Patent ID: 8060259

Claim:
A wide-area real-time performance monitoring system for monitoring and assessing dynamic stability of an electric power grid, the system comprising: a monitor computer including an interface for receiving a plurality of data streams, each data stream comprising sub-second, time stamped synchronized phasor measurements wherein the measurements in each stream are collected at geographically distinct points over a wide area of the grid; wherein the monitor computer monitors metrics including at least one of reliability metrics, power grid operations metrics, generation metrics, transmission metrics, suppliers metrics, grid infrastructure security metrics or market metrics over a wide area of the electric power grid, wherein the wide area comprises at least two distinct entities selected from the group consisting of transmission companies, utilities, and regional reliability coordinators; wherein the monitor computer derives in real-time from the plurality of data streams from the at least two distinct entities selected from the group consisting of transmission companies, utilities, and regional reliability coordinators, one or more dynamic stability metrics including phase angles, damping, oscillation modes, and sensitivities for dynamics monitoring using phasor measurements in which the stability metrics are indicative of grid stress and/or instability, over the wide area; and wherein the monitor computer is configured to supply at least two different categories of data concern the metrics to a graphical user interface coupled to the monitor computer for concurrently displaying the at least two different categories of data concerning the metrics, wherein the categories of data include monitoring data, tracking data, historical data, prediction data, and summary data, wherein the graphical user interface provides concurrent visualization of a plurality of metrics directed to a wide geographic area of the grid covering at least two distinct entities selected from the group consisting of transmission companies, utilities, and regional reliability coordinators, and wherein the computer accumulates and updates wide area dynamic performance metrics in real time as to wide area and local area portions of the grid.