Presently power systems are being operated under high stress level conditions unforeseen at the moment they were designed. These operating conditions have negatively impacted reliability, controllability and security margins. FACTS devices and HVDC transmissions have emerged as solutions to help power systems to increase the stability margins. VSC-HVDC transmissions are of particular interest since the principal characteristic of this type of transmission is its ability to independently control active power and reactive power. This thesis presents various control strategies to improve damping of electromechanical oscillations, and also enhance transient and voltage stability by using VSC-HVDC transmissions. These control strategies are based of different theory frames, namely, modal analysis, nonlinear control (Lyapunov theory) and model predictive control. In the derivation of the control strategies two models of VSC-HVDC transmissions were also derived. They are Injection Model and Simple Model. Simulations done in the HVDC Light Open Model showed the validity of the derived models of VSC-HVDC transmissions and the effectiveness of the control strategies. Furthermore the thesis presents an analysis of local and remote information used as inputs signals in the control strategies. It also describes an approach to relate modal analysis and the SIME method. This approach allowed the application of SIME method with a reduced number of generators, which were selected based on modal analysis. As a general conclusion it was shown that VSC-HVDC transmissions with an appropriate input signal and control strategy was an effective means to improve the system stability. / QC 20110412

The Estimation of Thevenin Equivalent Parameters is useful for System Monitoring and Protection. We studied a method for estimating the Thevenin equivalent circuits. We then studied two applications including voltage stability and fault location. A study of the concepts of Voltage Stability is done in the initial part of this thesis. A Six Bus Power System Model was simulated using MATLAB SIMULINK®. Subsequently, the Thevenin Parameters were calculated. The results were then used for two purposes, to calculate the Maximum Power that can be delivered and for Fault Location.

Traditional power system stability assessment based on full model computation shows its drawbacks in real-time applications where fast variations are present at both demand side and supply side. This work presents the use of data mining techniques, in particular the Decision Trees (DTs), for fast evaluation of power system oscillatory stability and voltage stability from synchrophasor measurements. A regression tree-based approach is proposed to predict the stability margins. Modal analysis and continuation power flow are the tools used to build the knowledge base for off-line DT training. Corresponding metrics include the damping ratio of critical electromechanical oscillation mode and MW-distance to the voltage instability region. Classification trees are used to group an operating point into predefined stability state based on the value of corresponding stability indicator. A novel methodology for knowledge base creation has been elaborated to assure practical and sufficient training data. Encouraging results are obtained through performance examination. The robustness of the proposed predictor to measurement errors and system topological variations is analyzed. A scheme has been proposed to tackle the problem of when and how to update the data mining tool for seamless online stability monitoring. The optimal placement for the phasor measurement units (PMU) based on the importance of DT variables is suggested. A measurement-based voltage stability index is proposed and evaluated using field PMU measurements. It is later revised to evaluate the impact of wind generation on distribution system voltage stability. Next, a new data mining tool, the Probabilistic Collocation Method (PCM), is presented as a computationally efficient method to conduct the uncertainty analysis. As compared with the traditional Monte Carlo simulation method, the collocation method could provide a quite accurate approximation with fewer simulation runs. Finally, we show how to overcome the disadvantages of mode meters and ringdown analyzers by using DTs to directly map synchrophasor measurements to predefined oscillatory stability states. The proposed measurement-based approach is examined using synthetic data from simulations on IEEE test systems, and PMU measurements collected from field substations. Results indicate that the proposed method complements the traditional model-based approach, enhancing situational awareness of control center operators in real time stability monitoring and control.

