ABSTRACT:
The primary objective of the power grid is to provide continuous and reliable electricity supply to the end consumers. Maintaining power grid operations, whether routine or unplanned, requires qualified operators. Power system operator training covers a broad range of topics, from fundamental circuit theory to real-time grid operation. A key aspect of any grid operator training program is understanding and operating the grid-level supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. However, most traditional training curricula only rely on studying equipment and software tool documentations and basic simulation exercises that do not fully reflect the full range of scenarios that could happen in the actual power grid. In this work, we aim to create an enhanced system operator training program by offering virtual reality-based “hands-on” experience with station-level and bay-level human machine interface (HMI) panels. The setup consists of a photorealistic virtual reality environment built in Unreal Engine 5.2.1, modeled after one of the Virginia Tech Electric Service (VTES) substations. This 3D environment features an RTDS-based digital twin of the VTES grid and a user datagram protocol (UDP)-based communication channel to enable real-time interaction. A screen recording of a player interacting with the environment is shown as a proof of concept.
Presented by Ali Mehrizi-Sani, Virginia Tech