New System Trains Good Grid Operators with Bad Data

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Press Release, 22 Jun 2006 Power grid operators now have the ability to train like pilots, with simulators providing faulty readings designed to throw them off. Such misleading data and resulting loss of "situational awareness" was identified as a major cause of the August 2003 blackout -- which cost the country between $4 billion and $10 billion. Better training to identify and resolve bad data was one recommendation in the final report on the August 2003 blackout. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, looking to train grid operators to recognize bad information due to instrument failure or malicious hacking, were surprised to learn from vendors that this wasn't standard industry practice for hands-on training simulators currently used by the electrical transmission industry. Read more