CIGR Technical Brochure

Advanced Angle Stability Controls

Prepared by
Task Force 17
of Advisory Group 02
of Study Committee 38

December 1999
International Conference on Large High Voltage Electric Systems
Confrence Internationale des Grands Rseaux lectriques a Haute Tension

CIGR TF 38.02.17

Advanced Angle Stability Controls

Convenor: Carson Taylor (USA)

Members and contributors

Florencio Aboytes (Mexico)
Tom Anderson(Scotland)
Miroslav Begovoc (USA)
Henri Bourles (France)
Joe Chow (USA)
Jeff Dagle (USA)
Peter Donalek (USA)
Suma Geeves (UK)
Paulo Gomes (Brazil)
Adel Hammad (Switzerland)
Michael Henderson (USA)
Takashi Hiyama (Japan)
Satoru Ihara (USA)
Nelson. Zeni Junior (Brazil)
Daniel Karlsson (Sweden)
Kwang Lee (USA)
Thibault Margotin (France)
Jim McCalley (USA)
Mojtaba Noroozian (Sweden)
Torben strup (Denmark)
Paulo Paiva (Brazil)
Mrinal Pal (USA)
Juan Sanchez-Gasca (USA)
Dick Schulz (USA)
Hisao Taoka (Japan)
Ebrahim Vaahedi (USA)
Louis Wehenkel (Belgium)

Magnus Akke (Sweden)

Gran Andersson (Sweden)
Bharat Bhargava (USA)
Fabio Casamatta (Italy)
Sandro Corsi (Italy)
Art DeGroff (USA)
Carlos Gama (Brazil)
Jan Ove Gjerde (Norway)
Michael Hadingham (South Africa)
John Hauer (USA)
David Hill (Australia)
Michael Hughes (UK)
Lawrence Jones (Sweden)
Innocent Kamwa (Canada)
Prabha Kundur (Canada)
Donald Macdonald (UK)
Nelson Martins (Brazil)
Dagmar Niebur (USA)
Damir Novosel (USA)
John Paserba (USA)
Mania Pavella (Belgium)
Steve Rovnyak (USA)
Pierangelo Scarpellini (Italy)
Jim Smith (USA)
Kjetil Uhlen (Norway)
Lei Wang (Canada)

Contents
1.

Introduction and Survey

1.1
Review of power system synchronous stability basics.............................1-2
1.2
Concepts of power system stability controls ............................................1-6
1.3
Types of power system stability control and possibilities
for advanced control .................................................................................1-9
1.4
Dynamic security assessment .................................................................1-18
1.5
Intelligent controls..................................................................................1-19
1.6
Effects of industry restructuring on stability controls ............................1-19
1.7
Experience from recent power failures...................................................1-20
1.8
Coordination with other CIGR and industry work...............................1-20
1.9
Summary ................................................................................................1-21

2.

Advanced Linear and Nonlinear Control Design

2.1
Nonlinear control......................................................................................2-2
2.2
Linear control techniques .........................................................................2-4

3.

State-of-the-Art in Digital Control

3.1
Review of digital control of dynamic systems .........................................3-3
3.2
Basic structure of digital control systems.................................................3-8
3.3
Evolution of excitation control systems through
microprocessor technology.....................................................................3-11
3.4
Application of digital control to SVCs...................................................3-14
3.5
Trends in digital control .........................................................................3-19

4.

State-of-the-Art in Intelligent Controls

4.1
Fuzzy systems for power system control..................................................4-2
4.2
ANN for power system control ................................................................4-6
4.3
Decision trees for power system control ................................................4-16

5.

Integration of Dynamic Security Assessment and Stability Controls

5.1
On-line dynamic stability assessment design ...........................................5-1
5.2
Other integration of DSA and stability controls.......................................5-9

6.

Measurement and Communication Technology

6.1
Introduction to transducers .......................................................................6-3
6.2
The signal environment for power system transducers ............................6-6
6.3
Signal processing in power system transducers .....................................6-10
6.4
Criteria and procedures for evaluating transducer performance.............6-13
6.5
Transducer modeling and simulation .....................................................6-14
6.6
Digital transducers and phasor measurements .......................................6-15

6.7
6.8
6.9
6.10
6.11

The transducers as an intelligent electronic device ................................6-17

Role of communication channels in wide-area control ..........................6-17
Observed performance of digital communications in the BPA
phasor measurement network.................................................................6-19
Future digital communication for stability control.................................6-22
Optical sensors .......................................................................................6-22

7.

Applications of Advanced Controls

7.1
Brazilian northsouth interconnectionapplication of thyristor
controlled series compensation (TCSC) to damp interarea
oscillation mode .......................................................................................7-1
7.2
Analysis and control of YiminFengtun 500-kV TCSC system ..............7-3
7.3
Wide-area stability control .......................................................................7-4
7.4
Active load modulation for stability control ............................................7-7
7.5
Active power modulation of generators and energy storage
for oscillatory instability control ..............................................................7-8

8.

Stability Controls with Industry Restructuring

8.1
Some examples of new scenarios.............................................................8-1
8.2
Coordinated planning and operation in a competitive environment ........8-9
8.3
The impact of IPP thermal generation on system dynamic
performance............................................................................................8-10
8.4
Other issues related to power system performance in the new
utility environment .................................................................................8-14

9.

Conclusions
9.1
Conclusions ..............................................................................................9-1
9.2
Areas for future work ...............................................................................9-2

Appendices
A
Adjustable speed hydro generation..........................................................A-1
B
Dynamic performance changes produced by numerical integration
algorithms................................................................................................ B-1
C
Space vector, positive and negative sequence vectors ............................ C-1
D
Sideband production in RMS calculations ..............................................D-1
E
Basic phasor calculations ........................................................................ E-1
F
Laboratory evaluations of power system transducers...............................F-1
G
Field evaluations of power system transducers .......................................G-1
H
Transducer modeling and simulations.....................................................H-1
I
Performance of BPA analog communication channels .............................I-1
J
A new look at damping control ................................................................ J-1

Chief Editor
Assistant Editors/Readers
Chapter contributors
Chapter 1:

C. W. Taylor
G. Andersson and A. E. Hammad

C. W. Taylor (lead editor), H. Taoka, A. E. Hammad, R. P.

Schulz, A. G. DeGroff

Chapter 2:

J. R. Smith (lead editor), M. Akke, L. E. Jones

Chapter 3:

M. Noroozian (lead editor), S. Corsi, P. Paiva

Chapter 4:

D. Novosel (lead editor), D. Niebur, S. M. Rovnyak, J. D.

McCalley, T. Hiyama, K. Y. Lee, S. Ihara, C. W. Taylor

Chapter 5:

E. Vaahedi (lead editor), P. Kundur, L. Wang, M. Pavella,

P. Scarpellini, K. Cheung, C. W. Taylor

Chapter 6:

J. F. Hauer (lead editor), C. W. Taylor

Chapter 7:

M. Akke (lead editor), L. E. Jones, T. strup, I. Kamwa, C.

Gama, B. Bhargava, M. K. Pal, R. P. Schulz, C. W. Taylor

Chapter 8:

P. Gomes (lead editor), F. P. de Mello, N. Martins, X. Vieira F.,

J. F. Hauer, T. strup, M. Henderson, K. Uhlen, C. W. Taylor

Chapter 9:

C. W. Taylor (lead editor)

Appendix A

P. J. Donalek

Appendix B

S. Corsi

Appendix C

M. Noroozian

Appendices DI

J. F. Hauer

Appendix J

M. K. Pal

Chapter 1

Introduction and Survey

Power system synchronous or angle instability phenomenon limits power transfer,
especially where transmission distances are long. This is well recognized and many
methods have been developed to improve stability and increase allowable power transfers
[1-1,1-2,1-3]. Section 1.1 reviews the basics of power system stability.
The synchronous stability problem has been fairly well solved by fast fault clearing,
thyristor exciters, power system stabilizers, and a variety of other stability controls such
as generator tripping. Fault clearing of severe short circuits can be less than three cycles
(50 ms for 60 Hz frequency). The effect of the faulted line outage on generator
acceleration and stability may be greater than that of the short circuit itself.
Nevertheless, requirements for more intensive use of available generation and
transmission, more onerous load characteristics, greater variation in power schedules, and
industry restructuring pose new challenges. Recent large-scale power failures in North
and South America and in other parts of the world have heightened the concerns.
This report on advanced angle stability controls provides industry guidance in solving
stability problems with new or relatively new technologies. The technologies include
control theory and applications, power electronics, microprocessor controllers, signal
processing, digital and optical transducers, and telecommunications. There is great
opportunity for synergism in these areas. The goals are new control strategies that are
effective and robust. Effective in an engineering sense means cost-effective. Control
robustness is the capability to function appropriately for a wide range of power system
operating and disturbance conditions.
Much can be gained by technology transfer to the electric power industry from disciplines
such as automatic control, artificial intelligence, and signal processing.
Power system engineers responsible for determining stability-related transfer limits and
for developing means for extending transfer limits are always acquainted with state-ofthe-art control technology. Protection or other engineers responsible for implementation
of stability controls may not be entirely familiar with control technology or power system
stability phenomena. This report provides guidance on advanced methods to improve
stability.
The initial incentives for this report were advances in synchronized voltage phase angle
measurements and in high voltage power electronic equipment to directly or indirectly
control transmission voltage and generator rotor angles. These concepts were discussed at
a panel session on More Effective Networks at the 1996 general meeting in Paris; the
panel session involved eight study committees. Christensen further described such
concepts in [1-4]. An interesting question arose:

What is the value of direct control of voltage phase angle? Equipment such as powerelectronic controlled series compensation and phase-shifting transformers may
directly control the phase angle (and indirectly control generator rotor angles).

A more comprehensive review of advanced technology for stability control is, however,
desirable. Our emphasis in this report is on angle stability, but there is a close relation
between voltage magnitude control and angle stability. Our emphasis is also on large
disturbances and nonlinear aspects of stability control. The techniques described are
applicable to practical large-scale power systems.
This introductory chapter surveys the field of power system stability controls, and the
possibilities for advanced angle stability controls that are described in the following
chapters.
1.1
Review of Power System Synchronous Stability Basics
Many publications, for example references 1-1, 1-2, and 1-5, describe the basicswhich
we briefly review here. Power generation is largely obtained by synchronous generators,
which may be interconnected over thousands of kilometers in very large power systems.
All generators must operate in synchronism during normal and disturbance conditions.
Loss of synchronism of a generator or a group of generators with respect to another group
of generators is instability that could result in expensive widespread power blackouts.
The essence of synchronous stability is balance of individual generator electrical and
mechanical torques as described by Newtons second law applied to rotation:
J

d
= Tm Te ,
dt

where J is moment of inertia of the generator and prime mover, is speed, Tm is

mechanical prime mover torque, and Te is electrical torque related to generator electric
power output. The generator speed determines the generator rotor angle changes relative
to other generators. Figure 1-1 shows the basic swing equation block diagram
relationship for a generator connected to a power system.

o
Tm +

Tacc

1
2H

dt

o dt

Te
Generator
Electrical
Equations

Power
System

Disturbances

Fig. 1-1. Block diagram of generator electromechanical dynamics.

The block diagram representing the internal generator dynamics is explained as follows:

1-2

The inertia constant, H, is proportional to the moment of inertia and is the kinetic
energy at rated speed divided by the generator MVA rating. Units are MWseconds/MVA (or seconds).

Tm is mechanical torque in per unit. As a first approximation its assumed to be

constant. It is, however, influenced by speed controls (governors) and prime mover
and energy supply system dynamics.

o is rated frequency in radians/second (2fo, where fo is rated frequency in Hz).

o is pre-disturbance rotor angle in radians relative to a reference generator.

The power system block comprises the transmission network, loads, power electronic
devices, and other generators/prime movers/energy supply systems with their controls.
The transmission network is generally represented by algebraic equations. Loads and
generators are represented by algebraic and differential equations.

Disturbances include short circuits, and line and generator outages. A severe
disturbance is a three-phase short circuit near the generator. This causes electric
power and torque to be zero, with accelerating torque Tacc equal to Tm . (Although
generator current is very high during the short circuit, its power factor, and active
current and active power are close to zero.)

For illustration, a simple conceptual transmission model as shown in Fig. 1-2 is used. It
comprises a remote generator connected to a large power system by two parallel
transmission lines with an intermediate switching station. With some approximations
adequate for a time of one second or more following a disturbance, the Figure 1-3 block
diagram is realized. The basic relationship between power and torque is P = T . Since
speed changes are quite small, power is considered equal to torque in per unit. The
generator representation is a constant voltage, E , behind a reactance. The transformer
and transmission lines are represented by inductive reactances. Using the
relation S = E I * , the generator electrical power has the well-known relation:
Pe =

E V
sin ,
X

where V is the large system (infinite bus) voltage and X is the total reactance from the
generator internal voltage to the infinite bus. The above equation approximates
characteristics of a detailed, large-scale model, and illustrates that the power system is
fundamentally a highly nonlinear system for large disturbances.
Figure 1-4 shows the relation between Pe and graphically. The pre-disturbance
operating point is at the intersection of the load or mechanical power characteristic and
the electrical power characteristic. Normal stable operation is at o . For example, a small
increase in mechanical power input causes an accelerating power ( Pm Pe ) that increases
to increase Pe until accelerating power returns to zero at a slightly different

1-3

equilibrium point. The opposite is true for the unstable operating point at o : a small
increase in mechanical power will cause a runaway increase in angle.
The angle o is generally less than 45. For small disturbances, the above power-angle
equation can be linearized ( sin in radians for angles under 30). The block diagram
(Figure 1-3) would then represent a second order differential equation oscillator. For a
remote generator connected to a large system the oscillation frequency is 0.81.1 Hz.
E

V 0

Fig. 1-2. Remote power plant to large system. Short circuit location is shown.

Dm
Pm

+
Pe

1
dt
2H

o dt

De

E V
sin()
X

Fig. 1-3. Simplified block diagram of generator electromechanical dynamics.

During normal operation, mechanical and electrical torques are equal and the generator
runs at a constant frequency close to 50 or 60 Hz rated frequency. If, however, a short
circuit occurs on a transmission line the electric power output will be momentarily
partially blocked from reaching loads and the generator (or group of generators) will
accelerate, with increase in generator speed and angle. If the acceleration relative to other
generators is too large, synchronism will be lost. Loss of synchronism is an unstable,
runaway situation with large variations of voltages and currents that will normally cause
protective separation of a generator or a group of generators. Following clearing of the
short circuit by line removal, the increase in the electrical torque (and power) developed
as the angle increases will decelerate the generator. If deceleration reverses the angle
swing prior to o , stability can be maintained at a new operating point o (Figure 14). If the angle swing is beyond o , accelerating power/torque again becomes
positive resulting in a runaway increase of angle and speed, and thus instability.

1-4

Figure 1-4 illustrates the equal area stability criterion for first swing stability. If the
decelerating area (energy) above the mechanical power load line is greater the
accelerating area below the load line, stability can be maintained.
Stability controls help maintain stability by decreasing the accelerating area or increasing
the decelerating area. This may be achieved during the forward angle swing by increasing
the electrical power output, or by decreasing the mechanical power input, or by both.
P
Pre-disturbance
electrical power

Pm
Post-disturbance
electrical power
Fault on electrical
power

(a)

Unstable

o
Stable
(b)

Fig. 1-4. (a) Power angle curve and equal area criterion. Dark shading for acceleration
energy during fault. Light shading for additional acceleration energy because of line
outage. Black shading for deceleration energy. (b) Anglespeed phase plane. Dotted
trajectory is for unstable case.

Figure 1-3 also shows mechanical and electrical damping paths (dashed, damping power
in phase with speed) that represent oscillation damping mechanisms respectively in the
prime-mover and generator, loads, and other devices. For positive the mechanical
1-5

damping, including friction and windage losses, reduces the mechanical input torque
whereas the electrical damping enhances the electrical output torque. Controls, notably
generator automatic voltage regulators with high gains, can introduce negative electrical
damping at some oscillation frequencies. (In any feedback control system, high gain
combined with time delays can cause positive feedback and instability.) For stability, the
net damping must be positive for both normal conditions and for large disturbances with
outages.
External stability controls may also be added to improve damping.
The above analysis can be generalized to large interconnected systems. For first swing
stability, synchronous stability between two critical groups of generators is usually of
concern. For damping, many oscillation modes are present, all of which require positive
damping. The low frequency modes (0.10.8 Hz) associated with interarea oscillations
between large portions of a power system are the most difficult to damp.
1.2
Concepts of Power System Stability Controls
Figure 1-5 shows a general structure for analysis of power system stability, and for
development of power system stability controls.

gen
Power System
Disturbances
load
structural changes
direct
detection

Power
System
Dynamics

P +
-

structural changes

y
System
Variables

switched gen
Feedforward
Controls

Feedback
Controls

switched load
response detection

Fig. 1-5. General power system structure showing stability controls [1-8].

Stability problems typically involve disturbances such as short circuits, with subsequent
removal of faulted elements. Generation or load may be lost, resulting in generationload
imbalance and frequency excursions. These disturbances stimulate power system
electromechanical dynamics. Improperly designed or tuned controls may contribute to
1-6

stability problems; as mentioned, one example is negative damping torques caused by

generator automatic voltage regulators.
Because of power system synchronizing and damping forces (including the feedback
controls shown on Figure 1-5), stability is maintained for most disturbances and operating
conditions.
Feedback controls. The most important feedback (closed-loop) controls are the generator
excitation controls (automatic voltage regulator often including power system stabilizer).
Other feedback controls include prime mover controls, controls for reactive power
compensation such as static var systems, and special controls for HVDC links. These
controls are usually linear, continuously active, and based on local measurements.
There are, however, interesting possibilities for very effective discontinuous feedback
controls, with microprocessors facilitating implementation. Discontinuous controls have
certain advantages over continuous controls. Continuous feedback controls are potentially
unstable. In complex power systems, continuously-controlled equipment may cause
adverse modal interactions [1-7,8]. Modern digital controls, however, can be
discontinuous, and take no action until certain monitored variables are out-of-range. This
is analogous to the very effective biological systems that operate on the basis of excitatory
stimuli [1-9].
Bang-bang discontinuous control can operate several times to control large amplitude
oscillations, providing time for linear continuous controls to become effective.
Feedforward controls. Also shown on Figure 1-5 are specialized feedforward (openloop) controls that are a powerful stabilizing force for severe disturbances and for highly
stressed operating conditions. Short circuit or outage events can be directly detected to
initiate pre-planned actions such as generator or load tripping, or reactive power
compensation switching. These controls are rule-based, with rules developed from
simulations (i.e., pattern recognition). These event-based controls are very effective
since rapid control action prevents electromechanical dynamics from becoming stability
threatening.
Response-based feedforward controls are also possible. These controls initiate
stabilizing actions for arbitrary disturbances that cause significant swing of measured
variables.
Feedforward controls such as generator or load tripping can ensure a post-disturbance
equilibrium with sufficient region of attraction. With fast control action the region of
attraction can be small compared to requirements with only feedback controls.
Feedforward controls have been termed discrete supplementary controls [1-5], special
stability controls [1-3], special protection systems [1-10], remedial action schemes, and
emergency control systems [1-11].
Generally speaking, feedforward controls can be very powerful. Although the reliability
of special stability controls is often an issue [1-12], adequate reliability can be obtained
by careful design. Controls are typically required to be as reliable as primary protective
relaying. Duplicated or multiple sensors, redundant communications, and duplicated or
1-7

voting logic are common [1-13]. Response-based controls are often less expensive than
event-based controls because fewer sensors and communication paths are needed.
Undesired operation by some feedforward controls are relatively benign, and controls can
be trigger happy. For example, infrequent misoperation or unnecessary operation of
HVDC fast power change, reactive power compensation switching, temporary fast
valving of fossil units, and transient excitation boosting may not be very disruptive.
Misoperation of generator tripping (especially of steam-turbine generators), fast valving,
load tripping, or controlled separation, however, are disruptive and costly.
Synchronizing and damping torques. Power system electromechanical stability means
that synchronous generators and motors must remain in synchronism following
disturbances with positive damping of rotor angle oscillations (swings). For very
severe disturbances and operating conditions, loss of synchronism (instability) occurs on
the first swing within about one second. For less severe disturbances and operating
conditions, instability may occur on the second or subsequent swings because of a
combination of insufficient synchronizing and damping torques at synchronous machines.
Effectiveness and robustness. Power systems have many electromechanical oscillation
modes, and each mode can potentially become unstable. Lower frequency interarea modes
are the most difficult to stabilize. Controls must be designed to be effective for one or
more modes and must not cause adverse interaction for other modes.
There are recent advances in robust control theory, especially for linear systems. For real
nonlinear systems, emphasis should be on knowing uncertainty bounds and on sensitivity
analysis using detailed nonlinear, large-scale simulation. For example, the sensitivity of
controls to different operating conditions and load characteristics should be studied. Online simulation using actual operating conditions reduces uncertainty, and can be used for
control adaptation.
Actuators. Actuators may be mechanical or power electronic. There are tradeoffs
between cost and performance. Mechanical actuators (circuit breakers) are lower cost, and
are usually sufficiently fast for electromechanical stability (e.g., two-cycle opening time,
five-cycle closing time). They have restricted operating frequency and are generally used
for feedforward controls.
Circuit breaker technology and reliability have improved in recent years [1-14,1-15].
Bang-bang control (up to perhaps five operations) for interarea oscillations with periods
of two seconds or longer is feasible [1-16]. Mechanical switching has traditionally used
simple relays, but with advanced technologies and intelligent controls [1-17], it can
approach or even exceed the sophistication of controls of, for example, thyristor-switched
capacitor banks.
Power electronic phase control or switching using thyristors has been widely used in
generator exciters, HVDC links, and static var compensators. Newer devices, especially
gate-turnoff thyristors, now have voltage and current ratings sufficient for high power
transmission applications (other semiconductor devices with current turnoff capabilities
are available at lower power ratings). Advantages of power electronic actuators are very
fast control, unrestricted switching frequency, and minimal transients and maintenance.
1-8

For economy, existing actuators, perhaps supplemented with intelligent controls, should
be used to the extent possible. These include generator excitation and prime mover
equipment, HVDC transmission equipment, and circuit breakers. For example, infrequent
generator tripping may be cost-effective compared to new power electronic actuated
equipment.
Reliability criteria. Experience shows that instability incidents are usually not caused by
three-phase faults near large generating plants that are typically specified in deterministic
reliability criteria. Rather they are the result of a combination of unusual failures and
unforeseen circumstances. The three-phase fault reliability criterion is often considered an
umbrella criterion providing a sufficient stability margin for less predictable disturbances
involving multiple failures such as single-phase short circuits with sympathetic tripping
of unfaulted lines. Of main concern is multiple related (common-mode) failures
involving lines on the same right-of-way or with common terminations.
Reliability criteria also provide a performance margin to account for the many
uncertainties in simulation analysis. Uncertainties can include modeling and data errors,
and differences between the simulated and the actual operating conditions. Simulations
are usually off line, and are often performed several months before actual operation. Online, near real-time simulations reduces operating condition uncertainty.
Reliability criteria margins can be, for example, a power margin on allowable transfer
(typically 5%), or a voltage dip of no more than 2030% during swings.
Purpose of stability controls. The purpose of stability controls is to remove stability as a
limit on power transfers. Excessive investment to obtain high performance such as rapid
damping of oscillations is not desirable.
1.3

Types of Power System Stability Controls and Possibilities for

Advanced Controls
Stability controls are of many types including:

Generator excitation controls

Prime mover controls including fast valving

Generator tripping

Fast fault clearing

High speed reclosing, and single-pole switching

Dynamic braking

Load tripping and modulation

Reactive power compensation switching or modulation (series and shunt)

Current and voltage injections by voltage source inverter devices (STATCOM, UPFC,
SMES, battery storage)

1-9

Fast voltage phase angle control

HVDC link supplementary controls

Adjustable-speed (doubly-fed) generation

Controlled separation and underfrequency load shedding

We will summarize these controls. Chapter 17 of reference 1-2 provides considerable

additional information. Reference 1-18 describes use of many of these controls in Japan.
Excitation control. Generator excitation controls are a basic stability control. Thyristor
exciters with high ceiling voltage provide powerful and economical means to ensure
stability for large disturbances. Modern automatic voltage regulators and power system
stabilizers are digital, facilitating additional capabilities such as adaptive control and
special logic [1-1922].
Excitation control is usually based on local measurements. Therefore full effectiveness
may not be obtained for interarea stability problems where local measurements are not
sufficient. Line drop compensation [1-2324] is one method to increase the effectiveness
(sensitivity) of excitation control, and to improve coordination with static var
compensators that normally control transmission voltage with small droops.
Several forms of discontinuous control have been applied to keep excitation field voltage
near ceiling levels during the first forward interarea swing [1-2,1-25,1-26]. Recalling the
proposed use of angle measurement for stability control, the control described in
references 1-2 and 1-25 computes change in rotor angle locally from the power system
stabilizer (PSS) speed change signal. The control described in reference 1-26 is a
feedforward control that injects a decaying pulse into the voltage regulators at a large
power plant following direct detection of a large disturbance. Figure 1-6 shows
simulation results using this Transient Excitation Boosting TEB.
Prime mover control including fast valving. Fast mechanical power reduction (fast
valving) at generators is an effective means of stability improvement. Use has been
limited, however, because of the coordination required between characteristics of the
electrical power system, the prime mover and prime mover controls, and the energy
supply system (boiler).
Digital prime mover controls facilitate addition of special features for stability
enhancement. Digital boiler controls, often retrofitted on existing equipment, may
improve the feasibility of fast valving. Although not common, turbine power can be
modulated by prime movers controls to improve damping of interarea oscillations.
Fast valving has been found to be lower cost than tripping of turbo-generators. References
1-2 and 1-27 describe investigations and recent implementations of fast valving. In the
AEP application at Rockport [1-27], temporary fast valving has been found to be
attractive, since both the first cost and operating costs of these fast valving schemes are
less than the best alternative, which include additional transmission circuits. AEP and
several other utilities make continual use of this means of improving rotor angle stability,

1-10

250

Relative angle - degrees

w/o TEB
200

150
w/ TEB
100

50
0

6
Time - seconds

10

Fig. 1-6. Rotor angle swing of Grand Coulee Unit 19 in Pacific Northwest relative to the
San Onofre nuclear plant in Southern California. The effect of transient excitation
boosting (TEB) at the Grand Coulee Third Power Plant following bipolar outage of the
Pacific HVDC Intertie (3100 MW) is shown [1-26].
although few of these applications are documented in the literature. Sustained fast valving
(sustained power reduction) may be necessary for a stable post-disturbance equilibrium.
AEP routinely reexamines the stability of the Rockport generationtransmission complex
and the effectiveness of temporary fast valving. The Rockport Operating Guide is updated
to reflect changes in operating conditions, changes in controls or operating practices, and
changes in the regional transmission network. Figure 1-7 illustrates the effectiveness of
the fast valving. The simulated operating conditions and event include a single prior
outage and a single phase fault, unsuccessfully cleared by single-phase switching at +50
milliseconds, with successful backup three phase clearing 0.55 seconds after the fault.
The plots are of the consequent changes in speed and rotor angle position. The upper plots
of Figure 1-7 are with temporary fast valving, and the lower plots are without fast
valving.
Generator tripping. Generator tripping is an effective and economic control especially if
hydro units are used. Tripping of fossil units, especially gas- or oil-fired units, may be
attractive if tripping to house load is possible and reliable. Gas turbine and combinedcycle plants constitute a large percentage of new generation. Occasional tripping of these
units is feasible and can become an attractive stability control in the future.
Most generator tripping controls are event-based (based on outage of generating plant
out-going lines or outage of tie lines). Several advanced response-based generator
tripping controls, however, have been implemented.

1-11

Fig. 1-7. Simulation of effect of temporary fast valving at Rockport for prior circuit
outage and single-phase fault with unsuccessful single-pole switching. Top plots are with
fast valving and bottom plots are without fast valving.
The Acceleration Trend Relay (ATR) is implemented at the Colstrip generating plant in
eastern Montana [1-28]. The plant consists of two 330 MW units and two 700 MW units.
The microprocessor-based controller measures rotor speed and generator power, and
computes acceleration and angle. Tripping of 16100% of plant generation is based on
eleven trip algorithms involving acceleration, speed and angle changes. Because of the
long distance to Pacific Northwest load centers, the ATR has operated many times, both
desirably and undesirably. There are proposals to use voltage angle measurement
information (Colstrip 500-kV voltage angle relative to Grand Coulee and other Northwest
locations) to adaptively adjust ATR settings, or as additional information for trip
1-12

algorithms. Another possibility is to provide speed or frequency measurements from

Grand Coulee and other locations to base algorithms on speed difference rather than only
the local Colstrip speed [1-29].
A Tokyo Electric Power Company stabilizing control predicts generator angle changes
and decides the minimum number of generators to trip [1-30]. Local generator electric
power, voltage and current measurements are used to estimate angles. The control has
worked correctly for several actual disturbances.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company is also developing an emergency control system
which uses a predictive prevention method for step-out of pumped storage generators [131,1-32]. In the new method, the generators in TEPCOs network which swing against
their local pumped storage generators after serious fault are treated as an external power
system. The parameters in the external system, such as angle and inertia, are estimated by
using local on-line information. The behavior of a local pumped storage generator is
predicted based on equations of motion. Control actions (the number of generators to be
tripped) are determined based on the prediction.
Reference 1-33 describes response-based generator tripping using a phase-plane
controller. The controller is based on the apparent resistance/rate of change of apparent
resistance (RRdot) phase plane, which is closely related to an angle difference/speed
difference phase plane between two areas. The primary use of the controller is for
controlled separation of the Pacific AC Intertie. Figure 1-8 shows simulation results
where 600 MW of generator tripping reduces the likelihood of controlled separation.

Fig. 1-8. RRdot phase plane for loss of Pacific HVDC Intertie (2000 MW). Solid
trajectory is without additional generator tripping. Dashed trajectory is with additional
600 MW of generator tripping initiated by the RRdot controller generator trip switching
line [1-33].

1-13

??????

Fast fault clearing, high-speed reclosing, and single-pole switching. Clearing time of
close-in faults can be less than three cycles using conventional protective relays and
circuit breakers. Typical EHV circuit breakers have two-cycle opening time. One-cycle
breakers have been developed [1-34], but special breakers are seldom justified. High
magnitude short circuits may be detected as fast as one-fourth cycle by non-directional
overcurrent relays. Ultra-high-speed traveling wave relays are also available [1-35]. With
such short clearing times, and considering that most EHV faults are single-phase, the
removed transmission lines or other elements may be the major contributor to generator
acceleration. This is especially true if non-faulted equipment is removed by sympathetic
relaying.
High-speed three-pole reclosing is an effective method of improving stability and
reliability. Reclosing is before the maximum of the first forward angular swing, but after
3040 cycle time for arc extinction. During a lightning storm, high speed reclosing keeps
the maximum number of lines in service. High-speed reclosing is effective when
unfaulted lines trip because of relay misoperations.
Unsuccessful high-speed reclosing into a permanent fault can cause instability, and can
also compound the torsional duty imposed on turbine-generator shafts. Solutions include
reclosing only for single-phase faults, and reclosing from the weak end with hot-line
checking prior to reclosing at the generator end. Communication signals from the weak
end indicating successful reclosing can also be used to enable reclosing at the generator
end [1-38].
Single-pole switching is a practical means to improve stability and reliability in EHV
networks where most circuit breakers have independent pole operation [1-36,1-37].
Several methods are used to ensure secondary arc extinction. For short lines, no special
methods are needed. For long lines, the four-reactor scheme [1-39,1-40] is most
commonly used. High-speed grounding switches may be used [1-41]. A hybrid reclosing
method used by Bonneville Power Administration employs single-pole tripping, but with
three-pole tripping on the backswing followed by rapid three-pole reclosure; the threepole tripping ensures secondary arc extinction [1-36].
Single-pole switching may necessitate positive sequence filtering in stability control input
signals.
For advanced stability control, signal processing and pattern recognition techniques may
be developed to detect secondary arc extinction [1-42,1-43]. Reclosing into a fault is
avoided and single-pole reclosing success is improved.
High-speed reclosing or single-pole switching may not allow increased power transfers
because deterministic reliability criteria generally specifies permanent faults.
Nevertheless, fast reclosing provides defense-in-depth for frequently occurring singlephase temporary faults and false operation of protective relays. The probability of power
failures because of multiple line outages is greatly reduced.
Dynamic braking. Shunt dynamic brakes using mechanical switching have been used
infrequently [1-2]. Normally the insertion time is fixed. One attractive method not

1-14

requiring switching is neutral-to-ground resistors in generator step-up transformers.

