Impacts of Power Grid Frequency Deviation on Time Error of Synchronous Electric Clock and Worldwide Power System Practices on Time Error Correction

Yao Zhang, Wenxuan Yao, Shutang You, Wenpeng Yu, Ling Wu, Yi Cui and Yilu Liu
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Yao Zhang: Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Wenxuan Yao: Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Shutang You: Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Wenpeng Yu: Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Ling Wu: Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Yi Cui: Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Yilu Liu: Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Synchronous electric clocks utilize power grid frequency as their timing reference. Power grid frequency deviation away from its nominal value results in synchronous electric clocks running fast or running slow (also known as the time error). In this article, statistical analysis on time error of synchronous electric clocks around the world is firstly presented using the power grid frequency measurements recorded by the wide-area frequency monitoring network FNET/GridEye. Then, the time error correction (TEC) process provided by electric utilities is analyzed and the worldwide TEC practice is investigated. Eventually, regions of the world where electric utilities provide TEC service are differentiated from those without TEC services. Analytical results demonstrate that the average time error of synchronous electric clocks in North America seems to be less than five seconds, and it has not changed very much over the past few years. On the other hand, the identification results present that up to the end of 2016, many electric utilities around the world, especially in North America and Europe, provided the TEC service to periodically remove the accumulative time error of synchronous electric clocks.

Keywords: power grid frequency; synchronous electric clock; time error; time error correction (TEC); timekeeping accuracy; wide-area measurement system (WAMS) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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