Interest in Distributed Generation (DG) in power system networks has been growing rapidly. This increase can be explained by factors such as environmental concerns, the restructuring of electricity businesses, and the development of technologies for small-scale power generation. DG units are typically connected so as to work in parallel with the utility grid; however, with the increased penetration level of these units and the advancements in unit’s control techniques, there is a great possibility for these units to be operated in an autonomous mode known as a microgrid. Integrating DG units into distribution systems can have an impact on different practices such as voltage profile, power flow, power quality, stability, reliability, and protection. The impact of the DG units on stability problem can be further classified into three issues: voltage stability, angle stability, and frequency stability. As both angle and frequency stability are not often seen in distribution systems, voltage stability is considered to be the most significant in such systems. In fact, the distribution system in its typical design doesn’t suffer from any stability problems, given that all its active and reactive supplies are guaranteed through the substation. However, the following facts alter this situation: • With the development of economy, load demands in distribution networks are sharply increasing. Hence, the distribution networks are operating more close to the voltage instability boundaries. • The integration of distributed generation in distribution system introduces possibility of encountering some active/reactive power mismatches resulting in some stability concerns at the distribution level. Motivated by these facts, the target of this thesis is to investigate, analyze and enhance the voltage stability of distribution systems with high penetration of distributed generation. This study is important for the utilities because it can be applied with Connection Impact Assessment (CIA ). The study can be added as a complement assessment to study the impacts of the installation of DG units on voltage stability. In order to accomplish this target, this study is divided into three perspectives: 1) utilize the DG units to improve the voltage stability margin and propose a method to allocate DG units for this purpose, 2) investigate the impact of the DG units on proximity to voltage stability 3) conduct harmonic resonance analysis to visualize the impacts of both parallel and series resonance on the system’s stability. These perspectives will be tackled in Chapter 3, Chapter 4, and Chapter 5, respectively. Chapter 3 tackles placing and sizing of the DG units to improve the voltage stability margin and consider the probabilistic nature of both the renewable energy resources and the load. In fact, placement and sizing of DG units with an objective of improving the voltage stability margin while considering renewable DG generation and load probability might be a complicated problem, due to the complexity of running continuous load flow and at the same time considering the probabilistic nature of the load and the DG unit’s resources. Therefore, this thesis proposes a modified voltage index method to place and size the DG units to improve the voltage stability margin, with conditions of both not exceeding the buses’ voltage, and staying within the feeder current limits. The probability of the load and DG units are modeled and included in the formulation of the sizing and placing of the DG units. Chapter 4 presents a model and analysis to study the impact of the DG units on proximity to voltage instability. Most of the modern DG units are equipped with power electronic converters at their terminals. The power electronic converter plays a vital role to match the characteristics of the DG units with the requirements of the grid connections, such as frequency, voltage, control of active and reactive power, and harmonic minimization. Due to the power electronics interfacing, these DG units have negligible inertia. Thus, they make the system potentially prone to oscillations resulting from the network disturbances. The main goal of this chapter is to model and analyze the impact of distributed generation DG units on the proximity of voltage instability, with high penetration level of DG units. Chapter 5 studies the harmonic resonance due to the integration of DG units in distribution systems. Normally, the harmonic resonance phenomenon is classified as a power quality problem, however, this phenomenon can affect the stability of the system due to the parallel and series resonance. Thus, the main goal of this chapter is to study and analyze the impact of the integration of distributed generation on harmonic resonance by modeling different types of DG units and applying impedance frequency scan method.