Braking automatically results for ground faults which are most common.
Often generator tripping, which helps ensure a post-disturbance equilibrium, is a better
solution.
Thyristor switching of dynamic brakes has been proposed. Thyristor switching or phase
control minimizes generator torsional duty [1-44], and can be a subsynchronous
resonance countermeasure [1-45].
Load tripping and modulation. Load tripping is similar in concept to generator tripping
but is at the receiving end to reduce deceleration of receiving-end generation.
Interruptible industrial load is commonly used. For example, reference 1-46 describes
tripping of up to 3000 MW of industrial load following outages during power import
conditions.
Rather than tripping large blocks of industrial load, it may be possible to trip low priority
commercial and residential load such as space and water heaters, or air conditioners. This
is less disruptive and the consumer may not even notice brief interruptions. The feasibility
of this control depends on implementation of direct load control as part of demand side
management, and on the installation of high-speed communication links to consumers
with high-speed actuators at load devices. Although unlikely because of economics,
appliances such as heaters could be designed to provide frequency sensitivity by local
measurements.
Load tripping is also used for voltage stability. Here the communication and actuator
speeds are generally not as critical.
Its also possible to modulate loads such as heaters to damp oscillations [1-4750]. This
is described in Chapter 7.
Clearly load tripping or modulation of small loads will depend on the economics, and the
development of fast communications and actuators.
Reactive power compensation switching or modulation. Controlled series or shunt
compensation improves stability, with series compensation generally being the most cost
effective [1-86]. For switched compensation, either mechanical or power electronic
switches may be used. For continuous modulation, thyristor phase control of a reactor
(TCR) is used. Mechanical switching has the advantage of lower cost. The operating
times of circuit breakers are usually adequate, especially for interarea oscillations.
Mechanical switching is generally single insertion of compensation for synchronizing
support. In addition to previously mentioned advantages, power electronic control has
advantages in subsynchronous resonance performance [1-51].
For synchronizing support, high-speed series capacitor switching has been used
effectively on the North American Pacific AC intertie for over 25 years [1-52]. The main
application is for full or partial outages of the parallel Pacific HVDC intertie (eventdriven control using transfer trip over microwave radio). Series capacitors are inserted by
circuit breaker opening; operators bypass the series capacitors some minutes after the

1-15

event. Response-based control using an impedance relay was also used for some years,
and new response-based controls are being investigated.
Thyristor-based series compensation switching or modulation has been developed with
several installations in service or planned [1-10,1-53,1-54]. Thyristor-controlled series
compensation (TCSC) allows significant time-current dependent increase in series
capacitive reactance over the nominal reactance. With appropriate controls, this increase
in reactance can be a powerful stabilizing force [1-55,1-56].
As described in Chapter 7, thyristor-controlled series compensation was chosen for the
1020 km, 500-kV intertie between the Brazilian north/northeast networks and the
south/southeast networks [1-57]. Also described in Chapter 7 is a TCSC application in
China for integration of a remote power plant using two parallel 500-kV transmission
lines (1300 km). Transient stability simulations indicate that 25% thyristor controlled
compensation is more effective than 45% fixed compensation. Several advanced TCSC
control techniques are promising [1-58].
For synchronizing support, high speed switching of shunt capacitor banks is also
effective. Again on the Pacific AC intertie, four 200 MVAr shunt banks are switched for
HVDC and 500-kV ac line outages [1-16]; response-based controls based on voltage are
installed.
High speed mechanical switching of shunt banks as part of a static var system is common.
For example, the Forbes static var system near Duluth, Minnesota USA includes two 300
MVAr 500-kV shunt capacitor banks [1-59]. Generally its cost-effective to augment
power electronic controlled compensation with fixed or mechanically-switched
compensation.
Static var compensators are applied along interconnections to improve synchronizing and
damping support. Voltage support at intermediate points allow operation at angles above
90. Reference 1-60 provides an example using five SVCs with only voltage control to
improve stability for a proposed interconnection of the Scandinavian (Nordel) and main
European (UCPTE) power systems.
SVCs are modulated to improve oscillation damping. One study [1-1,1-61] showed line
current magnitude to be the most effective input signal. Synchronous condensers can
provide similar benefits, but nowadays are usually not competitive with power electronic
equipment. Available SVCs in load areas may be used to indirectly modulate load to
provide synchronizing or damping forces.
Digital controls allow many new control strategies. Gain supervision and optimization
adaptive control is common. For series or shunt power electronic devices, control mode
selection allows bang-bang control, synchronizing versus damping control, and other nonlinear and adaptive strategies.
Current injection by voltage source converters. Advanced power electronic controlled
equipment employ gate turn-off thyristors or other devices with current turnoff capability.
Reactive power injection devices include static compensator (STATCOM), static

1-16

synchronous series compensator (SSSC), and unified power flow controller (UPFC).
Reference 1-1 describes use of these devices for oscillation damping.
As with conventional thyristor-based equipment, its often effective for voltage source
inverter control to also coordinate mechanical switching.
Voltage source inverters may also be used for real power series or shunt injection.
Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) or battery storage is the most common.
For angle stability control, injection of real power is more effective than reactive power.
SMES or battery storage provides both active and reactive power control.
For transient stability improvement, SMES can be of smaller MVA size and possibly
lower cost than a STATCOM. SMES may be less location dependent than a STATCOM.
Fast voltage phase angle control. Voltage phase angles and thereby rotor angles can be
rapidly controlled by power electronic controlled series compensation (discussed above)
or phase shifting transformers. This provides powerful stability control. Although one
type of thyristor-controlled phase shifting transformer was developed almost twenty years
ago [1-62], high cost has presumably prevented installations. Reference 1-63 describes an
application study.
The unified power flow controller incorporates GTO-thyristor phase shifting and series
compensation control, and one installation (not a transient stability application) is in
service [1-53].
One concept employs power electronic series or phase shifting equipment to directly
control angles across an interconnection within a small range [1-64]. On a powerangle
curve, this can be visualized as keeping high synchronizing coefficient (slope of power
angle curve) during disturbances.
Bonneville Power Administration developed a novel method for transient stability by
high speed 120 phase rotation of transmission lines between networks losing
synchronism [1-54]. This technique is very powerful (perhaps too powerful!) and raises
reliability and robustness issues especially in the usual case where several lines form the
interconnection. It has not been implemented.
HVDC link supplementary controls. HVDC dc links are installed for power transfer
reasons. In contrast to the above power electronic devices, the available HVDC
converters provide the actuators so that stability control is inexpensive. For long distance
HVDC links within a synchronous network, HVDC modulation can provide powerful
stabilization, with active and reactive power injections at each converter. Control
robustness, however, is a concern [1-1,1-7].
References 1-1, 1-6567 and 1-87 describe HVDC link stability controls. The Pacific
HVDC Intertie modulation control, implemented in 1976, is unique in that a remote input
signal from the parallel Pacific AC Intertie was used. Figure 1-9 shows commissioning
test results.
Adjustable-speed (doubly-fed) generation. References 1-1, 1-68, 1-69, and Appendix A
describe stability benefits of adjustable speed synchronous machines that have been

1-17

Fig. 1-9. System response to Pacific AC Intertie series capacitor bypass with and without
dc modulation [1-66].
developed for pumped storage applications. Control of excitation frequency enables direct
control of rotor angle. Since the frequency converter only supplies power to the rotor, the
cost may be low enough to be competitive with alternatives. Reference 1-88 describes
doubly-fed turbo-generators.
Controlled separation and underfrequency load shedding. For very severe
disturbances and failures, maintaining synchronism may not be possible or cost-effective.
Controlled separation (islanding) based on out-of-step detection or parallel path outages
mitigates the effects of instability. The generation/load imbalances in the islands that are
formed should be small enough that the islands stabilize. Undesirable generation tripping
during voltage and frequency swings must be minimized through adequate control and
protection design and settings. Underfrequency load shedding may be required in islands
that were importing power.
References 1-33, 1-70, and 1-71 describe advanced controlled separation schemes. Recent
proposals advocate use of voltage phase angle measurements for controlled separation.
1.4
Dynamic Security Assessment
Control design and settings, along with transfer limits, are usually based on off-line
simulation (time and frequency domain), and on field tests. Controls must then operate
appropriately for a variety of operating conditions and disturbances.
Recently, however, on-line dynamic (or transient) stability/security assessment software
has been developed. State estimation and on-line power flow monitoring provide the base
operating conditions. Simulation of potential disturbances is then based on actual
operating conditions, reducing uncertainty of the control environment. Dynamic security
assessment is presently used to determine arming levels for generator tripping controls [172,1-73].
With todays computer capabilities, hundreds or thousands of large-scale simulations may
be run each day to provide an organized database of system stability properties. Security
assessment is made efficient by techniques such as fast screening and contingency
1-18

selection, and smart termination of strongly stable or unstable cases. Parallel computation
is straightforward using multiple workstations for different simulation cases; common
initiation may be used for the different contingencies
In the future, dynamic security assessment may be used for control adaptation to current
operating conditions. Another possibility is stability control based on neural network or
decision tree pattern recognition. Dynamic security assessment provides the database for
pattern recognition techniques. Pattern recognition may be considered data compression
of security assessment results.
Industry restructuring requiring near real-time power transfer capability determination
may accelerate the implementation of dynamic security assessment, facilitating advanced
stability controls.
We further describe on-line security assessment in Chapter 5.
1.5
Intelligent Controls
Mention has already been made of rule-based controls and pattern recognition based
controls. Fuzzy logic may be used for rule-based control.
As a possibility, reference 1-74 describes a sophisticated self-organizing neural fuzzy
controller (SONFC) based on the speedacceleration phase plane. Compared to the
anglespeed phase plane, control tends to be faster and both final states are zero (using
angle, the post-disturbance equilibrium angle is not known in advance). The controllers
are located at generator plants. Acceleration and speed can be easily measured/computed
using, for example, the techniques developed for power system stabilizers.
The SONFC could be expanded to incorporate remote measurements. Dynamic security
assessment simulations could be used for updating/retraining of the neural network fuzzy
controller. The SONFC is suitable for generator tripping, series or shunt capacitor
switching, HVDC control, etc.
We further describe intelligent controls in Chapter 4.
1.6
Effect of Industry Restructuring on Stability Controls
Industry restructuring will have many impacts on power system stability. New, frequently
changing power transfer patterns cause new stability problems. Most stability and transfer
capability problems must be solved by new controls and new substation equipment, rather
than by new transmission lines [1-75].
Different ownership of generation, transmission and distribution makes necessary power
system engineering more difficult. New power industry standards along with ancillary
services mechanisms are being developed. Controls such as generator or load tripping,
fast valving, higher than standard exciter ceilings, and power system stabilizers may be
ancillary services. In large interconnections, independent grid operators or security
coordination centers may facilitate dynamic security assessment and centralized stability
controls.

1-19

We further describe the effect of industry restructuring on stability controls in Chapter 8.

1.7
Experience from Recent Power Failures
Recent cascading power outages demonstrated the impact of control and protection
failures, the need for defense-in-depth or multiple lines of defense, and the need for
advanced stability controls.
The July 2, 1996 and August 10, 1996 power failures [1-7680] in western North
America showed need for improvements and innovations in stability control areas such
as:

Fast insertion of reactive power compensation for voltage support, and fast generator
tripping using response-based controls.

HVDC, TCSC, and SVC control for stability.

Power system stabilizer design and tuning.

Controlled separation.

Power system modeling and data validation for control design.

Control adaptation to actual operating conditions.

Figure 1-10 shows the development of the August 10 breakup

Other blackouts have occurred recently in the North American Upper Midwest [1-80],
and in Brazil. In Brazil, new emergency controls for generator/load tripping and
controlled separation are being added.
Defense-in-depth/multiple line of defense for system reliability includes risk management
in system operation (e.g., reduced power transfers during storm conditions), fast and
reliable protective relaying, high-speed three or single pole reclosing, best practice local
stability controls (e.g., thyristor exciters with PSS). The final lines of defense mitigate the
effects of extreme disturbances, and may include generator/load tripping, controlled
separation, and underfrequency or undervoltage load shedding.
1.8
Coordination with other CIGR and Industry Work
References 1-1, 1-81, and 1-82 document recent CIGR and IEEE work related to angle
stability control. These works are valuable, providing comprehensive description of many
aspects of stability. CIGR TF 38.02.16, Impact of Interactions among Power System
Controls, CIGR TF 38.02.19, System Protection in the Power System: modeling and
analysis, and CIGR TF 38.02.20 Advanced Power System Controls Using Intelligent
Systems, are currently underway.
Our intent is to complement rather than duplicate other industry work.

1-20

008 Malin -Round Mountain #1 MW

caseID=Aug10E5loadPF casetime =04/16/98_14:41:48

15:48:51
Out-of-Step separation

1500

15:42:03
Keeler-Allston line trips

15:47:36
Ross-Lexington line trips/
McNary generation drops off

1400

1300

0.276 Hz
0.252 Hz
0.264 Hz,
3.46% damping

1200

Reference
time = 15:35:30 PDT
[bitmap version
1100
200

300

400

500
Time in Seconds

600

700

800

Fig. 1-10. Power flow on OregonCalifornia 500-kV line during initial portion of August
10, 1996 breakup. Following separation of the Pacific AC intertie, uncontrolled
separations broke the system into four islands with loss of 30,489 MW of load.
1.9
Summary
Power system angle stability can be improved by a wide variety of controls. Some
methods have been used effectively for many years, both at generating plants and in
transmission networks. New control techniques and actuating equipment are promising.
This chapter provides a broad survey of available stability control techniques with
emphasis on new and emerging technology. The following chapters provide in-depth
evaluation of the many issues in the selection and design of stability controls.
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1-2

P. Kundur, Power System Stability and Control, McGraw-Hill, 1994.

1-3

IEEE Special Stability Controls Working Group, Annotated Bibliography on

Power System Stability Controls: 1986-1994, IEEE Transactions on Power
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1-21

1-4

J. F. Christensen, New Control Strategies for Utilizing Power System Network

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1-5

IEEE Discrete Supplementary Control Task Force, A Description of Discrete

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1-6

A. Hammad, Stability and Control of HVDC and AC Transmission in Parallel,

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1-7

J. F. Hauer, Robust Damping Controls for Large Power Systems, IEEE Control
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1-8

J. F. Hauer, Robustness Issues in Stability Control of Large Electric Power

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1-9

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1-10

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1-11

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1-12

IEEE/ CIGR Committee Report (P. M. Anderson and B. K. LeReverend),

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1-13

D. Dodge, W. Doel, and S. Smith, Power System Stability Control Using Fault
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CIGR Task Force 13.00.1, Controlled Switching A State-of-the-Art Survey,

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1-16

B. C. Furumasu and R. M. Hasibar, Design and Installation of 500-kV Back-toBack Shunt Capacitor Banks, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 7, No.
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1-17

K. B. Cho, J. B. Kim, E. B. Shim, and J. W. Park, Development of an Intelligent

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1-18

T. Torizuka and H. Tanaka, An Outline of Power System Technologies in

Japan, Electric Power Systems Research, No. 44, pp. 15, 1998.

1-22

1-19

IEEE Digital Excitation Applications Task Force, Digital Excitation Technology

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1-20

K. E. Bollinger, L. Nettleton, T. Greenwood-Madsen, and M. Salyzyn,

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1-21

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1-23

A. S. Rubenstein and W. W. Walkley, Control of Reactive KVA with Modern

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1-24

A. S. Dehdashti, J. F. Luini, and Z. Peng, Dynamic Voltage Control by Remote

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1-25

D. C. Lee and P. Kundur, Advanced Excitation Controls for Power System

Stability Enhancement, CIGR, paper 38-01, 1986.

1-26

C. W. Taylor, J. R. Mechenbier, and C. E. Matthews, Transient Excitation

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1-27

N. B. Bhatt, Field Experience with Momentary Fast Turbine Valving and Other
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1-28

C. A. Stigers, C. S. Woods, J. R. Smith, and R. D. Setterstrom, The Acceleration

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1-29

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1-23

1-31

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1-32

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1-33

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1-34

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1-35

J. H. Esztergalyos, M. T. Yee, M. Chamia, and S. Lieberman, The Development

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1-36

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1-40

E. W. Kimbark, Suppression of Ground-Fault Arcs on Single-Pole Switched

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H. Stemmler and G. Gth, The Thyristor-Controlled Static Phase ShifterA

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T. Kuwabara, A. Shibuya, H. Furuta, E. Kita, and K. Mitsuhashi, Design and

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K. Kudo, Japanese Experience With a Converter-fed Variable Speed Pumped

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1-28

Chapter 2

Advanced Linear and Nonlinear Control Design

Rotor angle stability of a power system, as introduced in Chapter 1, concerns the
electromechanical dynamics of generator rotors [2-1,2-2]. The rotors of all connected AC
generators must operate at the same synchronous speed. Small oscillations between
generator rotors occur frequently. Changes in the rotor angle relationship between
generators are a function of generator loading, the distribution of loads in the network and
the topology of the electrical network. The rotor angles between generators normally
change very slowly as the system changes operating point through daily, weekly and
seasonal cycles. Short-term transients will occur following a disturbance to the power
system, and oscillations may arise from slowly evolving operating conditions.
As is the case with essentially all physical phenomena, power system rotor angle stability
is inherently a nonlinear control problem. The control problem in power system angle
stability has several additional complicating factors. These include:

An accurate mathematical representation of an interconnected power system is usually

of very high order, often containing several thousand state variables;

The system is multivariable, often containing numerous generators each with their
own controllers;

The system is continuously time varying, with daily and seasonal cycles as well
sudden short term changes;

The system often contains significant levels of noise due partly to the constant
changing of many loads;

The system contains numerous nonlinearities, including saturation of generators,

exciters, nonlinear power transfer characteristics and nonlinear load characteristics;

An interconnected power system covers a large geographic area, which may make
communication and monitoring of the system difficult and expensive.

Despite all of these difficulties, many aspects of the control problem are addressable in
terms of the vast amount of theoretical information applicable to linear, or linearizable,
systems.
When a disturbance impacts a generators mechanical and electrical torque balance, the
rotor of that machine must either speed up or slow down. The electrical torque will often
change more rapidly than the mechanical torque input because it is dependent upon the
electrical network variables which can change rapidly. These variables include the power
transmission capacity of the network and the state of all other machine rotors in the
system. The changes in electrical torque within a generator can be resolved into two
components, one in phase with rotor angle and the other in phase with rotor speed. These
components are often referred to respectively as synchronizing and damping torques [23]. These concepts can be generalized in terms of state space modeling [2-68]. These
concepts illustrate two separate aspects of the rotor angle stability problem. A lack of

synchronizing torque often leads to rotor angle instability in the first swing of the
generator rotor. Synchronizing torque is restored by fast acting control actions. The
problem is referred to as the transient stability problem. The control actions include fault
clearing, network reconfigurations, generator fast valving [2-4], resistive breaking, or
generator tripping [2-57] and they often do not utilize feedback. Some recent works
however have incorporated feedback control for fast valving [2-8].
In contrast, control designs to enhance damping torque usually rely on applications of
theory from linear feedback control design, and occasionally nonlinear feedback control
design. These control designs deal primarily with small disturbance stability described in
terms of linear control concepts such as eigenvalues, poles and zeros, bode plots, and
damping. Some common control actuators for small signal stability are generator
excitation systems including power system stabilizers (PSS), power electronic devices,
modulated loads, and HVDC links. Reference 2-53 provides an overview of rotor angle
stability related to PSS. Some recent works have discussed the plausibility of using
feedback control to modulate the system loads to improve damping [2-9,2-10]. In any
disturbance both the synchronizing torque and damping torque aspects of the rotor angle
stability problem exist. Small-disturbance stability (damping torques) must always exist,
and large-disturbance stability (synchronizing torques) should exist for most severe
disturbances.
Knowledge of the stability conditions of an interconnected power system is vital for
reliable operation. The availability and proper design of stability controls can
significantly extend the safe operating limits of interconnected power systems.
2.1
Nonlinear Control
Although power systems are inherently nonlinear most of the control design used in
practice is based on linear control theory. In recent years, however, there have been
several advances in the application of nonlinear control theory. The main impetus is to
obtain more effective controllers by having the design account for the system
nonlinearities. References 2-11 and 2-67 discuss aspects of the nonlinear nature of power
systems.
Feedback linearization. One approach involves feedback linearization. The nonlinear
dynamics of the system are transformed into a linear (or partially linear) system so that
linear control techniques can be used. References 2-12 and 2-42 discuss theoretical
aspects. The result is a transformation or an input signal that contains a nonlinear as well
as a linear component. This approach has been applied to power systems to control
generator power [2-8,2-13]. Both papers illustrate a significant improvement in damping
and transient stability of the power system when the mechanical power input to the
generator can be effectively controlled. Reference 2-54 presents the application of
feedback linearization to excitation control for angle stability of a multi-machine system.
Reference 2-66 describes feedback linearization applied to a small parallel AC/DC test
system for the enhancement of transient stability.
Adaptive control. Some or all of the nonlinearities are treated in terms of time varying
changes in the system. As the system changes its operating point, a model of the system
2-2

can be determined and the control applied according to information about the model or
the deviation of the system from the model. There are many approaches to adaptive
control. Some conventional adaptive controllers have been applied to power system
problems [2-1416]. There are also adaptive control approaches involving fuzzy systems
and or neural nets [2-1719].
Cost function. This approach to nonlinear control design involves the use of a cost
function or penalty function to evaluate the effectiveness of controller parameters for a
given control structure. In reference 2-20, a simple quadratic cost function is used to
evaluate controller design parameters for a TCSC. The method involves a large number
of simulation studies to determine the best set of design parameters for a set of operating
conditions and expected disturbances. This approach is only feasible when the number of
design parameters to be determined is relatively small.
Discontinuous control. Discontinuous controls or bang-bang controls are the most
commonly used emergency measures for maintaining transient stability when large
disturbances occur in a power network. Examples include generator tripping, series
capacitor switching, generator excitation boosting, and dynamic braking. These
approaches are very effective in mitigating disturbances and maintaining rotor angle
stability during the first swing of the rotor angles. The basic problem in most of these
strategies is to determine the appropriate level of control action and the correct timing for
the switching actions. In general this is a nonlinear control problem. In some cases the
problem may reduce to being able to detect the appropriate conditions and begin the
control sequence. Many of these approaches rely on detailed and extensive simulation
studies and they do not utilize feedback. References 2-6, 2-2123, and 2-80 describe
these types of control. Some approaches do utilize feedback [2-24].
Normal forms. Recent work on nonlinear control using normal forms indicates that
stressed power systems exhibit characteristics that can be addressed by including
additional terms in the Taylor series expansion of the nonlinear system. References 2-25
and 2-26 discuss the basic theory behind normal forms. The standard approach for
linearizing a nonlinear system involves using only the first or linear term in the Taylor
series expansion of the nonlinear system. All higher order terms are neglected in linear
analysis. Normal forms include the effects of some higher order terms in the Taylor series
expansion and can provide insight into the modal interactions exhibited by power
systems. Both the linear approach and the normal forms approach use approximations to
the full nonlinear system, but the normal forms approach is able to include more of the
system nonlinearities. Reference 2-27 is concerned with including second order terms to
affect nonlinear tuning of controller gains.
Dissipativity. Reference 2-52 proposes a unifying framework for analysis and synthesis
of controllers to damp low frequency oscillation in power systems. The basic idea is that a
passive system always consumes energy. The controllers can be HVDC links, static var
compensators (SVCs), thyristor controlled series capacitors (TCSCs) and power system
stabilizers.
Energy (Lyapunov) function methods. The application of energy (Lyapunov) function
methods in transient stability analysis of electric power systems is well known [2-71,22-3

72]. In recent years, use of energy function principles to derive control strategies for
large-scale power systems has received increased research attention [2-73,2-74,2-75].
Advantages of energy function control strategies are that the form is independent of the
structure, i.e., structural uncertainty is not a main issue; they may rely on local signals,
and they have large regions of validity as they are based on the nonlinear system. A main
limitation is that the derivation requires that an energy function of the system model be
found. This results in modelling assumptions that are rather restrictive. Grnquist et al.
[2-75] study the effects of applying controls to FACTS devices based on energy function
methods for lossless system models.
Reference 2-74 investigates and evaluates transient stability enhancement of large-scale
power systems by control strategies for unified power flow controller, controlled series
compensation, and phase shifting transformers. The controls are applied to a CIGR test
system that has dynamic properties similar to the Swedish and interconnected Nordic
power system. Reference 2-73 describes control strategy for HVDC converter controls
based on energy function methods.
Nonlinear fuzzy and neural net control. As described in Chapter 4, fuzzy system and
neural network applications to rotor angle stability problems is a research area. The
advantage of fuzzy controllers is their ability to incorporate nonlinear effects into the
resulting control surfaces. An important problem to overcome in power system angle
stability applications is that an expert may not be available to provide guidance in
forming the fuzzy rules due to the complexity and variability of the dynamic processes.
Reference 2-70 describes an integrated fuzzy controller for voltage regulation, power
system stabilizer and governor control of a generator. Field tests of a fuzzy PSS are also
briefly described. Neural nets provide another and perhaps complimentary solution to the
nonlinear control problem through their capacity to learn from system conditions and
model nonlinear effects. References 2-28 and 2-29 recent work in this area.
2.2
Linear Control Techniques
Power system linear control design is a process that can be divided into distinct steps; the
number depends on the situation. One situation arises if the control principle is already
decided. Reference 2-30 proposes a three-step design procedure for end-use load control.
The steps are: 1) select a location for control actuation, 2) choose feedback signals, and 3)
select the compensating parameters.
Another design situation occurs if the control principle is not yet decided. Then the
problem is to find the most cost-efficient way to solve the angle stability problem. The
key question is to find and evaluate different alternatives. These can range from
engineering work retuning existing controllers such as PSS, to large investments in new
power electronic devices. Some alternatives are listed below:

Retune existing PSS, AVR, and HVDC link and SVC controllers.

Upgrade control equipment for existing primary controllers such as HVDC, SVCs.

Add control equipment to existing devices. For example, load modulation control of
electrical heaters used in district heating.
2-4

Add a new power electronic device.

Strengthen the primary system with a new transmission line.

Calculate system operating restrictions on-line.

Eigenvalue sensitivity [2-31] and participation factors [2-2] are well-known methods of
locating control equipment; see also references 2-32, 2-33 and 2-62. Structural aspects of
controlling active loads are presented in reference 2-32. Reference 2-63 describes a
controller design and analysis approach to adjust the existing structure of a system by
retuning the internal control loops to relocate critical zeros, thus removing the constraints
that arise when zeros are at unsuitable locations. Retuning is based on an existing
extension of modal analysis to linear system zeros.
References 2-34, 2-55, and 2-36 discuss the use of transfer function residue information
for placing and designing controllers. The residue of a transfer function is similar to the
participation factor of a state space model. Residues provide information about which
modes are most sensitive to gain variations, and what directions the poles will move
when the gain is increased.
Modeling and model reduction. Design methods and model reduction are intimately
related and some remarks are appropriate. Many advanced methods, especially for robust
control, require extensive computations. Therefore it is not feasible to use design models
as detailed as those used for time domain simulation. Either we adopt a reduced order
model suitable for the design method, or we are restricted to design methods with
moderate computation requirements. In automatic control, it is argued that the best model
is the simplest one that is accurate enough to fulfill the design requirement. Its important
to find a reasonable compromise between model complexity and the design methods
computational requirements.
Reference 2-35 describes modeling and model reduction from a control perspective. Its
pointed out that model reduction may involve:
a) model order reduction in a linear system;
b) model approximation of a nonlinear differential equations by linear systems;
c) approximation of the nonlinear system by ignoring higher-order harmonics.
Note that the case of model order reduction for high order nonlinear differential equations
to low order nonlinear differential equations is not considered. This is actually the
situation power engineers face when having a complex multi-machine simulation model
that includes saturation nonlinearities and also nonlinearities in the power flow equations.
For case a), MATLABs Control System Toolbox offers usable tools for model reduction.
References 2-36 and 2-37 present time-scale decomposition applied to power systems.
This method is especially suitable for a design aiming at a certain frequency window,
such as PSS design. Reference 2-38 outlines how synchrony, a generalization of slowcoherency, can be used to construct dynamic equivalents by aggregation of generators.
The method is reported to be effective in decomposing the eigenanalysis of
electromechanical modes
2-5

Identification of models. Another approach to obtain dynamic models for linear

controller design in power systems is to use identification techniques on system
input/output data. In reference 2-55 Prony analysis, modified for transfer function
identification, is presented and in reference 2-56 this method is extended for robustness
considerations. One advantage of this approach is that it can be applied to field data and
does not strictly rely on simulation studies. The models obtained using these methods are
generally reduced order because only the system modes observable in the output signal
can be incorporated. Once the transfer function model is obtained any standard linear
control design procedure can be used. One must be aware, however, of the limited range
of validity of these models [2-56]. Additional recent work in this area is reported [2-57,258,2-61]. An extension of Prony analysis for multiple output signals is discussed in
references 2-78 and 2-79.
Robustness. The need for robustness design depends on system properties. What are the
possible operating conditions? Where are the load centers? Where are the generation
areas? Are the power flow directions always the same? For example in the Nordel system
that connects the Scandinavian countries, there is a common market for trading
electricity. The normal trading pattern gives a power flow from Norway, through the
Swedish west coast to Denmark. However, for years with little rain the power flow
direction can be reversed. Here there is an obvious need for a robust design method that
can handle two very different operating conditions. For other systems, such as the New
South Wales system in Australia dominated by coal fired plants and well-defined load
centers, the need for robust design is less pronounced. Robustness can include many
different types of uncertainties and some are listed below.

Different load flow patterns.

Varying load levels during the day, week, or year.

Load characteristics, such as voltage and frequency dependence, that might vary with
seasons and time of day. In Sweden, a lot of electric heating is used during winter,
and in summer air conditioning can be used. Their voltage and frequency dependence
is very different.

Uncertainty in the topology (structure) of the power systemsome plants, lines or

transformers might be taken out for maintenance.

The dynamic model of the power system always has some level of parameter
uncertainty. Some of these parameters are related to design, such as generator time
constants and inductance. Once determined, their change is negligible. Other
parameters such as AVR, PSS, and turbine governor are tunable parameters that are
easy to change. Even if these parameters have been identified, there is always a risk
of subsequent modification without updating the model.

Some parameters change slightly during operation. Line resistance is temperature

dependent and Load-Tap-Changers (LTC) can change the nominal transformer ratio.

The control principle itself might be inherently robust, i.e., it works with a very limited
knowledge about the power system. For example direct load switching to damp generator
2-6

oscillations only needs two impedances and one switching level [2-32]. In contrast, the
design in reference 2-39 is based on a linear multi-machine model of the entire power
system. Many blackouts are caused by cascading disturbances that were not foreseen.
Ultimately the power system should be robust to unforeseen disturbances. Power
oscillations are often triggered by an initial disturbance that can give a range of possible
input amplitudes or operating conditions to the system. The design should also be robust
to variation in disturbance amplitude and operating conditions.
Linear design methods. The linear control design literature is extensive. Many design
methods exist for linear and non-linear systems, and some methods include uncertainty.
See references 2-4043. References 2-2 and 2-44 present overviews of design method for
power system applications. The methods can be categorized in different ways such as:

Linear (linear output or state feedback) or nonlinear (on-off) control law.

Linear or nonlinear design method. For example LQ-design can use a nonlinear
criteria to design a linear state feedback.

By the physical device the design is aiming for, that is, design for PSS, AVR, HVDC,
SVC, or load switching.

By a development scale ranging from academic control methods, to methods used to

design controllers implemented in the power system. The evolution of a design
method goes through the evolutionary steps: theory, small illustrative simulation
study, larger simulation study, redesign, preliminary field test, redesign, and finally
working application in a power system.

It always falls back to engineering judgment when deciding whether an advanced design
method is really necessary, or if a simple control scheme would be sufficient.
Measurements of time synchronized phasors opens new possibilities to feedback laws
that can be inherently robust. The control design must be simple enough to be reliably
applied to a physical system.
LQG methodology. Linear quadratic (LQ) control design is an attractive theoretical
approach that has not found wide application in practice. Reference 2-39 presents a linear
quadratic (LQ) based design method used to find a feedback structure and parameters for
PSS/AVR. MATLAB software [2-45] is the main modelling and design tool. A linearized
multi-machine model is used to design an optimal LQ-controller with full state feedback.
In LQ design a trade-off is done between input energy and performance. Its suggested
that the best generator to damp a certain mode is the one where the optimal controller
uses most of its input energy. Instead of using a full state feedback, the feedback is
restricted to a sparse structure where most signals are local and only a few strategic global
signals are used. This structure is retuned by parametric LQ, that is, numerical
minimisation of the loss criteria used in LQ-design. The methods strength is that the
design is done using a multi-machine model, so all PSS and AVRs design is coordinated
and simultaneous. The weak points are that the design is done at one operation point and
the method does not consider robustness. Reference 2-59 provides another example using
LQ design on a very large power system.

2-7

LQG/LTR methodology. Linear quadratic regulators discussed in the previous section

have appealing robustness properties, including guaranteed gain margins of 6 dB or
greater and phase margins of at least 60 degrees. However such controllers require
knowledge of all the system states which usually is not possible or practical in power
system applications. In these cases loop transfer recovery (LTR) can be used to estimate
unavailable states and still retain the robustness properties of full state feedback with
LQG. LQG/LTR is used to design stabilizing controllers for a SVC in references 2-56 and
2-65, and an HVDC link in reference 2-64. Application to power systems is proceeded by
identification of an effective low order transfer function which is used as the design
model.
Desensitized Control. In reference 2-47 a single-machine infinite bus model is used to
design a robust regulator integrating AVR and PSS functions. In the design the controller
is desensitized, i.e., made insensitive to parametric uncertainties. In this way robustness is
included in the design. The design method was originally developed for the Four-LoopsRegulator structure used by Electricite de France (EdF), but reference 2-46 shows that
the method can also be used for a standard AVR/PSS structure. The method is used to
retune EdFs voltage regulators, and the new values will soon be used in operation.
Robust Control, -design, H.. Robust control is a well-established discipline with
textbooks and MATLAB toolboxes [2-43,2-48]. Reference 2-49 proposes a framework
for robust stability assessment of controls in multi-machine power systems. Structured
Singular Value (SSV) is used to determine stability for varying operation conditions. In
the companion paper [2-50], the method is used in a simulation study of a four-machine
test system. The simulation results show excellent accuracy of robust stability assessment
for a wide range of operating conditions. Reference 2-51 points out that robust controllers
designed by -design can produce extremely fragile controllers in the sense that
vanishing-small perturbations of the coefficients of the designed controller destabilize the
closed-loop control system. Reference 2-60 is another study of H control design to
power systems.
Design methods for active load controllers. Control of active load can be used to
improve angle stability. Reference 2-30 describes control of end-user loads in the western
USA to enhance stability. Reference 2-9 describes modulated controllable loads for
power system stabilization. Its found that a decentralised two-loop load stabilizer, using
local bus voltage and frequency, adds damping to all oscillation modes.
Reference 2-81 presents an on-off damping controller for a single machine system. It was
used during a field test in southern Sweden to damp oscillations at a 0.9 MW hydro
power generator. The controller used estimated machine frequency as input and
controlled a 20 kW resistive load via thyristor switches. The results indicate that on-off
control of active loads is effective in terms of added damping, and that it is simple to tune
and implement.
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2-8

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2-26

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2-38

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2-51

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2-15

Chapter 3

State-of-the-Art in Digital Control

The evolution of microprocessor technologywith the consequent availability of reliable,
high-performance, low-cost digital hardware and powerful software tools, along with the
growing difficulties in the maintenance of analog apparatushas resulted in development
of powerful digital control systems. The progress in microprocessor technology has led to
continuously increasing performance in term of speed, computing power and
functionality, through the integration on one chip of functions that in the past required
many external components.
A similar evolution has taken place also in the software field: very powerful development
environments have been carried out by specialized software houses and offered on the
market. Such environments include a wide set of tools (debugger, software analyzer,
profiler, I/O, graphic and mathematical libraries, etc.) for making the code development
fast and easy, and for allowing its independence from the hardware. The availability of
reliable hardware and software products together with their high performance and the
associated low costs makes the use of the digital technology convenient and feasible for
most power system controls. The benefits from the use of digital technology include:

Greater flexibility and adaptability to different practical needs;

Reduced number of subset types (electronic boards) to be used for the practical
realization;

Improvement in the user interface which becomes graphic, friendly and interactive;

Enhanced control, alarm and protection functions;

Sophisticated auto-diagnostics on-board;

Easy and accurate setting and change of control parameter values, their constancy and
independence from environmental conditions.

Moreover, the microprocessor technology makes easy the addition of new functionality
such as:

Adaptive or non-linear control;

Data communication with the supervisory systems;

On-line monitoring and the transient recording of meaningful control and process
variables;

Simulation of the unit under operation for a check of control parameter values without
interfering with the plant.

Table 3-1 compares analog and digital control.

Table 3-1: Comparison between control types.

Item

Analog control

Digital control

Processing

Each operation is synthesized by a

physical device (sums, integration,
limitations, etc.). New functions
require the addition of new hardware.
Very expensive, causes machine
unavailability. Accuracy depends on
signal measuring quality
Very expensive. Difficult execution.
A lot of instrumentation and other
facilities are required.

Functions are synthesized in software. No extra

hardware is required for implementing new
functions.

Model
identification
Testing

Commissioning

Resolution

Stability of
Parameter
values

Interfaces

Control Laws

Direct translation of the digital control model from

the studies and simulation platform.

