System Control & Dispatch
System control and dispatch covers the control infrastructure that operates the power system in real time, including national and regional control centres, load despatch centres, energy management and SCADA systems, and the balancing and market dispatch functions they carry.
- Indicators
- 3
- Leaders
- 10placeholder ratings
- Like it
- 8capabilities
- Developments
- 3
What System Control & Dispatch is, and how it is measured
System control and dispatch covers the control infrastructure that operates the power system in real time, including national and regional control centres, load despatch centres, energy management and SCADA systems, and the balancing and market dispatch functions they carry.
Indicators
- Control centres with redundant backup capability
- System operator dispatch interval
- Share of demand under real-time observability
The nations that lead in System Control & Dispatch
These ratings stand in until the capability is rated.
| # | Nation | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | AAA |
| 2 | United States | AA |
| 3 | France | AA |
| 4 | Canada | A |
| 5 | Australia | A |
| 6 | Denmark | A |
| 7 | Singapore | BBB |
| 8 | India | BBB |
| 9 | Spain | BB |
| 10 | China | BB |
The capabilities most like System Control & Dispatch
- Sea Control0.11
Likeness, from 0 to 1, as the Atlas measures it.
How System Control & Dispatch came to be
- Governance
- Technology
Historical Developments
Oldest first1920s
Power system operators began automating network calculations with analog network analyzers
Practical electric networks became too complex for hand calculation, so from the 1920s dispatch and load-flow computations were automated using specially built analogue computers known as network analysers. This marked the start of machine-assisted real-time operation of the power system.
1960s
Electric utilities replaced analogue network analysers with digital computers
In the 1960s digital computers superseded the analogue network analysers used for power system calculations. The shift enabled faster and more comprehensive modelling underpinning modern energy management and dispatch systems.
Recent Developments
Most recent first2016
The restructured North American power transmission grid operated through 74 balancing authorities overseen by reliability coordinators
By 2016 real-time balancing in North America was divided among 74 balancing authorities, each running a regional control centre. These bodies, overseen by reliability coordinators, replaced the simpler vertically integrated utility model of system control.