BPA's hydromet data management system

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) markets the electric energy generated at 30 Federal dams in the Pacific Northwest. Knowledge of the hydromet conditions over the Columbia Basin is necessary to develop forecasts of electric loads and water resources. Hydromet data is received on an hourly and daily basis by BPA's Realtime Operations & Dispatch System (RODS) located at the Dittmer Power System Control Center in Vancourver, Washington. The data is received via the Columbia Basin Teletype, BPA's telemetering hydromet network, and relay from National Weather Service computers in Suitland, Maryland. The data is directly inputted to load and streamflow forecasting models. The output from the forecasting models, in turn, is input to a computerized model of the Columbia River hydro generation system. The RODS system displays hydromet data in various CRT formats. It also performs validity checks on the data and provides an exception alarm capability. Examples of the various hydromet information prepared by the RODS system are given together with a discussion of plans for the future.