Many testing facilities can be made available,

considerably reducing costs and risks. Dataacquisition automatically provides recording of
many physical and internal variables; Software
emulates instrumentation for different kinds of
testing, such as step and sinusoidal signals, etc.;
The need for a lot of instrumentation Commissioning can be carried on easily and in a
and numerous calibration tasks make shorter time because parameters are expressed in
the commissioning a quite strenuous per unit or seconds, according to the mathematical
model specified. A computer-based simulation
and time-consuming job.
station can be used for pre-commissioning and
training. Adjustments can be automatically
documented. Facilities such as recording, settings
and readings make performance verification very
easy.
Theoretically infinite. In practice
Limited to the converters and to the length of the
limited due to noise, drift, etc..
word used to make the calculations. At the present
time 16-bit A/D converters are used and, in some
applications, 24-bit are available, to get maximum
accuracy, although with a compromise for speed.
Calculations are done in floating point, and with the
available 80-bit co-processors, accuracy is
practically unlimited..
Digital implementation provides drift-free settings.
Requires the use of very expensive
Only analog interfaces need expensive and low drift
components in every circuit board.
components. Analog time constants used in these
Strongly affected by component
interfaces are of little importance to the process
aging. Thermal drift causes
parameters. Parameters dont change because of
parameter limitations. Maintenance
services produce parameter changes. maintenance services.
Done through conventional switches Interface design using human factors engineering
and instruments.
concepts such as: familiar and standard
nomenclature, engineering units, facilities for
understanding and performing critical tasks;
usability (dialogs, messages, acknowledgment,
graphics).
Complex control laws, such as adaptive control, can
Practically restricted to linear
applications, with severe constraints be easily implemented. Fuzzy controllers are
equally feasible. Facilities to test and perform new
for complex laws. Adaptive control
ideas.
laws are difficult to implement,
requiring an excessive number of
simplifications.

3-2

Item

Analog control

Digital control

Software

None

Connectivity

The connection with the other plant

devices is done through relays and
analog signals.

Self-diagnosis

None.

Costs

Stable and relatively low.

Maintenance

Expensive due to the lack of selfdiagnosis.

Bandwidth

Can be very large.

The real time core manages the execution of the

various tasks. Software for off-line analysis are
available.
Focus is held on serial interfaces - such as RS485 with protocols such as ModBus. The growing use of
Ethernet TCP/IP as field bus (suitable cables and
connectors are being developed) allows direct and
remote connection with the analyst even via
Internet. Communication resources exist for remote
control and integration with supervisory systems for
purposes such as: remote settings changing, remote
data logging, and customer protocols compatibility.
Wide self-diagnosis resources. New techniques are
being developed based upon artificial intelligence
concepts.
Decreasing. cost/benefit relationship may still be
unfavorable in small size power plants.
Can be considerably cheaper because of the use of
the self-diagnosis. A trend towards not repairing
printed circuit boards is being observed.
Still limited for extremely fast and complex loops
because the Real Time Operating Systems need to
keep switching between multiple tasks. For good
performance, the times between the task switching
and the latency for the interruptions must be smaller
than the smallest control sampling rate. Use of
assembly instructions to accelerate the process can
bring serious maintenance problems.

This chapter examines the following topics:

Section 1 reviews the fundamentals of digital control of dynamic systems.

Section 2 describes the basic structure of a digital-control system.

Section 3 describes application of digital control for a generator excitation system.

Section 4 describes application of digital control for static var compensators.

3.1
Review of Digital Control of Dynamic Systems
Figure 3-1 shows a computer-controlled dynamic system.
The output from the process y (t ) is a continuous-time signal. The output is converted
into digital form {y (t k )} by the analog-to-digital (A-D) converter. The conversion is done
at the sampling times, t k . The computer processes the measurements using an algorithm,
and gives a new sequence of numbers {u (t k )} . This sequence is converted to an analog
signal by a digital-to-analog (D-A) converter. The real-time clock in the computer
synchronizes the events.

3-3

Computer

A-D

Clock

y (t k )

Algorithm

u (t k )

y (t k )

u (t k )

D-A

Process

Fig. 3-1. Schematic diagram of a computer-controlled system.

3.1.1 Sampling of continuous-time signals
Assume that the continuous-time system is given in the following state-space form:
x& (t ) = A x(t ) + B u (t )
y (t ) = C x(t ) + D u (t )

The system has r inputs, p outputs, and is of order n. Normally a D-A converter is
constructed so that it holds the analog signal constant until a new conversion is ordered.
The relationship between the system variables at the sampling instants can be determined.
Given the state at the sampling time t k the state at the next sampling time t k +1 is thus
given by:

x(t k +1 ) = e

A(tk +1 tk )

x(t k ) +

t k +1

A(tk +1 s )

Bu ( s )ds

tk

The system equation of the sampled system is:

x(t k +1 ) = (t k +1 , t k ) x(t k ) + (t k +1 , t k ) u (t k )
y (t k ) = C x(t k ) + D u (t k )
where:
(t k +1 , t k ) = e A(tk +1 tk )
(t k +1 , t k ) =

t k +1 t k
As

ds B

Example 3-1. Consider the first order system:

x& (t ) = x + u

For periodic sampling with period ,

tk = k

3-4

Applying the formulas above we get:

= e

= es ds =
0

(e 1)

The samples system thus becomes:

x(k + ) = e x(k ) +

(e 1)u (k )

Pulse transfer operator. Use of the pulse-transfer operator allows the input-output
relationship to be conveniently expressed as a rational function y (k ) = H (q ) u (k ) where:

H (q) = C (q ) 1 + D
where q is a shift operator with
q x(k ) = x(k + 1)

Example 3-2. For a second-order single-input, single-output we have:

H (q ) = C (q ) 1 + D
B (q )
=
A(q )
=

b0 + b1 q 1 + b2 q 2
1 + a1 q 1 + a 2 q 2

This means that the input-output model can be written as:

y (k ) + a1 y (k 1) + a 2 y (k 2) = b0 u (k ) + b1 u (k 1) + b2 u (k 2)
Digital filtering. Digital filtering provides a great deal of flexibility, since the filter
characteristic can easily be changed by tuning a few parameters. A digital filter has the
general form:
y (k ) = a1 y (k 1) a 2 y (k 2) ... a n y (k n) + b0 u (k ) + b1 u (k 1) + ... + bm u (k m)
where y is the filter output and u is the input measurement value. If all the a parameters
are zero we will have a moving average filter with a finite impulse response. If some or
all of a parameters are non-zero there is an auto-regressive filter which has an infinite
impulse response. As a numerical example, a second order low-pass filter with a cutoff
frequency of 300 Hz can be modeled by:
y (k ) = y (k 1) 1.4752 y (k 2) + 0.0278 u (k ) + 0.0557 u (k 1) + 0.0278 u (k 2)

Poles and zeros. The poles of a system are the zeros of the denominator of H (q ) or the
eigenvalues of . Because = exp( A ) it follows from the properties of matrix
function that
3-5

i () = e ( A)
i

The equation above gives the mapping from the continuous-time poles to the discretetime poles. Through this analysis its obvious that the left half of the s-plane is mapped
into the unit disc of the z plane.
3.1.2 Dynamic performance
For real-time digital control, the criteria and algorithms for numerical integration of
differential equations must result in numerical solutions close to the solutions of the
corresponding continuous-time equations.
The basic point to be deeply considered is the altered dynamics of the system under
control when moving from the theoretical description by continuous-time differential
equations to the practical implementation where finite-differences algebraic equations
(discrete-time dynamic system) are used [3-9].
This aspect is very important for real-time applications. Because of computing time
constraints, its not always possible to use complex numerical integration algorithms
combined with very short integration step length ( ) . Thus, the correspondence of digital
control to the nominal analog performance must be verified.
In the following, the adequacy of several numerical integration methods are considered in
terms of altered poles and residues of the related system transfer functions.
Computation of the altered dynamics. According to the above and the results shown in
Appendix B, the critical factor affecting the dynamic behavior of digital control systems
are the numerical integration method and the integration step length.
Analyzing the dynamic behavior of discrete systems it should be guaranteed that the
spurious modes due to the integration algorithm are stable and timely convergent, and
also that the variations , c of initial eigenvalues and of the related residue c are
negligible. The value of the integration step strongly affects the highest poles of the
discrete-time system: the lower the value, the better the discrete time system approaches
the corresponding continuous model, but the higher the digital hardware performance
requirement. For small variation (sensitivity method) of original generic pole (/ 1),
the following relations allow evaluation of the corresponding altered dynamics:

Q(r) 1

where

r =

Q( s ) / s :
is the equivalent integrator of the numerical integration method (see Appendix B).

3-6

c
dQ ( r )

+r
c

r
In case of Explicit Euler (EE) integration method:

r
( e 1)
An exact calculation of the dynamic performance modification is possible for single step
integration methods. In fact, coming back to the first order linear differential equation:
Q(r) =

dx (t )
= f [ x (t ); u(t )] = x (t ) + u(t)
dt
that allows a complete and correct analysis of a given mode () of a linear diagonal
dynamic system (see also the conclusion of the first section of Appendix B), the solution
of this equation can be expressed as the sum of a particular integral I(t), selected
according to u(t) and a term proportional to et:
x(t)=aet +I(t),

(a being a suitable constant).

By applying a single-step integration method, the differential equation becomes a finitedifference equations of type:
x K +1 = ( , ) x k + k
where (,) is a function whose structure depends on the integration method, and k is,
in the most general case, a linear combination of the input u(t) and its derivatives,
calculated at instant tk and tk+1 (and possibly at instants between tk and tk+1).
The theory of linear finite-difference equations shows the solution of the above equation
to be sum of a particular integral Ik , selected knowing the following values of k and a
term proportional to k, where is the root of the characteristic polynomial associated to
the difference equation:

x k = a k + I k

( a being a suitable constant)

The xk values can be considered as the values, calculated for t=tk=k, i.e. sample-values,
)
of a continuous-time function x (t ) given by:
)
) ) )
x ( t ) = ae t + I (t )
assuming
) 1
= ln

)
)
I ( k ) = I k

We can see that the solution of the discrete system is formally similar to that of the
)
continuous system. In particular, its evident that affects the solution of the discrete
system like affects the solution of the continuous system.
3-7

)
can therefore be taken as the eigenvalue of the discrete system and can be compared
with the corresponding eigenvalue of the continuous system.
)
In this regard, let = + ; thus we have:
ln[ ( r )]
=
1

This equation highlights the exact transformation that, depending on the specific singlestep integration method, links the continuous system eigenvalue to the discrete system
eigenvalue.
Table 3-2 shows the results obtained for different integration algorithms. As an example,
with EE method and = 10 ms (integration step), the change of a 20 ms continuous
model time constant is: = /4. Then, the resulting modified time constant of the
corresponding discrete model is 15 ms, instead of 20 ms.
The table also shows, considering an oscillating system (imaginary eigenvalues), that the
EE integration algorithm results in instability.
3.2
Basic Structure of a Digital Control Systems
The general structure of a process computer interacting with a physical process consists
of the following parts:

central data processing unit

process communication channels

A/D and D/A converters

sensors and actuators

physical process.

Figure 3-2 shows the basic structure of a control system:

The physical process is observed with sensors. Conversely, the process is influenced
through actuators. A digital control system works only on information in numerical form,
therefore the collected electrical variables have to be converted via analog to digital
(A/D) converters. Information from different source points distributed in space is brought
to the central unit via communication channels. The central control unit interprets all
incoming data from the physical process, sends control signals, take decisions on the
basis of the program instructions, exchanges data with the human operators and accepts
their commands.

3-8

Table 3-2: Altered dynamics due to numerical integration method.

/

Integration

Pole Shift

Method
Im

EE

1
+...
2

1
2 +...
2

Re

Im

EUTRAP

1
( ) 2 +....
6

1
2 3 +...
6

RungeKutta 3

Re

Im

1
1
( ) 3 +.... 3 4 +...
24
24

RungeKutta 4

Re

Im

1
1
( ) 4 +.. 4 5 +...
120
120

Re

Im

EXTRA

5
5
( ) 2 +.... 2 3 +...
12
12

Re

Computer structures. A computer system is normally built around a central processing

unit (CPU) to which are connected peripheral units performing different functions:
keyboard, video interface, disk driver, input/output (I/O) cards. Figure 3-3 shows the
conventional organization of a computer system. In this configuration, the peripheral
units may communicate directly only with the CPU and only one peripheral unit at the
time may be active exchanging data.
The CPU-centered configuration is inherently inefficient because all data has to pass
through the CPU, even if the CPU does not need it. Its more effective to design a
computer system where the peripheral units are more independent and have added
computing capacity. The peripheral units are connected together with a bus by which each
unit can communicate with all the others. Figure 3-4 shows the principle of a busorganized computer system.

3-9

Fig. 3-2. The basic structure of a digital-control system

I/O card

Disk

Terminal

RAM
memory

CPU
Printer

Clock

Tape

Fig. 3-3. The conventional organization of computer systems.

In the next two sections we examine two applications of digital control in power systems.

3-10

CPU

RAM memory

Tape

Printer

Clock

I/O card

Disk

Terminal

Bus

Fig. 3-4. Principle of bus organization.

3.3

Evolution of Excitation Control Systems through Microprocessor

Technology
The general scheme of a modern static excitation system is shown in Figure 3-5. It
consists of two parts, respectively named control unit and power unit.
Adaptive or
Non-Linear
Control

Measurements
Transducers

Operator
Interface

Control Logic

Communication

Automatic
Regulator

Gate-Pulse
Control

Alarms
Protections

On-Line
Monitoring

Three-phase thyristor
Bridge

Fig. 3-5. Principle scheme of a modern static excitation system.

In the control unit the blocks marked with solid lines represent the conventional functions
such as measurement of process quantities, control logic, automatic regulation, alarms
and protection, and phase control of firing pulse. The blocks with dashed line show the
additional functions that can be introduced using a digital control system. The power unit
supplies the excitation current to the field winding of the generator and mainly consists of
a three-phase full-controlled thyristor bridge.
In the following a short description of the characteristics and performances of the
conventional analog control unit is given, as reference for the requirement specification
and the correct design of a digital one. Referring to Figure 3-5:

The first block on the left includes circuits for measurement and computation of the
following process quantities: active and reactive power, electrical machine voltage
and flux, HV bus voltage, excitation voltage and current, generator frequency or

3-11

speed. The major part of these measurements requires high resolution (about 12 bit
for digital transducers) and fast response (response time less than 20 ms).

The second block Automatic Regulator consists of several control loops. The main
loop regulates the stator voltage and has additional feedback for improving the
electromechanical stability (power system stabilizers, PSS) and for compensating the
reactive power drop (compounding). Auxiliary loops limit the working point of
generator in over/under excitation and the maximum stator flux. A further possible
auxiliary loop, overlapping the previous, regulates the machine reactive power. The
main loop requires a bandwidth of 510 radians/second.

The block on the right controls the phase of thyristor firing pulses. It maintains the
firing angle inside the allowed range, compensates the gain variations (depending on
supply voltage) and makes the bridge transfer characteristic linear.

The remaining two marked blocks represent the control and the protection logic. They
manage the different operating modes of AVR, detect fault or incorrect operating
conditions, and provide proper alarm signals in order to improve the safety and the
reliability of the system.

Passing from the analog to the microprocessor technology, the most critical problems,
requiring particular care in the design phase are:

The accuracy, resolution and time response of measurement, transducers, and thyristor
firing pulse phase modulation;

The dynamic performance of control loops taking into account the altered dynamics
from the sample and hold of the I/O signals;

The reliability and availability of the practical realizations.

3.3.1 Hardware architecture

The hardware configuration of the newest digital AVRs with decentralized architecture
consists of a central system and of modular terminal boards which are placed close to the
measurement points. The central system (see Figure 3-6) mainly consists of CPU and
A/D-D/A conversion boards, which communicate via a local bus. It performs measuring,
filtering, regulation, logic and communication tasks as well as sampling and holding of
the measurements and control variables requiring fast management. Less critical data are
managed by the modular terminal boards which achieve a distributed I/O. These
peripheral boards communicate with the central system by a field bus.

3-12

Modular Terminal Board 1

Modular Terminal Board n

Field Bus
Local Bus
Exciter + Generator

Central system

Fig. 3-6. AVR typical hardware architecture.

3.3.2 Software organization and development environment
The AVR software, executed by the central system CPU boards, implements measuringfiltering, regulation, logic, firing, monitoring and communication functions. The software
is normally organized in tasks, characterized by different execution frequencies, in order
to optimize the hardware resources and achieve the required dynamic performances. For
example filtering functions have high execution frequency to avoid possible altered
dynamics of the fast control loops, whereas the communication with the human-machine
interface can be executed with lower priority without decreasing the overall performance.
To manage the CPU time and the task execution, ad hoc schedulers, real-time kernels
or operating systems can be adopted. They give the CPU control to the tasks with the
right frequency according to priority level. Ad hoc schedulers usually lead to optimized,
but quite rigid solutions; a few software changes can require a new plan of the scheduler.
Operating systems are more flexible, allowing a plain and structured solution. They can
also manage complex resources, for example drivers and protocols for the communication
with Local Area Networks (LAN).
Another advantage of operating systems is portability, while the disadvantage is the nonoptimized use of resources and therefore the requirement of more powerful digital
hardware. Real-time kernels are an intermediate solution; in spite of lower use of CPU
resources they are able to supply useful primitives to organize the software execution.
Similar considerations characterize the software organization: low-level programming
languages lead to optimized solutions, whereas high-level programming languages and
structured programs lead to plain solutions. General purpose real-time development
environments are present on the market today, providing useful tools to write, to compile
and to test the software. Some are PC-based. They permit remote debugging by
downloading the machine code to the CPU boards memory and by monitoring the
execution as normal debuggers, showing the high or low level code processing.

3-13

3.3.3 Reliability and safety

Care in the hardware choice concerns the possible reliability improvement for embedded
real-time systems. Digital hardware able to run code resident on EPROM or flashEPROM and to store operative parameters on EEPROM is employed. Watchdog circuits
are usually required on the boards to detect CPU crash and other fatal conditions. The
software can also improve the reliability. It verifies the measurement coherence, filters
the digital inputs and monitors the correct work of peripherals. Other precautions, for
example cyclic redundancy checks and check-sums, are used to control and to recover
data errors. Diversified AVR configurations are used for different plant sizes. The AVRs
of the largest generators have two and sometimes three central controls. The most popular
redundancy configuration is two identical channels: one is active while the other is
standby, waiting to become active if the first malfunctions.
3.3.4 Operator interface
A friendly and effective operator interface can easily be implemented. It allows both easy
and accurate setting of customized data and regulation parameters, and of the on-line
display of the most important process variables. Different Human-Machine Interfaces
(HMI) are possible, going from a simple LCD display and dedicated push-button to a
colored graphical monitor with standard or dedicated keyboard up to a portable PC. Data
exchange with the control room supervisory system is possible through a LAN.
3.4
Application of Digital Control to SVCs
As an example from one manufacturer, Figure 3-7 shows an overview of the ABB
MACH 2 computer structure and indicates how the control system interfaces with the
high voltage components of a SVC.
3.4.1 Control and protection design
The control and protection system provides the following features:

control functions

valve control

protection

alarms

operator interface (locally and remotely)

transient fault recorder

internal supervision

remote interrogation

3-14

Control & Protection

Main Circuit

Local Control Room

Control & Protection PC

I/O rack
Backplane
PS 880

PCI
bus

Supervision Board
PS820

AC Voltage
Meas.
PS 841
AC Current
Meas.
PS 845

Digital Signal Processor

Board PS 801

Ethernet board
TCP/IP

3-phase voltage
measurements

Delivery Limit

3-phase current
measurements

Switch
Control
PS 850

Breaker Interface

Digital
Input
PS 851

Digital input

Digital
Output
PS 853

Digital output

Analog
I/O
PS 860

PC Motherboard
Pentium
processor

Isol Analog
Input
PS 862
Power
Supply
PS 890

Industrial PC

Bus
Connection
PS 870

PC LAN

110 V
Communication
with MACH2 PC

EVT

Bus
Connection
PS 930
GWS

OWS
Trinitro n

Multiscan

VCU

COMPAQ
DE S KPRO

Modem

Fig. 3-7. MACH 2 computer structure.

All functions within the control and protection system are realized with the MACH 2
building blocks, consisting of a main computer and an I/O system. High speed
applications, e.g., fast regulators, firing control etc. are realized in DSPs, while less
demanding functions, such as operators interface, are realized in the main computer CPU.
The I/O rack serves as an intelligent interface between the main computer and the high
voltage side equipment. It contains digital and analog I/O boards, and also a DSP board,
PS860. The communication between the main computer and the I/O is by field busses.
3.4.2 Communication
Local Area Networks (LANs) are used to connect together several locations (called
nodes) so that they can all communicate with each other. The LAN used is the wellknown IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet). This bus uses the well-proven Carrier Sense Multiple
Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) principle to arbitrate access to the bus.
Transmission speed is normally 100 Mbit/s. This bus can transfer data using many
different protocols (even at the same time), e.g., TCP/IP.
In designing a new and modern control equipment, its necessary to use field busses. The
two field bus types that are used are CAN and TDM.
The CAN bus is used for communication in both directions between the main computer
and digital I/O circuit boards. The transfer speed of a CAN bus is less than that of a TDM
bus.
3-15

The TDM bus is single direction and used for high-speed measurement signals. The TDM
bus operation status is continuously monitored by the receiving nodes in the control and
protection system, and detected faults will give alarm.
3.4.3 Internal supervision
Periodic maintenance is minimized by the extensive use of self supervision built into all
microprocessor-based electronic units, and by the possibility to check all measured values
during operation without disturbing the operation.
The internal supervision of microprocessor-based systems includes auxiliary power
supervision, program execution supervision (stall alarm), memory test (both program and
data memory) and supervision of the I/O system communication over the field busses.
The operation of the field busses is monitored by a supervisory function in the control and
protection system that continuously writes and reads to/from each individual node of the
system.
Another example of integrated self-supervision is the switch control unit. In this unit the
outputs to the breakers are continuously monitored to detect failure of the output circuits
of the board.
3.4.4 Automatic voltage control
The automatic voltage control consists of a closed-loop voltage regulator formed by a
positive sequence voltage response, a PI-regulator with variable gain, and the control rule
generator. The voltage reference signal from the HMI is transformed into a reference for
the voltage regulator. The reference range is limited by parameters and indicated on the
HMI for operator feedback. Feedback for the voltage control is the primary voltage,
which is measured from the high voltage bus. The regulator output is a susceptance
reference value further distributed as an input to the control pulse generator.
3.4.5 Gain supervisor
The control system provides a gain supervisor function for supervision of the SVC MVAr
output. Upon large changes of the impedance in the connecting network the SVC reactive
power output may start to oscillate. This can be explained by high preset regulator gain
versus new power system impedance. For oscillations detected in the susceptance
reference, Bref , the gain supervisor will automatically reduce the voltage regulator gain
until the SVC output becomes stable again. When this occurs an alarm will be given and
the gain can manually be reset to normal value from the HMI.
3.4.6 System voltage measurement
The main objective of the data acquisition unit, DAU, is to measure the voltage response
on the primary side of the main transformer. The voltage response, which is fed to the
voltage regulator, is processed in the DAU in order to meet the dynamic demands
regarding speed and stability.

3-16

If a TCR is operated with symmetrical firing, the true voltage response fed to the closed
control loop should not contain negative sequence components or harmonics other than
fundamental. On the other hand, if the task is to control unsymmetries, the TCR must
have different controllers for positive and negative sequence voltage components.
Therefore an /-transformation is employed in order to transform the three-phase
voltage into a rotating vector system in the alpha/beta plane, a so-called space vector
representation (see Appendix C). The voltage space vector is thereafter fed to a function
that can extract both the positive and negative sequence components from the voltage
space vector.
3.4.7 Control pulse generator
The main objective of the Control Pulse Generator, CPG, is to generate control pulses for
further distribution to the Valve Control Unit, VCU. The most important input quantities
are the susceptance reference from the voltage regulator and the measured SVC-bus
voltage. The susceptance reference serves as the control reference value from the voltage
regulator while the SVC bus voltage is used for synchronization of triggering pulses and
simulation of TCR and TSC current.
The other control functions are as follows:

power oscillation damper

control of external devices

loss minimization functions

TCR direct current control

sequence control of breakers

protective control functions

undervoltage control strategy

supervision of faults in the thyristor triggering system

3.4.8 Operators interface

The operator interfaces are provided by workstations for local and remote control (Figure
3-8). These are typically Windows NT computers interfaced to the main computer via the
local area network, LAN.

3-17

Trinitron

Multiscan 20 se

COMPAQ
DESKPRO

Fig. 3-8. Operator work station.

The main functions are:

Full graphic status displays of various views.

Display and adjustment of protection settings and control parameters.

Alarmsall events classified as alarms in order of severity.

Fault listall persistent alarms in chronological order.

Sequence of eventsall events/alarms including logging of orders.

The operator interface may also provide high performance transient fault recording.
3.4.9 Remote interrogation
Remote interrogation of the control system may be provided by modem communication.
An on-line graphical debugger allows the user to view several graphical programming
tool drawings at the same time and inspect any internal software signal in real time by
just double-clicking on the line that represents the signal. This fact makes the graphical
debugger a very useful not only for monitoring, but also for maintenance and debugging.
The graphical debugger also allows all thresholds, setpoints, and timer settings to be
easily displayed in various formats (e.g., as tables).
3.4.10 Valve control
The Valve Control Unit (VCU) is the electrical/optical interface between the firing
control system and the thyristor valves. The VCU is realized by two special boards giving
a compact design.

3-18

3.4.11 Application software development

The application software for the MACH 2 control and protection system are produced
using a fully graphical code generating tool called HiDraw. It is Windows-based software
that is very easy to use as it is based on the easiest possible select, drag, place method. Its
designed to produce code either in a high level language (PL/M or ANSI standard C) or in
assembly language. For functions not available in a comprehensive library (one for each
type of processor board) its very easy to design a new block and link to the schematic
with a simple name reference.
A schematic drawn in HiDraw consists of a number of pages. One page specifies cycle
times and execution order of the other pages. HiDraw includes an on-screen reasonability
check of the drawn schematic, and automatic cross reference between the pages. As
output, it produces code and a make file ready to be processed.
The next step in the workflow is to run the make file (on the same computer) which
means invocation of the necessary compiler/assembler and link locate programs (usually
obtained from the chip manufacturers). The result is a file that is ready to be downloaded
from the computer to the target, and stored in the flash PROMs.
3.4.12 Debugging facilities
For debugging, a fully graphical debugger operating under Windows is used. The
debugger allows the operator to view several HiDraw pages at the same time, and look at
any internal software signal in real time by just double clicking on the line that
represents the signal. Parameters can easily be changed by double clicking on their value.
As a complement, a fully symbolic debugger is available either on a computer or a dumb
terminal.
For fault tracking, its easy to follow a signal through several pages because when a
signal passes from one page to another, a double click on the page reference will
automatically open the new page and allow the trace to continue immediately on the new
page. There are also a number of supporting functions such as single or multiple stepping
of tasks (one page is normally a task) and coordinated sampling of signals.
The fact that the debugger allows inspection of signals while the application is running
makes it very useful not only for debugging but also facilitates maintenance. Because the
debugger works in the Windows environment, its also possible to transfer sets of signal
values to other Windows-compatible programs, such as Excel, for further analysis.
3.5
Trends in Digital Control
Electronics have evolved at an astounding rate in the last years. Its very difficult to make
long-term predictions, although trends are apparent. Basically it can be said that:

Availability of resources from digital controllers will shorten the time between the
development of a new control law and its practical implementation.

The improvement in speed and reliability of the communication channels will allow
the creation of safe methods for remote commissioning and maintenance.
3-19

The adoption of common use, more flexible hardware and software is an observed
trend, making systems integration much easier and lowering maintenance costs
because of high scale production.

An easy access to a superior hierarchical level can be provided by object-oriented

technologies. For instance, the use of OPC (Object Linking and Embedding for
Process Control), where the controller opens a window in a higher level supervisory
system, and makes available all of its resources (adjustments and commands) without
the system integrator worrying about the knowledge of the controller implementation
details.

On-site implementing upgrades should be easier, because no hardware changes will

be needed. On the other hand, design and documentation efforts demanded by
software modification could be large.

PC-based systems are becoming more cost-effective, and have been occupying
traditional PLC space.

The costs will drop, as a result of the electronic circuit large scale integration
increase, as well as new technologies and the enhancement of software techniques.

There will be a need to develop more system analysis tools to handle the large
diversity of control laws performing in different machines of the system.

References
3-1
Karl J. strm and Bjrn Wittenmark, Computer-Controlled Systems, Theory and
Design, Second Edition, 1999.
3-2

G.S. Virk, Digital Computer Control Systems, Macmillan New Electronics, 1991
International Editions, 1999.

3-3

G. Olsson and G. Piani, Computer Systems for Automation and Control, Prentice
Hall, 1992.

3-4

IEEE, Guide for the Preparation of Excitation System Specifications, Std 421.41990.

3-5

Corbetta and G. Ottaviani, Digital Measurement Procedures in a MicroprocessorBased Excitation System, EPE, Florence, 1991.

3-6

W. S. Levine, The Control Handbook, CRC Press, 1995.

3-7

Phillip A. Laplante, Real-Time Systems Design and Analysis, IEEE Press.

3-8

S. Corsi, M. Pozzi, and G. Tagliabue, A New Digital Simulator of the TurbineAlternator-Grid System (STAR) for Control Apparatus Closed-Loop Tests,
IEEE/PES Summer Meeting, Berlin, 1997.

3-9

V. Arcidiancono, S. Corsi, G. Ottaviani, S. Togno, G. Baroffio, C. Raffaelli, and

E. Rosa, The ENELs Experience on the Evolution of Excitation Control

3-20

Systems through Microprocessor Technology, IEEE Transactions on Energy

Conversion, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 292299, September 1998.
3-10

ABB Power Systems, MACH 2 Description, Technical Report RU 8037 AU,

1999.

3-21

Chapter 4

State-of-the-Art in Intelligent Controls

Deregulation requires that utilities exercise less conservative operation regimes and more
precise power-flow control. This is possible only by monitoring and controlling the
system in much more detail than is, or has been, the case in present and past practice.
The large quantity of information required can be provided in many cases through
advances in telecommunications and computing techniques. There is still the need for
evaluation techniques that extract the salient information from the large amount of raw
data to use for higher-order processing. Up until now, the extraction of qualitative
information is still done by the human expert, who can be overwhelmed in emergency
situations when fast decisions are needed. The future operators also need to have the
ability to specify the operating strategy in qualitative form, which is then translated into
quantitative form in order to be processed by the computer control.
One of the main motivations for using intelligent systems is to provide this important
interface between qualitative and quantitative information. Beside the control-center
applications, intelligent control can be applied in a decentralized manner. For example
consider closed-loop generator control. A consideration with existing control methods is
that the control law is based mainly on a linearized model and the control parameters are
tuned for certain operating conditions. In case of a large disturbance, the system
conditions will deviate significantly from the linearized condition, and the controller
parameters may no longer be valid. In this case the controller may even add a
destabilizing effect, such as negative damping.
Intelligent Systems can be categorized as:

Expert Systems (ES) which process qualitative as well as quantitative knowledge with
emphasis on the qualitative results.

Fuzzy Systems (FS) which quantify qualitative knowledge including uncertainties.

Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) which infer quantitative information through

approximation techniques and classify quantitative data into higher-order qualitative
categories.

Decision Trees (DT) which classifies quantitative data into discrete sets of qualitative
categories.

Expert System techniques are often associated with the software engineering concept of
intelligent computing environments. Data and rules are formulated on a symbolic level in
pseudo-natural language. In the ideal case, the reasoning process, i.e., the formulation
of goals and the subsequent application of rules, are transparent to the user. Heuristic

Control is typically verified by nonlinear simulation for a limited number of operating conditions and
disturbances.

reasoning (inspired by rules of thumb) are implemented in order to limit the number of
branches of the decision tree to be exploited during the reasoning (i.e., deduction)
process. Due to the nature of this approach, expert system techniques are often discussed
in the context of an intelligent user-friendly human-machine interface, where not only real
data and network topology maps but also abstract reasoning concepts like rules and
decision trees are displayed graphically [4-1].
Expert system techniques are therefore usually implemented as off-line decision aids.
Reference 4-2 discusses a voltage-control expert system for the off-line changes of onload tap changer settings. It specifically draws attention to the fact that the heuristic
nature of the off-line control rules limits their range of validity. Other examples of
applications of expert systems for power system off-line monitoring and control can be
found in reports published by several task forces of CIGR WG 38.06 [4-37].
In the following we will concentrate on the applications of Fuzzy Systems, Artificial
Neural Networks and Decision Trees to power system control.
4.1
Fuzzy Systems for Power System Control
Fuzzy sets and systems were first introduced by Zadeh [4-8]. Fuzzy systems come in two
flavors:

Empirical or rule-based fuzzy systems

Self-adaptive fuzzy systems (self-organized or unsupervised fuzzy systems)

In the literature, fuzzy sets and fuzzy control are mostly discussed in terms of qualitative
attributes like cold or warm and qualitative rules like if temperature is cold with a
likelihood of 0.7 then increase heating fast. These empirical rules are often established
from existing expertise in manual control and the corresponding fuzzy systems are
referred to as empirical fuzzy systems.
However, in the area of power system control, as for example power system stabilizers,
this expertise may not exist for unusual operating conditions. Its therefore necessary to
establish the fuzzy sets and rules in a more systematic, autonomous manner and the
corresponding fuzzy systems are referred to as self-adaptive fuzzy systems.
Let us briefly illustrate these concepts by looking at the example of fuzzy temperature
sets [4-9]. If the initial input set is the range of temperatures from 0oF to 120oF, the
membership function describing the three fuzzy sets cold, warm and hot may be centered
at a1 = 40oF, a2 = 70oF and a3 = 100oF, and have a triangular shape and a maximal width
o
of 20 F as shown in Figure 4-1.
Instead of defining center, shape and width of the membership function by empirical
rules, one can choose a more systematic approach using data analysis. For example, in the
case of load forecasting, sampling of the load data might indicate that the load exhibits
three different behaviors correlated with the temperature. A clustering algorithm might
have identified three typical temperatures a1, a2, and a3, with the width of the cluster
defining the width of the membership functions 1, 2 and 3.

4-2

i(e)
i = 1, 2, 3
1

20

30

40

50

60

70

a1

80

90

a2

100
a3

110

120

Temperature e[F]

Fig. 4-1. Membership function for fuzzy temperature sets.

In addition, one can choose a Gaussian function, which is continuously differentiable,
instead of the triangular (or the sometimes used trapezoidal shape) without altering the
degree of membership of any given temperature significantly.
Whether one defines the membership function empirically or self-adaptively, there are
always some degrees of freedom; for example, the number of fuzzy sets and membership
functions.
As an analogy to crisp sets, one can define union, intersection and complement of two
fuzzy sets A and B by defining the membership functions corresponding to union,
intersection and complement. One can further define fuzzy rules either by establishing
these rules empirically or in a self-adaptive manner.
Finally, a mapping from a crisp number to the fuzzy set can be defined consisting of this
number only (singleton fuzzification). Also a mapping from a fuzzy set onto a number
can be defined by choosing this number as the center of average of the integral defined by
the fuzzy membership function (center of average defuzzification). Figure 4-2 shows the
structure of fuzzy system.
For the purpose of power system control it is sufficient to note that the fuzzy system is a
mapping
F: Un n ->, F(e) = u
This mapping F will be constructed as an approximation to the controller (e,t).
It is shown [4-9] that there is a class of self-adaptive fuzzy systems F with Gaussian
membership functions j that can be written in a closed form as:
m

u = F(e ) =

b j j (e )
j=1

Self-adaptive fuzzy systems given in closed form have the advantage that stability
analysis can be performed and tasks like optimal control can be addressed.
Self-organizing fuzzy controllers therefore fall into the class of adaptive controllers and
the related stability issues can be explored with adaptive control techniques. Stability of
power system controllers is discussed in more detail in reference 4-10.

