GE Energy announced the release of an enhanced wide area monitoring solution designed to improve the way utilities monitor and analyze power over a large geographic area. GE is offering a new secure, high capacity Phasor Data Concentrator (PDC), Multilin™ P30, along with enhanced Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) to provide faster, more accurate information for better decision making while reducing ownership costs through easy integration and deployment.

A utility’s wide area monitoring system and dynamic disturbance analysis capabilities are key processes to ensuring power system disturbances on the grid don’t become outages across a large geographic area. With the enhanced solution, operators can make faster, more informed decisions and improve post-event analysis. In addition, utilities can reduce infrastructure installation and operation costs by more than 40 percent by simultaneously reporting synchrophasors for protection and metering applications from a single PMU.

“One of the greatest benefits that wide area monitoring technologies can deliver is the ability to prevent widespread blackouts in which different interconnected systems are out of balance,” said Juan Macias, general manager, grid automation for GE’s Digital Energy business. “The key is having high speed data and analyzing capabilities for faster system adaptation. GE’s enhanced wide area monitoring solution enables users to have a better indication of grid stress, which allows them to begin corrective action sooner and help maintain system reliability.”

Designed to natively support and adhere to the latest standards, such as IEEE C37.118 and draft standards, such as NERC PRC-002-2, GE’s wide area monitoring solution allows utilities to seamlessly deploy dynamic disturbance recording systems.

With built-in advanced security features, including role-based access control, secure firmware upgrades and encrypted data transmission, utilities are able to easily integrate these GE devices into their existing NERC-CIP environments.

GE’s PDC and enhanced PMUs are part of a large array of GE’s grid technologies that are designed to increase network stability and reliability, helping to improve efficiency across the electrical grid, from demand management technologies that allow consumers to control their energy usage to industrial scale technologies designed to help grid operators meet high demands and increase efficiency. For more information please visit: http://www.gedigitalenergy.com.

About GE

GE is an advanced technology, services and finance company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. Dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation and infrastructure, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide.

GE also serves the energy sector by providing technology and service solutions that are based on a commitment to quality and innovation. The company continues to invest in new technology solutions and grow through strategic acquisitions to strengthen its local presence and better serve customers around the world. The businesses that comprise GE Energy—GE Power & Water, GE Energy Services and GE Oil & Gas—work together with more than 90,000 global employees and 2010 revenues of $38 billion, to provide integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; as well as other alternative fuels and new grid modernization technologies to meet 21st century energy needs.