Electric Energy Systems

The Electric Energy Systems track seeks to explore critical questions and innovative methods at the frontier of next generation electric power systems. The focus is on the engineering, economics, and policy issues that are at the forefront of current research, development, and demonstration. The track encompasses four minitracks, each having two sessions with total of eight sessions scheduled sequentially to allow those interested to attend all sessions in the track.

The first minitrack focuses on topics in Monitoring, Control and Protection in electric power systems. Papers in this minitrack will encompass two areas of focus; the first explores methods for fast calibration and error detection, as well as fault and oscillation detection on large scale grids. The second set of papers considers applications specific to operational control of distribution with distributed and renewable resources. Papers in grouping focus on a controlling large-scale energy infrastructure using diverse resources including distributed generation and loads, with fast distributed detection and control.

The second minitrack, entitled Resilient Networks, focuses on enhancing the reliability, security, and resilience of future electric power infrastructure. Advanced technologies will require sophisticated methods for understanding how they can be incorporated into increasingly complex and dynamic infrastructure. Papers in this minitrack consider stability and resilience of networks ranging from large scale transmission, to interconnected microgrids. Method leverage machine learning and AI, stochastic optimization, and complex systems theory, for detection and protection against cascading blackouts, transient instabilities, and malicious attacks.

The third minitrack focuses on Markets, Policy and Computation with topics related to engineering and economic interactions within the electric grid. The first group of papers looks at new frontiers in electricity markets from the perspective of metrics and market structures that will provide the flexibility to adapt to the rapidly changing demands of electric energy systems. The second set of papers explores new problem formulations, algorithmic developments and computational advances that directly address the operational, planning and reliability challenges being faced by operators and users of large-scale energy transmission infrastructures.

Finally, the fourth minitrack deals with important challenges in Integrating Distributed and Renewable Resources into the electric power grid from two perspectives; the first will focus on the necessity to coordinate and engage communities and consumers at the grid edge with new approaches, models and methods for planning, operating, and architecture of, interconnected transmission and/or distribution systems with significant DER penetration. The second focus in this minitrack is on managing increased levels of variability and uncertainty on the transmission system with new approaches to increasing co-ordination, system flexibility, the value and role of new grid support services, and incorporating VG plant output forecasting on all time scales.

Thomas J. Overbye
Texas A&M University
overbye@tamu.edu

C. Lindsay Anderson
Cornell University
cla28@cornell.edu