4-3

e n
Fuzzifier
e Fuzzy Set (A, A)
A
Fuzzy Rule Base and Fuzzy Inference Engine
IF e is A AND e1 is A1 ... AND en is An THEN u is B
B
Defuzzifier
Fuzzy Set (B, B) u
u

Fig. 4-2. Structure of a fuzzy system.

Neither approach to fuzzy systems necessarily needs a detailed state-space model of the
controller. The advantage of the empirical approach is that heuristics and human
knowledge can be incorporated. However, the demonstration of stability for this type of
controller is very tedious if not impossible.
4.1.1 State-of-the-art of fuzzy control for power systems
We now give an overview of studies of fuzzy systems in the area of power system or
generation control [4-11].
The majority of fuzzy controllers can be found in the area of excitation control, especially
power system stabilizers (PSS). An upcoming important area is control of power
electronic devices. Although the majority of investigations perform feasibility studies
using computer simulation only, several authors study the implementation of the fuzzy
controller on a PC or DSP in order to control actual small generators or motors in a
laboratory environment. In most cases, the membership functions are established based
on data samples.
The comparison of fuzzy controllers and conventional controllers stresses advantages of
fuzzy controllers as being generic parametric models instead of circuit-based state
space models. The self-adaptive controllers can be easily tuned to different operating
conditions, and all projects report better tracking capabilities of the fuzzy controllers
compared to conventional controllers.
However, the sensitivity issues concerning the range of validity of the tuning and the
detection of changes of operating conditions still needs to be investigated for
conventional as well as for fuzzy controllers. This is especially important for power
system control where topology, load, and generation can change stochastically and
discontinuously.
A lot of progress has been made concerning the application of fuzzy systems to power
system control problems. For feasibility studies, most authors experiment with empirical
4-4

rules and data. A few projects, using self-organizing techniques, however, have been
installed on a microprocessor and tested in a research lab environment either in academia
or a utility. The next section describes an operational application of fuzzy control in a real
power system.
Hassan, Malik and Hope applied the fuzzy logic control (FLC) to PSS design [4-12]. In
this method, the output stabilizing signal was calculated based on the representation of
the alternator state in the phase plane. Hiyama, Kugimiya, and Satoh proposed PID type
fuzzy logic PSS [4-13]. They took into account the PID information of the generator
speed. Additional parameters were also tuned off-line to minimize the performance index.
Recently, the self-organizing Fuzzy Auto-Regressive Moving Average (FARMA)
controller was studied to enhance the low frequency damping of a synchronous machine
[4-15]. In contrast with a conventional FLC, where the rule base and membership
functions are supplied by an expert or tuned off-line through experiment, the FARMA
FLC needs no expert in making control rules. Instead, rules are generated using the
history of input-output pairs. The generated rules are stored in the fuzzy rule space and
updated on-line by a self-organizing procedure.
4.1.2 Implementation of fuzzy logic PSS
In joint research, Kumamoto University and the Kyushu Electric Power Company
proposed a microcomputer-based fuzzy logic power system stabilizer (FLPSS) to enhance
power system stability through control of thyristor exciters. Through simulation studies,
experiments on a 5 kVA laboratory system, and implementation on an actual 5 MVA
hydro unit, the effectiveness of the FLPSS was demonstrated [4-13]. In addition, a twoyear evaluation of the FLPSS was finished in March 1996 on 30.2 and 23.4 MVA hydro
units in the Kyushu Electric Power System [4-14]. Damping of oscillations were
significantly increased. The FLPSS has been in service since June 19, 1997 on a hydro
unit with the rating of 90 MVA at the Hitotsuse Hydro Power Station in the Kyushu
Electric Power System.
The proposed fuzzy logic power system stabilizer (FLPSS) is set up by using a
microcomputer with AD and DA conversion interfaces. All the signal conditioning and
the generation of stabilizing signals are performed by the on-line microcomputer. See
Figure 4-3.
4.1.3 The future of fuzzy logic power system stability controls
There is continued debate on the fuzzy versus conventional control (reference 4-59 is
entertaining and instructive). Although the fuzzy logic power system stabilizers are field
tested as described above, there is limited experience, even in the simulation world, of
fuzzy logic power system stability controls in large power systems with multiple,
interacting oscillation modes. Experience with the more sophisticated types of fuzzy logic
control is even more limited.
Although most of the literature on power system fuzzy logic control is on replacement of
conventional control, many actual industrial applications (in other industries) are for
higher level or supervisory control [4-60,4-61]. In power systems, fuzzy logic controls
4-5

may be attractive for higher level, nonlinear, and discrete controls, rather than as
replacement of essentially linear continuous controls.
4.2
ANN for Power System Control
Artificial neural networks have been applied in technical areas since the early 1960s,
when Widrow and Hoff developed an adaptive least square estimator called ADALINE.
ANNs come in two major categories:

supervised ANNS,

unsupervised ANNs.

Supervised neural networks perform approximation tasks using a special combination of

non-linear basis functions called sigmoid functions. They therefore solve problems
similar to problems solved by regression and parameter estimation techniques.
Protection Unit
Voltage
Detectors

Timer
WT

AVR

Exciter

AC
100V

G
Monitoring Unit

UPS

PQVF
AC
100V

D/A

Micro- A/D
computer

Power
Transducer

FLPSS

Fig. 4-3. Basic configuration of PSS prototype and its overview.

In this framework, classification tasks can be formulated as the task of finding a
regression model for the function which maps an input vector x onto its class label, for
example TRUE or FALSE coded with binary numbers.
The multi-layer perceptron (MLP) is probably the most heavily investigated supervised
ANN model. It can be used in nearly every area of power systems where a task can be
formulated as an approximation problem. As a classifier (approximation of the Boolean
function secure/insecure or trip/no-trip signal) it is applied in power system security
assessment [4-16] and on-line security control to initiate load shedding at a bus [4-17].
The MLP is often used in combination with Fuzzy Systems where qualitative attributes
like hot or cold temperatures are first translated into numbers. The MLP is then used as a
regression tool in order to estimate additional parameters [4-18].

4-6

Unsupervised networks reduce the complexity of the data sets by either reducing the
dimensionality of the input data or by grouping input data into categories of typical data
and by constructing a typical presentation (code vector) for each class. Unsupervised
neural nets fall into the same class of tools as statistical non-parametric data analysis,
clustering algorithms, and encoding or decoding techniques.
Unsupervised ANNs which quantize data into categories provide a choice of free
parameters. The ART networks fixes the radius of the class but allows a variable number
of classes, whereas Kohonens self-organizing feature map fixes the number of categories
but allows varying class sizes.
In the area of power system security assessment the ART network [4-19] and the
Kohonen map [4-20] are used to reduce the space of all feasible operating points into a
finite set of typical operating points.
Unsupervised ANNs are often used in combination with supervised approaches or
conventional tools. The unsupervised net serves as pre-processing tool for data reduction
and the supervised net estimates associated parameters like security classes [4-21,4-22].
4.2.1 ANN applications
In the 1970s simple ANN-based machine-learning techniques were explored for transient
stability [4-23]. With the emergence of more powerful computers, ANN gained renewed
interest from 1988 on, when Sobajic et al. [4-24], and Aggoune et al., [4-25] assessed
their potential for transient stability and static security assessment. These projects have
led to a sudden upsurge in applying neural net approaches to many power system
problems. A bibliographical survey covering 19881993 world-wide is presented in the
paper by the CIGR Task Force 38.06.06 on Artificial Neural Net Applications in Power
Systems [4-4]. This survey was updated by Niebur and Dillon [4-26] based on a review of
more than 400 publications regrouped into 200 different projects published before April
1995.
Time-series prediction in the area of load forecasting has been one of the most examined
areas for ANN applications. It was mainly motivated by the lack of automated tools in the
utilities and by the expected economic gain. Research in other major application areas
like security assessment attempts to exploit the data reduction, classification, and
regression capabilities of ANN in combination with conventional simulation techniques.
The potential of ANNs for non-linear adaptive filtering and control stimulated research in
the area of control of highly non-linear power system behavior.
For power system control, the control tool, whether conventional or ANN has to be
operated on-line. Available reaction time is extremely limited and control errors can
easily lead to a breakdown in a substantial portion of the interconnected system.
Therefore power system control is still done in the most conservative manner. In critical
situations, its the practice of some experienced operators to even remove conventional
controllers like power system stabilizers. New control tools need to be extensively tested
before they can be integrated into the existing complex power system. Field tests for

4-7

control, however, have been reported for isolated components like photovoltaic storage
[4-27].
Similar remarks apply to the area of security assessment. Further, in both areas, data
covering significant periods of operation are not readily available and have to be collected
for the specific ANN applications.
In the area of control, field tests are reported by Kumamoto University and Sanyo
Electric, Japan [4-27]. For fast dynamic security monitoring in a medium scale network
with diesel and wind power production, a pilot installation is running successfully in the
island of Lemnos, Greece [4-28].
4.2.2 ANN application in security assessment
Security assessment can be divided into two levels: classification and boundary
determination. Classification involves determining whether the system is secure or
insecure under pre-specified contingencies. Classification does not in itself indicate
distance from the operating condition to the insecure conditions. Boundary determination,
on the other hand, involves quantifying this distance. A boundary is represented by
constraints imposed on parameters characterizing pre-contingency conditions. These precontingency parameters are called critical parameters. Once the boundary is identified,
security assessment for any operating point can be given as the distance between the
current operating point and the boundary. Assessment in terms of pre-contingency
operating parameters instead of the post-contingency performance measure is more
meaningful to the operator as it directly identifies the parameters to control, as well as
how to adjust them, in order to maneuver the system with respect to security boundaries.
In many North American utilities, the traditional boundary characterization is a twodimensional graph called a nomogram [4-2931]. To develop a nomogram, two critical
parameters are chosen and all other critical parameters are set to selected values within a
typical operating range. The non-critical parameters are set to constant values. Points on
the nomogram curve are determined by repeating computer simulations, varying one
critical parameter while keeping the other constant. The main disadvantages of this
approach include intensive labor requirement, inaccurate boundary representation, and
little flexibility in integrating with the energy management system (EMS). The inaccuracy
of the nomogram results mainly from linear interpolation between boundary points and
insufficient information contained in critical parameters. An ANN technique has been
used in a security boundary visualization method to overcome these disadvantages [432,4-33].
The procedure for boundary visualization consists of the following major steps:
1. Security problem identification: Identify the specific set of security problems to be
characterized and operating parameter candidates that may have influence on them.
2. Base case construction: Construct a base case power flow solution that appropriately
models the system conditions.

4-8

3. Data generation: Automatically generate a database with each record consisting of

pre-contingency operating parameters and the corresponding post-contingency
measure.
4. Feature selection: Select the best subset of pre-contingency operating parameters for
use in predicting the post-contingency performance measure.
5. Neural network training: Train a neural network using the selected parameters and the
database to map the relationship from the pre-contingency operating parameters to the
post-contingency performance measure.
6. Visualization: Provide an easily understood automatic visualization of the security
boundary in the space of operating parameters that can be monitored and controlled
by the system operator.
Data generation is a very important step [4-34]. The ultimate boundary captured by the
whole procedure will characterize the data that is provided to the neural network. If this
data does not reflect what actually occurs in system operations, the boundary will be
incorrect. A systematic method, call ASAS [4-35] has been developed to generate the
data for neural network training. This data consists of a large number of samples, with
each sample corresponding to a simulation of the same contingency but for different
operating conditions, and consisting of values for pre-contingency operating parameters
together with the post-contingency performance measure. This data is used to train a
neural network to compute the post-contingency performance measure R as output given
the pre-contingency operating parameters x as input, resulting in the relation R = f(x),
where f represents the neural network mapping function. Standard MLP networks have
been used for this application.
Once the neural network is trained, the relationship between the post-contingency
performance and the pre-contingency operating parameters can be inverted, subject to the
power flow equations, in identifying the boundary. That is, the problem of boundary
identification is solved by finding x that simultaneously satisfies:
f (x) - Rb = 0

(1)

h ( u) = 0

(2)

where (1) represents the neural network mapping function, (2) represents the power flow
equations, x is the critical parameter vector, Rb is the threshold value of R, and u is the
input parameter vector to the power flow program. The vector x may include both
independent critical parameters (e.g., real power injections) and dependent critical
parameters (e.g., flows), and is therefore a function of u. Because the presented
parameters (those corresponding to the two coordinate axes) must be varied in drawing
the boundary, the influence of these variations on dependent critical parameters should be
considered accordingly.
For visualization of an individual boundary, i.e., the boundary for a single security
problem under a given contingency, the computation used in solving equations (1) and (2)
is based on a derived form of the neural network mapping function, expressed as

4-9

f (z, gy (y0, z1, z2)) - Rb = 0

(3)

where x=[z,y], z is the independent critical parameter vector, y is the dependent critical
parameter vector, y0 is the dependent critical parameter vector corresponding to a specific
operating condition, and gy models the influence of the z1 and z2 changes on the
dependent critical parameters y, where z1 and z2 represent the two presented parameters.
The visualization algorithm starts from the minimum value of z1 and solves equation (3)
for z2. Then it increases z1 by a fixed step, updates y, solves for z2, and repeats until it
reaches the maximum of z2.
In visualizing a boundary comprised of two or more constraints, we proceed as follows.
As shown in Fig. 4-4, for each interval z1, we first identify the two individual boundary
functions that are binding for the composite boundary. To do this, we rank the functions
in descending order of z2. For each pair of neighboring functions in this rank, we check
an arbitrarily selected point (marked with crosses) between them to see if it is secure for
all security constraints. If so, this point is inside the secure region, and the corresponding
neighboring individual boundary functions must be the binding functions for the
composite boundary for this interval. The composite boundary is therefore identified as
this pair of individual boundaries. In the next interval, if there are no other individual
boundary functions between the two binding functions identified in the previous interval,
then these functions are also binding for the new interval. In this case, it is not necessary
to perform the check for this interval. Once it is no longer possible to find any secure
point, then the algorithm stops.
z2

B3

B2

B1
z1

Fig. 4-4. Algorithm illustration for composite boundary visualization.

4.2.3 ANN application in power system stabilization
Control of large-scale systems such as power systems has been recognized as a foremost
challenges in control engineering due to its nonlinearity and complexity. The use of an
artificial neural network is very attractive because of its nonlinear mapping ability. For
complexity coming from high dimension or from the spatial distribution of a large-scale
system, decentralized control is a practical approach. Neural networks have attractive
capacity in handling sensory information, and performing collective learning from the
data sets given for a subsystem in the decentralized control approach. The approximation
property of neural networks can make it possible to organize subsystem dynamics to a
4-10

certain degree by training the input/output relationships obtained in the full system
operation. From this point of view, a neural network based power system stabilizer can be
designed for a large-scale power system when only local input/output information data for
a subsystem, i.e., power plant data, is available.
A practical power system stabilizer to enhance the damping of the low-frequency
oscillations must be robust over a wide range of operating conditions. However,
conventional PSS design approaches based on linearization around the normal operating
point have deficiencies and difficulties coming from nonlinearities in the system.
Recently, neural networks have been investigated for power system stabilizing control.
Most cases are limited to speed deviation control with supplementary excitation signal for
a single generatorinfinite bus system.
Difficulties in a power system stabilizer design come from the handling of nonlinearities
and interactions among generators. During the low-frequency oscillation, rotor oscillates
due to the unbalance between mechanical and electrical powers. Electrical power has
nonlinear properties, and this is a key variable affecting the rotor dynamics. Thus,
handling the nonlinear power flow properly is the key to the PSS design for a multimachine power system. The use of neural networks learning ability avoids complex
mathematical analysis in solving control problems when plant dynamics are complex and
highly nonlinear.
Neural networks in control has mainly used Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC)
[4-3640]. However, the MRAC approach has difficulty in selecting an appropriate
reference model. Recently, a general purpose controller, an Optimal Tracking NeuroController, was developed to minimize a general quadratic cost function of tracking errors
and control efforts [4-41]. This results in a hybrid of feedback and feedforward neurocontrollers in parallel. The feedforward neuro-controller (FFNC) generates the steadystate control input to keep the plant output to a given reference value, and the feedback
neuro-controller (FBNC) generates the transient control input to stabilize error dynamics
along the optimal path while minimizing the cost function. A novel inverse mapping
concept is developed to design the FFNC using a neuro-identifier. The use of general
quadratic cost function provides optimal performance with respect to trade-off between
the tracking error and control effort. Since the cost function is defined over a finite time
interval, a Generalized Backpropagation-Through-Time (GBTT) algorithm was
developed to train the feedback controller.
Optimal tracking neuro-controller. We consider a system in the form of the general
nonlinear auto-regressive moving average (NARMA) model:
y ( k + 1) = f ( y ( k ), y ( k 1), , y ( k n + 1), u ( k ), u( k 1), , u( k m + 1)) ,

(4)

where y and u , respectively, represent output and input variables, k represents time
index, and n and m represent the respective output and input delay orders.
The above control objectives can be achieved by minimizing the following well-known
quadratic cost function:

4-11

J=

1 N
(Q( yref y ( k
2 k =1

+ 1))

+ R (uref u( k )) 2 ) ,

(5)

where yref is a reference output, uref is the steady-state input corresponding to yref , and
Q and R are positive weighting factors. This quadratic cost function or performance
index not only forces the plant output to follow the reference, but also forces the plant
input to be close to the steady-state value in maintaining the plant output to its reference
value.
An optimal tracking neuro-controller (OTNC) is designed with two neuro-controllers in
order to control a nonlinear plant that has a non-zero set point in steady-state [4-41]. A
feedforward neuro-controller (FFNC) is constructed to generate feedforward control input
corresponding to the set point, and trained by the well-known error Backpropagation
algorithm. A feedback neuro-controller (FBNC) is constructed to generate feedback
control input, and trained by a Generalized BTT (GBTT) algorithm to minimize the
quadratic performance index. An independent neural network named neuro-identifier is
used when the above two neuro-controllers are in training mode. This network is trained
to emulate a plant dynamics and to backpropagate an equivalent error or generalized
delta [4-36] to the controllers under training. Fig. 4-5 shows an architecture for the
optimal tracking neuro-controller for a nonlinear plant. In the figure, the tapped delay
operator is defined as a delay mapping from a sequence of scalar input, {x(i ) } to a
r
vector output with an appropriate dimension defined as x(i 1) = ( x(i 1) , x(i 2) ,..., x( x p ) ) ,
where p = n for the output variable y, and p= m-1 for the input variable u.
y ref
y (k)

u (k-1)

ufb (k) u (k)

Feedback
Neuro-Controller

u (k)

u (k-1)
y (k)

Plant Dynamics

y(k+1)

Tapped Delay Operator

y(k)
yref

Feedforward
Neuro-Controller

u ff

u (k-1)

y(k+1)
Neuro-Identifier

u (k)

Fig. 4-5 Block diagram for the optimal tracking neuro-controller.

The study power system. The neuro-controller is applied to a 5-bus power system [4-42]
to stabilize low-frequency oscillations (Figure 4-6). The power system consists of three
power plants: two are thermal units and one is a hydro unit. The power system has
sustained low-frequency oscillations due to disturbances. The control objective is to
improve system damping by using a supplementary excitation control applied to the
second generator.

4-12

( Thermal Plant )

( Thermal Plant )

0.67+j0.67

G1

G3

1.0+j0.15

Voltage : 1.06+j0.0

0.6+j0.15

L4

L3
3

4
0.01+j0.03(0.01)

0.08+j0.24(0.025)
0.06+j0.18 (0.02)
0.02+j0.06(0.03)

0.4+j1.2(0.02)
0.06+j0.18(0.02)

2
0.2+j0.1

L2

G2

0.04+j0.12(0.015)
Power Flow

Power: 0.75+j0.5

( Hydro Plant )

5
0.8+j0.2 L5

Install PSS

Fig.4-6. The power system with 3 generators and 5 buses.

Typical IEEE governor and turbine models are used: TGOV1 (2nd order) for the thermal
plant and IEEEG2 (3rd order) for the hydro unit [4-43]. The IEEE exciter and voltage
regulator model EXST1 (4th order) is used for this study on which supplementary
excitation control input is to be injected. As a result, a 9th order model for thermal plants
and a 10th model for the hydro plant are used to represent the nonlinear characteristics
and the low-frequency oscillations in simulations.
Training of the neural networks. The Optimal Tracking Neuro-Controller is applied to
Generator 2 to provide supplementary excitation signal as a power system stabilizer.
Since the output variables, frequency, angle, and the power flow, are all deviations from
the respective references, the feedforward controller was not used. The training patterns
of the Neuro-Identifier are generated by the power system simulations starting from the
steady-state initial value in a wide range of operating conditions and randomly generated
control inputs history within the conventional PSS operation region. During the lowfrequency oscillation in the range of 1~2 Hz, its assumed that the exciter can be
approximated as a second-order model. Therefore, the Neuro-Identifier is constructed to
emulate the power flow dynamics as a third-order model that includes the dynamics of
exciter and the excitation field voltage. The discrete-time training patterns are obtained
with the time step of 0.04 sec in simulation. This allows at least twenty sampling points
in a cycle of the low-frequency oscillation under 1.25 Hz.
The Neuro-Identifier consists of one hidden layer with 40 nodes, an input layer with 7
input nodes and an output layer with one node. Three of the seven input nodes are for its
output history, Pe( k ) , Pe( k 1) , Pe( k 2) ; two are for control input history, u ( k ) , u ( k 1) ;
and two for ( k ) , ( k ) . The Neuro-Controller has one hidden layer with 40 nodes, an
input layer with 6 input nodes and an output layer with one node. Three of the six input

4-13

nodes are for output history, Pe( k ) , Pe( k 1) , Pe( k 2) ; one is for previous control input
u ( k 1) and two are ( k ) , (k) . The cost function for the N-step ahead controller is set

with the weightings Q = 1.0 and R = 0.02.

To avoid oscillation during training stage, weight parameters in the Neuro-Identifier are
corrected with the average of corrections calculated for ten patterns. Training of the
Neuro-Controller is done in two phases. First, training is done with a small N ( = 3) since
in the beginning it has little knowledge of control. A small number of steps prevents the
system from diverging. Training is carried on with a gradually increasing N until it
reaches 8 so that the system can be controlled for a longer duration of time. Then, training
is carried on with N fixed at 8. It takes about 30 minutes on an IBM-PC 486 computer to
train two neural networks: the Neuro-Identifier and the Neuro-Controller.
Comparison of the control results. Figure 4-7 shows the speed deviation of Generator 2
for a three-phase ground fault at midpoint of a half the line 45, which cleared after 0.2
sec. The figure compares the cases without a control and with supplementary excitation
controls by the conventional PSS, STAB4 [4-43], and the Neuro-PSS.
Speed-dev. of the 2-nd Gen. ( 0.75[p.u.] )

0.5
[Hz]

0.3
0.1
-0.1
-0.3
-0.5
0

1
Without Control

Time [Sec]
STAB4

Neuro-PSS

Fig. 4-7. The speed deviation of generator 2 for the line fault disturbance in a normal load
condition.
Figure 4-8 shows the speed deviation for the same disturbance when the power system is
in a light loading condition (0.5 p.u. generating power) and Figure 4-9 shows speed
deviation for a heavy loading condition (1.0 p.u.). The figures show that both controllers
work very well judging from small swings with large damping. The performance of the
controllers are compared in Table 1with the integral-time-error (ITE) computed with the
cost function (5). Observations from the table show that the Neuro-PSS works very well
judging from the ITE performance in both the heavy or the light load compared to the
normal load condition. The ITE performance of the conventional PSS shows larger
variation to loading conditions because the parameters in the STAB4 were optimized in
the normal loading condition.

4-14

Speed-dev. of the 2-nd Gen. ( 0.5 [p.u.] )

0.4
[Hz]

0.2

0.0

-0.2

-0.4
0

Without Control

Time [Sec]

Neuro-PSS

STAB4

Fig. 4-8. The speed deviation of generator 2 for the line fault disturbance in a light load
condition.
Speed-dev. of the 2-nd Gen. ( 1.0[p.u.] )

0.5
[Hz]

0.3

0.1

-0.1

-0.3

-0.5
0

1
Without Control

Time [Sec]
STAB4

Neuro-PSS

Fig. 4-9. The speed deviation of generator 2 for the line fault disturbance in a heavy load
condition.
Figure 4-10 shows the speed deviation for other disturbances coming from stepwise
loading conditions: 0.15 p.u. increase at 0.24 sec, decrease at 0.96 sec. and cleared at 1.44
sec when the power system is in the heavy loading condition. The figure shows that the
Neuro-PSS works very well judging from small swings.

4-15

Speed-dev. of the 2-nd Gen. ( 1.0[p.u.] )

0.5
[Hz]

0.3

0.1

-0.1

-0.3

-0.5
0

Time [Sec]
Without Control

STAB4

Neuro-PSS

Fig. 4-10. The speed deviation of generator 2 for the load change disturbance in a heavy
load condition.
Table 1. ITE performance evaluation for the line fault disturbance
Loading

0.5 p.u.

0.75 p.u.

1.0 p.u.

Without Control

6.04

100(%)

12.03

100(%)

22.24 100(%)

STAB4

1.81

30.0(%)

2.19

8.2(%)

2.83

12.7(%)

Neuro-PSS

1.67

27.6(%)

1.89

15.7(5)

1.92

8.6(%)

4.3
Decision Trees for Power System Control
Decision trees (DTs) are learn-by-example classifiers which are particularly well suited
for discrete event control [4-44,4-45]. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) can also be used
for discrete event controls, and they are more general than decision trees. Neural networks
can associate their input vectors with a continuous range of output values, whereas
decision trees are only suited for classification problems having a small number of output
categories such as stable/unstable. But when a problem can be reduced to a small number
of choices, then decision trees have important advantages. The decision trees reported in
[4-4650] require only a few minutes to train whereas neural networks usually require
much more computation for the training. When a particular case is classified by a DT, we
can see which threshold criteria were met, i.e., why the case was classified and how the
outcome would have changed if certain input variables had been different. Another
advantage of decision trees is that when you have training data with maybe 250 variables
in each input vector, the DT training algorithm usually selects a much smaller subset,
perhaps 25 variables, to be used for classification.

4-16

4.3.1 Relation of angle stability decision trees to on-line dynamic security

assessment
Decision trees have been developed for on-line preventive control and also for real-time
remedial action control. The first research and industrial use of DTs for angle stability
control was in the area of on-line preventive control [4-5153]. These DTs are designed
to perform on-line dynamic security assessment (DSA). Training sets are extracted from
off-line simulations of critical contingencies applied to a large number of pre-fault
equilibrium conditions. The input vector contains various static parameters from the prefault equilibrium point such as key generation and transfer levels. The desired output
reflects whether any of the contingencies caused instability for that equilibrium. The DTs
are then used on-line to predict the vulnerability of the power system in its present
equilibrium state to those contingencies.
The DTs for real-time remedial action control [4-4650] could be trained either from offline simulations or from on-line simulation tools that are being developed to perform online DSA. Power system protection and large-scale stability controls have traditionally
relied upon off-line simulations that are transformed into decision rules by engineers.
Classifier training algorithms can perform the same tasks using large numbers of
simulations and predictor variables. An emerging possibility is to train the classifiers
using on-line DSA [4-54,4-55]. These on-line simulations can already be used to program
discrete event controls such as generator tripping (see Chapter 5). The resulting controls
are custom tailored to the current operating conditions. The same simulation capabilities
could generate the training sets for DTs that perform real-time, remedial action control.
4.3.2 Decision trees for real-time transient stability prediction
The earliest research on DTs for real-time control investigated prediction of angle
instability using synchronized phase angle measurements from all 10 generators in the
New England 39 bus test system [4-46,4-47]. In that work, it was proposed to train DTs
off-line to handle a specific range of operating conditions. Training sets were created by
simulating three-phase faults of various duration on all the buses and transmission lines.
Simulated generator angle measurements were taken over an eight cycle window
immediately after fault clearing. Three successive measurements of the generator angles
were used, and then two velocities and one acceleration were computed from the angle
measurements of each generator. From this snapshot immediately after fault clearing, the
decision trees correctly predicted whether loss of synchronism would occur in the next
four seconds with over 97% accuracy. Robustness to variations in the operating point was
investigated using a test set of 40,800 transient stability simulations for 50 randomly
generated operating points. Accuracy in excess of 95% was obtained for the 40,800
contingencies.
One way to use DTs for real-time control is to train a DT to predict whether loss of
synchronism will occur without control and train another DT to predict whether loss of
synchronism will occur with some particular control. In simulations of a 176 bus model
of the western U.S., a combination of generator tripping at Palo Verde and load shedding
at Tesla and Vaca-Dixon was found to stabilize long duration three-phase faults for five
transmission lines in the Arizona area [4-48]. A test set of 500 random duration, three4-17

phase faults on these lines without control contained 232 stable cases and 268 unstable
cases. If control is applied when the DTs predict stable with control and unstable without,
then 215 of the 232 stable cases have no unnecessary control intervention. The remaining
17 stable cases had control intervention without adverse effect. The controller operated in
all 268 of the unstable cases, and stabilized 263 of them. The remaining 5 cases had very
long fault durations and hence were too serious to control.
4.3.3 Decision trees for response-based control
Prior to 1996, the research on DTs for real-time control had assumed there would be
some way to detect that an event had just occurred so that the immediate post-event
measurements could be fed into the decision tree. More recently, decision trees have been
adapted to continuously follow the measurements and select control action as soon as the
need becomes apparent [4-50,4-58]. This response-based operation effectively turns the
classifier approach into a natural generalization of the way engineers determine relay
settings and discrete-event control laws. For example, in the development of the R-Rdot
out-of-step relay [4-56,4-57], apparent resistance R and its rate of change Rdot were
plotted for both stable and unstable transient events. The apparent resistance was
measured at Malin substation near the electrical center of the Pacific AC Intertie (PACI)
in order to detect loss of synchronism across the PACI. Using large-scale simulations, the
designers learned to differentiate between stable and unstable swings based on their
trajectories in the R-Rdot phase plane. Decision boundaries were then drawn to classify
new swings as either stable or unstable and to order circuit breaker operation as
appropriate.
Decision tree training algorithms can draw decision boundaries in phase planes as well as
in higher dimensional spaces. The R-Rdot relay provides a good demonstration of DTs
for response-based control. Instead of using only the immediate post-event electrical
measurements, response-based DT control is achieved by using every time sample in the
simulation for an input-output pair. Using 28,728 data points extracted from 168 transient
simulations on the 176 bus model, a DT was trained to associate each pair of R and Rdot
measurements with whether the angle across the PACI exceeded 90 degrees when the
measurements were taken. The 168 contingencies in the training set contained 6 different
fault scenarios for each of 28 transmission lines: one-cycle fault, three cycle fault, four
cycle fault, six cycle fault, one cycle fault followed by loss of the Pacific DC Intertie
(PDCI), and one cycle fault followed by loss of the Intermountain Power Project (IPP)
DC line. All faults were three-phase short circuit to ground with the faulted line removed
at clearing time. Each simulation in the training set was three seconds long. The test set
contained data extracted from 784 simulations which were five seconds long; 756 of the
test set events were double contingency outages, each involving two of the 28 study lines.
The resulting DT tripped correctly on 70 events, tripped incorrectly on 10 events,
correctly refrained from tripping on 704 events, and never failed to trip on an unstable
event. In addition to achieving response based control, these DTs also respond
appropriately to single-phase faults. The training sets can be generated using industry
standard power system models.

4-18

Specifying misclassification costs during the training has been particularly helpful for
building DTs to perform response-based control. A circuit breaker controlled by this DT
will be programmed to trip and stay open once the DT outputs trip. Hence there is no
remedy for a false trip; once the breaker opens it must stay open. If, however, the DT fails
to trip on a case where the intertie angle has in fact exceeded 90 degrees, then it still has
the option of tripping later. There will always be an area of uncertainty between when the
DT should trip versus not trip. For a truly unstable event, the need to trip should become
more obvious over time and it would be desirable to train the DT to wait until the need to
trip is nearly certain. This behavior can be obtained by assigning a high misclassification
cost to false trips. The resulting DT will only trip if the trajectory enters a region where
stable trajectories almost never enter. For training the DT shown in Figure 4-11, the
misclassification cost of false trips was set 50 times higher than the misclassification cost
of failures to trip.

Yes

Yes

No

No

R<0

No Trip

R < 38

No Trip

Rdot
< - 600

Yes

No

No Trip

Yes

Rdot
< - 64

Yes

R < 21

Trip

Yes

No

No

Yes

Rdot
< - 143

Yes

No

Trip

No Trip

Trip

Rdot
< - 13

R < 17

No

No

No Trip

No Trip

Fig. 4-11. Decision tree for an R-Rdot out-of-step relay.

4.3.4 Decision trees for improving dynamic performance
Decision trees can perform response-based discrete-event control to improve the dynamic
performance of stable transient events [4-49,4-50]. In order to automatically train a
classifier to associate the incoming measurements with an appropriate discrete-event
control, its necessary for a computer algorithm to determine which control to assign each
case in the training set. If a control makes the difference between stability and instability,
then the choice is clear. When instability is not an issue and the goal is to improve the
dynamic performance, an objective measure of the post-event behavior must be used. The
following objective function is used to calculate the severity of simulated transient events
with and without control.
T

J =

i M i ( i coa ) 2 dt
4-19

This performance index is like the weighted sum squared error comparing the
simulated swing curves to a hypothetical ideal trajectory where all the generator angles
are constant with no angle differences. The sum does not have to contain all the
generators in the model. A sampling on the order of 10100 of the larger generators
distributed throughout the power system is sufficient to have J be a fairly good numerical
measure of the amount of interarea oscillation following a disturbance. Between two
simulations, everything is held fixed except for some control action that needs to be
evaluated. Controls that reduce J tend to have the strongest smoothing and stabilizing
effects on the post-event oscillations. In addition to improving dynamic performance, the
performance index can also be used to determine powerful combinations of discrete event
controls for stabilizing strongly unstable events [4-48].
Decision trees were trained to improve dynamic performance using data extracted from
93 transient simulations on the 176 bus model. Each contingency was simulated with and
without a 500 MW fast power increase on the IPP DC line immediately after fault
clearing, and a DT was trained to predict from real-time phasor measurements whether
the numerical improvement in dynamic performance would exceed a threshold [4-50].
The decision tree was tested on three cycle, three-phase faults and five cycle single line to
ground faults applied to the same 31 transmission lines used in the training set. The DT
ordered a 500 MW fast power increase at some point in 44 of the 62 simulations and had
a positive effect in 42 of the 44 simulations it tried to control. Fifty-one of the 62
simulations were stable for the first two seconds, and 39 of the 44 DT operations occurred
during stable events. The average performance index improvement for the 39 stable
contingencies was 2.4 and the maximum improvement was 4.7. Most of the stable events
had performance index scores between 40 and 80. Using 60 as a rough estimate of the
average score for stable cases, the improvement from the DT controller is roughly 2.4/60
= 4.0%. For comparison, a 500 MW IPP DC ramp in response to the initial events would
have prevented the cascading outage that occurred on December 14, 1994 by reducing
overloads which caused some of the transmission lines to trip [4-49,4-50]. Performance
index calculations applied to the large-scale simulations of the initial December 14 events
showed an improvement of 4.1% resulting from the DC fast power change.
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S.M. Rovnyak and Y. Sheng, Using Measurements and Decision Tree Processing
for Response-Based Discrete-Event Control, Proceedings of IEEE/PES 1999
Summer Meeting, pp. 10-15, Edmonton, July 1822, 1999.

