Skip to main content

News

New NIST Project Titled “Electric Grid Resilience”

In February 2021, Winter Storm Uri demonstrated to Texas and the rest of the nation both the criticality and the vulnerability of our electric grids. Unfortunately, there are multiple other events, potentially much more extreme than Uri, which could also affect our electricity supply. At the same time, the electric grids are rapidly changing with

Webinar on 10/23/2024: Updates on Geomagnetic Disturbance Research: State Estimation, Integrated GIC and Harmonics Analysis, and the Latest G5 Storm

Geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) caused by solar coronal mass ejections can induce quasi-dc currents in the ac power grid, potentially leading to transformer heating, harmonics, increased reactive power consumption by transformers, and possibly even voltage collapse. This talk will briefly review GMD modeling and impacts on the grid, followed by an update on the GMD research

Short Course “Primer on the Planning and Operation of Large-Scale Electric Grids” Will Be Held at TAMUS on February 4-6, 2025

Description Electricity is the lifeblood of our modern society, and for most this electricity is supplied by large-scale, interconnected electric grids.  Engineered as the ultimate in plug-and-play convenience, the wall outlet is actually the gateway to the world’s largest and most complex machine.  The goal of this course is to provide a comprehensive introduction for

New DOE CESER Project “Preventing Wildfire Ignition from Powerline Equipment Failures Using ML-Based Classification of Real-Time Electrical Measurements”

Powerline-caused wildfires can occur when powerline equipment fails, creating ignition mechanisms. These mechanisms include melting devices, burning particles dropping from arcing parts, and lines down due to component failure. Research has shown that many equipment failures slowly develop over days or weeks prior to catastrophic failure that can ignite a fire. The Office of Cybersecurity,

SGC Member Companies – Power & Computer Engineering Student Informational Session on September 3, 2024

An informational session was held for the Smart Grid Center (SGC) of Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) for power and computer engineering students on September 3, 2024. Engineer representatives from Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and from Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) gave revealing and enlightening presentations to the attendees, answers all questions,

Research on Geomagnetic Disturbance

A recent article highlighted the importance of research on Geomagnetic Disturbance (GMD) conducted by a team of researchers working in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, that applies models of the real and synthetic electric grid to research recommendation options for power grid operators to lessen the impact of major solar

It Can Light Up the Sky and Shut Down the Grid: The Aurora Borealis

The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is a dazzling natural phenomenon, but it can pose serious risks to our power infrastructure. Learn how researchers at Texas A&M are examining the potential impact of geomagnetic disturbances on the grid and exploring ways to protect critical power systems. Read the full story