Η αστάθεια τάσης αποτελεί ένα σημαντικό πρόβλημα για τα συστήματα ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας. Ένα σύστημα εισέρχεται σε κατάσταση αστάθειας τάσης λόγω αύξησης της ζήτησης, μιας ξαφνικής, ευρείας κλίμακας διαταραχής ή αλλαγής στην κατάσταση του, που μπορεί να προκαλέσει μια σταδιακή και ανεξέλεγκτη πτώση τάσης. Παρουσιάζει, λοιπόν, ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον η μεταβατική συμπεριφορά του συστήματος σε σχέση με την ευστάθεια της τάσης. Επίσης, κατά τη λειτουργία ενός Σ.Η.Ε., είναι σημαντικό για το χειριστή να γνωρίζει το μέγιστο επιτρεπτό φορτίο του συστήματος χωρίς να κινδυνεύει από αστάθεια τάσης. Η δυναμική ευστάθεια τάσης μπορεί να διαιρεθεί σε βραχυπρόθεσμη και μακροπρόθεσμη. Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία θα δώσουμε έμφαση στη βραχυπρόθεσμη ευστάθεια τάσης. Για το σκοπό αυτό, αναπτύσσονται δυναμικά μοντέλα που περιγράφουν τη λειτουργία απλών συστημάτων ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας στο περιβάλλον του MATLAB/SIMULINK. Διερευνάται η επίδραση του φορτίου επαγωγικού κινητήρα ενός απλού Σ.Η.Ε., όσον αφορά στη βραχυπρόθεσμη ευστάθεια τάσης, χρησιμοποιώντας τις P-V καμπύλες τόσο του κινητήρα όσο και του δικτύου. Τα αποτελέσματα που προκύπτουν, κατόπιν επαληθεύονται παρατηρώντας τις καταστάσεις του συστήματος στο πεδίο του χρόνου. Με την ανάλυση φαίνεται ότι με την ανάλυση φαίνεται ότι μετά από βραχυκύκλωμα η τάση του συστήματος μειώνεται δραστικά και αυτό μπορεί να προκαλέσει την κατάρρευση του συστήματος όταν αυτό έχει ως φορτίο επαγωγικό κινητήρα. Η κατάρρευση αυτή μπορεί να αποφευχθεί με την όσο το δυνατόν ταχύτερη εκκαθάριση του σφάλματος. Σημαντικός παράγων γι’ αυτό είναι ο καθορισμός του κρίσιμου χρόνου εκκαθάρισης του σφάλματος με σκοπό την αποφυγή της εμφάνισης αστάθειας. Το πρόβλημα αυτό αναλύεται διεξοδικά και ορίζονται με αναλυτικό τρόπο τόσο ο κρίσιμος χρόνος εκκαθάρισης όσο και η κρίσιμη τιμή της ολίσθησης του επαγωγικού κινητήρα. Χρησιμοποιώντας επιπλέον χωρητική αντιστάθμιση αέργου ισχύος αναλύεται ο τρόπος που αυτή βελτιώνει τα περιθώρια ευσταθούς λειτουργίας κατά τη διάρκεια σφαλμάτων. Στη συνέχεια, για τον καθορισμό ενός δείκτη ευστάθειας τάσης σε σχέση με το μέγιστο επιτρεπτό φορτίο σε ένα δίκτυο, περιγράφεται μία διαδικασία καθορισμού ενός τέτοιου δείκτη, η οποία βασίζεται στη σύνθετη τιμή της τάσης όλων των ζυγών ενός συστήματος. Ο προτεινόμενος δείκτης χρησιμοποιείται για την εκτίμηση της μέγιστης φόρτισης του συστήματος. Επιπροσθέτως, καθορίζονται τα πιο «αδύναμα» τμήματα του συστήματος (κρίσιμος ζυγός και κρίσιμη γραμμή) για κατάλληλη άεργο αντιστάθμιση προς αποφυγή κατάρρευσης της τάσης. / Voltage instability has been a great concern for quite a long time in electric power industry. A system enters a state of voltage instability due to increase in demand, a sudden large disturbance or a change in system condition that causes a progressive and uncontrollable decline in voltage. It is therefore interesting to study both the dynamic and static aspects of voltage stability. Dynamic voltage stability can be divided into short-term and long-term based on the dynamics of the components that affect the voltage stability. In this project, we will emphasize on short-term stability. In this study, dynamic models of various power system components are successfully developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK platform. The effect of induction motor load on short-term voltage stability of a simple power system is investigated using the network and motor P-V curves and the results are found and then verified by observing the system states in time domain. Once the reason of voltage instability is identified, a remedial action using fixed capacitive reactive support is suggested to prevent the voltage instability. During a fault, the system voltage reduces drastically and that may cause to stall the induction motors. Stalling of induction motor can be prevented by clearing the fault as quickly as possible. A technique of determining the critical fault clearing time to prevent stalling of induction motor is also presented. In power system operation, it is important for the dispatcher to