4-59

D. Y. Abramovitch and L. G. Bushnell, Report on the Fuzzy versus Conventional

Control Debate, IEEE Control Systems, pp. 8891, July 1999 (debate between
Michael Athans and Lotfi Zadeh).

4-60

P. P. Bonissone, et al., Industrial Applications of Fuzzy Logic at General

Electric, Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 83, No. 3, pp. 450465, March 1995.

4-61

S. Chiu, Using Fuzzy Logic in Control Applications: Beyond Fuzzy PID

Control, IEEE Control Systems, pp. 100104, October 1998.

4-25

Chapter 5

Integration of Dynamic Security Assessment

and Stability Controls
Dynamic security assessment (DSA) or transient security assessment (TSA) determines a
systems ability to survive contingencies with a safety factor (margin). To ensure that a system
remains dynamically secure, preventive or corrective remedial actions are designed. Preventive
actions are applied in the pre-contingency system so that after any credible contingency the
system remains secure. Examples include restrictions on interface flows, angle differences across
a particular interface, and total generation out of a plant. Corrective remedial actions (stability
controls) are those taken following a contingency. Examples include generator or load tripping,
and capacitor bank or reactor switching.
Traditionally, preventive and corrective dynamic security measures have been developed from
numerous off-line simulations. Transfer limits are determined by selecting extreme system
conditions and simulating critical contingencies. The limits derived are conservative, since they
are based on extreme system conditions.
Recently, on-line dynamic security assessment tools have been developed [5-17,5-19,5-21] a
few of which have found their way to real system implementation [5-13,5-6,5-7]. These tools
differ in the methodology but they share the same concepts and fundamental blocks. This chapter
describes on-line dynamic security assessment methods as part of the remedial stability control
determination, and describes in detail its different components. Transient security assessment for
arming of generation tripping stability control is described. Stability control is made adaptive
based on the on-line security assessment.
5.1
On-Line Transient Stability Assessment Design
An on-line DSA tool should meet the following requirements:

Reliability. Both the hardware and software of on-line DSA should perform reliably under all
feasible system operating conditions.

Accuracy. The accuracy of DSA is of ultimate importance to ensure the dynamic security of a
power system. In particular, it should accommodate detailed models for system components,
as well as for disturbances that may include autoreclosures and other complex switching
actions. The general trend is that on-line DSA should give comparable results with the best
off-line study tools for a given system model.

Performance. The processing speed of DSA is often critical in meeting the requirements for
on-line real-time or near real-time operations. In order to achieve the best computation speed,
advanced techniques in software and hardware design must be used. Other performance
requirements for DSA include flexibility in data input/output and good user interface.

As described in the following subsections, on-line dynamic security assessment consists of the
following four elements:

preprocessing

security assessment

post-processing

process control and integration

5.1.1 Preprocessing
The task of preprocessing includes static state estimation, housekeeping for base case
development, and contingency screening and ranking.
A major impediment to DSA for interarea stability problems in large interconnections is the
difficulty of state estimation to obtain the on-line power flow base case. For a particular control
center, the main difficulty is with the external network model. Considerable inter-utility data
exchange is required. There are other difficulties associated with measurement accuracy,
unbalance operation, network parameter uncertainty, etc. [5-24].
State estimation can be improved by high quality digital measurements from throughout the
interconnection. Synchronized positive sequence phasor measurements are valuable [5-22,5-25,
5-26]. Conceptually, with high quality bus voltage magnitude and angle measurements, bus
power flow states are known.
External network models for on-line DSA is obtained by selecting from a number of previously
stored dynamically reduced system models [5-1,5-2]. Alternatively dynamic reduction techniques
can be used in real-time to develop the external model. This will facilitate base case initialization
and helps maintain the base case within certain size limit so that the computation speed
requirements can be met.
In addition to power flow data, other data required for DSA may also need to be updated for a
new system snapshot. For instance, the settings of a PSS for a pumped storage generation unit
may need adjustment for the different modes of operation of the unit. The contingencies may also
need update when the network topology or system operation condition changes.
Its impossible to assess all the credible contingencies within the confines of available
computational resources and required response times. Therefore, the list of credible
contingencies has to be reduced to make it manageable by the security assessment module.
The contingency screening and ranking method could be based on transient energy functions
[5-1017], expert systems [5-2,5-8,5-30], neural networks [5-8,5-9], extended equal area criteria
[5-1720], or indices derived from energy properties or fast time domain simulations using
simplified models [5-6,5-7,5-10]. The common requirements of candidate contingency screening
and ranking methods are high speed and accuracy of the final results. While all these methods
can be used for contingency screening and ranking, the final limit computations should be done
using more accurate methods.
The performance of a contingency screening and ranking method can be evaluated in terms of its
misclassification. Misclassification consists of two components of False Alarm and False
Dismissal as described below.

False alarm: a stable contingency that is identified as an unstable one (critical one)

5-2

False Dismissal: an unstable contingency that is identified as a stable one (non-critical one)

An acceptable contingency screening and ranking method should have zero false dismissals and
a very low number of false alarms.
5.1.2 Security assessment
Detailed time domain simulation is the most reliable security assessment approach [5-17,5-19,
5-21]. Commercial-grade software is available that can normally be customized for a utilitys
required modeling and disturbances. This allows on-line security assessment with unlimited
modeling capabilities capable of handling a full-scaled power system.
Normally, DSA assesses transient stability of a power system, or the ability of the system to
maintain synchronism after a credible contingency. As power systems operate in more and more
stressed conditions, another form of angle stability, i.e., small-signal stability in the form of
sustained or growing oscillations in part or all of the system, may become critically restricting to
the system operating limits. This has already happened in some parts of the North American
interconnected power systems. The requirement to address this type of stability problem calls for
an efficient and reliable method to compute the critical mode of the system. This is still an area
with room for research. One approach based on the time domain simulation technique is to obtain
an estimate of the critical mode by post-processing simulation results. This is further described in
the following section.
5.1.3 Post-processing
Online implementation of time simulation requires a built-in intelligence for the following:

Assessing the system dynamic performance (stable, unstable).

Determining the degree of stability or instability (margin).

Determining the sensitivity of the margin to key variables (transfer limit and generation
tripping).

Determining the transfer limit or preplanned stability control actions (e.g., arming of
generator tripping).

In the following, several methods that have been used in the post-processing stage are described.
Second-kick method [5-2, 5-4]. The second kick method was based on energy concepts for
determining stability margin and other useful information from the simulations. It was inspired
by the hybrid method [5-3]. Although there are different implementation methods available for
this algorithm [5-5,5-29], the original concept [5-2] is described below.
Detailed time domain simulation is performed with calculation of potential energy, kinetic
energy and corrected kinetic energy. No modeling assumptions are made and no analytical
equation is used to calculate potential energy. The minimum of the corrected kinetic energy,
Kemin1 is identified, after the contingency. If the minimum is greater than zero (system
unstable), the margin is calculated from the value of the corrected kinetic energy at this point. If
the system is stable (corrected Kemin = 0), at Tkemin1, a second fault (second kick) which is
5-3

long enough to make the system unstable, is applied and simulation is continued until the second
minimum of kinetic energy, Kemin2, is obtained. This point also reflects the crossing of the
potential energy boundary surface (PEBS), as shown in Figure 5-1. The transient energy margin
is then calculated using the values of the corrected kinetic energy at the second minimum of
kinetic energy (Kemin2) and the value after the second fault recovery (Kerec2) taking into
account adjustments due to potential energy change during the second kick. Figure 5-1 shows the
system trajectory on the potential energy surface.
The basic idea here is that the kinetic energy injected into the system by the second kick minus
the value of the kinetic energy left in the system at the crest of potential energy hill, (PEBS
crossing) should give the transient energy margin. This value should be adjusted for the potential
energy change during the second kick. The transient energy margin, therefore is calculated by:
TEM = Kerec2- Kemin2 + Dpe
where Dpe is the change in potential energy during the second kick.

Fig. 5-1. Corrected kinetic variations.

Extended equal area criterion (EEAC) [5-17, 5-18]. The EEAC was developed based on the
fact that the loss of synchronism in a power system is always initiated from the splitting of the
system into the following two parts:

Critical cluster of generators (CCG)

Rest of the system

These methods have evolved in their developments through three major stages, each of which is
characterized by a special version of the method:

Static method
5-4

Dynamic method

Integrated method

The SIngle Machine Equivalent (SIME) method belongs to the last type [5-21].
The basic difference among these versions is the number of Critical Cluster Center of Inertia
(CCCOI) transformations that are performed to obtain the parametric One-Machine Infinite Bus
(OMIB) system. The static method does only one static transformation and therefore its accuracy
is usually not satisfactory. The dynamic method improves the accuracy by using several
transformations. This is achieved by simplifying power system modeling, and by using the
Taylor-series expansion technique to obtain the approximate trajectory of the system. In the
integrated method, the transformation is integrated with the detailed time-domain simulations.
Thus, no modeling compromise is required and the stability index so computed is very accurate.
Figure 5-2 shows the principle of the integrated EEAC. System snapshots are taken from the
conventional time-domain simulation results (Figure 5-2 (a)) and for each snapshot a CCCOI
transformation is performed to obtain the parametric OMIB system trajectory (Figure 5-2 (b)).
The stability index of the system can then be defined as
A dec A inc

If the system is stable ( A dec > A inc )

100
A dec
=
A A inc
100 dec
If the system is unstable ( A inc > A dec )

A inc

Thus, -100 100, and

0 if the system is unstable
> 0 if the system is stable
The computation of this index requires a straightforward implementation of the integrated
method on top of the time-domain simulation engine. As described earlier, such an index is not
subject to any modeling restrictions and it is also able to identify multi-swing stability problem.
In systems for which angle stability is the only concern to the dynamic security, the integrated
method implementation can be made to check the system status during the simulation. If the
system is found to be definitely stable or unstable prior to the end of the simulation, the
simulation is terminated. For all other cases a complete simulation is required. This is an area for
which more research is needed to equip this class of methods with more sophisticated early
termination techniques.

5-5

(a)

Multi-machine system trajectory

(Time-domain)

(b)

Parametric OMIB system trajectory

(Power-angle characteristic)

Pe
Pm
Adec
Ainc

Electric power
Mechanical power
Kinetic energy decreasing area
Kinetic energy increasing area

System snapshot

t
CCCOI transformation
P
Pe
Adec
Pm
Ainc

Fig. 5-2. Integrated EEAC.

Other methods to determine stability margin. Reference 5-6 defines a stability index using dot
products of generator rotor angles, speeds, and accelerating powers obtained from time-domain
simulations. The idea is based on the path of the post-fault system trajectory: the system is stable
if its trajectory swings back before reaching PEBS or unstable if its trajectory exits the
PEBS. A DSA system using this index has been developed and is now operational on-line.
Reference 5-7 describes an approach for establishing the required generator tripping. It uses one
time domain simulation and with the help of the generators angular swing and kinetic energy
estimates the required tripping. Using a conservative threshold, the authors have verified the
performance of the method on a developed prototype. The Transient Stability Control system
has been in service since June 1995, and has since been extended.
Reference 5-31 uses the signal energy obtained from time-domain simulations to define a
stability index. The authors successfully applied this index to determine the transient stability
transfer limit for the Hydro Quebec system.
Stability Limit Calculation: The final outcome of TSA are guidelines for system operation in
the form of pre-contingency transfer limits and generation tripping remedial action immediately
following a fault.
Several approaches have proposed to determine the power transfer limits, all of which make use
of the stability margin or index as a measure of system stability:

5-6

Sensitivity-based method [5-5,5-20].

Curve fitting method [5-6].

Binary and accelerated binary search method [5-31].

Figure 5-3 shows the application of the sensitivity-based method (in this case, the stability
margin obtain by the second kick approach is used). To find the power transfer limit and the
required generation tripping, sensitivity values are calculated for stability margin with respect to
generation tripping, or generation change in the case of power transfer limit calculations. These
analytical equations can only be used in the first step to calculate the conditions for the next one
and be abandoned afterwards. After the second run linear interpolation is used to obtain the
sensitivity values from the two previous stability margin calculations.

Energy Margin
Iteration 2

Iteration 0

0
200

100

Generation Rejection , MW
-1

Iteration 1

Fig. 5-3. Limit calculation using sensitivity factors.

Historically, utilities have established remedial action controls, e.g. units for generation
shedding, based on design limitations and experience. There seems to be a need for rigorous
methods which can establish the most effective remedial actions in real-time. Reference 5-28 has
moved in that direction by establishing the corrective actions necessary to stabilize all dangerous
contingencies simultaneously, while ensuring the maximum allowable transfer between areas.
Critical damping estimate: As mentioned earlier, an increasing concern on the angle stability of
power systems is the oscillation problems, and DSA needs to handle these problems. Reference
5-32 presents a method of estimating the damping of the critical mode (i.e., the least stable
mode) in a system by using the multi-channel Prony analysis. The advantage of this approach is
that it makes use of the time-domain simulation results with very small computational overhead.
The multi-channel Prony algorithm helps improve drastically the accuracy of the results as
compared with the commonly used single-channel analysis.
This method is illustrated in the following, using a system model consisting of 6139 buses and
798 generators. Figure 5-4 shows the simulation results for selected generator rotor angles for a
typical contingency. It can be seen that, although the system is transiently stable, sustained
oscillations exist. Its therefore important to identify the critical mode in order to assess the
security of the system.

5-7

Table 5-1 contains the critical mode identified using a four-channel Prony analysis algorithm. For
comparison, the results from the full eigen-value analysis and the conventional Prony analysis on
each individual channel are also shown in the table. The eigen-value analysis clearly shows the
critical mode at 0.79 Hz with almost zero damping; so does the four-channel Prony algorithm.
However, the results from individual generator rotor angles are apparently not reliable.

Generator angle (degrees)

150

100

50

-50

-100
0

Time in seconds
Fig. 5-4. Simulation results for the sample system.

Table 5-1: Critical mode comparison from different methods

Computation Method
Prony on rotor angle of generator A

Freq. (Hz)
0.71

Damping (%)
2.57

Prony on rotor angle of generator B

0.80

-3.20

Prony on rotor angle of generator C

0.62

-3.75

Prony on rotor angle of generator D

0.79

-3.11

Four-channel Prony on rotor angles of A, B, C, D

0.75

-0.58

Full eigen-value analysis

0.79

0.03

5.1.4 DSA performance enhancements

As an on-line application, the computation speed of DSA has been of critical importance to the
end users. As typical requirements, an on-line DSA system should be able to process hundreds of
contingencies for dozens of transactions within a 10 to 20 minutes cycle. Further complicating
the matter is the tendency that utilities are using larger and larger base case models in their EMS.
It is inevitable that on-line DSA systems have to work with EMS models of 5,000 to 10,000

5-8

buses and up to 1,000 generators. Thus, techniques that speed up DSA performance need to be
developed and deployed in order to meet the requirements.
Among the techniques that aim at improving DSA performances, the following are noteworthy:

Development of better contingency screening method. Any fast contingency screening

method that can reduce the false alarm rate while maintaining zero false dismissals can
drastically reduce the computation time needed for detailed analysis of the critical
contingencies.

Enhancement of Early termination techniques. When using time-domain simulations for

detailed analysis of the critical contingencies, its desirable to terminate the simulation as
soon as the stability of the system can be identified using a stability index.

Parallel or distributed computations. This is the classical method of improving the speed of
simulations. Since DSA involves multi-transaction, multi-contingency simulations, parallel
or distributed simulations for transactions or contingencies can be easily achieved.

5.2
Other Integration of DSA and Stability Controls
The previous section described DSA methods where the output is used for stability control
adaptationnamely, arming of the correct number of generating units for tripping. This can be
thought of as very slow, outer-loop adaptive supervisory control.
Another potential use of DSA in advanced stability control is pattern recognition based control
where DSA provides the database. This is described in Chapter 4.
Other synergism is possible between DSA and stability controls. High quality digital
measurements can both improve state estimation as described above, and be used for direct
monitoring and stability control. Synchronized positive sequence phasor measurements are one
type of digital measurements. Phasor measurements may be sufficiently related to dynamic states
such as rotor angles and speeds to be useful for stability control; see discussion in 4.3. In
addition, fast digital measurements support stability control development, commissioning, and
monitoring as discussed in Chapter 2.
Another application of DSA for stability controls using measurements is found in reference [527]. In this work, the real-time transient stability emergency controls are derived by feeding the
Single-Machine Equivalent method [SIME] with real-time measurements taken at the power
plants to control the system transient stability in real-time and in a closed-loop fashion. The main
steps of this approach are the prediction (say, 150 to 200 ms ahead) of the transient stability
status of a system after a fault occurrence and its clearance by protective relays and its degree of
instability if instability is detected. In the latter case, the amount of generation tripping required
to compensate for this margin is assessed and the system status after the corrective action has
been triggered is monitored to establish whether this action is sufficient or additional remedial
action is required.
Complementing the computer-based contingency analysis described in the previous section,
monitor-based DSA is valuable for both system operators, and for stability control analysts and
developers [5-23].

5-9

References
5-1
K. Demaree, T. Athay, K. Cheung, Y. Mansour, E. Vaahedi, A. Chang, and B. Corns,
An On-line Dynamic Security Analysis System Implementation, IEEE Transactions on
Power Systems, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 17161722, November 1994.
5-2

Y. Mansour, E. Vaahedi, A. Chang, B. Corns, B. Garrett, K. Demaree, T. Athay, and K.

Cheung, B.C. Hydros On-line Transient Stability Assessment (TSA) Model
Development, Analysis, and Post-processing, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems,
Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 241253, February 1995.

5-3

G. A. Maria, C. Tang, and J. Kim, Hybrid Transient Stability Analysis, IEEE

Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 384393, May 1990.

5-4

C. K. Tang, C. E. Graham, M. El-Kady, and R. T. H. Alden, Transient Stability Index

from Conventional Time Domain Simulation, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, pp.
15241530, August 1994.

5-5

E. Vaahedi, Y. Mansour, and Y. Tse, A General Purpose Online Dynamic Security

Assessment Method, presented at the IEEE Summer Meeting, July 1997, Berlin,
Germany.

5-6

G. C. Ejebe, C. Jing, J. G. Waight, V. Vittal, G. Pieper, F. Jamshidian, D. Sobajic, and P.

Hirsch, On-line Dynamic Security Assessment: Transient Energy Based Screening and
Monitoring for Stability Limits, EPRI Workshop on DSA/VSA, October 910, Palo
Alto.

5-7

H. Ota, Y. Kitayama, H. Ito, K. Omata, K. Morita, and Y. Kokaki, Development of

Transient Stability Control System (TSC) Based on On-line Stability Calculations, IEEE
Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 14631472, August 1996.

5-8

A. B. R. Kumar, V. Brandwajan, and A. Ipakchi, Power System Dynamic Security

Assessment Using Artificial Intelligence Systems, EPRI Final Report, RP3103-02, April
1994.

5-9

Y. Mansour, E. Vaahedi, A. Chang, B. Corns, J. Tamby, and M. A. El-Sharkawi, Large

Scale Dynamic Security Screening and Ranking Using Neural Networks, IEEE
Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp.954962, May 1997.

5-10

S. Mokhtari, Analytical Methods for Contingency Selection and Ranking for Dynamic
Security Assessment, EPRI Final Report, RP3103-03, May 94.

5-11

T. Athay, R. Podmore, and S. Virmani, A Practical Method for Direct Analysis of

Transient Stability, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. PAS-98, No. 2, pp. 573
584, March/April1979.

5-12

M. A. Pai, Energy Function Analysis for Power System Stability, Kluwer Academic
Publishers, 1989.

5-13

A. Fouad and V. Vittal, Power System Transient Stability Analysis Using Transient
Energy Function Method, Prentice Hall, 1990.

5-10

5-14

W. W. Price, Rapid Analysis of Transient Stability, IEEE Report No: 87TH0169-3PWR, September 1987.

5-15

H. Chiang, C. Chu, and G. Cauley, Direct Stability Analysis of Electric Power Systems
Using Energy Functions: Theory, Applications, and Prospective, Proceedings of IEEE,
Vol. 83, No. 11, pp. 14971529, November 1995.

5-16

P. Baratella, B. Cova, M. Damonte, E. Gaglioti, R. Marconato, P. Scarpellini, Fast

Simulation of Power System Dynamic in General-purpose Simulator, Control
Engineering Practice, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 123129, 1997.

5-17

A. Rahimi and G. Schaffer, Power System Transient Stability Index for On-line Analysis
of Worst -Case Dynamic Contingencies, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol.
PWRS-2, No.3, pp. 660668, August 1987.

5-18

Y. Xue and M. Pavella, Extended Equal-Area Criterion: An Analytical Ultra-fast

Method for Transient Stability Assessment and Preventive Control of Power Systems,
International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 131
149, 1989.

5-19

Y. Xue, Y. Yu, J. Li, Z. Gao, C. Ding, F. Xue, L. Wang, G. K. Morison, and P. Kundur,
A New Tool for Dynamic Security Assessment of Power Systems, IFAC/CIGRE
Symposium on Control of Power Systems and Power Plants, Beijing, China, pp. 604609,
1997 and also appeared in Control Engineering Practice, Vol. 6, pp. 15111516, 1998.

5-20

L. Wang, X. Wang, K. Morison, P. Kundur, F. Xue, C. Ding, Y. Luo, and Y. Xue,

Quantitative Search of Transient Stability Limits Using EEAC, to be published in IEEE
special publication on Techniques for Transient Stability Limit Searches.

5-21

Y. Zhang, L. Wehenkel, P. Rousseaux, and M. Pavella, SIME : A Hybrid Approach to

Fast Transient Stability Assessment and Contingency Selection, EPES, Vol. 19, No. 3,
pp. 195208, 1997.

5-22

I. W. Slutsker, S. Mokhtari, L. A. Jaques, J. M. Gonzalez Provost, M. B. Perez, J. B.

Sierra, F. G. Gonzalez, and J. M. M. Figueroa, Implementation of Phasor Measurements
in State Estimator at Sevillana de Electricidad, IEEE/PES Power Industry Computer
Applications Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 712, 1995.

5-23

J. Hauer, D. Trudnowski, G. Rogers, W. Mittelstadt, W. Litzenberger, and J. Johnson,

Keeping an Eye on Power System Dynamics, IEEE Computer Applications in Power,
Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 2630, January 1997.

5-24

M. M. Adibi and R. J. Kafka, Minimization of Uncertainties in Analog Measurements

for Use in State Estimation, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. 5, No.3, pp.
902910, August 1990.

5-25

A. G. Phadke, J. S. Thorp, and K. J. Karimi, State Estimation with Phasor

Measurement, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. PWRS-1, No. 1, pp. 233
241, February 1986.

5-11

5-26

J. S. Thorp, A. G. Phadke, and K. J. Karimi, Real Time Voltage-Phasor Measurements

for Static State Estimation, IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol.
PAS-104, No. 11, pp. 30983106, November 1985.

5-27

Y. Zhang, L. Wehenkel and M. Pavella, A Method for Real-Time Transient Stability

Emergency Control, Proc. of CPSPP97, IFAC/CIGRE Symp. on Control of Power
Systems and Power Plants, Beijing, China, pp. 673678, August 1997.

5-28

A. L. Bettiol, L. Wehenkel and M. Pavella, Transient Stability-Constrained Maximum

Allowable Transfer, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 654659,
May 1999.

5-29

K. W. Cheung, A New Hybrid Method for On-line Dynamic Security Assessment,

IFAC Control Engineering Practice, 6 (1998), pp. 13731380.

5-30

K. W. Cheung, R. Paliza, T. K. Ma, T. Athay, J. Zuk, An Expert System Guided On-line

Dynamic Security Assessment System, Proceeding of International Conference on
Intelligent System Application to Power Systems (ISAP94), Montpellier, France, pp. 263
270.

5-31

R. Marceau, M. Siraogue, S. Soumare, and X. D. Do, Signal Energy Search Strategies

for Transient Stability Transfer Limit Determination, to be published in IEEE special
publication on Techniques for Transient Stability Limit Searches.

5-32

M. Gibbard, N. Martins, J. J. Sanchez-Gasca, N. Uchida, V. Vittal, L. Wang, Recent

Applications Of Linear Analysis Techniques, presented at the panel session at the 1998
IEEE/PES Summer Meeting in San Diego.

5-12

Chapter 6

Measurement and Communication Technology

A stability controller addressing global objectives needs a reliable source of global
information. Local signals may prove inadequate for this, even when reinforced by
extensive modeling studies. Fortunately, not all remote signals are equally vital to
controller performance, or equally difficult to transmit reliably.
Its useful to distinguish among:

Modulation signals used to directly shape the controller output, u(t)

System status flags used in

rule-based control laws (e.g., parameter scheduling)

coordination with other controls

remote controller supervision

Secondary response signals for

-

direct testing of power system dynamics and controller effects

local monitoring of controller performance

alternate or supplemental modulation signals

Requiring that all modulation signals be local can make controller siting a difficult
robustness issue [6-1,6-2]. There are many aspects of the controller environment which
cannot be predicted from model studies, and which may not be measurable until the
controller itself is available for system dynamics testing. Providing the controller (and the
control engineer) an ample reserve of directly measured dynamic information can
increase controller performance and robustness.
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), through long involvement in stability
control projects, has conducted numerous measurements of system dynamics [6-38].
This has produced many examples of apparently anomalous system behavior. Most have
been attributable to the power system itself. Some, however, may have involved false
outputs from the transducers being used, or from the sensors (instrument transformers)
that provide inputs to those transducers. Other likely sources include communication
channels and secondary control loops, especially those in which modulation or sampling
processes can translate signal components from one frequency to another.
False measurements will, at best, produce an erroneous view of the power system. This
can readily lead to inappropriate engineering or operational decisions. The situation is
more serious when false measurements enter the modulation loop of a major control
system (Figure 6-1). Its likely that any extraneous signals emitting from the transducer
will be amplified by the actuator and re-injected into the power system. This is, at best, a
source of undesirable noise disturbances. Its also a potential path for disruptive
interactions between the actuator and dynamic processes other than those targeted for

control. The trend toward fast power electronic actuators, together with more aggressive
control objectives, have sharply increased the risks in this respect.
external inputs u E (t)

unmeasured response y(t)

POWER

load noise u L (t)

measured response y(t)

SYSTEM

input u(t)

nonlinear
interactions

extraneous
signals

Sensors
&
Transducers

measurement
noise u m (t)

linear response u(t)

~
nonlinear response u(t)

ACTUATOR

actuator noise u (t )

^
command u(t)

CONTROL
LAW

controller input y

m (t)

Fig. 6-1. Transducer effects in a closed loop controller.

Most stability controls seek to influence generator swing activity, or else the voltage
support that the generators provide to the transmission network. The dynamics under
control rarely occur at bandwidths above 2 Hz. The actuator, and the control law driving
it, may very well have bandwidths higher than this. HVDC links and SVCs, for example,
may have controllable responses up to 2025 Hz. This encourages the use of high
speed transducers with bandwidths in this same frequency range, to obtain full actuator
performance. It also mandates the use of such transducers in monitoring of controller
performance.
The vast majority of the transducers now in service are analog devices with bandwidths
in the range of 1 to 2 Hz. Advanced designs can achieve bandwidths approaching 30 Hz,
in principal at least. Enhanced analog transducers used at the BPA have a bandwidth of
20 Hz.
Field experience suggests that the interpretation and use of outputs from these or any
other transducers should be approached carefully. Transducers of all types may be subject
to aliasing effects that might, for example, permit mechanical or network resonances to
mimic swing dynamics. Increasing transducer bandwidth also increases the likelihood
that such effects will be present in the transducer output. Table 6-1, based in part from
reference 6-11, indicates that there are many candidate sources for extraneous transducer
outputs.
Desired characteristics for next-generation transducers include:

Rigorous protection against out-of-band input signals.

Absence of processing artifacts, such as spurious outputs.

Programmable outputs, for versatility of application.

6-2

High resolution and bandwidth, in control applications.

Assured high accuracy, in metering applications.

Good networking options, both local and wide area.

Option for synchronizing measurements against a precise external reference.

Overall affordability, considering all cost elements.

Such transducers will almost certainly require digital technology.

Table 6-1.Extraneous dynamics in the transducer environment
Dynamic Activity

Frequency Range -Hz

Torsional oscillations
Transient torques
Turbine blade vibrations
Fast bus transfer
Controller interactions
Harmonic interactions and resonances
Ferroresonance
Network resonances

5 120
5 50
80 250
1 1000
10 30
60 600
1 1000
10 300

6.1
Introduction to Transducers
For our immediate purposes a transducer is a signal processing device that translates
instantaneous point on wave current and voltage signals into averaged measures of
electrical behavior. Chief among these are rms (root mean square) voltage, rms current,
rms power, waveform frequency, and relative angles for voltage and current. Suitable
choices among these measuresand for the averaging times used in calculating them
are determined by the information that is needed. Reference 6-12 provides an overview of
standard transducer types.
Existing transducer technology reflects a broad range of information needs. The slow end
of the spectrum is occupied by revenue meters, which sacrifice dynamic response for
high reliability and accuracy. At the other extreme, a digital relay is designed to detect
and assess dynamic events with no more accuracy than reliability demands. Transducers
for stability control occupy a broad middle range, contingent upon the:

Kind of dynamic process to be stabilized. Possibilities include

-

local swing modes (with modulation on individual generators)

interarea swing modes (with modulation on HVDC or FACTS device)

voltage dynamics

Role of the transducer in the control process. Possibilities include

-

modulation signal for feedback control

6-3

monitoring of power system conditions and behavior

- monitoring of controller activity, especially anomalous interactions

The transducer for a feedback modulation system would, by choice, be equipped with
internal and external filters protecting the feedback loop from interactions with
extraneous dynamics. By contrast, a transducer for monitoring controller performance
should be capable of detecting such extraneous dynamic activity. It would probably be
more lightly filtered, and it might have a bandwidth approaching 25 or 30 Hz. If
interactions are sensed at such frequencies it is highly desirable that direct waveform
recordings be made on a local digital fault recorder (DFR) or similar device. Figure 6-2
provides an example of current waveforms under moderately disturbed conditions [6-13].

A Phase

B Phase

C Phase

Fig. 6-2. Measured current at Olinda substation for COTP Test Fault #3 (1715 h on
03/23/93).
Malin-Round Mountain #1 MW : PG&E Malin Sum MW : PG&E Olinda MW
150

100

50

-50

-100

Malin-Round Mtn1 MW swing

PG&E Malin Sum MW/2

-150

-200
168

PG&E Olinda MW

170

172

174

176

178

Time in Seconds

Fig. 6-3. Time response of Malin area transducers, insertion of Chief Joseph dynamic
brake on August 10, 1996.

6-4

Figures 6-3 through 6-5 indicate the relative performance of three kinds of transducers, as
observed through the microwave channels that communicate their outputs to BPAs
control center. All three transducers measure components of the real power export to
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on the California Oregon Interconnection, or COI. The
signal for Malin Round Mountain circuit 1 is taken from an enhanced analog transducer
that has a bandwidth of 1214 Hz, and that communicates on a 20 Hz channel. At the
other extreme, the transducer for the PG&E Olinda exchange is a conventional analog
transducer communicating through a low-bandwidth channel (probably 1.5 Hz or lower).
Differences among the signals in Figure 6-3 are almost entirely due to the
instrumentation. Ignoring transducer/channel dynamics, the PG&E Malin signal should
be very close to twice that for Malin Round Mountain circuit 1, and the PG&E Olinda
signal should be very similar except for magnitude. It is apparent that much of the
waveform detail is not tracked very well by the slower instrumentation, and that the
waveforms also exhibit appreciable delays.
Quantitative measures of relative response can be obtained by correlating the transducer
signals against one another. Figure 6-4, based upon ambient noise outputs, compares the
slowest signal against the fastest. Since the fast transducer has a much higher bandwidth
(e.g., its response is nearly flat to well past 1 Hz), it appears that the much slow Olinda
transducer has a -3 dB bandwidth near 0.9 Hz. Its relative time delay, evident in the linear
phase characteristic which produces a lag of 180 degrees near 0.85 Hz, can be estimated
as (180)/(360*0.85) = 0.59 second. This value is consistent with Figure 6-3, but more
accurate than what would be obtained by direct inspection.
PG&E Olinda MW relative to Malin-Round Mountain #1 MW
180
0

TF Gain in dB

-10

60

PHASE

0
-20
-60

-30

TF Phase in Degrees

90

-3 dB

-90

GAIN

-180
-40
0

1
Frequency in Hertz

Fig. 6-4. Olinda transducer response relative to Malin transducer.

These differences in bandwidth and transient performance are not always evident, or
major handicaps, in other forms of analysis. Figure 6-5 shows that all three transducer
signals produce useful and consistent spectral characterizations for important WSCC
swing modes up to perhaps 1.4 Hz. Amplitude differences for the spectral peaks can be
corrected through knowledge of the transducer filtering and channel response, as can
6-5

some of the phase and timing differences. Such corrections add considerably to
computational demands and staff workload, however, and they are rarely possible in an
on-line environment. Its better to avoid them through use of quality instrumentation.
Malin-Round Mountain #1 MW : PG&E Malin Sum MW : PG&E Olinda MW
10
Malin-Round Mtn1 MW swing
PG&E Malin Sum MW/2

Autospectra in dB

PG&E Olinda MW

-10

-20

-30

1
Frequency in Hertz

Fig. 6-5. Ambient noise autospectra for Malin area transducers

6.2
The Signal Environment for Power System Transducers
A power system transducer is intended to extract information that has been impressed
upon a set of fundamental-frequency (e.g., 60 Hz) carriers by a combination of amplitude
modulation and frequency modulation. In the simplest cases the transducer will have just
one input. At the other extreme, a rms transducer for real or reactive power may have as
many as 3 voltage and 3 current signals as its inputs. There is no assurance that their
underlying 3-phase carriers will be balanced, even during steady operation. For this and
other reasons, determining the physical significance of system activity may necessitate
decomposition of the signals into symmetrical components plus accessory filtering
specific to their application.
The input signals may also contain components produced by mechanisms other than
modulation of the fundamental frequency carriers (Figure 6-6). These include:

modulated harmonics of 60 Hz

extraneous carriers (not necessarily at harmonics of 60 Hz)

modulated extraneous carriers

additive transients.

Reference 6-11 surveys physical sources for such extraneous components.

6-6

other modulation
(shafts, saturation, etc)

other carriers
(harmonics, etc)
multiplier

fundamental modulation
(generator swings, controls, etc)

fundamental carrier

(60 Hz)
multiplier

RMS
Transducer

Response
to Inputs
Processing
Artifacts

additive signals
(LC resonances, etc)

Fig. 6-6. Signal environment for a power system transducer.

