrophasor technology.