have knowledge on the maximum permissible loading of the system without reaching voltage instability. In this study, a method of determining the voltage stability index of a system based on the complex voltage of all buses in the system is described. The proposed index is then used in estimating the maximum loading of the system and is based on the information of present and past operating points. In addition, the weakest segments (critical bus and critical line) of the system are also identified for appropriate reactive compensations to avoid voltage collapse. The correctness of the identified critical bus and critical line is then verified by placing shunt/series capacitors at various locations and comparing the corresponding critical load multiplier factors

Η αστάθεια τάσης αποτελεί ένα σημαντικό πρόβλημα για τα συστήματα ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας. Ένα σύστημα εισέρχεται σε κατάσταση αστάθειας τάσης λόγω αύξησης της ζήτησης, μιας ξαφνικής, ευρείας κλίμακας διαταραχής ή αλλαγής στην κατάσταση του, που μπορεί να προκαλέσει μια σταδιακή και ανεξέλεγκτη πτώση τάσης. Παρουσιάζει, λοιπόν, ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον η μεταβατική συμπεριφορά του συστήματος σε σχέση με την ευστάθεια της τάσης. Επίσης, κατά τη λειτουργία ενός Σ.Η.Ε., είναι σημαντικό για το χειριστή να γνωρίζει το μέγιστο επιτρεπτό φορτίο του συστήματος χωρίς να κινδυνεύει από αστάθεια τάσης. Η δυναμική ευστάθεια τάσης μπορεί να διαιρεθεί σε βραχυπρόθεσμη και μακροπρόθεσμη. Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία θα δώσουμε έμφαση στη βραχυπρόθεσμη ευστάθεια τάσης. Για το σκοπό αυτό, αναπτύσσονται δυναμικά μοντέλα που περιγράφουν τη λειτουργία απλών συστημάτων ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας στο περιβάλλον του MATLAB/SIMULINK. Διερευνάται η επίδραση του φορτίου επαγωγικού κινητήρα ενός απλού Σ.Η.Ε., όσον αφορά στη βραχυπρόθεσμη ευστάθεια τάσης, χρησιμοποιώντας τις P-V καμπύλες τόσο του κινητήρα όσο και του δικτύου. Τα αποτελέσματα που προκύπτουν, κατόπιν επαληθεύονται παρατηρώντας τις καταστάσεις του συστήματος στο πεδίο του χρόνου. Με την ανάλυση φαίνεται ότι με την ανάλυση φαίνεται ότι μετά από βραχυκύκλωμα η τάση του συστήματος μειώνεται δραστικά και αυτό μπορεί να προκαλέσει την κατάρρευση του συστήματος όταν αυτό έχει ως φορτίο επαγωγικό κινητήρα. Η κατάρρευση αυτή μπορεί να αποφευχθεί με την όσο το δυνατόν ταχύτερη εκκαθάριση του σφάλματος. Σημαντικός παράγων γι’ αυτό είναι ο καθορισμός του κρίσιμου χρόνου εκκαθάρισης του σφάλματος με σκοπό την αποφυγή της εμφάνισης αστάθειας. Το πρόβλημα αυτό αναλύεται διεξοδικά και ορίζονται με αναλυτικό τρόπο τόσο ο κρίσιμος χρόνος εκκαθάρισης όσο και η κρίσιμη τιμή της ολίσθησης του επαγωγικού κινητήρα. Χρησιμοποιώντας επιπλέον χωρητική αντιστάθμιση αέργου ισχύος αναλύεται ο τρόπος που αυτή βελτιώνει τα περιθώρια ευσταθούς λειτουργίας κατά τη διάρκεια σφαλμάτων. Στη συνέχεια, για τον καθορισμό ενός δείκτη ευστάθειας τάσης σε σχέση με το μέγιστο επιτρεπτό φορτίο σε ένα δίκτυο, περιγράφεται μία διαδικασία καθορισμού ενός τέτοιου δείκτη, η οποία βασίζεται στη σύνθετη τιμή της τάσης όλων των ζυγών ενός συστήματος. Ο προτεινόμενος δείκτης χρησιμοποιείται για την εκτίμηση της μέγιστης φόρτισης του συστήματος. Επιπροσθέτως, καθορίζονται τα πιο «αδύναμα» τμήματα του συστήματος (κρίσιμος ζυγός και κρίσιμη γραμμή) για κατάλληλη άεργο αντιστάθμιση προς αποφυγή κατάρρευσης της τάσης. / Voltage instability has been a great concern for quite a long time in electric power industry. A system enters a state of voltage instability due to increase in demand, a sudden large disturbance or a change in system condition that causes a progressive and uncontrollable decline in voltage. It is therefore interesting to study both the dynamic and static aspects of voltage stability. Dynamic voltage stability can be divided into short-term and long-term based on the dynamics of the components that affect the voltage stability. In this project, we will emphasize on short-term stability. In this study, dynamic models of various power system components are successfully developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK platform. The effect