The most likely sources of frequency aliasing seem to be amplitude modulation, system
frequency offsets, and digital decimation. Amplitude modulation can affect both analog
and digital transducers. The governing relations are simple:
sin(x) sin(y) = 2 [cos(x y) cos(x + y)]
1

1
2

sin(x) cos(y) = [sin(x y) + sin(x + y)]

(6.1A)
(6.1B)

The following examples show some consequences of these relations (see also Appendix
D):
a) 1 Hz modulation of a 60 Hz carrier produces waveform components at 601 Hz (i.e.,
at 59 Hz and at 61 Hz).
b) Re-modulation of the above waveform produces components at 1 Hz and at 1201
Hz. Then the original modulation can be recovered by lowpass filtering.
c) 30 Hz modulation of a 60 Hz carrier produces waveform components at 30 Hz and at
90 Hz.
d) 30 Hz modulation of a 120 Hz carrier produces waveform components at 90 Hz and
at 150 Hz (overlapping case c).
e) Squaring any of the above waveforms produces terms at 0 Hz.
This provides a number of ways in which a signal might enter a transducer at one
frequency and be shifted to another. Those based upon amplitude modulation are
discussed more thoroughly in reference 6-14. Sampling effects in digital transducers
considerably expand the possibilities for frequency aliasing.
Field observations confirm that transducers operate in a very demanding signal
environment. On April 24, 1996, direct measurements were performed on enhanced
transducers at BPAs Slatt substation [6-15]. Figures 6-7 through 6-9 show a sequence of
autospectra for A-phase current, as determined with a Scientific Atlanta SD390 4-channel
dynamic signal analyzer. Related theory is available in [6-1618]. In Figure 6-7 the peaks

6-7

near 28 Hz and 92 Hz are probably associated with a modulating source at 32 Hz (very

likely a generator shaft). These spectra are in close agreement with MATLAB analysis of
signals extracted from the BEN 5000 digital fault recorder at Slatt, and voltage spectra
were similarly complex. Corresponding transducer spectra are shown in a later section.
Figure 6-10 extends the observations made at Slatt substation. The spectrum in this figure
was obtained at Big Eddy substation, which is directly connected to the Celilo converter
of the Pacific HVDC Intertie (PDCI). The PDCI was deliberately operated in a high
harmonic configuration in order to test transducer performance [6-19]. The numerous
spectral peaks, many not at integer harmonics of the 60 Hz power frequency, further
indicate just how harsh the transducer operating environment can be.
0
A-phase current
Slatt substation, 04/24/96

-20

-60

-80

91.94 Hz

28.00 Hz

Amplitude in dB

100 Hz processing
-40

-100

-120
0

25

50

75

100

Frequency in Hertz

Fig. 6-7. Autospectrum for A-phase current. Slatt Substation, 04/24/96.

0
A-phase current

Amplitude in dB

-20

Slatt substation, 04/24/96

500 Hz processing

-40

-60

-80

-100

-120
0

100

200

300

400

Frequency in Hertz

Fig. 6-8. Autospectrum for A-phase current. Slatt Substation, 04/24/96.

6-8

500

0
A-phase current
-20

Slatt substation, 04/24/96

Amplitude in dB

2000 Hz processing
-40

-60

-80

-100

-120
0

10

20

30

Frequency in Multiples of 60 Hertz

Fig. 6-9. Autospectrum for A-phase current. Slatt Substation, 04/24/96.

Fr equency in Hert z

Fig. 6-10. Autospectrum for A-phase current, HVDC controls in high harmonic
configuration. Big Eddy Substation, 10/25/96.
Figures 6-11 and 6-12, showing frequency records for individual islands formed during
WSCC breakups in 1994, indicate that protracted operation at anomalous frequencies is
another challenge to transducer performance. In the case of Figure 6-11 the island
frequency remains below 59.9 Hz for roughly 25 minutes. Its possible that transducers
not designed for such operation would experience filtering or timing problems under such
conditions, and produce spurious outputs.

6-9

60.5

60.274

FREQUENCY IN HZ

60.108
60.0

59.5

59.221
Dittmer PPSM #1
59.0
0

10

20

30

TIME IN MINUTES

Fig. 6-11. BPA system frequency following Los Angeles earthquake of January 17, 1994
(BPA control center, Vancouver, Washington).
60.3

Kyrene substation, Phoenix AZ

FREQUENCY IN HERTZ

60.2

60.1

60.0

59.9

59.8

59.7

59.6
0

10

20

30

40

50

TIME IN MINUTES

Fig. 6-12. Phoenix, Arizona area system frequency following WSCC breakup of
December 14, 1994.
6.3
Signal Processing in Power System Transducers
Let v(t) and i(t) denote the instantaneous voltage and current signals that are processed
within a particular transducer. We will consider a transducer to be of analog type if all of
its output signals are analog, but digital if some or all of its outputs are in the form of
multi-level digital data.
Transducers can be categorized, a bit cavalierly, into:

Algebraic or point on wave transducers that perform simple calculations upon

v(t) and i(t).

6-10

Phasor transducers that project v(t) and i(t) onto reference waveforms, thereby
generating associated voltage and current phasors that are used in all further
calculations (see Figure 6-13).
Cosine Reference
V=|V|
= V r + jV i

(pol ar f or m)
(rectrangular form)

Vi

Vr

Sine Reference

Fig. 6-13. Phasor determination via projections.

The associated logic can be organized in many different ways, and specific hardware
products may well contain some for each category. Whereas algebraic transducers may
be either analog or digital, contemporary phasor transducers appear to be entirely digital.
The processing in Figure 6-14 is representative of modern analog transducers that BPA
uses to measure real and reactive power. The voltage input width modulates a train of
square pulses, which is then amplitude modulated by the current signal. The two kinds of
modulation, PWM followed by AM, constitute an analog multiplier circuit and yield a
signal that is pulse-ratio modulated (PRM). Filtering requirements are greatly reduced by
first combining the PRM signals for all three phases.

Vin

Iin

INPUT
ISOLATION

INPUT
ISOLATION

TRIANGULAR
WAVE
GENERATOR

COMPARATOR
CIRCUIT

AMPLITUDE
FILTER
MODULATOR

OUTPUT
ISOLATION

Prms

Fig. 6-14. General architecture for a pulse ratio modulation (PRM) megawatt transducer.

6-11

current signals

voltage signals

PROTECTIVE
INTERFACE

PRECONVERSION
FILTERS

A/D
CONVERTER

(*Grey shading indicates optional element)

POSTCONVERSION
FILTERS

*
INPUT
DECIMATION

GUARD

RMS

FILTERS

CALCULATIONS

PREDECIMATION
FILTERS #2

OUTPUT
DECIMATION

rms outputs

Fig. 6-15. General architecture for an algebraic digital transducer.

voltage signals

current signals

Figure 6-15 represents the functional organization (showing just one phase) for an
algebraic digital transducer. This is extended in Figure 6-16, which is broadly
representative of digital transducers based upon phasor calculations. The structure
provides several points where bus frequency can be estimated, and it permits use of this
estimate to adjust the reference signals upon which voltage and current signals are
projected.

(*Grey shading indicates optional element)

PROTECTIVE
INTERFACE

PRECONVERSION
FILTERS

BUS FREQUENCY ESTIMATOR

frequency

A/D
CONVERTER
REFERENCE
POSTCONVERSION
FILTERS

SECONDARY
CALCULATIONS

SIGNALS

*
INPUT

GUARD

FOURIER

DECIMATION

FILTERS

FILTERS

SYMMETRICAL
COMPONENTS
LOGIC

PREDECIMATION
FILTERS #2

OUTPUT
DECIMATION

phasors

multiplier

Fig. 6-16. General architecture for a phasor transducer.

Among the other optional features in Figure 6-16, the guard filters warrant special
mention. While their function might actually be absorbed into the post-conversion or the
6-12

Fourier filtering, the appropriate settings may change with the application. This is
particularly likely in high performance stability control, where both the control law and
the monitoring equipment should be well protected against spurious activity.
The signal processing in a phasor transducer is directly based upon Fourier analysis, and
much the same as that used in a dynamic signal analyzer. See also Appendix E.
6.4
Criteria and Procedures for Evaluating Transducer Performance
Distinctions are made here between the following kinds of transducer performance:

metering performance. Emphasis upon precise measurements under normal system

conditions, network condition monitoring.

Small-signal dynamic performance. Emphasis upon feedback control and interactions

monitoring.

Large-signal dynamic performance. Emphasis upon remedial action (feedforward)

control, disturbance monitoring.

Technical performance factors in control applications are resolution, bandwidth, delay,

accuracy, noise, protection from aliasing, other filtering considerations, and transient
behavior. The proposed test procedures will focus upon small-signal dynamic
performance, which is critical in those applications having the greatest exposure to
parasitic interactions.
Distinctions are also made between kinds of information to be obtained from transducers
in a control environment. As illustrated in Figure 6-17, the output of a transducer that is
used to track large signal dynamics might also be low-pass filtered to display slow trends
and high-pass filtered to display small-signal activity. This assumes, of course, that signal
processing within the source transducer is fast enough to track large signal dynamics in
the first place.

POWER

measured response y(t)

SYSTEM
Transducer

Setpoint

slow trends

LowPass
Filter

Controls

Damping

small-signal

HighPass

Controls

activity

Filter

Emergency

large-signal

Controls

activity

Fig. 6.17. Allocation of transducer signals in power system control.

6-13

The criteria for evaluating transducers in control applications are necessarily different
from those used in static or slowly changing measurements. The following are
recommended as high priority performance targets in control applications:
a) Bandwidth: in the range of 1025 Hz, the higher the better.
b) Resolution and dynamic range: equivalent to 1416 bits.
c) Delay: must be essentially constant, not to exceed 3045 degrees within the primary
control band.
d) Carrier filtering (including harmonics): carrier effects will likely be visible to
sophisticated analysis, but must be outside the nominal bandwidth of the transducer
and small enough to remove through accessory filtering.
e) Harmonic modulation: information imposed upon power frequency harmonics above
the first must be outside the nominal bandwidth of the transducer, and small enough
to remove through accessory filtering.
f) Positive sequence response: transducers intended to respond just to positive sequence
activity should perform accordingly.
g) Off-frequency performance: the above criteria (af) should be met during sustained
ramps and offsets of system frequency.
h) Unbalanced operation: the above criteria (af) should be met during sustained
unbalances of three phase voltage and/or current.
The following are recommended as lower priority performance targets for control
applications:
i) Accuracy: something on the order of 0.5% of reading is usually sufficient.
j) Fixed offset: usually measured, and often removed by highpass filtering.
k) Drift: often removed by highpass filtering. If drift is substantial, it must not vary so
rapidly as to mimic power system activity.
l) Instrument noise: must not have strong peaks within the primary control band, and
must be small enough to remove through accessory filtering.
It should be noted that no criteria are recommended for discriminating between additive
signals on the power system (such as network resonances) and signals associated with
carrier modulation. Desirable as such a capability would be, its unlikely that existing
transducers can provide it.
Appendix F describes laboratory evaluation of transducers and Appendix G describes
field evaluation of transducers.
6.5
Transducer Modeling and Simulation
Laboratory tests and field examination of transducer performance have been reinforced
through the use of computer models. The general approach involves:

6-14

Use of SPICE computer software [6-21,6-22] to examine interface and circuit

performance.

Use of MATLAB computer software [6-23] to examine the generic signal processing

Models were developed for the (analog) PRM megawatt transducer of Figure 6-14, plus
digital megawatt transducers of both algebraic and phasor types (Figures 6-15 and 6-16).
The MATLAB codes permit direct changes to signal processing parameters, such as filter
type and settings, and they support a broad menu of test waveforms.
Appendix H provides results of transducer modeling and simulation, and related analysis.
6.6
Digital Transducers and Phasor Measurements
The chapter introduction listed desired characteristics for next-generation transducers.
This section assesses available products having potential for advanced stability control.
As the term is used here, the distinguishing characteristic of phasor technology and
phasor transducers is the explicit calculation of the phasors themselves. Apart from the
special values that phasors themselves may have in stability control, its clear that any
technology capable of calculating them is a good candidate for developing better
transducers. Its equally true that any well-filtered algebraic digital transducer can
probably be converted into a phasor transducer.
Its also apparent that that the desired class of transducers represents a functional
extension of the conventional technology, not just an improvement. A transducer that is
directly networkable, and that performs measurements in synchronization with some
precise global reference, can be neither developed nor evaluated without considering its
role in the overall measurement network. Also, by using the global reference in the
phasor projection, all phasors in the network provide consistent angle information. The
essential integrity of phasor processing, however, is valuable even when global phase
angles are not produced.
The WAMS project [6-10] assessed the several digital transducers.
Macrodyne Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) [6-2426,6-37]. Considered as an
individual device, this is a phasor transducer plus:

Optional synchronization against precise time references.

An evolving interface for direct local networking.

Local recording capabilities as a basic snapshot monitor.

General performance features of the PMU include:

An input sample rate of 12 samples per cycle (720 samples per second at 60 Hz) after
prefiltering, with 16 bit digitization. All sampling is referenced against nominal
system frequency, not actual.

Output sample rates of 30, 12, and 6 samples per second, user-selectable.

6-15

Voltage and current positive sequence phasors and bus frequency as standard outputs;
quantities such as rms power or apparent resistance must be calculated later.

The PMU is expressly designed to operate in wide-area networks. Operational details and
observed performance are described in [6-13,6-25,6-27,6-37].
7700 ION Programmable Transducer System, produced by Power Measurement Ltd.
(PML) [6-28]. The 7700 ION (Integrated Object Network) functions as a high bandwidth
algebraic digital transducer and, at a lower output rate, as an FFT-based harmonic
analyzer.
General performance features of the 7700 ION include:

Input sample rate of 128 samples per cycle (7680 samples per second) after
prefiltering, usually with 12 bit digitization. All sampling is referenced against a fast
running estimate of system frequency.

Output sample rates ranging to 60 samples per second, according to type and user
selection.

A very wide range of rms outputs, programmable by the user. Present logic provides
voltage and current phasors at low rates only, via the harmonic analysis and using a
local reference.

The ION 7700 is highly evolved for operation in local area networks, which include
central recording plus modem connections into wide area networks.
The Dynamic System Monitor (DSM), produced by Power Technologies Inc. (PTI) [629]. In this case phasor transducer logic is imbedded into a general purpose monitor.
General characteristics of the DSMs transducer include:

An input sample rate of 4 samples per cycle (nominally 240 samples per second) after
prefiltering, with 16 bit digitization. All sampling is referenced against a running
estimate of system frequency.

An output sample rate of 1 sample per cycle, which the user can decimate under
program control.

A very wide range of rms outputs, programmable by the user. Voltage and current
phasors can be obtained for the same global references that are accessed by the PMU.

The DSM is primarily designed to operate independently, but with modem connections
into wide area networks.

While new digital transducer technology is appearing on the market with increasing
frequency, the three devices above are well established in the field and thereby of special
interest. They are also different enough in their processing details to span a good range of
the basic possibilities. Evaluating these devicesor, more precisely, the technology
approaches that they representremains an ongoing process.

6-16

6.7
The Transducer as an Intelligent Electronic Device
We have shown that transducers and transducer logic take many different forms, and are
combined into products with different functionality combinations. In short, the term
transducer no longer has very explicit meaning when the base technology is digital.
The Macrodyne PMU is an outstanding case of this. Its a transducer for producing rms
signals, a simple monitor, and a building block for wide-area measurement networks. At
another extreme, it is not unusual for a modern excitation controller to contain transducer
logic within a digital control law. Similar logic, sometimes in optical form, is also
appearing in such mundane devices as electrical bushings and circuit breakers.
It can be misleading to call several different things transducers when the functionality
they offer are so diverse. Similar problems are encountered with power system monitors,
controllers, and even the sensors that provide signals to higher levels of the measurement
system. There is a useful trend now to just designate any such device as an intelligent
electronic device, or IED [6-28,6-30].
From this perspective a wide-area measurements network is an integrated structure of
IEDs, with sensing and transducing logic occupying the lower hierarchies. Selecting
IEDs with the right functionality combinations lies at the heart of the value engineering
process.
6.8
Role of Communication Channels in Wide-Area Control
A fully evolved stability controller for wide area dynamics requires access to signals of
the following kinds:

modulation signals used to directly shape the controller output u(t).

system status flags used in

rule-based control laws (e.g., parameter scheduling)

coordination with other controls

remote controller supervision

secondary response signals for

-

direct testing of power system dynamics and controller effects

local monitoring of controller performance

use as alternate or supplemental modulation signals

Signals are also required from the controller to operation centers, and perhaps to other
locations, where its status and performance are supervised and coordinated with those of
other controls.
The signals used as modulating inputs are the most demanding in terms of quality,
reliability, and security. These needs are most easily met if the signals are produced
locally to the controller site. Requiring this in advance, however, can make controller
siting a difficult robustness issue. There are many aspects of the controller environment

6-17

which cannot be predicted from model studies, and which may not be measurable until
the controller itself is available for system dynamics testing.
Channels for modulation signals can, superficially, be categorized as analog or digital.
For this discussion, an analog channel is one that accepts an analog signal as an input and
carries the signal in large part as a continuously varying analog signal. Analog channels
usually offer the advantages of high bandwidth relative to that of the measured signal,
minimal communication delay, and reasonable immunity to undetected tampering. They
also tend to be noisy, and maintenance intensive. Digital channels, by contrast, involve a
conversion of the signal to digital format and a commensurate increase in delay. They
also have a lower signal bandwidth for a given channel bandwidth but require less
channel calibration. The digital format also allows noise free data recovery and positive
verification of data integrity.
While digital channels do not experience noise in the same sense as analog channels,
they have a counterpart in occasional message loss. This calls for some kind of data
repair, analogous to noise filtering in analog technology. At present, digital
communications may also be more expensive than analog for the same bandwidth.
Modems, if present, introduce communication delays and expose the information system
to penetration by unauthorized persons.
At the very lowest level, all communication systems are analog in the sense that the
physical processes can assume an infinite number of states. At higher levels, digital
communications modulate analog processes between a finite number of states (often just
two states) that the detection logic is designed to recognize. Distortion and noise at the
analog level can produce errors in demodulation and, thereby, in communication of
digital data.
Traditional analog communications take an analog signal from a transducer and
transports it as a continuously present and continuously varying voltage, current, phase
shift, or frequency shift. There are no delays other than those produced by distance and
by filter effects. There are few artifacts in the information equivalent to the aliasing and
quantizing errors sometimes introduced in digital systems. Means for separating noise
components in the signal from the information are less effective, though, and it is more
difficult to detect dropouts. Channel gains and offsets directly enter the received signals,
so analog channels require frequent and precise calibration to maintain accuracy.
Modern communications frequently convert analog signals to digital quantities for long
distance transmission. The transport system can be as simple as a pair of wires or as
complex as multi stage exchange involving satellite, microwave, and fiber optic links.
This is largely transparent to the user. But, while this hybrid approach mitigates some of
the difficulties found in completely analog systems, it can also cause new problems
associated with digital elements of the overall system and with digital/analog interfaces.
Telephone systems are a case in point. Once entirely analog, they have been
progressively converted to digital technology, first at the backbone (long distance) level
and more recently at the local level. This mixture of technologies means that data
transmission over telecommunication systems may encounter one or more conversions
between analog and digital formats. The earliest modems transmitted digital signals on
6-18

analog links by shifting the phase or frequency of a tone that was detected as digital 0s
and 1s at the other end. There was no added communication delay other than the time
needed to assemble a set of binary digits into a word for processing. More sophisticated
coding has now been developed to make better use of the (analog) channel capacity. The
result is more digital capacity, but at the expense of increased processing delay. To
maintain the high data rate modems must train with each other to reduce errors. In
doing this they monitor communication errors and re-train if the errors increase unduly.
This can cause an unanticipated break in communication service. Breaks can also occur
through data re-transmission commanded by error detection logic.
Problems aside, the issue is not digital technology versus analog. Rather, the issue is how
to plan and manage the transition to digital technology. Appendix I describes utility
experience with older analog communication channels. The following section describes
utility experience, based upon observed performance of a phasor measurement system
spanning a broad region of the western North American power system.
6.9

Observed Performance of Digital Communications in the BPA Phasor

Measurement Network
This section shows the performance of digital communication channels within BPAs
phasor measurement network. All channels are frequency division multiplexed
microwave, owned and operated by BPA.
The performance data were obtained from test insertions of the Chief Joseph dynamic
brake on September 4, 1997 [6-27]. Five Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs)
communicated data to a Phasor Data Concentrator (PDC) located near the Dittmer
Control Center in Vancouver, Washington, USA (see Figure 6-18). The PDC was
developed by Ken Martin of BPA.
The PMU locations were Grand Coulee, John Day, Malin, Colstrip, and Sylmar.
The PMU at Sylmar belongs to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Each
PMU was configured to produce one positive sequence voltage phasor and four positive
sequence current phasors at a rate of 30 samples per second (sps).
The PDC data acquired for the test consists of 23 raw data files (45 megabytes) spanning
two recording intervals of roughly 80 minutes each. Most of these files contain
occasional outliers in the data. These usually represent data packets (messages) that
were lost in the digital communication system, or some brief loss of synchronism at
modem level. Accessory data from the PDC indicate these defective data precisely.
Figure 6-19 indicates that these outliers often tend to be conspicuous in the signals
themselves, as points very near zero. The signal, which extends across all of recording
interval #1, shows just 8 outliers among 144,000 rms power calculations. Its possible
that some of these represent defects in only the voltage or the current phasor, rather than
both.

6-19

GPS Synchronization
& Timing

DITTMER
CONTROL
CENTER

CANADA

PMU

GRAND
COULEE

PDC #1

PMU

COLSTRIP
PMU

JOHN DAY
PMU

MALIN

PMU

SYLMAR

jfh
MEXICO

HVDC Terminal

Fig. 6-18. Configuration of BPAs Phasor Measurement Network for brake test of
September 4, 1997.
For analysis, outliers near zero are easily patched through linear interpolation. The signal
in Figure 6-20 demonstrates that so elementary an approach is not always enough,
however. In this case the repair algorithm recognized a blank segment of 498 points
and performed a linear interpolation across it. It also recognized and repaired 5 later
points (near 4000 seconds), but it is not equipped to deal with the rather suspicious data
that lies between the two outlier segments that it did recognize. The source file for this
record shows similar defects in all data extracted from the Colstrip PMU within this
particular time frame.
Considerably more can be done to detect, flag, and (where possible) repair bad data at the
signal analysis level. However, most of this is better done at PDC level, or on the basis of
data validity tags produced by the PDC as accessory output. Effective standards and
mechanisms for this are required at both levels.
6-20

Raw Plot for Malin Round Mountain #1 MW

1400
Brake insertion #1
1200

1000

1 blank point
800
1 blank point
6 blank
points

600

400

Brake insertion #1, 09/04/97

Data collected on Dittmer PDC
sample rate = 30/second

200

0
0

50K

100K

150K

Time in Samples

Fig. 6-19. Raw data from PDC recording segment #1.

6000
patched data

Phasor Magnitude

linear
interpolation
Colstrip Broadview #1
raw PDC file = 09050425.MAT

4000
suspect
data

5 outliers
2000

blank data
(498 points)
0
0

2000

4000
Time in Seconds

6000

8000

Fig. 6-20. Partial repair of a PDC file with modem retraining.

For control, detection of bad data typically causes freezing of the signal at the last good
value. Sustained bad data may cause wide-area control suspension. Provisions for
(degraded) local control for communication failure is normally required.

6-21

6.10 Future Digital Communication for Stability Control

Power companies and telecommunication companies are rapidly installing long distance
fiber-optic communication. This is a very important development that greatly facilitates
wide-area stability control feasibility. Some designs are self-healing, with transfer to an
alternate path in 50120 ms for a failure.
BPA has several phasor measurement links employing modems and analog microwave,
and one link employing fiber optics. The measured modem/analog time delay (latency)
averaged about 70 ms. The measured fiber optic link time delay was about 21 ms,
corresponding to about 7 of a 1 Hz signal.
Other emerging communication techniques promise fiber optic like performance. One is
low earth orbit satellites [6-34] and possibly other wireless technology. Another is digital
communications over power lines. These techniques may make direct load control (e.g.,
heaters, air conditioners) for stability more practical. Direct load control is described in
the next chapter.
6.11 Optical Sensors
The transducers described above normally use the outputs of conventional instrument
transformers (magnetic current and voltage transformers, and capacitor voltage
transformers). Optical voltage and current sensors, however, are commercially available
from several manufacturers. Voltage and current sensors may be combined in a single
device. Field evaluations have been successful [6-35,6-36].
Optical sensors may be used with digital IEDs in the substations of the future.
The advantages of optical sensors are only indirectly related to use of digital transducers
for stability controls. Advantages include smaller device size and weight, elimination of
hazardous oil-filled transformers, electrical isolation, elimination of substation secondary
electrical cabling, elimination of instrument transformer burden limitations, wide
dynamic range, wide bandwidth, high accuracy, potentially lower cost, and compatibility
with digital technology.
Challenges are mainly economic, related to change out of existing instrument
transformers, compatibility with legacy electromechanical relays and meters, and the
volume production needed for cost reduction.
Acknowledgement: Much of the material in this chapter is based on findings of the
DOE/EPRI Wide Area Measurement Systems (WAMS) project [6-9,6-10]. Material is
reproduced here with the permission of BPA.
References
6-1
J. F. Hauer, Robust Damping Controls for Large Power Systems, IEEE Control
Systems Magazine, pp. 1219, January 1989.
6-2

CIGRE Task Force 38.01.07, Analysis and Control of Power System Oscillations.
CIGRE Brochure 111, December 1996.

6-22

6-3

J. F. Hauer, BPA Experience in the Measurement of Power System Dynamics,

Inter-Area Oscillations in Power Systems, IEEE Publication 95 TP 101, pp. 158
163, 1995.

6-4

J. F. Hauer and J. R. Hunt, in association with the WSCC System Oscillations

Work Groups, Extending the Realism of Planning Models for the Western North
America Power System, V Symposium of Specialists in Electric Operational and
Expansion Planning (V SEPOPE), Recife (PE) Brazil, May 1924, 1996.

6-5

J. F. Hauer, W. A. Mittelstadt, R. J. Piwko, B. L. Damsky, and J. D. Eden

Modulation and SSR Tests Performed on the BPA 500 kV Thyristor Controlled
Series Capacitor Unit at Slatt Substation, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems,
Vol. 11, pp. 801806, May 1996.

6-6

C. W. Taylor and D. C. Erickson, Recording and Analyzing the July 2 Cascading

Outage, IEEE Computer Applications in Power, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 2630,
January 1997.

6-7

J. F. Hauer, D. J. Trudnowski, G. J. Rogers, W. A. Mittelstadt, W. H.

Litzenberger, and J. M. Johnson, Keeping an Eye on Power System Dynamics,
IEEE Computer Applications in Power, pp. 5054, October 1997.

6-8

D. N. Kosterev, C. W. Taylor, and W. A. Mittelstadt, Model Validation for the

August 10, 1996 WSCC System Outage, IEEE/PES paper PE-226-PWRS-0-161997, to be published in IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.

6-9

W. A. Mittelstadt, P. E. Krause, P. N. Overholt, D. J. Sobajic, J. F. Hauer, R. E.

Wilson, and D. T. Rizy , The DOE Wide Area Measurement System (WAMS)
ProjectDemonstration of Dynamic Information Technology for the Future
Power System, EPRI Conference on the Future of Power Delivery, Washington,
D.C., April 911, 1996.

6-10

J. F. Hauer, W. A. Mittelstadt, W. H. Litzenberger, C. Clemans, D. Hamai, and P.

Overholt, Wide Area Measurements for Real-Time Control and Operation of
Large Electric Power Systems: Evaluation and Demonstration of Technology for
the New Power System. Report prepared for U.S. Department of Energy by
Bonneville Power Administration and Western Area Power Administration, April
1999. This report and attachments are available from BPA on compact disk.

6-11

M. R. Irvani, et al., Modeling and Analysis Guidelines for Slow Transients: Part
1 (Torsional Oscillations; Transient Torques, Turbine Blade Vibrations; Fast Bus
Transfer), IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 1950
1955, October 1995.

6-12

B. J. Hickman and J. F. Hauer, General Characteristics of Power System

Transducers, WAMS Working Note, December 20, 1995, attachment to
reference 6-10.

6-13

J. F. Hauer, Validation of Phasor Calculation in the Macrodyne PMU for

California-Oregon Transmission Project Tests of March 1993, IEEE
Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 12241231, July 1996.
6-23

6-14

J. F. Hauer, Signal Processing Aspects of Power System Transducers, WAMS

Working Note, June 18, 1996, attachment to reference 6-10.

6-15

J. F. Hauer, A Preliminary Report on Transducer Measurements Performed at

Slatt Substation on April 24, 1996, WAMS Working Note, June 5, 1996,
attachment to reference 6-10

6-16

E. O. Brigham, The Fast Fourier Transform and Its Applications, Englewood

Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1988.

6-17

J. S. Bendat and A. G. Piersol, Engineering Applications of Correlation and

Spectral Analysis, New York: John Wiley, 1980.

6-18

J. G. Proakis and D. G. Manolakis, Digital Signal ProcessingPrinciples,

Algorithms, and Applications (Second edition), New York: McMillan, 1992.

6-19

M. K. Donnelly, R. Bunch, J. Dagle, and B. Hickman, Performance of the PML

7700 ION Programmable Transducer System, as Tested at BPA's Big Eddy
Substation on October 25 1996, WAMS Working Note, March 12, 1997,
attachment to reference 6-10

6-20

J. F. Hauer, Nonintrusive Procedures for Measuring Dynamic Performance of

Enhanced Transducers at Slatt Substation, WAMS Working Note, December 7,
1995, attachment to reference 6-10

6-21

Thomas W. Thorpe, Computerized Circuit Analysis with SPICE, John Wiley &
Sons, 1992.

6-22

P. W. Tuinenga, SPICE, A Guide to Circuit Simulation & Analysis Using PSpice.

Third Edition, Prentice Hall, 1995.

6-23

MATLAB High-Performance Numeric Computation and Visualization Software

(Reference Guide), The Math Works, Inc., Natick, Mass., 1992.

6-24

A. G. Phadke, Synchronized Phasor Measurements in Power Systems, IEEE

Computer Applications on Power Systems, pp. 1015, April 1993.

6-25

R. E. Wilson, P. S. Sterlina, and B. W. Griess, GPS Synchronized Power System

Phase Angle Measurements Recorded During 500 kV Staged Fault Testing,
Third Virginia Tech Conference on Computers in Electric Power Engineering,
Arlington, VA, October 2729, 1993.

6-26

K. E. Martin, Phasor Measurements on the BPA Transmission System, BPA

Working Note, May 1997.

6-27

J. F. Hauer et al., Research Database from BPAs Phasor Measurement Network

for Test Insertions of the Chief Joseph Dynamic Brake on September 4, 1997,
WAMS Information Manager Working Note, March 3, 1998.

6-28

R. Carolsfeld, To Measure is to Control, Electrical Business, pp. 1415,

January 1997.

6-24

6-29

H. K. Clark, R. K. Gupta, C. Loutan, and D. R. Sutphin, Experience with

Dynamic System Monitors to Enhance System Stability Analysis, IEEE
Transactions on Power Systems, Vol. PWRS-7, pp. 693701, May 1992.

6-30

H. L. Smith, Substation Automation Problems and Possibilities, IEEE

Computer Applications in Power, Vol. 9. No. 4, pp. 3336, October 1996.

6-31

J. F. Hauer, et al., Research Database from BPAs PPSM Network for Test
Insertions of the Chief Joseph Dynamic Brake on September 4, 1997, WAMS
Information Manager Working Note, March 3, 1998, attachment to reference 610.

6-32

R. L. Cresap, D. N. Scott, W. A. Mittelstadt, and C. W. Taylor, Damping of

Pacific AC Intertie Oscillations via Modulation of the Parallel Pacific HVDC
Intertie, CIGRE 14-05, 1978.

6-33

R. L. Cresap, D. N. Scott, W. A. Mittelstadt, and C. W. Taylor, Operating

Experience with Modulation of the Pacific HVDC Intertie, IEEE Transactions
on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-98, pp. 10531059, July/August
1978.

6-34

B. Miller, Satellites Free the Mobile Phone, IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 35, No. 3,
March 1998 (http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/spectrum/mar98/features/leo.html).

6-35

J. Tillett, J. Pease, J. Hall, and D. Bradley, Experience with Optical PTs and CTs
for Relaying and Metering, Proceedings of Western Protective Relay
Conference, October 2325, Spokane, Washington USA.

6-36

D. Chatrefau, Application of Optical Sensors in Extra High Voltage

Substations, GEC Alsthom T&D Review, pp. 1724, 1/97.

6-37

K. Martin and R. Kwee, Phasor Measurement Unit Performance Tests,

Proceedings of Precise Measurements in Power Systems Conference, Arlington,
Virginia, November 810, 1995.

6-25

Chapter 7

Applications of Advanced Controls

This chapter gives examples of engineering projects where advanced control methods
have been used or studied. The first example is from Brazil where thyristor controlled
series compensation (TCSC) is used to damp interarea oscillations. Section 7.2 presents
the control analysis of a potential 500-kV TCSC installation in China. Section 7.3
explores how new distributed-measurement technology can be used to improve dynamic
and transient system stability. Section 7.4 describes active-load modulation to improve
stability. Section 7.5 presents energy source power system stabilizers.
7.1

Brazilian NorthSouth InterconnectionApplication of Thyristor

Controlled Series Compensation (TCSC) to Damp Interarea
Oscillation Mode
This example deals with a pioneer commercial application of TCSC to damp the low
frequency interarea oscillation mode in the Brazilian northsouth interconnection [7-1].
The northsouth interconnection connects Imperatriz substation (in the State of
Maranho) to Serra da Mesa (in the State of Gois). The interconnection is a single 500kV line and is 1,020 km long. The line is designed to transmit up to 1,300 MW, with
suitable operation required from no load up to maximum flow in both directions. The
interconnection was commissioned in early 1999 and reduces the risk of energy deficits.
A TCSC control system for transient and dynamic stability improvement was designed
and, together with extensive study results, formed the basis for the TCSC locations and
equipment specification. Use of two small TCSCs (6% compensation each) proved to be
very effective in damping the interarea mode, and eliminated the technical restriction on
the AC transmission alternative.
Main aspects. There are two main electric power systems in Brazil which were not
previously interconnected: the south/southeast (or south system) and the north/northeast
(or north system) systems. They are essentially hydroelectric systems and include more
than 95% of the total national production and consumption. The installed generation
capacity in South/Southeast and North/Northeast systems is about 48 GW and 14 GW,
respectively. See Figure 7-1.
Technical and economical feasibility of the interconnection was studied since 1992. The
NorthSouth Interconnection will exploit hydrologic diversity between the systems,
achieving energetic benefits estimated at about 600 MW-year. Power flows will occur in
both directions, depending on the actual hydrologic conditions.
Two transmission alternatives were considered and analyzed to establish the NorthSouth
Interconnection: a DC 400-kV bipole and a single 500-kV AC compact transmission
line (4x954 MCM bundle), 1,020 km long. In both cases, the interconnection links the
500-kV substation of Imperatriz (north system) to the Serra da Mesa power plant (south
system).

Fig. 7-1. Brazilian NorthSouth Interconnectiongeographic location.

