A expansão de geração distribuída nos sistemas de distribuição e de subtransmissão de energia elétrica em todo o mundo tem sua origem na reestruturação do setor elétrico, na necessidade de aproveitamento de diferentes fontes primárias de energia, nos avanços tecnológicos, nos incentivos governamentais e na maior conscientização sobre conservação ambiental. Com tal expansão, surge a necessidade de avaliar os impactos dessa forma de geração na operação das redes elétricas, principalmente das redes de distribuição, as quais foram inicialmente projetadas para operar considerando apenas a subestação de distribuição como fonte de energia. Entre esses impactos, um importante item a co0nsiderar é a detecção de ilhamento. Tal ocorrência é altamente indesejada pelas concessionárias distribuidoras de energia elétrica as quais estabelecem que os proprietários de geradores distribuídos devem instalar um sistema de proteção capaz de detectar ilhamentos. Dentre os métodos empregados para detecção de ilhamento os mais comuns para este propósito são os relés baseados em medidas de freqüência (relé de sub/sobrefreqüência, relé de taxa de variação de freqüência). Tais dispositivos são fortemente dependentes do desbalanço de potência ativa na rede ilhada e podem falhar caso esses desbalanços sejam pequenos. Ressalta-se que o comportamento variável da carga em sistemas de distribuição e a possibilidade de formação de diversas ilhas podem originar diferentes níveis de desbalanço de potência ativa e reativa. Conseqüentemente, pode haver vários cenários de operação em que os relés previamente citados falharão em detectar ilhamento. Neste contexto, esta dissertação de Mestrado propõe metodologias de proteção adaptativa anti-ilhamento aplicadas a relés baseados em medidas de freqüência, que visem a proteção do sistema elétrico e do gerador distribuído na maioria das condições de desbalanço de potência ativa e reativa que possam ocorrer na rede elétrica. Os geradores distribuídos a serem analisados são do tipo síncrono devido a sua grande utilização em pequenas centrais hidroelétricas e térmicas. São propostas duas metodologias: uma baseada em simulações dinâmicas e outra baseada em fórmulas analíticas. Os resultados obtidos foram satisfatórios para vários cenários de operação de um gerador distribuído conectado em uma rede de distribuição. Além disso, as vantagens e limitações de cada método são apresentadas e discutidas. / Distributed generation expansion worldwide has been caused by the de-regulamentation of the electricity sector, by the necessity to explore different energy resources, by technological advances, by government incentives and by environmental concerns associated with energy production. Such expansion brings the necessity to assess he impacts caused by distributed generators on the distribution systems, which were designed to operate considering the utility substation as the only power source. Among these impacts, on that deserves major attention is islanding detection. Utilities recommend that distributed generators\' owners provide efficient anti-islanding protection installed at the point of common coupling between the generator and the grid. Common anti-islanding protection schemes are composed by frequency-based relays (standard frequency relay and/or rate of change of frequency relay). These devices are strongly dependent on the active power imbalance in the islanded system and they can fail to detect an islanding condition if such power imbalance is small. Therefore, it is worth pointing that the variable power consumption of the distribution system\'s loads and the possibility of creating several energized islands can originate different power imbalance levels. Consequently, there may be various operating scenarios in which the frequency-based relays will fail to detect islanding. In this context, this work proposes adaptive methods to adjust frequency-based relays in order to provide effective anti-islanding protection considering different power imbalance levels. Synchronous generators are studied, since their wide application in distributed generation plants, such as small hydro and thermal power plants. Two methods are proposed: one is a simulation-based method and the other is based on analytical formulas. Both methods presented good results considering all the operating scenarios tested with a distributed generator connected to a distribution system. Furthermore, their advantages and limitations are presented and discussed.

