OpenWAMS: Brazil’s Open Source Leap in Wide Area Grid Monitoring

The reliable and secure operation of large-scale, complex power systems increasingly relies on high-fidelity, synchronized data. Unlike traditional supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, phasor measurement units (PMUs) provide real-time, high-sampling-rate data, which are crucial for the observability of dynamic phenomena. They offer precise, synchronized, and real-time measurements of fundamental electrical parameters, including three-phase voltage and current magnitudes, and phase angles, with much higher resolution than conventional systems. This enables immediate disturbance detection, grid stability monitoring, and accurate postevent analysis. Within this context, this article introduces the reader to the openWAMS project, an innovative open source wide area monitoring system (WAMS) implemented by Brazil’s independent system operator (ONS), operational in the control room since mid-2024. Its open source nature facilitates customization, adaptability, and future proofing, allowing engineers to customize the platform and integrate algorithms tailored to the country’s grid challenges. To provide context, the article first outlines the role of ONS and the current challenges in operating the National Interconnected Power System (NIPS). It then discusses the project’s implementation and operational impact, highlighting the migration experience of a multidisciplinary team and the rapid deployment of a minimum viable product (MVP). Furthermore, the article discusses its architecture, which integrates open source components for data acquisition and storage, along with an open source web-based user interface (UI) for visualization. Examples of dashboards currently used in control rooms are presented. Finally, the article provides a glimpse into real-time advanced applications (e.g., continuous assessment of PMU data quality and disturbance detection), highlighting the ongoing development of the WAMS platform.