From a purely technical viewpoint, this long, low capacity interconnection between two
large systems having different planning and operating criteria is a textbook application for
HVDC transmission technology. From a strategic and political viewpoint, however, the
AC transmission alternative is highly attractive for making inexpensive hydroelectric
energy available to a rapidly growing area, and for future generation developments
located over a vast geographic area having enormous economic potential. Six
hydroelectric plants may be built along the same route in the next two decades, and other
500-kV AC transmission links are planned to cater for this additional generation.
When comparing the technical behavior of the two alternatives, it was verified that the
AC solution presented a low frequency (0.18 Hz), poorly damped interarea oscillation
mode. This oscillation of wide amplitude ( 300 MW) represented a serious technical
restriction for the AC alternative. On the other hand, this alternative presented significant
advantage in terms of costs, besides the strategic and political benefits mentioned above.
Traditionally, the problem of electromechanical oscillations in the range of 0.5 to 2.0 Hz
has been solved by power system stabilizers (PSS) in the main synchronous generators.
7-2

For lower frequency modes (< 0.3 Hz), however, effective damping is a difficult task. The
main drawbacks of this solution for the northsouth interconnection are listed below [71]:
1. Modified PSSs would be needed in all major power plants of the northeast system;
2. The modified PSSs, assumed to be of fixed structure and fixed parameters, would not
always ensure adequate damping for the northsouth mode for the various scenarios
considered in the study;
3. The frequency range of electromechanical oscillations to be damped by the modified
PSSs is too wide to yield reliable operation;
4. Electromechanical oscillations within the northeast system (local modes) and between
the north/northeast systems (interarea mode) could have their damping reduced by the
action of the modified PSSs;
5. Practical limitations on maximum PSS gain at very low frequencies may reduce the
damping of these modified stabilizers.
To solve the sustained oscillation problem thyristor controlled series compensation
(TCSC) was proposed in the interconnection (transmission line ImperatrizSerra da
Mesa). This solution was much more efficient than PSS in providing damping for all
possible system scenarios and contingencies. One great advantage of this solution is the
fact that the TCSCs are located in the link that introduces the interarea mode and they are
tuned only for this mode, not having any effect on the other modes presented in the
system. So if this link is disconnected, the TCSCs together with the interarea mode cease
to exist. The stability of the two isolated systems (north and south) in this case is
guaranteed by PSSs exactly as before the advent of the interconnection.
The TCSCs at each end of the intertie are modulated using local line power measurements.
Figure 7-2 shows simulation results. Commissioning tests verified the powerful damping
performance of the TCSCs [7-2].
7.2
Analysis and control of YiminFengtun 500-kV TCSC system
References 7-35 present research done for the thyristor controlled series compensation
(TCSC) to be situated on the main corridor of the 500-kV transmission system of
northeast China. Power will be transferred from Yimin plant in Mongolia, with 2200 MW
capacity, to the load centers through a 500-kV parallel transmission line covering a
distance of 1300 km. The paper is motivated by the real engineering project and presents
on-going research for TCSC models, control algorithms, simulation software and
implementation. Because of future development of the transmission system, the controller
design must be systematic and robust.
The YiminFengtun TCSC projects has the following distinctive features:

Its located on an important corridor of the main grid. The theories and the schemes
must be applied to the real engineering project and must be easy to manipulate.

Its required to increase dynamic, transient and voltage stability.

7-3

1200

Power - MW

1000

800

600
0

10

15

Time - seconds

Fig. 7-2. Simulation of fault with line outage in south system [7-1]. Thin line without
TCSCs, thick line with TCSCs.

The controller must be robust. It should adapt to not only the variation of operation
conditions, but also future changes of grid topology. Its important to have control
schemes that require local signals only and are independent of system models.

Because of the projects importance, the research should be broad.

Without a TCSC, the system suffers severe transient and dynamic instabilities. The study
shows that the TCSC with proper control schemes can schedule power flow flexibly, and
improve transient and dynamic stability. The influence of the voltage protection of the
metal oxide varistor (MOV) is included in the control model and design. Autodisturbance rejection control (ADRC), fuzzy control, and nonlinear adaptive scheme are
studied. Simulations show the effectiveness of the control schemes. The combined effect
of electromagnetic and electromechanical transients has been studied.
7.3
Wide-Area Stability Control
New distributed measurement technology using the global positioning system and
accurate phasor measurements units have developed steadily in recent years to become
the most powerful source of wide-area dynamic information. Reference 7-6 explores new
ways of putting this extended real-time knowledge of the power system behavior into use
by means of supplementary feedback loops which improve dynamic and transient system
stability and, ultimately, increases the transmission capacity.
The design of such advanced controllers is based on a two-stage methodology. The first
step is built on a powerful pulse response-based, numerical sub-space, state-space
identification algorithm to identify a reduced-order small-signal MIMO model of the
7-4

open-loop system. The second step is to select an appropriate control structure, and then
tune the stabilizer parameters accordingly. To tackle the most difficult situations, the
architecture selected comprises several dynamic feedback loops, each consisting of a
high-order differential filter. Controller tuning is then performed by minimizing a
selective modal performance index in the parameter space.
Adding stability and robustness constraints greatly improves the engineering significance
of the resulting design. For illustration, a three-loop stabilizer was designed for a major
synchronous-condenser station in an actual power system that simultaneously uses two
global and one local input signals. Both linear and nonlinear simulation results clearly
demonstrate the added value of wide-area information when properly included in power
system stabilizer design.
8 - ref

f 294

PSS

4 - 7

Duvernay

Ref. Area

750 MVA SC

+ Vref
+

SCADA

Wide-Area
Measurements

External grid
(25,000 MW)

Fig. 7-3. Decentralized/hierarchical PSS located at the Duvernay synchronous condensers

(SC).
The architecture of the Hydro Quebec test system used in reference 7-7 is recalled in
Figure 7-3 .The target PSS is at the Duvernay synchronous condenser in the reference
area. This site was chosen because it shows the highest controllability index over the
broadest frequency range. The three inputs of the PSS are the following:
y = [ f 294 4 7 8 Ref ]

where f 294 is the local bus frequency at Duvernay, and 4 7 and 8 Ref are angle
shifts between the subscript areas. Based on three typical contingencies, Figures 7-4 and
7-5 provide some interesting clues as to what added value should be ascribed to the
information exchange paths outlined on Fig. 7-3. On the first contingency, the local loop
alone was sufficient to stabilize the system. However, it was unable to do the same for the
second and third, although its positive action provided 510 seconds relief before actual
breakdown. Therefore, information exchange really has some monetary value, which in
some cases could pay for the implementation costs and cover the additional risks inherent
in long-distance telemetry.

7-5

Duverney frequency deviation (mHz)

Unstable fault in the western corridor (BUS #783)

0
100
200
300
400

No PSS
LPSS+GPSS
LPSS

500
600
700
0

10

15

20

25

30

35

Angle shift: 8Ref (Deg)

80
100
120
140
160

10

15

20

25

Angle Shift of area #8 w.r.t Ref.(Deg.)

Fig. 7-4. First contingency: The local loop alone prevents the system from collapsing.
(a) Unstable fault in the eastern area (Bus #706)
60
80
100
120
140
160

10

15

20

25

Angle Shift of area #8 w.r.t Ref.(Deg.)

s
(b) Unstable fault in the western area (Bus #780)
60
No PSS
LPSS+GPSS
LPSS

80
100
120
140
160

10

15

20

25

Fig. 7-5. Second and third contingencies: The local loop alone substantially improves the
system performance, but doesnt prevent instability.

7-6

7.4
Active-Load Modulation for Stability Control
The first subsection describes large-scale load modulation and the second subsection
presents field tests at a small hydro station in Sweden.
Large-scale load modulation. Reference 7-7 describes how angle stability can be
improved by large-scale active-load modulation. Analysis, operating experience, and
simulation of a large power system is used to demonstrate that active-load modulation can
improve system dynamic performance to a large extent, with just a fraction of the base
load available for control. At a time when the cost effectiveness of power electronic
devices for damping interarea oscillations is constantly being questioned, its natural to
look to active-load modulation as a potential alternative method of ensuring grid
reliability. In developing the case, it was found that continuously modulating load
stabilizers need global signals for full effectiveness. Although more difficult to design,
implementation of discontinuous control schemes show good prospects, especially for
decentralization and robustness against communication delays.
Damping of Power Oscillations by Load SwitchingField Tests at Hemsj Hydro
Power Station. Reference 7-8 presents field tests performed at the hydro power station
Hemsj vre the night of 24 and 25 September 1996. The tests were done to investigate
if load switching could be used to damp power oscillations. The results show that load
switching is an excellent method of damping power oscillations.
The idea is to switch a resistive load so it counteracts power oscillations. The angle
difference between the external net and the estimated generator internal EMK was used to
control the load switching. The load used was pure resistance without any dynamics and
was dedicated for this purpose.
To make the generator susceptible to power oscillations, the grid configuration was
changed so the hydro power station had to feed its power through a weak distribution
system before connecting to the main grid
A way to verify the damping effect of load switching is to change the sign in the
controller, corresponding to a 180 degrees phase change. A change of sign in a well-tuned
regulator can induce power oscillations. During the first 10 seconds in Figure 7-6 and 7-7
the regulator sign was changed. The figure clearly shows that the load switching builds up
a power oscillation with increasing amplitude. Two measurements were done to compare
damping. The first case is without load switching and in the second case is with load
switching. Figure 7-6 with time > 10 second shows the damping without load switching.

7-7

t20; Generator Power in MW

P_gen [MW]

0.5

0.4

0.3
0

10

15
Time [s]

20

25

30

25

30

t20; Power to Controlled Load in MW

0.025

P_load [MW]

0.02
0.015
0.01
0.005
0
0

10

15
Time [s]

20

Fig. 7-6. Excitation with load switching (1-9s) and thereafter no switching.
Figure 7-7 shows the damping when load switching is used. It is evident that controlled
load switching improves damping considerably. Note that the power of the switched load
is only a fraction of the oscillation amplitude.
t24; Generator Power in MW

P_gen [MW]

0.5

0.4

0.3
0

10

15
Time [s]

20

25

30

25

30

t24; Power to Controlled Load in MW

0.025

P_load [MW]

0.02
0.015
0.01
0.005
0
0

10

15
Time [s]

20

Fig. 7-7. Excitation by load switching (19 s), thereafter no switching (914 s), then
damping by controlled load switching (1430 s).
7.5

Active Power Modulation of Generators and Energy Storage for

Oscillatory Instability Control
Energy Source Power System Stabilizer (ESPSS). The objective of the ESPSS is to
damp low frequency electromechanical oscillations between large interconnected power
systems. Field tests and monitoring have demonstrated the ESPSS performance in sensing
system disturbances, and in controlling the power of batteries [7-9] and steam-turbine
generators in response to these system oscillations.
The ESPSS can be applied on energy storage systems such as superconducting magnetic

7-8

energy storage (SMES) or battery energy storage systems. The power import capability
and the reliability can be increased significantly by damping the interarea power system
oscillations that often limit such imports.
In the case of a battery energy storage system (BESS), ESPSS processes the frequency
deviation signal or similar signal to control the megawatt output or input of the batteries.
The ESPSS, which controls the real power output to counteract these oscillations, can
provide effective damping. The ESPSS can be applied on the battery or superconducting
energy storage by controlling the power conditioning system (PCS) which converts power
between AC and DC. The state-of-the-art PCS using Gate-Turn-Off (GTO) thyristors are
very fast acting and have the capability to accept both MVAr and the MW power orders.
The ESPSS controls the MW output only.
Tests conducted at the 10 MW Chino battery energy storage system [7-10] demonstrated
damping capability with measurable results. However, a much larger BESS or SMES is
required to effectively damp and stabilize the system. Since the aim is to provide damping
torques to generators, the most effective location of energy storage is close to generators
participating in low frequency oscillations.
ESPSS installation on electric power generators. In damping interarea modes
conventional PSS essentially modulates voltage-sensitive load, and the effectiveness
depends on the location and characteristics of load, on the tightness of voltage control,
and on the mode shape [7-11]. These factors affect the component of electrical torque in
phase with (modal) speed that produces damping.
For generators, the ESPSS differs from conventional excitation equipment PSS in that it
acts on the mechanical input power of the generator. It can be effective and robust in
damping low frequency modes present in the speed signal, with less dependence on
variable network and load characteristics, and generator loading.
The ESPSS concept is to produce damping more directly by modulating the mechanical
input power instead of generator voltage and reactive power. This is by adding a speed or
frequency deviation based signal into the governor valve controls. Similar to PSS, the
input signal can be derived from speed/frequency and electrical power measurements.
Appendix J further describes mechanical versus electrical side damping.
Field tests conducted on a turbo-generator with a state-of-the-art governor showed that
steam-turbine governors can respond fast enough to provide damping of low frequencies
oscillations (0.20.8 Hz range). Thus the ESPSS concept can be extended to the other
steam-turbine governors. With a large power source it would be possible to damp the
oscillations with even a small change (5 percent) of the generator output.
At Alamitos Generating Station in California, generators 5 and 6 steam turbines are crosscompound units and the steam flow is controlled on the high-pressure side. The steam
control is obtained from eight valves. The opening and closing of the valves are
controlled to obtain maximum operating efficiency and control. Tests were conducted by
injecting the modulating signal in one and two different valves of these eight valves.
Modulating two valves gave almost twice the modulated power output change compared
to one valve. By modulating two valves, modulation of 5 percent of the turbine power
7-9

(about 24 MW) can be achieved. The modulation input to the valve is dependent on the
frequency excursion from 60 Hz and can be adjusted by changing the gain of the ESPSS.
Figure 7-8 shows the gain and the phase relationship of the governor loop measured by
changing the input into the governor control board and monitoring the megawatt change
in the machine output. The phase lag increases as the frequency of the modulation signal
increases. At 1 Hz, the phase shift between the injected input signal and the power output
increases to about 100 degrees. This phase shift includes delays in the steam circuit such
as the steam chest. For damping control design, the transfer function between the valve
input and mechanical power is required, and this can be computed from measurements of
electrical power and speed. The modulation control includes phase compensation of the
steam circuit lag so that the change in mechanical power is closely in phase with
generator speed changes for oscillation frequencies of interest.
Figure 7-9 shows the response curve for the excitation system of a similar machine. The
phase shift in this case is increases much more rapidly, increasing to about 180 degrees at
about 0.7 Hz. However, the gain also drops rapidly making this control loop ineffective at
these higher frequencies.
Although efforts to implement these controls were made in the past, it had not been
feasible because the governors were generally slow. Also, the frequencies that were
attempted were mostly local mode oscillations and were in the range of 1.03.0 Hz. The
advanced state-of-the-art governors and the lower interarea oscillation frequencies have
made this modulation feasible.
Two ESPSS have been developed and installed at Alamitos generating units 5 and 6. The
ESPSS acts only for large system disturbances. It cuts off the excitation system PSS
system when it operates as shown in Figure 7-10.

Fig. 7-8. Governor frequency response with signal input into two valves.

7-10

Fig. 7-9. Excitation system frequency response for Alamitos generating unit.

Fig. 7-10. Functional block diagram for an integrated power system stabilizer.
Rapid modulation of fuel flow in combustion turbines. In so-called industrial
combustion turbines, the turbine compressor and power turbine are mechanically coupled
to the synchronous generator and thus turn at a speed that is constantly proportional to
synchronous speed. This arrangement, also called single-shaft combustion turbines,
maintains constant air flow through the entire unit. With this constant air flow rate, the
turbine power changes within milliseconds of changes in fuel flow into the combustors
allowing the rapid power generation change that may be used to improve transient and
oscillatory instability. For instance, its possible for such a unit to shift from synchronous
7-11

operation at minimum generation, approximately 30 % of nameplate power, to full

nameplate power in less than a second by rapidly increasing fuel flow. The drawback to
this process change lies in the fact that the power turbine temperatures also change
rapidly with changes in firing rate, and the erosion rate of power turbine blades is
seriously increased with large, rapid changes in firing rate and temperature. Utilities have
experimented with these concepts and with rapidly increasing firing rate during
emergencies such as loss of large blocks of generation, but we know of no in-service
applications.
Similar to the above descriptions of small (5%) modulation of steam turbines, modulation
of gas turbines should be possible without damaging temperature excursions. For twosided modulation (increase and decrease of power), the gas turbine generator would have
to be operated at lower efficiency, below maximum power. This might require an
ancillary service arrangement, with compensation for the lost power sales and lower
efficiency. The ancillary services could include system stability (damping), primary and
secondary spinning reserve, and increased reactive power production or reactive power
reserve.
References
7-1
C. Gama, R. Leoni, J. B. Gribel, R. Fraga, M. J. Eiras, W. Ping, A. Ricardo, J.
Cavalcanti, and R. Tenrio, Brazilian NorthSouth Interconnection
Application of Thyristor Controlled Series Compensation (TCSC) to Damp InterArea Oscillation Mode, CIGR, paper 14-101, 1998.
7-2

C. Gama, Brazilian North-South Interconnection Control Application and

Operating Experience with a TCSC, Proceedings of IEEE/PES 1999 Summer
Meeting, pp. 11031108, Edmonton, 1822 July 1999.

7-3

X. Zhou, et al., Analysis and Control of YiminFengtun 500 kV TCSC System,

Electric Power Systems Research, No. 46, pp. 157168, 1998.

7-4

X. Zhou and J. Liang, Overview of Control Schemes for TCSC to Enhance the
Stability of Power Systems, IEE Proc.-Gener. Transm. Distrib., Vol. 146, No. 2,
pp. 125130, March 1999.

7-5

X. Zhou and J. Liang, Nonlinear Adaptive Control of TCSC to Improve the

Performance of Power Systems, IEE Proc.-Gener. Transm. Distrib., Vol. 146,
No. 3, pp. 301305, May 1999.

7-6

I. Kamwa, L. Grin-Lajoie, and G. Trudel, Multi-Loop Power System Stabilizers

Using Wide-Area Synchronous Phasor Measurement, presented at American
Control Conference, June 1998.

7-7

I. Kamwa, R. Grondin, D. Asber, J. P. Gingras, and G. Trudel, Large-Scale

Active-Load Modulation for Angle Stability Improvement, IEEE Transactions
on Power Systems, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 582590, May 1999.

7-8

O. Samuelsson and M. Akke, On-Off Control of an Active Load for Power

System Damping - Theory and Field Test, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems,
7-12

Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 608-613, May 1999.

7-9

B. Bhargava and G. Dishaw, Energy Source Power System Stabilizer Installation

on the 10 MW Battery Energy Storage System at Chino Substation, presented at
IEEE Summer Meeting in Berlin, Germany, July 20-24, 1997.

7-10

L. H. Walker, 10-MW GTO Converter for Battery Peaking Service, IEEE

Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 6372, January/
February 1990.

7-11

P. Kundur, Effective Use of Power System Stabilizers for Enhancement of Power

System Reliability, Proceedings of IEEE/PES 1999 Summer Meeting, pp. 96
103, Edmonton, 1822 July 1999.

7-13

Chapter 8

STABILITY CONTROLS WITH

INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING
Industry restructuring from a highly centralized hierarchical and possibly state-owned
system to a new model characterized by competition in generation with guaranteed access
to transmission has many impacts on power system stability.
Unlike the case of other industries such as communications and transportation where
overloads result merely in telephone busy signals, or gridlock at toll plazas, power
consumption is instantaneous. Power must be supplied the moment a switch is turned on.
Inadequacies in the generation/transmission plant can result in system collapse with
unacceptable consequences.
The dynamic performance of power systems, that is the ability of maintaining reliable and
stable supply within tolerable limits of voltage and frequency, is a function of the joint
characteristics of generation, transmission, control and protection, and loads.
In the traditional approach of integrated planning of bulk electric systems by a centralized
company or agency, the decision process on generation, transmission, distribution, and
control additions was well structured. The aim was an optimum allocation of investment
in the various segments so as to achieve a prescribed level of reliability at minimum cost.
In Brazil for example, the plans of generation additions were established almost
independently, with mere estimates on transmission feasibility. This was due to the high
relative cost of generation. Transmission planning then proceeded to accommodate an
already established generation master plan.
The recent abundance of natural gas and the rapid progress of combustion turbine and
combined-cycle technology has drastically changed the economics of generation.
Concurrently, the worldwide trend to deregulation has opened the power generation
industry to independent producers. The restructuring of the power industry requires
establishing requirements for new generation equipment and controls, and requires
administering the required ancillary services in the new operating environment.
So while competition will force the evolution of the most economic generation additions,
there will still be some aspects of dynamic characteristics requiring cooperation dictated
by the effects on overall system performance. Stability control, including the equitable
allocation of associated costs, is one such issue.
8.1

Some Examples of New Scenarios

8.1.1 The Brazilian electric system

The predominantly hydro Brazilian system spans large geographical distances and has
most of its generation remote from load centers. Unfavorable hydrological conditions

frequently call for high power transfers between regions, even during light load
conditions. Stability problems are therefore naturally aggravated during these conditions.
Up to now, the allocation of costs of stability controls has been decided jointly by the
GCPS and GCOI, the national coordinating pools for planning and operation of the
Brazilian power system, whose decisions are mandatory. The stability controls considered
include control of system oscillations (PSS), generation dropping, underfrequency load
shedding, dynamic voltage controls, HVDC controls, controlled islanding, and automatic
switching of shunt compensation.
In the old system structure stability problems were detected and resolved by GCOI/GCPS.
The introduction of IPPs, cogeneration, and an ISO (Independent System Operator)
changes this picture. Attributing responsibility for a given stability problem and
distributing the costs of candidate solutions are very complex issues with opposing
opinions. There is therefore need to investigate these aspects in order to establish guidelines, responsibilities, and associated costs for stability controls in a competitive
environment.
The Brazilian electric system has an installed capacity of 56,000 MW which is
predominantly hydro (95%), has 150,000 km of transmission lines of voltage levels from
138-kV to 765-kV. The energy production is of the order of 309 TWh, with 97% being
from hydro. There are about 40 million consumers, with 32.5 million being residential
consumers. The energy consumption per capita is 1,954 kWh/year for residential
consumers.
Other Brazilian system characteristics are:

Large capacity hydro power plants remote from the load centers.

Large hydroelectric dams, having up to 5 years storage capacity for good regulation of
variable inflows.

Hydro units of large capacity: Itaipu (700 MW), G. Munhoz (418 MW), Itumbiara
(380 MW), etc.

Long transmission lines, sometimes presenting bottlenecks in some transmission

corridors.

Frequent operating conditions with heavy energy transfers, even during light load, due
to hydroelectric generation coordination for optimal water usage.

High load growth (6% per year, during 1996/1997).

Delays in construction of high capital investment power plants, with consequent need
for urgent generation expansion.

During unfavorable hydrological conditions, the transfer of large blocks of energy

between generating subsystems having hydrological diversity is carried out mainly during
light load conditions. In some parts of the system, its common to have reversals in the
power flow of some transmission lines and transformers. In a few cases involving highly
unfavorable hydrological conditions, the system has operated with violations of the
8-2

existing criteria of transient stability. Note that in these cases the system must still meet
the criteria for small-signal stability to avoid spontaneous oscillations.
As stated before, there are two coordinating bodies for the expansion planning and
operation of the interconnected systems, which are composed of managers from
Eletrobras and all the other Brazilian utilitiesthe GCPS (Coordinating Group of System
Planning) and GCOI (Coordinating Group for Interconnected Operation). These two
groups perform stability studies, and establish recommendations concerning the required
control actions for system stabilization.
New scenarios for the Brazilian electric system. The last Ten-Year Plan, released every
year by GCPS, estimates that the rise in electrical energy demand in the period 1997
2006 will call for the installation of an additional 3200 MW of generation every year.
Two immediate questions appear: a) How will the transmission system evolve? and b)
What will be the expansion process for this additionally needed generation?
Taking into account the ongoing restructuring process of the Brazilian electrical industry,
the government stimulus to private investors, and the highly developed technology for
combustion turbines, its possible to envision the following scenario:

Significant increase in thermal generation, mainly gas turbines. Its expected that in
the next ten years gas turbines will represent 10% of the total installed capacity.

Implementation of several international interconnections, initially with Argentina,

Uruguay and Bolivia, through long distance or back-to-back HVDC links.

Utilization of alternative energy sources: Wind power and solar generation, biomass
(sugarcane leftovers), mainly in the northeastern part of the country.

Significant rise in distributed generation.

Operation of the existing system closer to its maximum limits.

The above scenario is very likely because:

The country needs to increase its generation capacity in the immediate and near
future, so as to prevent severe power shortages.

The newly implemented legislation regarding IPPs and the open access created
favorable conditions for these new agents. The reduced construction period for gas
turbine power stations is ideal for rapidly commissioning the needed additional
generation. Another advantage is that gas turbines can be located close to the load
centers, therefore minimizing high investments in long distance transmission.

The technology development of combustion-turbine driven power plants makes the

combined-cycle power plant one of the most efficient forms of power generation,
offering very-competitive energy prices. These power plants cause low environmental
impact, with negligible levels of audible noise, atmospheric pollution and emission of
liquid or solid waste. The turbine has acoustic insulation, the natural gas has very low
levels of sulfur, and the burners can meet the most severe environmental legislation.
The gas supply to these power plants is guaranteed by Petrobras (newly-discovered
8-3

gas fields as well as imported gas), together with the gas pipelines BoliviaBrazil and
ArgentinaBrazil. There will also be gas pipelines within the Brazil to distribute gas.

Another important factor is the co-generator with Petrobras as the biggest.

Considering the various oil fields and refineries owned by Petrobras where the gas is
currently being burned, its estimated that as much as 10,000 MW can be generated.

The northsouth interconnection, commissioned February 1999, interconnecting the

north/northeast system to the larger south/southeast/centerwest system. Its a 500-kV
circuit, 1,000 km long, which will bring a gain of 600 MW of guaranteed energy by
making optimal use of the hydrological diversity between the river basins involved.
This interconnection together with those with Argentina will cause some areas of the
system to operate close to their maximum transmission capacity. As described in
Chapter 7, this interconnection has TCSCs for enhancing stability [8-6].

The scenario calls for the solution of an important structural problem: How to stimulate
private agents to build hydro plants? There is still a considerable hydro potential to be
explored in Brazil that is economically feasible. This requires, however, an intensive
capital investment, and private agents prefer investments that can be recovered in shorter
periods. Undoubtedly, the solution for this problem is to form partnerships between
private investors and Eletrobras, so as to ensure that investments that are sound for the
whole system will actually be made. In this case, long distance transmission with the need
for stabilization actions will be required.
In addition to the above factors and uncertainties that have a major impact on the overall
system dynamic performance, there are the effects of major changes in the generation
scenarios over the next two to three years. A significant amount of gas-fired generation
will be operating close to the major load centers.
All of the above factors point to continued importance of the phenomena of system
stability and increasing dependence on control actions. The problem in the new
competitive generation framework is how to establish costs, both first costs and operating
costs for controls and how to allocate them among the various parties.
8.1.2 The Nordel power system
The Nordel power system comprises the interconnected power systems of Norway,
Sweden, Finland, and part of Denmark. The other part of the Denmark, which is
interconnected with the UCPTE system, has strong connections to Nordel through several
HVDC links. The Nordel system has undergone major changes during the last decade due
to restructuring. The aim of this section is to give a brief overview of the changes, and to
describe possible impacts with respect to stability control.
The Nordic power systems are characterized by a mix of hydro and thermal generation.
While Norway has almost 100% hydro generation, Finland has mainly thermal generation
and Sweden has an even mix of thermal and hydro generation. The Danish system is
unique with a high penetration of wind energy and co-generation from independent
producers (see next section).

8-4

50 MW
Russia

100 MW

740 MW
900 MW

NORDEL
700 MW
120
100
80
60
20

200 MW

TWh
80

TWh
80

60

40

20

500 MW

1100 MW

60

40

20
0

TWh

20

Finland

Norway

500 MW
Sweden

1600 MW
Hydro
Nuclear
Fossil

1050 MW
1800 MW
(future)

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

630 MW

TWh

670 MW
Denmark

1400 MW

600
MW

1000 MW

600 MW

600 MW
(future)

Germany
Poland

Holland
UCPTE

Fig. 8-1. Generation and transmission capacities in the Nordic Countries.

Fig. 8-1 shows the total annual generation in the Nordic countries, and the transmission
capacities between the countries and to the European continent.
Restructuring in the Nordic power systems. The restructuring started in 1991 with
deregulation of the Norwegian electricity market. Sweden followed in 1996, and Finland
joined the common Nordic market in 1998.
Restructuring, in general, deals with the following issues:

Unbundling of services.

Deregulation within trade of electrical energy.

8-5

Dis-aggregation of utilities. Economically and functionally separate units are

established within power generation, transmission and distribution, power markets
and retail sales.

In the Norwegian case, the major arguments for restructuring of the electricity market
have been to:

Avoid excessive investment.

Improve selection of investment projects.

Create incentives for cost reduction.

Create equity among consumers.

Achieve reasonable geographical variations.

The main actors in the Norwegian (and Nordic) power market are:
Regulator. The Regulator of the Norwegian power industry is the governmental body
The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). The Regulator grants
regional concessions and concessions for trade in electrical energy and has an important
role in supervision of the monopoly operations in transmission and distribution.
Market Operator. The Market Operator is responsible for the market clearing process in
what is called the organised markets. The operator of the common Norwegian/Swedish/
Finish market is Nord Pool. Nord Pool is also open to market participants without
physical access to the Nordel grid. See Nord Pools web site [8-17].
System Operator. The main grid company, Statnett SF, has the system operator
responsibility in Norway. Similarly, there are independent system operators in Sweden
and Finland, Svenska Kraftnt and Fingrid, respectively [8-17]. These companies are also
the main transmission grid owners in their respective countries.
Market Participants. The Market Participants are buyers and sellers in the market, and
include generators, distributors, industry, and traders/brokers.
Network Owners. The Network Owners have by regulation been given the responsibility
for generating and distributing metering and settlement data, and keeping continuous
track of the information so that equal opportunities are given to all the competitors.
The report Deregulation of the Nordic Power Market, Implementation and Experiences
19911997 [8-18], issued by SINTEF Energy Research, Statnett, Nord Pool and the
Norwegian Electric Federation, provides further information.
Retail Sales. Retail sales are yet another service made possible through deregulation, but
is only indirectly related to the power exchange. Retail sales mean that the individual
electricity consumers are free to choose from which power company they buy their
energy, totally independent of which network owner (distribution grid) they are connected
to.
Changes in system operation from restructuring. There are some major changes from
system restructuring that affect system operation and control. These relate to changes in
8-6

objectives, responsibilities and ownership, as well as to new services and ways to operate
the system.
Changes in responsibilities and ownership. This has to do with the unbundling of
services that defines the responsibilities and tasks of the different entities. There is a mix
of power producers, which are mainly economically motivated. Their main control
objectives relate to control and optimization of their own energy resources and market
obligations. System responsibilities, such as stability control, contribution to active
reserves/frequency control, and reactive reserves/voltage control become secondary
objectives.
Increasing focus on cost efficiency. This relates to both operation and to changing
attitudes toward investments in new generation and transmission capacity. A result is that
fewer new lines are being built, and the systems are operated closer to their capacity
limits. New controls rather than new transmission lines will increasingly solve
transmission congestion.
Changes in operating patterns. Deregulation of energy markets and increasing
competition among the power producers lead to larger and more frequent changes in
power flow patterns.
New services are introduced to deal with the changes discussed above. Monitoring and
controlling system stability, system reserves, transfer limits, etc., which are the main
responsibilities of the system operator, is to a large extent based on ancillary services.
Ancillary services are fundamental services needed in order to maintain acceptable power
quality and power system security. The system operator will normally contract or require
the individual power producers to provide some system services. The services may range
from primary frequency and voltage control, including stabilizing control, provision of
active and reactive reserves and system protection (load shedding or generator tripping)
schemes. Ancillary services can be organized as firm requirements (e.g., primary
controls), possibly with fixed economic compensation, as contracted services (bilateral
contracts between the system operator and a power producer) or as market-based services.
Secondary controls for congestion management or power balancing may also be defined
as ancillary services, but organized in the Scandinavian countries through separate
markets.
Impact on system stability and control. The changes from restructuring may impact
power system stability and system controls.
Experience indicates that deregulation has caused decreasing investments in new
transmission and generation capacity, and thus the existing systems will be operated
closer to their capacity limits. Increased utilization means less reserves and more
transmission congestion. Thus the need for stability controls will also increase. Larger
and more frequent changes in power flow patterns will increase the need for coordinated
and more robust control solutions.
Well-functioning system (or ancillary) services are crucial in the restructured
environment. In order to become less dependent on ancillary services provided by

8-7

generators, it is likely that system operators will show increasing interest in deploying
power electronic devices for congestion management (power flow control) and stability
control. Development and application of new energy storage devices for fast-acting
reserves may also become more attractive in the future.
Another way of handling transmission congestion is to rely more heavily on special
protection schemes. Thus there is a need for robust and coordinated design in order to
avoid adverse interaction between protection systems and other controls.
In order to monitor and coordinate the increasing control applications, there is a need for
improved EMS tools at the system -control centers. On-line tools for voltage stability and
transient stability assessments will become increasingly important.
In summary, the major impact on the technical side from system restructuring is an
increasing dependence on controls in order to cope with the increasing competition
among power producers and the increasing utilization of existing transmission grids. This
dependence on both existing and partly new control devices will require sophisticated
design as well as improved tools for on-line system operation.
Power system security and power quality may be regarded as collective benefits. In
deregulated systems the system operator is given the overall responsibility for
maintaining the security and quality criteria. Having one such independent entity may
also prove advantageous regarding the technical possibilities of providing coordinated
controls.
8.1.3 The Danish electric system
Large variations in power transfers in transmission networks of large interconnected
systems must be expected in the future. One part of the power variations will come from
controlled power plants delivering power to remote consumers or power companies on
short-term conditions. For this type of power variations, the system can at least have a
short time warning, and the system operation can be adjusted to be able to handle the
power transfer.
Another part of the power variations will come from uncontrolled power plants such as
wind generation. It will be most easy to include a large amount of wind power in a system if
the natural changes in the power production is allowed to spread freely over a large area.
The probability that all the wind production will change rapidly in an equal way is smaller
the larger the system is. By allowing the power variations to spread freely over the entire
system less demands will be put on the control of the controllable power plants in order to
maintain a local power balance. Besides, wind power and hydro power combines very well,
and a free exchange of power between hydro areas and wind areas is desirable even when
located far from each other.
In Denmark 800 MW of wind power was installed in 1997, out of a total capacity of
10,000 MW.
Both the desire for larger power transfers and the increased uncertainty of the power
changes create a need for advanced angle stability control.

