V&R Energy is a leading provider of advanced power systems software solutions for improving the stability, reliability, and resilience of electrical transmission and distribution networks.
V&R Energy is a technology, consulting, and research company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1992, V&R Energy specializes in software development, consulting, research and development, and training services for electric utilities and regional transmission organizations.
V&R Energy offers four software applications:
- Physical and Operational Margins (POM) Suite – long-term and operations planning analysis
- Region Of Stability Existence (ROSE) application – real-time/on-line advanced applications
- PMU ROSE – real-time PMU-based software for transmission system monitoring and analysis
- D-PMU ROSE – real-time PMU-based software for distribution system monitoring and analysis
V&R Energy’s tools are used in real-time operations and planning environments. These include:
- State estimation
- Massive AC contingency analysis
- Voltage and transient stability analysis
- Determining system operating limits
- Automatic remedial actions
- Phase angle limit computations
- Oscillation analysis
- Small-signal stability
- Boundary-based solutions
- Cascading outage analysis
V&R Energy has extensive expertise in performing various consulting and research projects on behalf of electric power utilities, ISOs, and other electric utility industry organizations worldwide. It has been working with power utility companies on multiple software delivery, demonstration, consulting, and research projects. It is also involved in customizing POM Suite and ROSE and automating analysis processes for electric utilities.
V&R Energy’s expertise includes:
- Development and automation of complex processes and their implementation;
- Use of the same computational methods and algorithms in real-time and off-line environments;
- State estimation: conventional SCADA-based, hybrid, linear state estimation and distribution linear state estimation;
- Utilizing synchrophasor measurements for real-time and off-line analyses, including the use of PMUs for predicting and preventing cascading outages;
- Development and automation of complex processes and their implementation;
- Advanced voltage stability analysis;
- Extremely fast AC contingency analysis with automated corrective actions and the ability to run tens of millions of contingencies per simulation run;
- Fast transient stability analysis;
- Improving transmission grid reliability to facilitate renewable energy integration; and
- Transmission system optimization to fully maximize the existing infrastructure usage in real-time.
A pioneer in synchrophasor-based software
V&R Energy is a pioneer in synchrophasor-based software development, introducing its first PMU-based application in 1996. It developed a hybrid approach of combining state estimator and PMU data for voltage stability analysis in 2009. Linear state estimation (LSE) software was released in 2015, and D‑PMU ROSE in 2018.
Key innovations that we have introduced and developed by V&R Energy:
| 2020 | Deployed a PMU-based EMS system. |
| 2020 | Deployed a fast automated topology optimizer tool for real-time operations support. |
| 2019 | Introduced a novel analytical approach to estimate energy dissipation for power system control. |
| 2018 | Developed the first in U.S. real-time commercial tool, D-PMU ROSE (Distribution PMU ROSE) to monitor real-time performance of the microgrid and provide real-time situational awareness of DER systems (including solar PVs) deployed within the microgrid. |
| 2018 | Added effective machine learning techniques to improve the quality of state estimation into the commercial LSE tool, PMU-ROSE. |
| 2017 | Introduced the use of phase angle for determining voltage stability limit. |
| 2016 | Used PMUs to comprehensively assess system health. |
| 2015 | Developed a new methodology for optimal PMU placement to reduce the number of PMUs needed to achieve complete system observability. |
| 2015 | Identified phase angle limit for wide area and line reclosing in real-time using PALM (phase angle limit and monitoring) tool. |
| 2015 | Pioneered the use PMUs for advanced applications (similar to conventional EMS applications, but using PMU data). Complete package of advanced applications based on PMU, includes RTCA (real-time contingency analysis), VSA (voltage stability analysis), remedial actions and analysis of cascading outages. |
| 2015 | Deployed the first commercial tool for massive automated cascading analysis framework from a transient stability perspective. |
| 2014 | Developed a state estimator that does not have pseudo-injections. |
| 2014 | Deployed the first production-grade operational online cascading analysis framework. |
| 2009 | Quantified voltage instability. |
| 2007 | Developed and implemented fast fault screening (FFS) tool to perform the transient stability studies in real-time, on-line and planning environments. |
| 1996 | Used PMUs for voltage stability assessment using hybrid State Estimator/PMU voltage stability analysis framework. |
The company is constantly developing in the field of advanced power systems analysis software and engineering solutions for improving stability. The proof of this is regular releases of updated solutions and special awards (the last, most significant in 2023, is the DOE).
V&R Energy has long-standing relationships with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Centre for Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation (CEATI), New York State Research and Research Development Agency (NYSERDA), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and NRECA Cooperative Research Network (CRN).