Um dos principais problemas que podem ocorrer em sistemas de distribuição ou de subtransmissão de energia elétrica com geração distribuída (GD) é o ilhamento. O ilhamento ocorre quando um ou mais geradores distribuídos alimentam uma porção do sistema que se encontra eletricamente isolada do restante do sistema elétrico. Logo, geradores distribuídos têm de ser equipados com esquema de proteção anti-ilhamento, pois a operação ilhada pode colocar em risco a segurança das pessoas e equipamentos e pode deteriorar a qualidade da energia elétrica suprida aos consumidores locais. Este trabalho está inserido no contexto de proteção de sistemas elétricos de distribuição com GD e propõe uma nova técnica passiva-inteligente de proteção anti-ilhamento para geradores síncronos distribuídos. O método proposto utiliza a mineração de dados do Data Mining of Code Repositories (DAMICORE), o qual possui grandes potencialidades para descobrir correlações em dados complexos. Para realizar essa tarefa, três algoritmos são executados em sequência. São eles: o Normalized Compression Distance (NCD) para calcular a matriz de distância do conjunto de dados; o Neighbor-Joining (NJ) para construir as árvores filogenéticas; e por fim o Fast Newman (FN) para buscar grupos na árvore filogenética nos quais os dados apresentam alto grau de independência. O método de detecção de ilhamento nesta dissertação utiliza 10 características importantes dos sinais de tensão e corrente trifásicas no ponto de acoplamento comum (PAC). Essas 10 características são utilizadas como entrada ao DAMICORE para formular um algoritmo baseado em mineração de dados capaz de detectar ilhamento e de diferenciá-los de outros tipos de distúrbios. Os resultados mostram que o método identifica o ilhamento corretamente, detectando-o rapidamente, especialmente nos casos em que a detecção do ilhamento por relés baseados em medidas de frequência falha ou é lenta. / One of the main issues that can occur into distribution power systems with distributed generation is islanding. Islanding occurs when one or more distributed generators feed a portion of the distribution system that becomes electrically isolated from the rest of the power system. Thus, distributed generators have to be equipped with anti-islanding protection schemes, because the islanded operation may put at risk the safety of people and the equipment. It can also deteriorate the power quality supplied to local consumers. This work is in the context of the protection schemes for distribution power systems with distributed generation and it proposes a new intelligent passive anti-islanding protection scheme for distributed synchronous generators. The scheme is based on the Data Mining of Code Repositories (DAMICORE), which finds the similarity within complex data sets. This task is performed by computing the following algorithms, in sequence: the Normalized Compression Distance (NCD) to calculate a distance matrix among the data sets; the Neighbor-Joining (NJ) to build the phylogenetic trees; and the Fast Newman (FN) to find clusters with high degree of independence by using the phylogenetic trees. The proposed method comprises the extraction of 10 important features of the three-phase voltages and currents measured at the point of common coupling of the distributed generator. These 10 features are then used as input to the DAMICORE in order to formulate a data mining-based algorithm capable of detecting islanding and of distinguishing it from other disturbances. The results show that the method identifies the islanding correctly, detecting it quickly, especially where the detection of islanding by frequency-based relays are slow.

O crescente número de geradores distribuídos conectados em redes de distribuição de energia elétrica é uma realidade dos sistemas elétricos de todo o mundo. Embora a política atual seja desconectar os geradores distribuídos do sistema elétrico de potência (SEP) caso ocorra uma falha na rede da concessionária, conforme preconizam os principais guias técnicos nacionais e internacionais, o módulo 3 dos Procedimentos de Distribuição de Energia Elétrica no Sistema Elétrico Nacional (PRODIST) mostra-se favorável à operação ilhada, pois afirma que este tipo de operação pode ser realizado em comum acordo entre as centrais geradoras de energia e o Operador Nacional do Sistema Elétrico (ONS), permitindo alcançar uma maior disponibilidade no fornecimento de energia. No entanto, para que a operação ilhada seja possível e possa ser praticada de forma segura, o ilhamento intencional precisa superar alguns desafios, dentre os quais estão aqueles relacionados ao sistema de proteção da rede de distribuição, tais como: coordenação indevida de dispositivos de proteção, perda da sensibilidade da proteção, abertura inadequada de fusíveis e religamentos automáticos fora de sincronismo. Portanto, este trabalho avalia o impacto da geração distribuída (GD) sobre o sistema de proteção de sobrecorrente de uma rede de distribuição operando ilhada. A ideia principal é dividir a rede em regiões delimitadas pelos dispositivos de proteção existentes, para em seguida, adequá-los à nova situação operacional, certificando se os ajustes propostos atendem ao comportamento síncrono e estável do sistema de geração por meio de uma análise de estabilidade transitória. Propõe-se então um conjunto de procedimentos para tomada de ações que permitam readequar o sistema de proteção de sobrecorrente existente à operação ilhada. