Abstract—A modern power grid needs to become smarter in ( a4 X* m) @0 Z* R7 border to provide an affordable, reliable, and sustainable supply* w5 t6 L) m$ h8 l
of electricity. For these reasons, considerable activity has been# b3 o8 \# E q/ }
carried out in the United States and Europe to formulate and , a9 Z; G! z8 ^5 Wpromote a vision for the development of future smart power grids. * ] c, j0 m6 u0 |/ j6 u% MHowever, the majority of these activities emphasized only the# H+ L1 c* z" W9 M, D2 [) Z
distribution grid and demand side leaving the big picture of the/ v* _& R% g' @$ R6 M8 ]
transmission grid in the context of smart grids unclear. This paper. G/ U- x# Y9 a& {
presents a unique vision for the future of smart transmission grids / h0 ?: t9 c9 Oin which their major features are identified. In this vision, each$ a; d: ]9 o+ c8 t0 l
smart transmission grid is regarded as an integrated system that " ?3 W' ]3 j+ @3 V9 \/ n- d7 sfunctionally consists of three interactive, smart components, i.e.,) W' X. t3 a7 y* o8 m+ }, ]2 d
smart control centers, smart transmission networks, and smart 9 |/ d* S2 F- I0 D4 J( d# ^substations. The features and functions of each of the three func-7 ?: l3 w9 Y8 `: D; w7 v* |0 o5 a
tional components, as well as the enabling technologies to achieve 4 L5 f5 s0 k' }4 R2 Bthese features and functions, are discussed in detail in the paper. 4 O! u% v6 i" k! d( g9 u/ f3 ~! X' f. d- W! B) G* n0 u9 J
F$ X% b/ G Z1 VAuthor:! [7 H( Z' t; z1 C; H7 M! `+ i
Fangxing (Fran) Li (M’01-SM’05) received the Ph.D. degree from Virginia 0 T$ r6 N8 c9 bTech in 2001. $ z/ ^# G1 ]3 \6 v; X+ ?He was with ABB, Raleigh, NC, as a Senior and then a Principal Engineer for" T: _1 n, N. W9 H! M! |& B( s! n
four and one-half years. He has been an Assistant Professor at the University of 4 ~9 \- K& e' {9 YTennessee (UT), Knoxville, since August 2005. His research interests include& R1 ~ `( k& V4 c2 g' d5 M4 F
energy market, reactive power, distributed energy and distribution systems, re-1 l9 d( t+ j5 J9 R$ l+ }0 j
liability, and computer applications.( i+ d ^8 ~8 D! s5 _
Dr. Li is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of North Carolina.8 A, @. Z7 Z1 f' w3 t7 [
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