Analysis and Evaluation for the Performance of the Communication Infrastructure for Real Wide Area Monitoring Systems (WAMS) Based on 3G Technology

— Wide Area Monitoring Systems (WAMS) utilizing synchrophasor measurements is considered one of the essential parts in smart grids that enable system operators to monitor, operate, and control power systems in wide geographical area. On the other hand, high-speed, reliable and scalable data communication infrastructure is crucial in both construction and operation of WAMS. Universal mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), the 3G standard for mobile communication networks, was developed to provide high speed data transmission with reliable service performance for mobile users. Therefore, UMTS is considered a promising solution for providing a communication infrastructure for WAMS. 3G based EWAMS (Egyptian wide area Monitoring System) is designed and implemented in Egypt through deployment a number of frequency disturbance recorders (FDRs) devices on a live 220kV/500kV Egyptian grid in cooperation with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC). The developed EWAMS can gather information from 11 FDRs devices which are geographically dispersed throughout the boundary of the Egyptian power grid and to a remote data management center located at Helwan University. The communication performance for the developed EWAMS in terms of communication time delay, throughput, and percentage of wasted bandwidth are studied in this paper. The results showed that the system can achieve successfully the communication requirements needed by various wide area monitoring applications.