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que a inibição do religamento automático e da curva de atuação instantânea acrescida de reajustes nas curvas temporizadas dos relés e religadores, melhoraram a coordenação e seletividade da rede operando ilhada. / The growing number of distributed generators connected to electricity distribution networks is a reality of electrical systems throughout the world. Although the current policy is to disconnect the distributed generators from the electric power system (EPS) in the event of loss of mains, as required by main national and international technical guides, the module 3 of the Procedures for Electric Power Distribution in the Electric National System (PRODIST) shows itself in favor of islanded operation, it states that this type of operation can be carried out in agreement between power generation plants and the National Electric System Operator (ONS), allowing achieve larger availability in energy supply. However, to make the islanded operation possible and safe, the intentional islanding must overcome some challenges, among which are those related to the protection system of the distribution network, such as improper coordination of protective devices, loss of protection sensitivity, inadequate opening of fuses and automatic reclosing out of synchronism. Therefore, this work evaluates the impact of distributed generation (DG) on the overcurrent protection system of a distribution network operating islanded. The main idea is to divide the network into regions bounded by existing protection devices, to then adapt them to the new operational situation, making sure that the proposed adjustments meet the synchronous and stable behavior of the generation system by means of a transient stability analysis. Thus, a set of procedures is proposed to indicate actions that allow readjusting the existing overcurrent protection system to the islanded operation. The results demonstrate that the inhibition of automatic restart and of the instantaneous operating curve plus adjustments in time delay curves of relays and reclosers, improved the coordination and selectivity of the network operating islanded.

O crescente número de geradores distribuídos conectados em redes de distribuição de energia elétrica é uma realidade dos sistemas elétricos de todo o mundo. Embora a política atual seja desconectar os geradores distribuídos do sistema elétrico de potência (SEP) caso ocorra uma falha na rede da concessionária, conforme preconizam os principais guias técnicos nacionais e internacionais, o módulo 3 dos Procedimentos de Distribuição de Energia Elétrica no Sistema Elétrico Nacional (PRODIST) mostra-se favorável à operação ilhada, pois afirma que este tipo de operação pode ser realizado em comum acordo entre as centrais geradoras de energia e o Operador Nacional do Sistema Elétrico (ONS), permitindo alcançar uma maior disponibilidade no fornecimento de energia. No entanto, para que a operação ilhada seja possível e possa ser praticada de forma segura, o ilhamento intencional precisa superar alguns desafios, dentre os quais estão aqueles relacionados ao sistema de proteção da rede de distribuição, tais como: coordenação indevida de dispositivos de proteção, perda da sensibilidade da proteção, abertura inadequada de fusíveis e religamentos automáticos fora de sincronismo. Portanto, este trabalho avalia o impacto da geração distribuída (GD) sobre o sistema de proteção de sobrecorrente de uma rede de distribuição operando ilhada. A ideia principal é dividir a rede em regiões delimitadas pelos dispositivos de proteção existentes, para em seguida, adequá-los à nova situação operacional, certificando se os ajustes propostos atendem ao comportamento síncrono e estável do sistema de geração por meio de uma análise de estabilidade transitória. Propõe-se então um conjunto de procedimentos para tomada de ações que permitam readequar o sistema de proteção de sobrecorrente existente à operação ilhada. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que a inibição do religamento automático e da curva de atuação instantânea acrescida de reajustes nas curvas temporizadas dos relés e religadores, melhoraram a coordenação e seletividade da rede operando ilhada. / The growing number of distributed generators connected to electricity distribution networks is a reality of electrical systems throughout the world. Although the current policy is to disconnect the distributed generators from the electric power system (EPS) in the event of loss of mains, as required by main national and international technical guides, the module 3 of the Procedures for Electric Power Distribution in the Electric National System (PRODIST) shows itself in favor of islanded operation, it states that this type of operation can be carried out in agreement between power generation plants and the National Electric System Operator (ONS), allowing achieve larger availability in energy supply. However, to make the islanded operation possible and safe, the intentional islanding must overcome some challenges, among which are those related to the protection system of the distribution network, such as improper coordination of protective devices, loss of protection sensitivity, inadequate opening of fuses and automatic reclosing out of synchronism. Therefore, this work evaluates the impact of distributed generation (DG) on the overcurrent protection system of a distribution network operating islanded. The main idea is to divide the network into regions bounded by existing protection devices, to then adapt them to the new operational situation, making sure that the proposed adjustments meet the synchronous and stable behavior of the generation system by means of a transient stability analysis. Thus, a set of procedures is proposed to indicate actions that allow readjusting the existing overcurrent protection system to the islanded operation. The results demonstrate that the inhibition of automatic restart and of the instantaneous operating curve plus adjustments in time delay curves of relays and reclosers, improved the coordination and selectivity of the network operating islanded.

