Page 38 - GCN, Oct/Nov 2017

DATA, ANALYTICS AND VISU
Category Winner
Getting the big picture on
critical infrastructure
U.S. Electric System Operating Data Tool
Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy
T he Energy Information Admin- istration’s U.S. Electric System Operating Data tool provides
a single view of the country’s entire electrical grid and enables electricity pro- viders and policymakers to make more informed decisions about how the system is operated.
Launched in July 2016, the tool au- tomatically collects data using XML files from 67 balancing authorities, which exchange electricity with one another, ev- ery 60 seconds. The tool is based on the jQuery JavaScript library, and Google’s Angular framework powers user controls and visualizations.
“A lot of this information has not been made public, so this is actually the first chance for everyone to see publicly what is actually [happening] on each electric system,” said April Lee, senior electricity analyst and data visualization specialist at EIA. “That means their demands and how much power they’re generating
in each system, as well as how much electric flows are going between system to system.”
Steve Luminati, lead web project man-
ager at EIA, said there are three aspects to the tool. One is data collection, based on the authorities’ reports about their demand expectations and how much power they anticipate generating. The second part involves analyzing the data using algorithms that Lee’s team wrote to determine whether the data looks good.
For example, if the balancing author- ity serving California said it has negative power generation, that’s probably wrong,
and the algorithm can fill the grid with more accurate information based on the region’s historical electricity usage.
The final element is assembling the data and creating graphics.
“The goal is a more reliable electricity grid,” Luminati said.
Currently in public beta mode, the tool enables officials to see when electricity spikes and lulls occur so they can adjust time-of-use electricity rates. For instance,
38 GCN OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 • GCN.COM
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