February 20, 2004—To address worsening strains on US electric power companies that resulted in the August 14, 2003, East Coast Blackout, Silicon Graphics (SGI) and Hydro-Quebec TransEnergie (Hydro-Quebec’s Transmission Division) have teamed to provide a powerful and comprehensive power grid simulation capability that enables power companies to simulate potential problems and test critical equipment improving system reliability.
The joint effort combines SGI Origin 3000, a scalable, microprocessor-based supercomputer, and Hydro-Quebec’s HYPERSIM, a fully digital, real-time power grid simulator application. The offering enables power transmission companies to leverage the field-tested HYPERSIM solution that has successfully supported Hydro-Quebec’s grid simulation needs for three years.
HYPERSIM offers users a precise replica of their energy transmission and distribution systems for testing and training. It incorporates more than 25 years of Hydro-Quebec expertise in analog power system simulation, with the added advantage of a powerful graphical user interface. HYPERSIM shortens testing time cycles from weeks to days, and is able to simulate thousands of faults per day, analyzing them as tables or waveforms.
SGI Origin 3000 supercomputer provides the uninterrupted service and high performance required by such a complex and demanding environment as the HYPERSIM simulation software. The Origin system with SGI NUMAflex shared memory architecture, expandable to more than 1,000 processors in a single-system image, allows customers to scale the solution to suit the size of their power grid.
The offering has the potential to deliver significant cost savings for transmission companies, say the companies. Studies indicate that only three hours of outage per year can cost a utility upwards of $2 million, based on an average energy rate of 10 cents per kWh and a power system of 7,000 MW.