This thesis presents the applications of a series interconnection scheme for small distributed generation (DG) systems in distribution networks. The concept uses one set of voltage source converter (VSC) to control the injected voltage magnitude and phase angle for power injection and voltage sag mitigation. Through an energy storage device and the VSC, DG outputs vary concurrently with the line loading and provide load leveling functions. Under voltage sag situations, it provides missing voltages to effectively deal with power quality problems. Due to its series connection characteristic, it is convenient in preventing islanding operation and good for fault current limiting. The concept is suitable for locations where the voltage phase shift is not a major concern. Due to the use of only one set of converter, it is economic for customer site distributed energy resource applications and its control strategy would depend on the types of load connected.

Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία θα ασχοληθούμε με την αξιολόγηση της προστασίας σε κατανεμημένη παραγωγή. Γενικά η κατανεμημένη παραγωγή, καλύπτει ένα μεγάλο εύρος νέων και παραδοσιακών τεχνολογιών με μικρές μονάδες εγκατεστημένες κοντά στην κατανάλωση και πιστεύεται ότι θα συμβάλει στην κάλυψη ενός μεγάλου μέρους της ενεργειακής ζήτησης στα επόμενα χρόνια με τη δυναμική της είσοδο στην απελευθερωμένη αγορά ενέργειας. Αρχικά γίνεται μια ανασκόπηση της υφιστάμενης παγκόσμιας ενεργειακής κατάστασης. Αναλύονται οι κυριότερες τεχνολογίες παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας και τα καύσιμα που χρησιμοποιούνται, τα οποία κατά συντριπτική πλειοψηφία βασίζονται στους ορυκτούς πόρους. Αποτυπώνεται αφενός, η συνολική συνεισφορά αυτών στην ενεργειακή ζήτηση, αφετέρου τα παγκόσμια αποθέματα αυτών. Στη συνέχεια παρουσιάζεται η υφιστάμενη κατάσταση στον ηλεκτρικό τομέα, οι αλλαγές που συνεπάγονται με τη απελευθέρωση της αγοράς ενέργειας, καθώς και το γενικό πλαίσιο και οι ρυθμίσεις που διέπουν τον τομέα της ενέργειας με βάση τα νέα δεδομένα. Γίνεται εισαγωγή και ορισμός της κατανεμημένης παραγωγής και αναλύονται τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά που συνθέτουν την έννοια αυτής καθώς επίσης γίνεται μια παρουσίαση των κυριότερων τεχνολογιών που ολοκληρώνουν τη κατανεμημένη παραγωγή. Στη συνέχεια ασχολούμαστε με το φαινόμενο της νησιδοποίησης. Η αύξηση της παραγωγής ισχύος από διανεμημένους παραγωγούς καθιστά την εμφάνιση του φαινομένου όλο και συχνότερη. Η ανίχνευση και διακοπή του φαινομένου είναι καθοριστικής σημασίας για την ορθή λειτουργία του Δικτύου και την ασφάλεια του προσωπικού που εργάζεται σε αυτό. Εδώ περιγράφουμε μερικές από τις πιο βασικές εφαρμοζόμενες μεθόδους ανίχνευσης και διακοπής του. Ύστερα παρουσιάζουμε τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά των μέσων προστασίας έναντι υπερεντάσεων. Προχωράμε σε μελέτη των διατάξεων προστασίας ενός παραδείγματος μιας εγκατάστασης φωτοβολταϊκών με σκοπό τη διασφάλιση της σε περίπτωση εμφάνισης σφαλμάτων. Τέλος αναφερόμαστε σε κάποιες νέες προσεγγίσεις και μελλοντικές τάσεις και προοπτικές για τον καθορισμό των τρόπων ενσωμάτωσης ομαλών τεχνολογιών ΚΠ και τη ρύθμιση θεμάτων σχετικά με τη διασύνδεση και τη λειτουργία τους. / In this work we will do a research about the appraisal of the distributed generation .All in all the distributed generation encloses a great range of new and traditional technologies. Some of them are installed close to the consumption and it is believed that the distributed generation will contribute to cover a great part of the energy demand in the next years. In the beginning we refer to the global energy situation. We analyze the most important technologies of distributed generation and the fuels that are used which are based on the mineral resources. These fuels contribute in the energy demand and we also refer to the global store of fuel. We present the situation of the electric section today, the changes and the regulations that happen in this section day by day. What is more, it is given the meaning of the “distributed generation”, we analyze the basic characteristics of it and we present the most important technologies that complete the distributed generation. Furthermore we refer to the problem of islanding. Because of the fact that the power production is increasing lately, the problem is appeared more and more often. We must look for this phenomenon and stop it immediately in order the network work correctly and the persons who work in this part of network be safe. We describe some of the most important methods of “tracking” the islanding and stopping it. Afterwards we present the basic characteristics of the protection arrangement that we must use in case of errors and short circuits. We continue presenting an instance for a photovoltaic system installation and what sort of protection must be used in order this system to work with safe when errors happen. In the end we refer to what must be done in the future so that the technologies of distributed generation be used more and more often and much more efficiently.

