RAPID: Power Grid Assessment Post IRMA and MARIA

2017年飓风季给美国大西洋地区造成了两次严重打击（厄玛和玛丽亚），造成了重大经济损失。许多客户的电力损失是由于建筑物倒塌、线路故障以及风暴过后无法立即恢复电网运行。飓风“厄玛”和“玛丽亚”的影响在频率和强度方面都与预计的自然灾害增加相一致。本研究探讨飓风的灾后影响，并透过法证分析重建电网的故障历史。目的是确定弹性系统设计中的关键元素。通过从这些极端事件中收集易腐烂的证据，项目团队可以提供有价值的信息，帮助通过战略和优化流程提高电网的恢复能力。智力优势：这项研究是多所大学、杜克能源公司和波多黎各电力管理局（PREPA）共同努力的结果。一个网站将开发主机项目，并将驻留在一个安全的服务器系统。该团队将把数据上传到安全网站，并使用收集到的数据和风暴事件历史，在GIS框架内生成地理时空综合分析。这项工作将调查故障模式和故障历史，以便根据现有电网系统的脆弱性和关键重要性战略性地评估风险。更广泛的影响：飓风厄玛和玛丽亚引起了国内和国际科学和工程组织以及公众的兴趣。忧心忡忡的公众提出的关键问题是，这些风暴是未来极端事件的例子，以及如何使电力输送系统更具弹性。收集的数据还将帮助沿海公用事业公司评估建立一个抵御极端天气的弹性电网系统的可行性。通过对法医研究收集的数据进行分析，可以对发达地区与欠发达地区电网受到的影响进行评估。这样的比较对于设计未来的电网现代化投资不仅在波多黎各，而且在世界各地都是非常宝贵的。

The 2017 hurricane season inflicted two severe blows (Irma and Maria) to the Atlantic region of the U.S. resulting in significant economic losses. Power losses for many customers resulted from collapsed structures, faulted lines, and the inability to resurrect electrical power grid operations immediately after the storm. The effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria are consistent with projected increases in natural disasters, both in terms of frequency and intensity. This study investigates the aftermaths of the hurricanes and reconstructs the power grid failure history through forensic analytics. The intent is to identify critical elements in the design of a resilient system. By collecting the perishable evidence from these extreme events, the project team can provide valuable information to help improve the resilience of electrical power grids through a strategic and optimized process.Intellectual Merit: This research is a joint effort between multiple universities, Duke Energy and Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). A website will be developed to host the project and will reside in a secured server system. The team will upload the data to the secured website and use the collected data and storm event history to generate the geospatial-temporal integrated analysis within a GIS framework. This work will investigate failure patterns and failure history in order to strategically assess risk based on vulnerabilities and critical importance of the existing grid systems.Broader Impact: Hurricanes Irma and Maria have the interest of national and international scientific and engineering organizations and the general public. The critical question raised by a concerned public are such storms examples of future extreme events and how can the power delivery systems be more resilient. The collected data will also help coastal utilities evaluate the viability of building a resilient grid system that resists extreme weather. The analysis of the data gathered by this forensic study will allow an evaluation of the effects on the grid in well-developed areas compared to less-developed areas. Such a comparison can be invaluable in designing future grid modernization investments not only in Puerto Rico but also around the world.