A PMU Scheduling Scheme for Transmission of Synchrophasor Data in Electric Power Systems

With the proposition to install a large number of phasor measurement units (PMUs) in the future electric grid, it is essential to provide robust communications infrastructure for phasor data across the network. We make progress in this direction by devising a simple time division multiplexing scheme for transmission of phasor data from the PMUs to a central server: time is divided into frames and a particular set of PMUs within a given time frame take turns to transmit to the control center. The main contribution of this work is a scheduling policy based on which the PMUs take turns during a time frame. Let N be the optimal number of PMUs obtained by solving the PMU placement problem. The scheduling scheme is developed for two scenarios: (a) topology-based PMU placement, when N is time-invariant and (b) when N is a function of time, due to the dynamic nature of the system states. Unlike strategies devised for conventional communications, the scheduling scheme presented here is intended for the power network, since it is governed by the measure of electrical connectedness between various components in the grid. The problem is approached from the perspective of complex networks, which promotes the electrical structure of the grid over its topological structure. Relative merits of the proposed scheduling scheme over conventional techniques employed in practice are demonstrated via simulations. 

 
Bio: Nagananda was born and raised in Bangalore, India. He got his B.Tech in telecommunications engineering from Visveswaraiah Technological University in 2003. He got his M.S. in electrical engineering from Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon in 2007, and his PhD in electrical engineering from Lehigh University in 2013. His was affiliated with the ECE department at the Indian Institute of Science in various capacities. He is also an adjunct associate professor at the People's Education Society Institute of Technology, Bangalore. His main areas of interest are in information theory and communications aimed at solving infrastructure-related problems in the electric power grid.