Centre for Power and Information (CPI)

Centre for Power and Information logo.

Who we are

The Centre for Power and Information (CPI) is a multidisciplinary centre situated in The Edward S. Rogers Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto focused on R&D thrusts related to future power grids. CPI’s mission is to address pressing societal energy issues at an infrastructural level through fundamental research, industry collaboration, and education, both locally in Ontario and worldwide. Under the University of Toronto’s strategic vision, CPI is comprehensively focusing on modern problems in power systems, including renewable integration, cyber--‐physical security, and demand response.

What we do

  • Cyber-physical security. Recent events have demonstrated that cyber‐physical infrastructures are vulnerable to cascading failures and adversarial attacks. New approaches are necessary for holistically monitoring, detecting, and mitigating disturbances and designing for system resilience. •
  • Renewable integration. Renewables are essential to our environmental and energy security. Renewable intermittency creates supply and demand imbalances, necessitating new flexibility from energy storage and controllable loads. •
  • Data analytics and privacy. Smart meters and synchrophasors provide an abundance of high‐resolution measurements, enabling precision forecasting and control. Careful algorithmic strategies can harness the benefits of new sensing capabilities without compromising consumer privacy.
  • Power electronic converters and electric vehicles. Power electronic converters enable the seamless interconnection of wind and solar farms, energy storage, and direct current transmission lines.

Our goal

  • To strengthen our leadership in energy and power systems in Canada and worldwide
  • To facilitate partnerships with the power and information-technology industries
  • To enhance collaboration with researchers at other institutions
  • To pursue fundamental research on the most challenging issues in power systems
  • To provide interdisciplinary education in power systems and information technology

Where we lead

CPI leads research and innovation in:
  • Wind and solar integration
  • Cyber-physical security and privacy
  • Energy storage planning and control
  • Demand response
  • Communications for power systems
  • Electricity markets and power system economics
  • Direct-current transmission and microgrids
  • Control and optimization
  • Core faculty

  • Iravani M R
  • Kundur D
  • Lehn P W
  • Liang B
  • Seethapathy R
  • Tate Z
  • Taylor J
  • Trescases O
  • CPI Seminar Series

    Recent recognition