Reliability evaluation of power systems with high short-circuit current reduction

Abstract

Similar to other cities worldwide, the increasing amounts of short-circuit current in Bangkok (Thailand) and the vicinity areas are becoming higher than the interrupting capacity (IC) of circuit breakers. To cope with the problem, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has come up with the solutions of network reconfiguration, e.g. bus splitting and transmission line disconnecting. These solutions help reduce effectively the amounts of short-circuit currents by increasing the equivalent system impedance. However, bus splitting and transmission line disconnecting tend to decrease the system reliability. One of the alternative approaches, the installation of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) can help reduce the amounts of short-circuit currents, while the system reliability is maintained. Therefore, this paper mainly presents the reliability evaluation method of the systems with HVDC installation, which requires AC/DC power flow calculation. To avoid system constraint violation, generation redispatch, load shedding, and DC power flow control are executed. The Monte Carlo simulation is used to repeatedly evaluate the system reliability until convergence. The proposed method is tested in (i) the IEEE Reliability Test System 79 (RTS79) to confirm the correctness of reliability evaluation and (ii) the system of EGAT Bangkok including its vicinity areas to show the readiness for real implementation. Comparison of reliability indices among all solutions of short-circuit current reduction is presented and discussed. The results show that the proposed method is effective and the HVDC installation can increase the system reliability, depending on its installation location and capacity. © 2014 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.