Minimize Linearization Error of Power Flow Model Based on Optimal Selection of Variable Space

Abstract

Linear power flow models are widely used in power system analysis because it brings huge computational benefits, especially for power system optimization problems. The improvement of the linearization accuracy is greatly beneficial to the power system operation considering the large amount of power scheduled based on linear power flow models. We find that the linearization error substantially changes with different selections of the variable space. In this paper, we formulate a model to find the linear power flow model with the minimized linearization error based on the optimal selection of the variable space. The expression of the variable space is generalized as a polynomial function. A simplified model of power losses is proposed. The difference between the selection of the variable space and the common hot-start approaches is illustrated. The effectiveness of the proposed linear power flow model is verified by power flow calculation and optimal power flow (OPF) calculation in the IEEE and Polish test systems.