TRAST, Preventive Measures for Real-World Reliability

When the power grid is disrupted, Remedial Action Schemes (RAS) are used to maintain grid reliability and prevent cascading events. In this talk, Dr. Xiaoyuan Fan of PNNL describes TRAST, a new tool to analyze, validate, and help create RAS plans.

When the power grid is disrupted – by an outage, a cyberattack, a natural disaster, or an unexpected imbalance of supply and demand – grid operators utilize Remedial Action Schemes (RAS) as the last line of defense to maintain grid reliability and prevent broader, cascading events.

RAS represents one of the core resilience components of the electric power system and is also one unique example of the IT/OT technology fusion in grid modernization and digitalization. In partnership with PacifiCorp and Idaho Power, a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) research team led by Dr. Xiaoyuan Fan has developed Transformative Remedial Action Scheme Tool (TRAST).

The patented technology automates the process of identifying and evaluating RAS used by electric utilities to plan for specific contingencies and emergencies. TRAST uses a novel approach to automatically generate use cases, bringing in advanced statistical data analysis tools, and using machine learning algorithms to analyze, validate, and help create RAS plans.

PNNL’s parallel computing platform and Microsoft cloud environment are utilized for steady state and dynamic simulations under massive contingencies and operating conditions. More realistic settings of RAS systems in the U.S. Western Interconnection can make the grid more reliable and resilient.

This talk was presented on Dec 16, 2021. It was co-hosted by the Boise Computer Society and Power and Energy Chapters, the Seattle Computer Society chapter, the New Orleans Computer Society chapter, the Orange County Computer Society chapter, and the Galveston Bay Computer Society chapter.