(Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Oak Ridge, TN) -- Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed advanced tools to detect abnormal power grid conditions that lead to wildfires, equipment damage, and blackouts. The approach incorporates artificial intelligence to rapidly analyze grid data and automatically alert a utility to dangerous grid behaviors requiring immediate response.

Researchers tested the platform against a small utility dataset and are validating it against five years of field-collected data at Southern California Edison (SCE). The partnership will scale detection algorithms from the lab to the grid, strengthening its reliability and resilience in wildfire-prone regions.

“The faster we realize what’s happening, the faster we can respond,” says Ali Ekti, leader of the ORNL project and the lab’s Grid Communications and Security Group. “This tool is designed to provide utilities with a continuous pathway from signals to analytics to decisions.”

 …