A Parallel Solution for the Resilient Operation of Power Systems in Geomagnetic Storms

Abstract

Optimal operation strategies are essential for maintaining a secure, economic, and resilient operation of power systems in dealing with geomagnetic storms. However, practical efforts for attaining such optimal operations are facing significant modeling and solution challenges that stem from the computational complexity of the geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) mitigation problem. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a parallel solution approach to improve the computational efficiency. In this approach, the mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem of mitigating geomagnetic disturbance is split into a nonlinear AC optimal power flow subproblem (ACOPF) and a mixed-integer linear DC geomagnetically-induced current (GIC-DC) mitigation subproblem. The solution mitigates the negative effects of geomagnetic storms by introducing transformer neutral and transmission line series GIC blocking devices, transmission switching, and a host of other operation planning schemes which can enhance the power system resilience. Multiple cases on the 6-bus, 18-bus and 150-bus power systems are studied to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed parallel modeling and solution approach. The studied cases also show that the proposed parallel solution approach offers a promising performance which is based on the applications of augmented Lagrangian relaxation and auxiliary problem principle methods.