Solution for Power Outages

Introduction

During bad weather, weather outages are common. Bad weather is however not the only cause of power loss. Another problem that may lead to power losses is accidents. It is common for people into electricity posts. When this happens, short circuits may take place hence bringing about power outages. Short circuits happen when two wires combine. Other causes of power outages include animals, power upsurges, short circuits and electrical trees. When a [power outage takes place, it comes with slight and major disadvantages. These disadvantages have been the center of attention for some time.

Topic Overview

Between the years 200 to 2012, the US economy made an average of between 18 billion to 33 billion annual losses . Studies show that the losses caused by power outages continue to rise with the years. Power blackouts are more likely during the times when the bad weather. Indeed, most losses caused by power outages occur on those years when there are power storms or strong winds. Research shows that in 2008, there occurred losses of between 49 billion to 75 billion based on the number of losses caused by the outages (Beenstock, Goldin & Haitovsky, 1998; Carlsson & Martinsson, 2008). These are big losses and are sufficient reason for any government to allocate a big budget to research that would be used to resolve the issue of lack of electricity. Power outage is a conventional phenomenon that has been on the spotlight of many researchers (Chiras, Sagrillo & Woofenden, 2009). Power outage threatens the growth of the economy that every individuals is interested to see grow. This research seeks to determine if there exist some ways that can be used to monitor power and identify cases of power outage along with the population affected and the cause of the outage. The main idea is to use sensors that will display areas that have a power outage on a national or state map as appropriate.

Researchers have argued that electricity outages can have a negative impact on outages (Fuchs & Masoum, 2008). If investors realize that electricity outages are fairly frequent, they are likely to avoid doing business in a certain area. Electricity outages are also likely to cause damage to property or cause fire (Gers & Holmes, 2011). It should therefore be managed with caution to ensure customer satisfaction, safety and comfort.

This research seeks to shed light on the possibilities of having a reliable report system to report outages as they occur. It also seeks to check if the cost is either too high or the system is impossible. The system will use a system of synchrophasors which use GPRS technology to pass information about the voltage present in a power line to a server located at the power station. Once this information is sent to the server, the server translates the information and provides it into a map. The map serves to show the areas that have power outages and the populations affected. It can therefore be used as a priority list.

Researcher Qualifications

Having noted the rise in the losses in the economy as a result of bower outages, I have been motivated to conduct this research. This research will contribute to earlier attempts to electricity distribution. I have also had interest in a major research project that would have the potential of helping the entire nation. I am a student pursuing my master’s degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. I have also been lucky to work in a power station to be able to identify power issues as a big problem. I am able to work with low voltage power to perform this research with ease and to good effect. I have good knowledge of the global positioning system which will form the foundation of the research. I have also conducted research in both the field of the national grid and the GPS. This research gives me a chance to participate in development and to provide a lasting solution to the economy.

Topic Development

Power issues are a problem of every economy. The most affected are industrial economies as much more is at stake. To resolve the issue of power outages, companies have adopted the idea of power back-up and power generators (Klein et al., 2005; Li & Lang, 2008). The use of generators is however expensive and unsustainable. It is therefore necessary for power companies to identify means they can use to identify cases of power disruptions and devise ways to restore power promptly. This study will seek to determine if the use of power sensors is sustainable and economical. It will also determine if the process is workable by using a small sample of 15 customers.

This is not a personal problem. It has an impact on all citizens. I also have no interest in either the electricity or the GPS industries (Liu, Davidson, Rosowsky & Stedinger, 2005). I will not have any reasonable profit from completing this research. Instead, I will only be making a contribution to the overall growth of the nation. The research can therefore only be expected to be realistic and honest.

Feasibility

With the current technology on positioning systems, it is possible to conduct this research. This research will depend on the global positioning system to identify the location of all working devices across the field. The global positioning system is the best system for this case since it is free to use and can be relied upon. The GPS devices are also very easy to find and the growth of the GPS has been promising (Larsen & Nesbakken, 2004; Layton & Moeltner, 2005). GPS applications have been used in cell phones, bulldozers, watches, and shipping containers. It is currently used in farming to locate animals in ranches, mining, surveying, supply chain management, and package delivery.

In this study, I will determine if it is possible to use GPRS to monitor power blackouts. In this regard, I will propose the use of synchrophasors placed at different areas on the national grid. These synchrophasors will determine the voltage on the power lines and phasors of current and deliver this information through the internet to a server in the power station. This data will be grouped according to region. The data will also show the average number of customers affected as a result of the blackout if any. This will be done through the use of the data contained on the servers. Since each broken circuit can only serve a specific number of customers, a report of no electricity will be in three forms. First, synchrophasors will deliver a graphical form of data to depict a lack of electricity in the area. This will be a change of color in the area affected on the map. Second, the number of customers affected by that blackout will also be provided. Depending on the part of the grid has shown a broken circuit, it will be possible for the experts too guess closely the most likely cause of the blackout.

Specific Research Question(s)

How economical is the process of installing the devices on the power grids? How much money will each device cost the company?

What will be the failure rate of the devices? In case it is too high, it may result in false alarms and hence waste valuable labor hours

How much time will be saved by the installation in cases of new blackouts? Put in mind that with the installation, blackouts will be discovered earlier together with the cause of the blackout.

How obvious is a power loss once it occurs? This will determine if the employees are able to use the

In this report, I will require a number of synchrophasors. I consider using 15 of them. The cost will however determine how many of them I am able to obtain. If unable to obtain the required number, I may have to improvise using mobile phones. I will also require about 100 meters of 20 gauge wire. The research will also require me to use my computer. I will also require access to electricity. Normal house socket electricity of 240 V will be sufficient.

Limitations

Possible limitations for this research will be the ability to get sufficient power to determine if the technology is workable. There is also a big chance that obtaining the synchrophasors may require importing them eventually. This will incur additional charges to the research hence making difficulty. There also exists the challenge of using the microphasors in the study. If I use them, losses from malfunctioning will be too expensive, yet necessary for the study. Second, the measure of efficiency will be difficult. Some employees may not play the game if the program is introduced into a company. This will lead to consumers suffering more than they usually do over lack of power.

In conclusion, GPS devices have a potential of being used to pass valuable information about power loss to power stations and hence making repairs faster. Along with this information, the devices may provide information about the number of customers who have been affected and the possible cause of power loss. This will definitely cause prompter services to the consumers as well as give the company a chance to decide on the right personnel to dispatch to a region and the tools to be required.

The cost of installation and the rate of replacement and malfunction are the two issues that need to be resolved. If these are too high, then, the entire project may be termed unreasonable (Pansini, 2005). The other aspect that needs looking into is the company’s employees. If employees are not motivated by their new programs, they may choose not to work. This will be detrimental to the customer relationships and cause a competitive disadvantage to their company. Employees may also feel threatened by the introduction of the technology and decide to frustrate the system. Overall, there is no assurance that the results of the results of the research

References

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