Space Weather Effects on Current and Future Electric Power Systems

This work addresses the effects of Geomagnetic Disturbances (GMDs) on the present bulk power system as well as the future smart grid, and discusses the mitigation of these geomagnetic impacts, so as to reduce the vulnerabilities of the electric power network to large space weather events. Solar storm characterized by electromagnetic radiation generates geo-electric fields that result in the flow of Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GICs) through the transmission lines, followed by transformers and the ground. As the ground conductivity and the power network topology significantly vary with the region, it becomes imperative to estimate of the magnitude of GICs for different places. In this paper, the magnitude of GIC has been calculated for New York State (NYS) with the help of extensive modelling of the whole NYS electricity transmission network using real data. Although GIC affects only high voltage levels, e.g. above 300 kV, the presence of coastline in NYS makes the low voltage transmission lines also susceptible to GIC. Besides this, the encroachment of technologies pertaining to smart grid implementation, such as Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs), Microgrids, Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS), and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have been analyzed for GMD impacts. Inaccurate PMU results due to scintillation of GPS signals that are affected by electromagnetic interference of solar storm, presence of renewable energy resources in coastal areas that are more vulnerable to GMD, the ability of FACTS devices to either block or pave new path for GICs and so on, shed some light on impacts of GMD on smart grid technologies.