Effects of prioritizing demand on optimal load shedding policy

Abstract

Demand priorities in the power system optimal load shedding policy are major decision variables used to regulate the amount of load shedding at specific buses during contingencies. Previous work on optimal load shedding does not explicitly consider demand priorities. This paper investigates the effects of demand priorities on the performance of the power system during emergencies. A nonlinear programming approach is used to determine the optimal values of demand priorities for two test systems. Optimizing demand priorities is shown to enhance overall system performance measured by total supplied load, bus voltages and system losses during the contingency. Results are offered demonstrating additional enhancements by optimizing the demand priority at the bus with the second largest load.