Η ενεργειακή κρίση που προκάλεσε η χρήση των υδρογονανθράκων ως κύρια πηγή παραγωγής ενέργειας, η προσπάθεια κάθε κράτους για απεξάρτηση του από τις πετρελαιοπαραγωγικές χώρες αλλά και η ανάγκη για μορφές ενέργειας χωρίς αρνητική επίδραση στο περιβάλλον οδήγησαν στην ανάπτυξη των ανανεώσιμων μορφών ενέργειας. Για την εμπορική τους, όμως, εκμετάλλευση ήταν απαραίτητη η επίλυση των τεχνικών προβλημάτων που εμφανίστηκαν, ιδιαίτερα όσο αναφορά τη σύνδεση κατανεμημένων παραγωγών με το υπάρχον ηλεκτρικό δίκτυο. Tο φαινόμενο της νησιδοποίησης (islanding), δηλαδή η μη διακοπή της παροχής ηλεκτρικού ρεύματος στο διασυνδεδεμένο δίκτυο από το κατανεμημένο παραγωγό όταν αυτός έχει αποσυνδεθεί από το κεντρικό δίκτυο, με κίνδυνο για τους εργαζόμενους και τις εκάστοτε συνδεδεμένες σε αυτόν συσκευές, πρέπει να αντιμετωπίζεται άμεσα. Σκοπός της εργασίας αυτής είναι η θεωρητική σύγκριση των προτεινόμενων τεχνικών ελέγχου νησιδοποίησης, η επιλογή και η προσομοίωση στο ATP-EMTP της καταλληλότερης από αυτές. Στο πρώτο κεφάλαιο αναλύεται η σημερινή κατάσταση όσο αναφορά την παραγωγή ενέργειας από την κάθε ανανεώσιμη πηγή ενέργειας και τονίζεται η εξέχουσα θέση και η επικράτηση της ηλιακής ενέργειας και των φωτοβολταϊκών συστημάτων. Στο δεύτερο κεφάλαιο αναπτύσσεται το φαινόμενο της νησιδοποίησης και μια σειρά από προτεινόμενες τεχνικές ανίχνευσης και διακοπής της νησιδοποίησης. Στο τρίτο κεφάλαιο αναλύονται οι τεχνικές με χρήση άεργου ισχύος και γίνεται θεωρητική ανάλυση της επιλεγμένης RPV μεθόδου. Στο τέταρτο και πέμπτο κεφάλαιο περιγράφονται οι δυνατότητες του ATP-EMTP, η προσομοίωση της μεθόδου και τα αποτελέσματα που προέκυψαν. Τέλος η εργασία ολοκληρώνεται από τα συμπεράσματα μετά την προσομοίωση σχετικά με την επιλογή της συγκεκριμένης μεθόδου και το φαινόμενο της νησιδοποίησης. / The energy crisis caused by the use of oil as a primary source of energy, the effort of each state to detox from oil-producing countries and the need for energy without negative impact on the environment has led to the development of renewable sources of energy. For their commercial exploitation though, it was necessary to solve the technical problems that occurred, particularly about connecting distributed generation with the existing power grid. The phenomenon of islanding (islanding), the electrical supply from distributed generation is not interrupted when it is disconnected from the main-grid, with a risk for employees and equipment connected on this, should be dealt with. The purpose of this work is the theoretical comparison of the proposed islanding control techniques, selection and simulation in ATP-EMTP of the one that is the most appropriate of them. In the first chapter the present status report of energy production from each renewable energy source and highlights the prominence and prevalence of solar energy and photovoltaics are analyzed. During the second chapter the phenomenon of islanding is described and a number of proposed techniques for detecting and preventing islanding. In the third chapter the techniques using reactive power are analyzed and the theoretical analysis of the selected RPV method is presented. In the fourth and fifth chapter the possibilities of ATP-EMTP are described, the simulation method and its results are presented. Finally the work is concluded by the results after the simulation on the selection of this particular method and the phenomenon of islanding.

