Abstract
With the continuous expansion and increasing complexity of modern power systems, traditional local relay protection demonstrates significant limitations in handling large-scale faults, making it challenging to meet the system’s requirements for rapid response and global coordination. As an advanced protection solution, wide area protection (WAP) technology utilizes wide area measurement systems (WAMS) to provide real-time, synchronized data acquisition of the power grid, thereby significantly enhancing fault detection, localization, and response accuracy and efficiency. This paper systematically describes the basic principles of WAP and the architecture and functions of WAMS and analyzes the mechanism of their coordinated operation within power systems. To address the critical challenges WAP faces in practical applications—such as communication delays, reliability, and security—targeted solutions are proposed. Additionally, the potential applications of emerging technologies such as edge computing and artificial intelligence in WAP are explored, providing new technological pathways for further improving the safety and stability of power systems.