8-8

8.2
Coordinated Planning and Operation in a Competitive Environment
Organizational and administrative issues under the new competitive environment can
only be resolved successfully following recognition of technical factors that make
interconnected operation possible. We raise issues for discussion without advocating
particular administrative and financial approaches.
8.2.1 Assuring compatibility of equivalent dynamic characteristics
In the traditional vertically-integrated power company, the overall system reliability is the
responsibility of one entity, whether state or investor owned. In this environment the
acceptable characteristics of generation, transmission, control and protection evolved
naturally to fairly uniform patterns among various utilities, as dictated by technoeconomic considerations. There would be no tendency to under invest in one segment
(generation, transmission, or controls) causing a disproportionate impact on reliability. In
this scenario the cooperative approach to accepting ones share of investment, dictated by
dynamic considerations, was natural for mutually beneficial interconnected operation.
Where necessary, organizations such as NERC, NPCC, WSCC, ERCOT etc. in the USA,
UNIPED in Europe and GCOI/GCPS in Brazil issued recommendations on practices to
be followed by all members of such power pools. Examples are in the area of primary
frequency control (droop settings and spinning reserve) and automatic generation control
(area control error reversals per hour etc.).
For interconnected systems using long distance transmission, the problem of poor
damping of inter-machine and inter-area electromechanical oscillations presents a serious
reliability problem. The techno-economic solution is to distribute control effort (PSS in
this context) over most generators. Members of interconnected systems owning both
transmission and generation follow voluntarily the guidelines set by coordinating councils
(e.g., in the WSCC every unit over 75 MVA is to be equipped with a PSS).
Since this problem of damping can also be abated by adding transmission, one can
appreciate the problem of enforcement of the most techno-economic solution. This
solution is usually borne by the generation segment, where independent producers have
no perceived stake in transmission.
This dilemma extends to other system reliability aspects such as transient stability, load
shedding, and generator dropping.
Distributed generation in systems linked by EHV and UHV transmission can present
major challenges in system and protection design. Load rejection and system separation,
with overspeeding generators connected to excessive line charging, could lead to very
high overvoltages and widespread damage to system and consumer equipment.
Its not merely stability that must be addressed. The entire system design must be by a
highly trained team considering all relevant parts of the system regardless of ownership.
Reference 8-4 describes how the evolution of system structures can affect the necessity
for stabilization and its location. Loading, with its effect on angle separation and relative
inertia between sending and receiving areas, play an important role.
8-9

In systems with widespread transmission and significant interchange over long distance,
the problem of oscillatory instability can dictate the need for stabilizing action under
normal operating conditions. In other systems the problem arises only following
contingencies. Since the nature of the system structure following multiple contingencies
is almost unpredictable, units that normally are not participating in oscillation damping
action can become important.
The effectiveness of PSS in providing damping is not only a function of their application
on generating units, but also a function of the PSS and other excitation equipment control
tuning. System-wide dependence on PSS for adequate damping performance will require
more formal inspections and testing by the regional transmission organization (ISO or
independent transmission company) of the restructured power industry.
8.3

The Impact of IPP Thermal Generation on System Dynamic

Performance

8.3.1 Beneficial aspects of IPPs

New thermal-based IPPs will bring many benefits to the interconnected system:

Being close to the load centers they will bring better voltage control and smaller
loading of transmission lines, with consequent reduction in transmission system
losses.

Improvements in voltage stability, because of a larger reactive power support near the
load centers.

Improvements in electromechanical stability, due to smaller line loading and added

dynamic voltage support. The damping of interarea oscillations will also tend to
improve as a function of the smaller phase angle differences.

Extra flexibility in planning equipment and transmission line outages.

In Brazil, the availability of more thermal generation will allow an effective hydrothermal coordination.

Alleviation of the problem of ever-increasing transmission distances to bring power to

the load centers.

The better dynamic voltage control will yield a more reliable operation of
transmission line distance protection, with a significant reduction in undesired
tripping. This decreases the risk of system separation, frequency decay, and load
shedding.

8.3.2 Detrimental aspects

IPPs, when compared with state owned or regulated generating companies, are oriented
towards a higher and faster return on investment. Their motto is to maximize power
production and reduce their costs. What could be the consequences? Some of the
functions carried out for free in todays environment (voltage support, frequency
8-10

regulation, dynamic response, transient overload capability, etc.) are classified in the new
environment as ancillary service, whose provision will have an associated cost. Some
of these aspects are further elaborated in tables in section 8.3.4.
Offsetting some of the positive aspects of IPPs listed in 8.3.1 is the need for assuring
redundancy in the case of unplanned outages of such facilities. Such outages result in loss
of both power production and voltage supportwhich must be provided by alternate
facilities.
8.3.3 Problem issues with new IPPs
Tables 8-1 and 8-2 list system design and operation considerations for the restructured
industry. These issues generally involve dynamic aspects of the plant interacting with the
power system. In the vertically-integrated traditional utility (or power pool made up of
such utilities), the planning and design process is usually undertaken by owner
representatives participating in joint interconnected system studies with access to the
entire database. Reliability criteria are followed and the design process considers all
logical cost-effective alternatives, whether they involve generation, transmission,
protection or control.
In the restructured environment the technical approach should be the same since the mere
fact of separate ownership of generation versus transmission does not change the
underlying laws of physics which govern the reliability of overall system performance.
The challenge is to develop an organizational structure to execute the necessary system
studies and enforce the design requirements among the separate parties. As competitors,
the parties have a natural tendency to hold back on free exchange of information. IPPs are
concerned with the generation process and normally would not have the expertise to
determine complex control and protection requirements dictated by the overall system.
The foregoing considerations point to the logic of a strong independent and competent
organization to not only be in charge of system operation, but also of licensing future
system additions in generation, transmission, control or protection.
Issues listed in the tables show the need to establish methods and procedures for requiring
certain design features in IPP installations. These include providing ancillary services
for instance reactive power support, primary speed control, supplementary damping
control (PSS) etc. Little has been done so far to develop such methodology, which should
include allocation of costs to those agents not contributing their share of ancillary
services.
If this is not done in the planning process, IPP additions may impact the adequacy of
transmission networks. The resulting additional reinforcements needed in transmission
would be reflected in transmission costs, which would have to be borne by all consumers.

8-11

Table 8-1. Protection, System Voltage/Frequency Control, and Stability Aspects

Issue
Protection
settings

Traditional Approaches

Problem issues with new IPPs

Settings take into account the plant

equipments and power system
requirements

- Concerned only with plant equipment security.

- Larger possibility of plant tripping during
disturbances.
- For disturbances that cause generation deficits,
plant tripping will increase the magnitude of
frequency dips. In this case it will be necessary to
increase the total load shedding. In extreme cases
it could lead to a system collapse.
- For disturbances that cause overvoltage, plant
tripping can aggravate the voltage profile,
increasing the chances of reaching transmission
lines protection settings. The tripping of
transmission lines could lead to a system collapse
- For disturbances that cause large absorption of
reactive power by the generators controlling
voltage profile, settings of minimum excitation
limits can cause plant tripping. With increasing
numbers of IPP plants, this can lead to larger
system overvoltage and equipment tripping (or
damage).

Generator power
factor

Generators with low rated power

factor (0.9) can be used. This can
avoid network reinforcements.

Without consideration of system requirements

during contingencies, the tendency would be to
order less costly, higher rated power factor
machines. The deficiency of reactive power
reserve could require move expensive alternative
equipment in transmission.

Short-time
overload
capability of
generator
excitation
equipment

Exciters are able to produce up to

200% of rated reactive power for
approximately 20 seconds. This
improves system dynamic
performance.

- Lower capacity excitation systems and

conservative setting of limiters. This reduces IPP
costs. The limiter actuation might be increased to
protect excitation and generator windings against
failure due to high voltage stress. This can lead
to voltage control problems and even collapse.
- System requirements could be enhanced with
greater MVAr reserves in generators.

Operation of
generators as
synchronous
condensers

This characteristic is used during

light load conditions in order to
provide better voltage profile
control, to maintain short-circuit
level and to avoid transmission line
opening to mitigate sustained over
voltage during light load.

This expedient would require installation of

clutches representing additional costs.

Excitation
equipment,
power system
stabilizers and
governors

Are fully utilized to improve the

power system dynamic
performance, being considered the
most appropriate and economic
means.

Application of higher cost machines with

improved excitation systems (high initial
response yielding move effective action from
PSS) would not be normally adopted without
some hard rules to define compensation of costs.

Participation in
Special
Protection
Schemes (SPS)

The design and implementation of

Special Protection Schemes
(Emergency Control Schemes) are
analyzed by all parties involved.
The SPS is installed considering
the best location, i.e., it can be
installed in any plant.

The IPP may not accept to participate in any

SPS. This non-acceptance may jeopardize system
reliability and require system reinforcements.

8-12

Table 8-2. Operating Aspects

Issue
Minimum
number of units
in operation

Traditional Approaches

Problem issues with new IPPs

The number of units in each plant

is determined to guarantee a
minimum value of system inertia
and reserve.

- IPP could consider that they have no obligation to do

that, and maintain the number of machines in operation
in order to obtain the maximum productivity of the
plant.
- This could affect voltage control, system stability and
increased frequency dips.

Generating unit
operation with
minor failures

When minor failures occur, the

utilities may agree to keep the
generating units in operation until
system conditions evolve to level at
which unit disconnection will not
jeopardize the overall system
reliability.

The IPP could consider that they have no obligation

with system reliability requirements, the main objective
being to protect their own equipment.

Information
exchange and
data availability

- To provide a more reliable and

secure operation, abundant
information is made available on
current limitations/
unavailability of equipment and
power flow constraints.

- The IPP could consider having no obligation to inform

the others on what is occurring to his plant.
- This intentional withholding of information is
detrimental to overall system reliability.
- The IPP could have inadequate data acquisition and
recording equipment.

- Traditionally all the data are

available including data from
disturbances (oscillograms, plant
operator reports, etc.,) for post
operation analysis.
Black-start
capability

The operational planning of the

interconnected system determines
the restoration planning with its
various parallel subsystems.

- IPPs, for cost reduction, may rely on remote power

station cranking rather than install black-start capability.
- As a consequence, the system restoration time may be
increased.

-Every subsystem has at least one

power station with black-start
capability.

8.3.4 Conclusions related to IPPs

1. Careful planning and design studies should establish the proper integration of IPPs
into the interconnected system, including special requirements in equipment, and
control and protection. The proliferation of IPPs, with their rapid installation cycle,
can have detrimental impacts to system dynamic performance, which may not be fully
compensated in the transmission network at reasonable cost.
2. Although transmission network investments will rise, the overall system reliability
could be somewhat degraded in the future.
3. The eventual lack of control actions and the consequent rise in transmission prices
can result in loss of economic efficiency in power production.
4. Many efforts have been noted to develop methods and tools for some of the ancillary
services. So far, however, very little has been done concerning control action cost
allocation. This should be considered a priority issue in order to ensure economic
efficiency.
8-13

5. The transition period from the cooperative model to the competitive one will cause
some additional risks, which are not fully assessed.
6. One way to minimize the detrimental impacts and additional risks, is ensure that
selling ancillary services can be good business. Something should done, so as to make
generation fulfill its natural or traditional ancillary functions. Finding other control
alternatives in the transmission network (like FACTS) is always more expensive.
7. The Independent System Operator (ISO) concept is good, but that organization should
have added functions in long term operational planning and, particularly, licensing
and inspection of new facilities to ensure that they meet system requirements.
8.4

Other Issues Related to Power System Performance in the New

Utility Environment

8.4.1 Reliability aspects

The forces of market deregulation have encouraged a widespread decline in planning
resources, and have undercut the planning process itself. Unrealistic models provide a
common point of failure for the entire decision making process whereby the power
system is planned and operated. Compounding this, the system sometimes operates under
conditions that planning cannot anticipate.
Market deregulation and utility restructuring are, through a variety of mechanisms,
making it impossible to predict system vulnerabilities as accurately or as promptly as the
increasingly volatile market demands. Controller-based options for reinforcing the power
system can be very attractive. For a control system to be fully competitive in this respect,
however, its functional reliability must somehow be established early in the planning
process.
Its rarely possible to do this within the conventional framework used for new
transmission lines or for new power plants. Itll always be necessary to trade the benefits
promised by a control system against the inevitable risks associated with closing a highpower loop around system dynamics that are not fully understood. If the risks are
perceived as too high, or if the functional reliability is perceived as inadequate, then
system reinforcements though enhanced control will be displaced by less technically
demanding means.
Reliability is just one intangible emerging in the new power system. Others include
information security, regulatory changes, business survival, and the directions in which a
particular regional transmission organization (RTO) evolves.
8.4.2 Implications of equipment ownership
As many electric power systems move toward deregulation, there is much focus on the
economic issues associated with the new competitive operating environment; details of
energy trading and pricing have been in the forefront. However, the ability to operate in
such an environment with an acceptable degree of security and reliability, and indeed to

8-14

be economically competitive, requires significant attention to the methods and strategies

of power system control.
In the new environment, the power system comprises corporate entities having diverse
roles, equipment, and business interests. There are independent generating entities,
transmission entities, distribution entities and brokering entities. The physical functioning
of the integrated power system, however, remains the same as before. Therefore, the
responsibility for control of individual equipment should not follow ownership; instead it
should be vested with RTO. The specification and design of these controls should be part
of overall system planning and design carried out by an independent entity. Otherwise,
system security and economy will be sacrificed, defeating the very purpose of
restructuring the industry.
In particular, its essential to recognize the critical role played by generator controls in
maintaining system stability and controlling voltages and frequency. It should be
mandatory for the generators to be fitted with fast-acting excitation system, AVR, and
speed governing systems. In many cases, PSS should be mandatory.
The PSS should be designed and tuned so as to contribute to the enhancement of overall
system stability, including damping of local as well as interarea modes of oscillation.
There should be no difficulty in motivating power plant owners to install controls that
enhance the operability and stability of the generators. For those controls that are
provided to meet the overall power system requirements there should be proper financial
incentives.
8.4.3 AGC in the new environment
With deregulation comes the redefinition of system control areas. Both the introduction of
new control areas and the consolidation of existing controls areas impact the way
traditional control issues are handled. Traditionally, frequency control, achieved through
the matching of generation to load, has been one of the functions of control areas using
some form of automatic generation control (AGC). Although the extent to which
frequency control is required is debatable, some control is required to prevent the
instabilities and other adverse effects associated with excessively low or high frequencies.
The control of frequency to tight tolerances is arguably associated with improved power
quality which may be expected by some customers, but that is not strictly a requirement
for successful interconnected operation.
In a deregulated environment its not clear who will be responsible for any level of
frequency control. AGC requires spinning reserve that can be valued as an ancillary
service. While its possible that certain parties will be prepared to provide such services
for a price, what is not clear is the extent to which this will occur. The first issue of
maintaining the frequency of a large system within limits required for secure operation is
a natural byproduct of near matching of the load and generation which should take place
under free energy trading.
The second issue of maintaining tight frequency control for power quality concerns
should be based on value and price to consumers.
8-15

8.4.4 Modeling/data requirements a bigger challenge

Equally important as the analysis method is the model used to represent the power
system. Its essential the model represent sufficient detail and accuracy to properly
reproduce all important system dynamics. While this has led to the use of very large
system models (for example, North American Eastern Interconnection is often
represented by more than 26,000 buses), analytical tools are available to handle such
systems. Good dynamic reduction methods are also available which can be applied to
reduce large models to more manageable sizes while retaining the key system dynamics.
Perhaps a bigger challenge is the availability of model data for various equipment,
including generators and the associated controls, protective systems, and system loads.
While phenomenal advancements have been made in terms of analytical techniques and
computational tools, data acquisition has not kept pace with the requirements. Many
utilities use typical data for modeling much of the equipment. For control and
protection, the data is often not representative of the actual settings and, in many cases,
the condition of the equipment. More effort is needed towards the acquisition and
verification of model data. This is being increasingly recognized by the industry,
particularly in the aftermath of major system disturbances. For example the two
disturbances that occurred in 1996 on the western North American system have motivated
the WSCC to mandate field measurement and model derivation for all generation units
(unit, exciter, PSS, governor, and protection) greater than 10 MVA. Once good models
are obtained (that is, they match the field response), then its necessary to use this
information to optimally tune the system. Once optimized, its essential that field
adjustments are not permitted without prior study of the impacts.
8.4.5 On-line dynamic security assessment and real-time monitoring and
control
In the new power sector the system conditions are extremely unpredictable and the
volume of transactions that may have to be examined may be huge. The traditional
approach to deploying preventive and emergency controls based on off-line security
analysis studies which generate a set of tables indicating stability limits and control
measures may not be satisfactory.
In the new structure, tools are necessary, such as on-line transient stability assessment and
voltage stability assessment. These are described in Chapter 5.
In order to make these new tools useful, its necessary obtain reliable on-line input data.
Its necessary adopt real-time system monitoring and control. An example of such a
scheme is a wide-area measurement system (WAMS) being developed by Bonneville
Power Administration western North American. The WAMS use synchronized phasor
measurements and portable power system monitors to centralize information at control
centers.

8-16

8.4.6 Alternatives for pricing of stability controls in a deregulated industry

The shift to a market-based structure necessitates the unbundling of services by stripping
out non-energy costs and identifying ancillary services that have costs and value. The
following is based on procedures of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council in North
America [8.3].
With the re-regulation of the electric power industry one important question appears: Will
proper market signals in combination with commonly accepted best practices foster
competition and preserve or even enhance the reliability of the system? This represents a
difficult challenge with respect to the interface between the market driven generation
sector and the regulated transmission system that may be under the control of an
Independent System Operator (ISO). However, the prudent use of Special Protection
Systems (SPS) and Dynamic Control Systems (DCS) can play a vital role in enhancing
both competition and system reliability provided that proper market signals are
implemented.
Performance requirements. In all cases of SPS, the design and operation must be
consistent with all criteria, including protection criteria. Depending upon the type of SPS,
varying degrees of functional redundancy may be required to ensure reliable operation.
For example, Type I (SPS with potential for interarea impact, initiated by normal
conditions) may require two independent protection schemes while a Type III (SPS with
potential for local impact only) may require only one set of system protection. In addition,
for loss of an element without a fault or due to a single line to ground fault cleared in
normal time, the failure of an SPS circuit breaker is considered as part of the normal
criteria. Thus there are situations where excess generation may be armed for rejection to
ensure that sufficient generation is successfully tripped for a critical fault.
The design and operation of the DCS must be approved by the ISO. Once approved,
procedures must ensure that the DCS performs as intended. Note that the NERC
Standards require the generator owners to provide accurate and timely steady state and
dynamic data for their generating units [8-8]. Modeling should be consistent with industry
standards, such as IEEE models. In order to ensure the proper modeling of excitation
equipment (also other machine and governor parameters), the ISO could conduct audits
(similar to machine parameter measurement R&D projects) as required. In addition, event
reconstruction by simulating actual system events and comparing the results with the
actual machine performance could identify units with suspect parameters. Its necessary
that any changes to the control parameters be communicated to the ISO.
DCS are subject to reliability standards that ensure dependability and security. For Type I
DCS (whose incorrect operation or failure to operate following a normal criteria
contingency would have interarea or interregional consequences), design requirements
specify that the DCS should perform its intended function for specified Bulk Power
System (BPS) contingencies while itself experiencing a single undetected failure. This
means that vital subsystems should either have a functional redundancy or sufficient selfdiagnostics so that there would be reduced dependency on the DCS in setting
transmission system limits. All Type I and Type II DCS (installed for the purpose of
mitigating the interarea impact of extreme contingency) are designed so that a critical
8-17

failure of the DCS itself does not cause unacceptable BPS behavior. Similar to protection
system criteria, owners of DCSs have obligations to perform both maintenance and
monitoring functions.
Justification for SPS or DCS. The implementation of a SPS or DCS is dependent upon
the system conditions that justify their use. We discuss two main categories of SPS use:
reliability and economy.
Reliability. An approach to defining reliability is to recognize that the SPS or DCS is
providing greater resiliency to the operation of the network when the device is not
required in the setting of normal limits on the system. For all DCS and those SPS
required for stability, the devices are in effect providing greater stability margin to the
system for a particular set of contingencies. An alternate approach to reliability does not
account for the additional robustness of the system, but rather defines reliability as the
requirement that the implementation of a DCS or SPS cannot reduce the operating limits
of the network. (If there is a reduction, then there are economic penalties.)
If the system is operating in an insecure state (for either normal or extreme contingency
criteria) and the arming of an SPS or DCS would return the system to a more secure state,
the SPS or DCS becomes essential to maintaining reliability. For example, immediately
upon the loss of one or more transmission facilities, the interface flows may violate the
permissible normal criteria transfer limit. For this scenario, a Type I SPS could restore the
transfer limit.
Economy. The economic use of an SPS or DCS applies when the device is required to
increase the normal transfer limit of the system. In this case, the use an existing SPS or
DCS as well as the planning of a future SPS or DCS would be driven by the transmission
tariff structure.
In the future it may be possible to attribute an improved loss of load probability to
particular SPS or DCS. This could then be weighed against the value that the load places
on enhanced reliability of service. It is judged that this will present not only technical
challenges, but will no doubt be complicated by the regulatory process required to
approve this methodology.
Payment Schedules for SPS and DCS. Several options exist for the payment schedules
for the arming of existing SPS and DCS, as well as for the implementation of future
devices. Some options:
Dont Pay. In the Dont Pay scenario, its assumed that all existing SPS and DCS
continue to function in a secure manner, but there is no special payment made for their
use. Future system additions could be addressed through rules such as a requirement that
all future generators are required to have high performance excitation systems that
include power system stabilizers (PSS). The Dont Pay method could also require
payment from the SPS or DCS providers if they failed to preserve existing system transfer
limits.
Its not clear if the Dont Pay option will cause any degradation in the reliability of the
system with respect to the implementation of SPS and DCS. In the short term the primary

8-18

focus of generator providers will be on issues that are more economically lucrative. Its
also well recognized by market participants that the great experiment in the deregulation
of the electric power industry could come to an abrupt end if there were many
interruptions of load. In the long term, the robustness of the network could improve if
price signals locate new generation closer to the load and overall system transfers are
reduced. This scenario would of course reduce dependency on SPS and DCS.
Embedded Cost. This method recognizes the benefits of SPS and DCS and seeks to make
the provider cost neutral, but without necessarily accounting for lost opportunity costs.
We discuss the possible use of an Embedded Cost method, first for SPS and then DCS.
The payment for arming a SPS would include paying for the installation and maintenance
of the protection system as part of the Transmission Service Charge (TSC) or
Transmission Uplift Charge (TUC). For Type I SPS the ISO and all market participants
(the generator, transmission owner, and the load) are the beneficiaries of the reliability
aspects of the SPS. However, the generator is not compensated for any additional
transmission capability that may be available as the result of arming or installing the SPS.
For Type II SPS the system has an extra degree of security against extreme contingencies.
However, the generator, transmission facility, or load providing this service is placed at
risk. In the event that either Type I or Type II SPS is triggered and works as designed for
an actual contingency or has an undesired trip (within reason), payment shall be as
follows:
GR (generation rejection or reduction)The unit must be made whole otherwise the
unit would not be willing to provide the extra measure of security. Therefore, back-up
power is supplied free of charge to the generator if it is rejected. (Its assumed that only a
limited number of false trips due to the SPS would be tolerated.) If this power is from the
economy (perhaps the Location Based Marginal Pricing or LBMP) market, then the
differences between the economy market and the rejected generators price is provided
from the TCT (Transmission Cross-Tripping).
TCT (Transmission Cross-Tripping)No payment. The ISO has responsibility for system
reliability and the TCT provides an extra level of security.
LR (load rejection)No payment. SPS is in the same class as underfrequency load
shedding. Eventually there may be reliability-based rates and the load which is placed at
risk might get a discount.
For Type III SPS (with potential for local impact only)the local area is the beneficiary
of the SPS. Local arrangements could be made to compensate the involved parties.
A proposal for the payment of the DCS is dependent upon several factors, including
whether the control is excitation equipment or governor related, the type, and the inherent
transmission rate structure.
Excitation equipment tuning and supplementary controls, such as power system
stabilizers, are essential to the stability performance of the system. They are considered as
part of the Voltage Support and Control Ancillary Service and the payment for this
category of DCS is thus highly dependent upon the transmission rate structure.

8-19

Transmission tariffs for Voltage Support and Control are often embedded or cost based
rates. For this scenario, the generator is paid for a portion or the full capital and operating
cost of the DCS.
Excitation equipment improvements, such as replacement with solid state systems and/or
the addition of PSS could result in greater system resiliency, particularly with respect to
extreme contingencies. In other instances, the modification to the excitation system may
not be capital intensive and could require simply changing a gain. In either case its
suggested that the embedded cost method would pay the generator for all or part of the
excitation equipment modification. Its recognized that the generator would not realize
any additional benefits from increases in transfer limits.
Turbine governor DCS fall into several categories. Those that provide frequency response
and regulation services usually impact the long-term dynamics of the network and are
commonly addressed by transmission tariffs. It would be a difficult task to economically
quantify the differences between the control performance (AGC) response and the DCS
turbine governor response. Other DCS, such as fast valving, impact the short-term
dynamics and can be handled similar to a SPS.
Market-Based Rates. The proper price signals would establish an economical incentive
for providing SPS and DCS services. Its interesting that generators on the downside of,
and loads on the upside of, a congested transmission interface might be reluctant to make
system improvements resulting in higher transmission operating limits. This is because
the higher limits would result in the generator receiving a lower LBMP and the load
paying a higher LBMP price. The generator could proceed with the improvement by
making financial arrangements with other market participants. However, the question of
how the ISO would arrange for system improvements justified by improved system
resiliency needs to be determined based upon the particular ISO definition or reliability.
We now discuss possible Market-Based Rate methodologies for SPS and DCS.
For a Type I SPS resulting in higher system transfer levels, there is a cost saving to
customers. However, the SPS comes at a cost to the owner of SPS, possibly including a
lost opportunity cost, as would be the case for the rejection of generating units. The SPS
holder could theoretically claim an allocation of transmission that could be handled in any
number of different ways. The transmission allocation could be defined as the increase in
transfer capability across a congested interface. In this case, the Transmission Provider
could offer a payment based upon a percentage of the expected increases in wheeling
revenue. An interesting approach to determining the value of and location of the
transmission allocation could be the auction of incrementally feasible Transmission
Congestion Contracts (TCCs) as suggested in some Locational Based Marginal Pricing
(LBMP) methods. The auction could be conducted similar to proposals for the conversion
of traditional transmission rights into TCCs. Alternatively, it may be possible for the
SPS holder to utilize a more direct bid based methodology that avoids the complication of
a special TCC auction as suggested by some LBMP systems. The following alternative
bid based system could be used:
GRSince generation rejection schemes allow for higher economy transfers by placing
units at risk, the benefiting entities should pay the machines for accepting a possibly
8-20

lower capacity factor. Other costs to the machine include possible penalties for backup
supply (assuming a bilateral contract) and physical costs, such as possible loss of life of
the machine from additional trips. The generator would need to weigh these costs against
possible lost opportunity costs due to the lower transmission interface capability that
would result from disarming the SPS. Its suggested that the following procedure be
invoked:
The ISO determines transfer limits with and without the SPS activated.
The generation unit (through a power exchange) accepts or rejects bids from other
generating units or load serving entities for the activation of the SPS.
TCTPresumably higher system transfer limits would result in greater transmission
revenues. Therefore, the owner of the TCT is reimbursed for the costs of the SPS through
the Transmission Uplift Charge.
LRLoad rejection is the dual of generation rejection and could be handled a similar
way as follows:
The ISO determines transfer limits with and without the SPS activated.
The Load (possibly through a power exchange) accepts or rejects bids from other
generating units or load serving entities for the activation of the SPS.
Type I SPS do not increase transfer limits and Type II SPS are reliability based and do not
have an economy market at this time. In the future, its conceivable that loads may wish
to pay for higher levels of reliability. At that time a power exchange could be used as a
mechanism for bidding for the activation of the SPS. Its envisioned that alternative
approach would be an ISO calculation of the probability of the contingency events
necessitating the SPS action. This could be weighed against the cost of the service
interruption. Based upon this economic determination, a decision could be made on
whether or not to pay the reliability-based rate for the SPS.
Type III SPS is a local issue where it is difficult to generalize reliability versus economy
method of compensation.
For the case where the transmission system is stability limited, the application of a single
DCS could increase the transfer capability of the system. Similar to the methods
described in the SPS section, increased transmission capability could be allocated to the
owner of the DCS. This method is applicable to new or improved DCS as well as for
DCS that can be armed or disarmed by operators or a defined set of system conditions.
The transmission allocation problem becomes more complex for the case where multiple
DCS are coordinated to increase transfer limits. Here the individual owners of the DCS
could come to some business solution, possible based upon techniques that are used for
tuning DCS and Dynamic Security Analysis.
Total payment for DCS used to enhance the reliability of the network would be
determined similar to the method used for SPS. However, the allocation of the payment
would be more complicated and possibly require advanced analyses that determine the
individual contributions of the DCS

8-21

Market Power. In all cases where the owner of an SPS or DCS is paid there is the issue
of market power. It will be necessary to prevent anti-competitive actions by generators
and loads by constant observation and possible dispute resolution by regulatory
authorities.
8.4.7 Large scale stability controls and legal liabilities
Legal liability with stability controls may be a concern when the nature and role of the
RTO (Independent System Operator or Independent Transmission Company) is not well
established [8-1416]. Key points are:

Redefinition of electricity as a market product may well expose all providers to legal
liabilities from which they are now immune.

Large-scale stability control (LSSC) faces many technical challenges that make it very
difficult to assure reliable LSSC performance. Only the RTO(s) will have the
infrastructure and other assets needed to monitor LSSC performance effectively.
LSSC, marketed as an ancillary service, could be a magnet for lawsuits. An RTO
should be held harmless for duties performed according to sound engineering
practice,

LSSC actions that are initiated after system failure is clearly underway face less legal
exposure. This would favor a shift in emphasis, toward greater acceptance of system
failures but with LSSC action to make the failures graceful and to facilitate prompt
restoration of electrical services.

References and bibliography

8-1
M. K. Donnelly, J. E. Dagle, D. J. Trudnowski, G. J. Rogers Impacts of the
Distributed Utility on Transmission System Stability, IEEE Transactions on
Power Systems, Vol.11, No. 2, pp. 741746, May 1998.
8-2

H. Clark, PTI Newsletter, Issue No. 87, Fourth Quarter 1996.

8-3

M. Henderson, Stability Controls in a Restructured Industry, presentation to

IEEE/PES Power System Stability Controls Subcommittee, January 1997.

8-4

F. P. de Mello, Some Aspects of Transmission System Planning and Design in

Developing Countries, Engineering Foundation Conference, Henniker, New
Hampshire, Aug 2127, 1976.

8-5

M. M. Adibi and L. H. Fink, Power System Restoration Planning, IEEE

Transactions on Power Systems, Vol.9, No. 1, pp. 2228, February 1994.

8-6

C. Gama, R. L. Leoni, J. Gribel, R. Fraga, M.J. Eiras, W. Ping, A. Ricardo, J.

Cavalcanti, and R. Tenrio, Brazilian NorthSouth Interconnection
Application of Thyristor Controlled Series Compensation (TCSC) to Damp InterArea Oscillation Mode, CIGR, paper 14-101, 1998.

8-7

D. Shirmohammadi and A. Vojdani, An Overview of Ancillary Services, V

SEPOPE, May 1996, Recife, Brazil.
8-22

8-8

North American Electric Reliability Council, NERC Planning Standards,

September 1997, www.nerc.com.

8-9

P. Kundur, Power System Stability and Control, McGraw-Hill, 1994.

8-10

P. Kundur, M. Klein, G. J. Rogers, and M. S. Zymno, Application of Power

System Stabilizers for Enhancement of Overall System Stability, IEEE
Transactions on Power Systems, Vol.4, No. 2, pp. 614626, May 1989.

8-11

L. R. Day, Control Area Trends: Principles and Responses, IEEE Computer

Applications in Power, pp. 3439, April 1995.

8-12

L. H. Fink, P. J. M. von Son, On System Control within a Restructured

Industry, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, Vol.13, No. 2, pp. 611616,
May 1998.

8-13

P. Kundur and G. K. Morison, Power System Control: Requirements and Trends

in the New Utility Environment, Bulk Power System Dynamics and Control IV Restructuring, August 2428, Santorini, Greece.

8-14

J. F. Hauer and C. W. Taylor, Information, Reliability, and Control in the New

Power System, Proceedings of 1998 American Control Conference, June 2426,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

8-15

A. J. Roman, Legal Responsibility for Reliability in the New Competitive

Electricity Markets in Canada: Who Do I Sue if the Lights Go Out? plenary
session of the IEEE/PES Summer Meeting, Edmonton, Canada, July 1822, 1999
(to appear in IEEE PES Review).

8-16

B. J. Fleishman, Emerging Liability Issues for the New Electric Power Industry,
1997 IBC Conference on Ensuring Electric Power Reliability in the Competitive
Marketplace, San Francisco, September 2930, 1997.

8-17

Internet addresses: http://www.nordpool.no/. See also: http://www.statnett.no/,

http://www.svk.se/ and http://www.fingrid.fi/.

8-18

Deregulation of the Nordic Power Market. Implementation and Experiences

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Chapter 9

Conclusions and Suggested Future Work

Angle stability control is an old power system problem, with many effective solutions.
The present deregulated, competitive environment for the generation subsystem, however,
presents new challenges; power transactions may be very different than planned, with
need to increase stability-related transfer limits. New long-distance interconnections on
several continents present synchronous stability challenges. We wish to exploit recent and
emerging technologies for the development of cost-effective advanced stability controls.
Technologies include high voltage power electronics, and the various information
technologies such as digital sensors and signal processing, digital controls, digital
communications, fiber optics communications, GPS, intelligent controls, and advanced
control theory.
Questions investigated by the task force include:

What is the value and application of wide-area (centralized) stability control?

What is the value and application of direct control of rotor angles?

What are needs for adaptive control?

What new control techniques (examples: robust control theory, fuzzy logic) are
promising?

9.1
Conclusions
1. The primary stability controls are fast fault clearing and generator excitation control.
Special feedforward controls such as generator tripping for severe disturbances are
very effective and are widely used.
2. Generator excitation control and control of other existing actuators should be fully
exploited before considering transmission level mechanically-switched or power
electronic controlled equipment.
3. The purpose of stability controls is to remove stability-imposed limits on power
transfer. High damping ratio for oscillation damping or stiff (high synchronizing
power) performance may not be cost-effective. Direct control of rotor angle is not
normally appropriate.
4. For cost and reliability/complexity reasons, local control strategies are the first choice.
Control and communication technologies allow wide-area control where benefits
(e.g., superior observability) exist.
5. Digital controls should not be simple replicas of analog controls. Possibilities for
control adaptation, control mode shifting, and different control structures should be
considered.

6. Time and frequency domain simulations are essential for robust stability control
design and for control certification. This requires development of accurate models and
data sets. Simulations must include sensitivity analysis of various operating/
disturbance conditions and other uncertainties. Simulations should be validated by
field tests and system monitoring.
7. Wide-area monitoring of power plants and substations is desirable to support stability
control implementation and operation.
8. Control reliability should not be based on simple redundancy requirements. Rather,
hardware and software algorithm failure modes and frequency should be investigated,
along with the consequences of failures.
9. With independent ownership of generation, requirements to maintain stability of
synchronous generators remain. Overall power system engineering for stability is
required. Some system requirements should be mandated. One example is generator
automatic voltage regulation. Other requirements are suitable for ancillary service
arrangements.
10. Transmission-level power electronic equipment offers many possibilities for powerful
stability control. These are available for special needs, and ongoing development may
make the equipment cost-effective for more widespread use.
11. Synergies are possible between stability control and control center EMS (energy
management system) applications. Dynamic security assessment may be used for
control arming and adaptation, or as the database for pattern-recognition based
controls.
12. Defense-in-depth and multiple lines of defense are essential to minimize
catastrophic power system instability and widespread outages because of rare multiple
outages and failures. Stability controls may include load shedding and controlled
separation. Power plants should be able to withstand voltage and frequency
excursions associated with islanding and other abnormal conditions.
9.2
Areas for Future Work
1. Wide-area control based on new communication technologies. Digital fiber optic
communication is rapidly becoming available. Emerging technologies such as low
earth orbit satellites are promising. Direct load control is facilitated by informationage technology.
2. Further exploitation of digital control possibilities that break paradigms established
during the decades of analog control development.
3. Modulation of steam and gas turbines mechanical power for damping of low
frequency oscillations.
4. Integration of control center data/application programs with stability controls. A
particular challenge for on-line interarea stability assessment is state estimation for
power systems spanning large portions of a continent.

9-2

5. Strategies and criteria for stability control in the partially deregulated and restructured
electric power industry. This will include better-defined mandatory practices with
enforcement, and also ancillary service markets for power system stability enhancing
controls.

9-3