This thesis considers three separate but connected problems regarding energy networks: the load flow problem, the optimal power flow problem, and the islanding problem. All three problems are non-convex non linear problems, and so have the potential of returning local solutions. The goal of this thesis is to find solution methods to each of these problems that will minimize the chances of returning a local solution. The thesis first considers the load ow problem and looks into a novel approach to solving load flows, the Holomorphic Embedding Load Flow Method (HELM). The current literature does not provide any HELM models that can accurately handle general power networks containing PV and PQ buses of realistic sizes. This thesis expands upon previous work to present models of HELM capable of solving general networks efficiently, with computational results for the standard IEEE test cases provided for comparison. The thesis next considers the optimal power flow problem, and creates a framework for a load flow-based OPF solver. The OPF solver is designed with incorporating HELM as the load flow solver in mind, and is tested on IEEE test cases to compare it with other available OPF solvers. The OPF solvers are also tested with modified test cases known to have local solutions to show how a LF-OPF solver using HELM is more likely to find the global optimal solution than the other available OPF solvers. The thesis finally investigates solving a full AC-islanding problem, which can be considered as an extension of the transmission switching problem, using a standard MINLP solver and comparing the results to solutions obtained from approximations to the AC problem. Analysing in detail the results of the AC-islanding problem, alterations are made to the standard MINLP solver to allow better results to be obtained, all the while considering the trade-off between results and elapsed time.

abstract: The past few decades have seen a consistent growth of distributed PV sources. Distributed PV, like other DG sources, can be located at or near load centers and provide benefits which traditional generation may lack. However, distribution systems were not designed to accommodate such power generation sources as these sources might lead to operational as well as power quality issues. A high penetration of distributed PV resources may lead to bi-directional power flow resulting in voltage swells, increased losses and overloading of conductors. Voltage unbalance is a concern in distribution systems and the effect of single-phase residential PV systems on voltage unbalance needs to be explored. Furthermore, the islanding of DGs presents a technical hurdle towards the seamless integration of DG sources with the electricity grid. The work done in this thesis explores two important aspects of grid inte-gration of distributed PV generation, namely, the impact on power quality and anti-islanding. A test distribution system, representing a realistic distribution feeder in Arizona is modeled to study both the aforementioned aspects. The im-pact of distributed PV on voltage profile, voltage unbalance and distribution sys-tem primary losses are studied using CYMDIST. Furthermore, a PSCAD model of the inverter with anti-island controls is developed and the efficacy of the anti-islanding techniques is studied. Based on the simulations, generalized conclusions are drawn and the problems/benefits are elucidated. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Electrical Engineering 2013

An islanded power system indicates a geographical and logical detach between a portion<br />of a power system and the major grid, and often accompanies with the loss of system<br />observability. A power system islanding contingency could be one of the most severe<br />consequences of wide-area system failures. It might result in enormous losses to both the power utilities and the consumers. Even those relatively small and stable islanding events may largely disturb the consumers\' normal operation in the island. On the other hand, the power consumption in the U.S. has been largely increasing since 1970s with the respect to the bloom of global economy and mass manufacturing, and the daily increased requirements from the modern customers. Along with the extreme weather and natural disaster factors, the century old U.S. power grid is under severely tests for potential islanding disturbances. After 1980s, the invention of synchronized phasor measurement units (PMU) has broadened the horizon for system monitoring, control and protection. Its real time feature and reliable measurements has made possible many online system schemes. The recent revolution of computers and electronic devices enables the implementation of complex methods (such as data mining methods) requiring large databases in power system analysis. The proposed method presented in this dissertation is primarily focused on two studies: one power system islanding contingency detection, identification, classification and state evaluation algorithm using a decision tree algorithm and topology approach, and its application in Dominion Virginia power system; and one optimal PMU placement strategy using a binary integral programming algorithm with the consideration of system islanding and redundancy issues. / Ph. D.