Stability-based minimization of load shedding in weakly interconnected systems for real-time applications

Abstract

Abstract The transient stability of power systems is highly affected by the changes in the power generation and load levels. Due to the variability of the generating resources, the system stability can be provoked and the system stability limits can be reached as a result of certain sudden drop in the power generation. In these cases, the load shedding can act as an effective emergency corrective action for keeping system stability; however, over-shedding of loads results in severe economical as well as social security problems. Therefore, minimization of the load shedding required for the restoration of the system stability is one of the main objectives of this paper. Another critical issue related to successful load shedding is the fast assessment of the system stability, and the amount of the load shedding as well as the implementation of the load shedding corrective action. Therefore, this paper presents a fast method of stability assessment and load shedding requirements in the weakly interconnected power system. The method is an improved form of the extended equal area criterion (EEAC) where the required system equivalence is based on the availability of wide area monitoring (WAM) devices in modern power systems. The paper also investigates the impact of the implementation duration of the required load shedding. The results are verified through time domain simulations which confirm the accuracy of the presented method and its suitability for real-time applications.