An Historical Information Spreadsheet for Power System Operation

The application of electronic spreadsheet packages has been maturing with the increased usage of small or personal computers. However, little work has been done to explore the use of spreadsheet techniques in power system operation. In this paper the common spreadsheet concept used for answering the ``what if´´ question is extended to conveniently answer the questions of ``what was´´ or ``what will be´´ in power control operation. Enhanced with features needed to support automated data collection and processing in a real-time electric utility control, the extended spreadsheet concept has been implemented in a delivered power control computer. This paper describes an approach to the implementation of the real-time spreadsheet and data storage software package. The intended uses are first described. The method of constructing a real-time spreadsheet using this package is illustrated with an example. The software tools included in the package are presented in substantial detail. The presentation of the software functions also illustrates the relationship of spreadsheet building to the control computer database.