A Partnership of UConn and Eversource
Eversource Energy Center
Funded Projects
Storm Preparedness
| Title | Sponsor | Investigator(s) | Project Goal | Documentation |
| Predictive Storm & Damage Modeling for Preparedness and Emergency Response Support (Expanded to Include MA and NH) | Eversource | Anagnostou, E. (PI) Astitha, M. | To improve the functionality and skill of the Center’s operational outage prediction model for Eversource-Connecticut, as well as to characterize forecast uncertainty and to conduct extreme weather vulnerability analysis for grid resilience and demonstrate the impact of tree trimming on outages. | Project Materials SOW |
| Evaluation of Substations Vulnerability to Flooding in Current and Climate Change Scenarios (Phase II) | Eversource | Shen, X. (PI) Nikolopolous, E.; Anagnostou, E. | To develop a real-time early flood warning system for Eversource substations in CT by integrating meteorological, hydrological and hydraulic models and to estimate potential damage and risk under design flood and storm scenarios. | Project Materials SOW |
| Sewer Backup Risk Score | Travelers | Shen, X. (PI) | To develop a risk scoring system for likelihood of sewer backup during various storm events using machine learning software and compiling data from customer claims, hydrological, and geographic data. | SOW |
| Arctic Polygonal Ecosystems Collaborative Research: Patterns, Dynamics and Vulnerability of Arctic, Polygonal Ecosystems: From Ice-Wedge Polygon to Pan-Arctic Landscapes | National Science Foundation | Witharana, C. (PI) | To understand the complex and interlinked processes responsible for the evolution of the pan-Arctic ice-wedge polygon tundra landscape by combining field measurements from nine Canadian, Russian, and Alaskan field sites, numerical modeling, and very high spatial resolution optical imagery that has recently become available for the entire Arctic tundra domain. | Project Materials |
Vegetation Management
| Title | Sponsor | Investigator(s) | Project Goal | Documentation |
| Stormwise II: Vegetation Management and Modeling for Storm Resistant Trees, Resilient Power and Sustainable Futures | Eversource | Morzillo, A. (PI) Volin, J.; Worthley, T.; Parent, J.; Fahey, R.; Witharane, C. | To apply biomechanics to assess vegetation risk to utility lines based on experimental data collected by forest labs established in CT; to develop decision support tools for vegetation management, to ultimately reduce power outage frequency and duration. | Stormwise Website Poster SOW |
| Evaluation of LiDAR and Alternative Technologies for monitoring Roadside Vegetation and Utility Infrastructure (Phase III) | Eversource | Parent, J. (PI) Witharana, C.; Zhang, W.; Anagnostou, E.; Fahey, R.; Volin, J. | To optimize use of ground-based LiDAR data processing algorithms to more comprehensively measure pole-wire attributes, and to continue collecting vegetation change data to design optimal data collection strategies. | Project Materials SOW |
| Arctic Polygonal Ecosystems Collaborative Research: Patterns, Dynamics and Vulnerability of Arctic, Polygonal Ecosystems: From Ice-Wedge Polygon to Pan-Arctic Landscapes | National Science Foundation | Witharana, C. (PI) | To understand the complex and interlinked processes responsible for the evolution of the pan-Arctic ice-wedge polygon tundra landscape by combining field measurements from nine Canadian, Russian, and Alaskan field sites, numerical modeling, and very high spatial resolution optical imagery that has recently become available for the entire Arctic tundra domain. | Project Materials |
Electric Grid Reinforcement
| Title | Sponsor | Investigator(s) | Project Goal | Documentation |
| Evaluation of Grid Resilience Activities with a Total System Performance Assessment Model (Phase II) | Eversource | Bagtzoglou, A. (PI) Zhang, W.; Borochin, P.; Chyrsochoou, M. | To assess the physical and the economical optimality of Connecticut’s power grid system with a system model that integrates resilience interventions (e.g., tree trimming, installation of stronger poles, etc.) represented as fragility functions. | Project Materials SOW |
| HVDC Grid hardening against geomagnetic disturbances (GMD) | Eversource | Cao, Y. (PI) | To identify potential impacts of GMD on High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) for both operated and planned Eversource transmission lines. | Project Materials SOW |
| Substation Physical Security – Detection of UAVs (Phase II) | Eversource | Parent, J. (PI) Witharana, C. | To evaluate existing commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detection, and explore low-cost options to neutralize UAV threats. | SOW |
| Development of a Software-Defined Electric Distribution Network Instrument for Research in Smart and Connected Communities | National Science Foundation | TBA | To increase resilience of the present and future grid systems by developing more autonomous and flexible energy networks through smart programmable microgrids (SPM), and incorporating security features that would enhance resilience to power grid cyber-attacks. | Power Lab Materials |
| Grid-size system enhancements to integrate distributed energy resources (Phase II) | Eversource | PI TBA Astitha, M.; Nikolopoilos, E. | To develop a representation-learning zone partitioning method to divide utility service territory for PV capacity factor analysis. | Power Lab Materials SOW |
| Modeling, Analysis and Anomaly Detection for Cyber Secure Eversource Power Distribution Networks (Phase II) | Eversource | TBA | To model the cyber power distribution system for Eversource Energy in order to assess potential threats and defense mechanisms. | Power Lab Materials SOW |