Winterthur, we have a problem! When real-time data from power grids is urgently needed, the first call for help does not go to Houston, but directly to the Renewable Electrical Energy Laboratory (REE-Lab) at the Institute of Energy Systems and Fluid Engineering (IEFE) in Winterthur.

This was also the case on 25 February 2025, when 98% of households in Chile were affected by a nationwide power failure. The government imposed a state of emergency and a night-time curfew. In addition to the police forces, 3,000 soldiers were deployed to maintain security. The reason for the blackout: a malfunction in the electronic and software-based protection systems led to the shutdown of a 200-kilometre-long 500-kV high-voltage line between the Vallenar and Coquimbo power plants. This caused the national power grid to falter. And because it was not possible to start up other power plants in time, a nationwide blackout occurred.

Prof Hector Chavez from the University of Santiago de Chile was able to identify the exact cause of the failure thanks to data from the IEFE WAMS platform at the ZHAW School of Engineering. Such a Wide Area Measurement System (WAMS) is a highly developed technology for real-time monitoring and control of power grids across large geographical areas. By using synchro-phasor measurements, WAMS improves grid operators' situational awareness. WAMS gives an insight into stability and reliability of modern electric power grids.

The ZHAW has been working closely with the University of Santiago de Chile for years. Real-time data from the Chilean power grid is fed into the IEFE's WAMS platform and monitored in Winterthur. With the help of this data, it was possible to analyse the blackout in detail and explain it to the public. This means that targeted measures can now be taken to prevent such failures in the future.

The disconnection of the Baltic states from the Russian electricity grid on 9 February 2025 was also monitored and analysed in real time in the REE Lab. Before Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were connected to the European electricity grid via Poland, the effects of the disconnection were precisely visualised and analysed using the real-time data from the REE-Lab. In fact, the REE-Lab processes data from several countries and therefore has more data than the Swiss transmission grid Swissgrid. This makes the REE-Lab a valuable and unique source of information for researchers and grid operators.

Project Name: REE- Lab, earlyWarn

Participants:
Project leader: Petr Korba, ZHAW
Project team: Artjoms Obusevs, ZHAW; Felix Rafael Segundo Sevilla, ZHAW; Miguel Ramirez, ZHAW

Project Partner: Swissgrid AG