Communication Delays

in Wide Area Measurement

Systems (WAMS)
Biju Naduvathuparambil,
Matthew C. Valenti, and
Ali Feliachi
Lane Department of Comp. Sci. & Elect. Eng.
West Virginia University

Preview of Talk
Idea: Communication delays in WAMS due to the
usage of phasor measurement units (PMUs).
Motivation: The use of innovative techniques like
PMUs in wide area protection systems in a
deregulated power industry.
Technique: PMU processing time, PMU data format
(IEEE 1344) length, and communication link
involved.

Wide Area Protection

Technical Advantage:
Wide area protection (WAP) systems
(with the help of Phasor Measurement Units)
enhance system reliability by early detection and
immediate avoidance of possible catastrophic events.

Economics:
WAP is an appropriate system for business support in an unbundled and
open-access utility environment.
WAP is designed for an open-access market where production and
transmission patterns will more often change than in a closed market.
WAP creates maximum profitability by reducing downtime and by
optimizing system performance.

System Setup of WAMS

PMU

PMU

PHASOR DATA
CONCENTRATOR

PMU

COMMUNICATION
LINK

APPLICATION
SOFTWARE

PMU

SYSTEM PROTECTION CENTER

MONITORING
CONTROL
DATABASE

Phasor Measurement Units

Pulses from GPS satellite

Analog power
signal

ANTI-ALIASING
FILTER

GPS RECEIVER

ANALOG TO
DIGITAL
CONVERTER
Phasor

Data

MICROPROCESSOR
Communication port

PMU Facts
PMU uses discrete Fourier transform (DFT)
to obtain the fundamental frequency
components of voltage / current.
Data samples are taken over one cycle /
multiple cycles.
Currently, sampling is done at 12
samples/cycle (IEEE C37.111 Std.).
Resolution of the A / D converter is 16 bits.

Technique behind PMU

Samples are used to calculate the fundamental frequency component
phasor magnitude and phasor angle.

2
X
N

j 2 k / N
x
e
k
k 1

X = phasor, N = total number of samples, xk= waveform sample

The positive sequence phasor is then calculated as:

1
2
X1 ( X a aX b a X c )
3
ae

j 2
3

Applications of PMUs
State estimation
Instability prediction
Adaptive relaying
Improved control of power systems

PMU Data Communication

PMU communicates using the IEEE 1344
data format.
IEEE 1344
Data frame
Information regarding phasor data

Header frame
Identification information about the PMU

Configuration frame
Number of phasors and digital channels

IEEE 1344
Type of
frame

Nature of data

Average length
(bits)

Data Frame

Phasor information
Channel digital input data
Trigger status of frequency, angle,
Over-current, under-voltage
Rate of frequency change

640

Header Frame

PMU identification code

Data source information
Algorithms and filter data

200

Configuration
Frame

PMU information
Number of phasors and channels
Nominal line frequency
Transmission period of phasors

2800

Communication Options
Telephone lines
Fiber-optic cables
Satellites
Power lines
Microwave links

Communication Delay Causes

Transducer delays
Window size of the DFT
Processing time
Data size of the PMU output
Multiplexing and transitions
Communication link involved
Data concentrators

Delay Calculations
The total delay can be expressed as:
L
f p
R
f
p

L
R

fixed delay
link propagation delay
amount of data transmitted
data rate of the link
associated random delay jitter

Delay Calculations
Fixed delay
Delay due to processing, DFT, multiplexing and data
concentration
Independent of communication medium used
Estimated to be around 75 ms
Propagation delay
Function of the communication link and physical
separation
Ranges from 25 ms in case of fiber-optic cables to
200 ms in case of low earth orbiting (LEO) satellites

Delay Calculations
The data length L of the PMU message is assumed
to be around 3640 bits (including data, header and
configuration frames)
The data rate R is assumed to be around 33.6 kbps
for telephone lines and power lines. The data rate
R, for fiber-optic cables and microwave links, is
considered to be infinity for all practical purposes

Delay Calculation Table

Communication
link

Associated delay one way

(milliseconds)

Fiber-optic cables

~ 100-150

Microwave links

~ 100-150

Power line (PLC)

~ 150-350

Telephone lines

~ 200-300

Satellite link

~ 500-700

Conclusion
Communication delays play an important role in
determining the effectiveness of control
procedures
Delay parameters presented can be integrated with
power systems design and analysis.
Distributed control with outdated measurements.