System and method for prioritising maintenance actions in electric power grids

A system for prioritizing maintenance actions in an electric power grid, the system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:
• receive precursor event data associated with a plurality of locations in the electric power grid;
• compute, for each location of the plurality of locations, a plurality of independent priority dimensions based on the precursor event data, the plurality of independent priority dimensions comprising:
• (a) a confidence metric indicative of a reliability of the precursor event data at the location, wherein the confidence metric is computed based on signal quality and statistical distribution characteristics of the precursor event data;
• (b) an urgency metric indicative of a temporal development of precursor event activity at the location, wherein the urgency metric is computed based on a rate of change of an event frequency of the precursor event activity and an energy trajectory of the precursor event activity;
• and
• (c) an impact metric indicative of a consequence of a fault at the location, wherein the impact metric is determined based on a topology of the electric power grid and an estimated loss of electrical load associated with the location;
• combine the confidence metric, the urgency metric, and the impact metric to generate a composite priority score for each location of the plurality of locations;
• and
• generate a ranked list of the plurality of locations based on the composite priority score for prioritizing the maintenance actions in the electric power grid.

A computer-implemented method for prioritizing maintenance actions in an electric power grid, the method comprising:

• detecting one or more precursor events using a plurality of sensors to generate precursor event data;
• determining, for each precursor event of the one or more precursor events, a location using a travelling-wave method based on differences in arrival times of travelling waves received at the plurality of sensors, such that the precursor event data is associated with a plurality of locations in the electric power grid;
• computing, for each location of the plurality of locations, a plurality of independent priority dimensions based on the precursor event data, the plurality of independent priority dimensions comprising:
• (a) a confidence metric indicative of a reliability of the precursor event data at the location, wherein the confidence metric is computed based on signal quality and statistical distribution characteristics of the precursor event data;
• (b) an urgency metric indicative of a temporal development of precursor event activity at the location, wherein the urgency metric is computed based on a rate of change of an event frequency of the precursor event activity and an energy trajectory of the precursor event activity;
• and
• (c) an impact metric indicative of a consequence of a fault at the location, wherein the impact metric is determined based on a topology of the electric power grid and an estimated loss of electrical load associated with the location;
• combining the confidence metric, the urgency metric, and the impact metric to generate a composite priority score for each location of the plurality of locations;
• and
• generating a ranked list of the plurality of locations based on the composite priority score for prioritizing the maintenance actions in the electric power grid.

A computer-implemented method for prioritising maintenance actions in an electric power grid, the method comprising:

• finding locations of one or more grid fault sources or signal sources in the electric power grid using arrival time analysis of signals originating from or caused by said signal sources, the signals being recorded by a plurality of data-network-connected sensors monitoring grid conductors and components at geographically distributed locations along grid circuits and branches;
• receiving precursor event data associated with the plurality of locations in the electric power grid;
• computing, for each location of the plurality of locations, a plurality of independent priority dimensions based on the precursor event data, the plurality of independent priority dimensions comprising:
• (a) a confidence metric indicative of a reliability of the precursor event data at the location, wherein the confidence metric is computed based on signal characteristics of the precursor event data;
• (b) an urgency metric indicative of a temporal development of precursor signal activity at the location, wherein the urgency metric is computed based on a rate of change of signal activity emitted from the location, the signal activity being identified as originating from that location using analysis of signal arrival times;
• and
• (c) an impact metric indicative of a consequence of a fault at the location, wherein the impact metric is determined based on a topology of the electric power grid and an estimated loss of electrical load or number of users associated with the location;
• combining the confidence metric, the urgency metric, and the impact metric to generate a composite priority score for each location of the plurality of locations;
• and
• generating a ranked list of the plurality of locations based on the composite priority score for prioritising the maintenance actions in the electric power grid.