Webinar: Transmission Topology Optimization: A Software Solution for Improving Congestion Management

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Featured Speakers: Pablo Ruiz, The Brattle Group and NewGrid; Jay Caspary, Southwest Power Pool

Dr. Pablo A. Ruiz is a senior consultant at The Brattle Group, Associate Research Professor at Boston University and co-founder of NewGrid, a software startup providing topology optimization solutions. He was the Principal Investigator for the DOE ARPA-E Transmission Topology Control Algorithms project, which led to the formation of NewGrid. Pablo holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Jay Caspary has more than 37 years of experience in transmission planning, electric and gas resource planning, regulatory services/pricing, marketing/customer choice, and transmission services. Instrumental in developing effective transmission expansion plans for SPP, actively engaged in industry collaborative efforts with neighboring utilities, as well as neighboring systems in ERCOT and WECC. Jay has a BSEE with an emphasis in Power Systems from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Moderator: Bruce Rew, Southwest Power Pool

Registration Cost: FREE

Webinar Abstract: As the penetration of variable energy resources continues to grow in systems around the globe, congestion management becomes increasingly important. Today’s main approach to congestion management through resource re-dispatch usually leads to significant costs because it replaces low-cost generation with generation from higher cost resources. Transmission topology optimization (line switching) complements resource-based congestion management by routing power flow around congested facilities, relying on the available transmission capacity of nearby facilities. Routing is achieved by system reconfigurations, i.e., adjusting system topology to best meet system conditions by opening or closing existing circuit breakers. The result is an increase in transfer capabilities in the desired directions (e.g., from low-cost resources to demand centers) with significant potential for operational, efficiency, reliability, and resilience benefits.

This webinar will review an assessment of the effectiveness of topology optimization to mitigate congested constraints in Southwest Power Pool (SPP) operations and planning applications under complex and extreme congestion conditions. The assessment found reconfigurations to relieve flow by over 25% on average across the congested constraints analyzed, many times fully mitigating congestion without needing a re-dispatch. Experience in using topology optimization in real-time operations and operations support will be discussed.