of induction motor load on short-term voltage stability of a simple power system is investigated using the network and motor P-V curves and the results are found and then verified by observing the system states in time domain. Once the reason of voltage instability is identified, a remedial action using fixed capacitive reactive support is suggested to prevent the voltage instability. During a fault, the system voltage reduces drastically and that may cause to stall the induction motors. Stalling of induction motor can be prevented by clearing the fault as quickly as possible. A technique of determining the critical fault clearing time to prevent stalling of induction motor is also presented. In power system operation, it is important for the dispatcher to have knowledge on the maximum permissible loading of the system without reaching voltage instability. In this study, a method of determining the voltage stability index of a system based on the complex voltage of all buses in the system is described. The proposed index is then used in estimating the maximum loading of the system and is based on the information of present and past operating points. In addition, the weakest segments (critical bus and critical line) of the system are also identified for appropriate reactive compensations to avoid voltage collapse. The correctness of the identified critical bus and critical line is then verified by placing shunt/series capacitors at various locations and comparing the corresponding critical load multiplier factors

abstract: Voltage stability is always a major concern in power system operation. Recently Fault Induced Delayed Voltage Recovery (FIDVR) has gained increased attention. It is widely believed that the motor-driven loads of high efficiency, low inertia air conditioners are one of the main causes of FIDVR events. Simulation tools that assist power system operation and planning have been found insufficient to reproduce FIDVR events. This is because of their inaccurate load modeling of single-phase motor loads. Conventionally three-phase motor models have been used to represent the aggregation effect of single-phase motor load. However researchers have found that this modeling method is far from an accurate representation of single-phase induction motors. In this work a simulation method is proposed to study the precise influence of single-phase motor load in context of FIDVR. The load, as seen the transmission bus, is replaced with a detailed distribution system. Each single-phase motor in the distribution system is represented by an equipment-level model for best accuracy. This is to enable the simulation to capture stalling effects of air conditioner compressor motors as they are related to FIDVR events. The single phase motor models are compared against the traditional three phase aggregate approximation. Also different percentages of single-phase motor load are compared and analyzed. Simulation result shows that proposed method is able to reproduce FIDVR events. This method also provides a reasonable estimation of the power system voltage stability under the contingencies. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Electrical Engineering 2012

[pt] Após a incidência de alguns colapsos de tensão em sistemas de transmissão de energia a nível mundial, a segurança de tensão tornou-se um assunto de muito interesse nos últimos anos devido à importância do seu impacto. O fenômeno de estabilidade de tensão deve-se a fluxos de potência ativa e reativa excessivos na rede de transmissão e está associado às restrições ambientais e econômicas que impedem a expansão da rede. Atualmente, sabese da existência de uma máxima carga que pode ser alimentada pela rede e é a manifestação mais conhecida do fenômeno mas, também, é possível que o problema manifeste-se pela existência de uma máxima injeção de potência ativa e reativa na rede por geradores e compensadores síncronos. E mais, em situações de carregamento elevado da rede, é possível que ações de controle de tensão tenham efeito oposto ao usual. É apresentado um método seqüencial iterativo de avaliação e reforço para as condições de carregamento da rede em barras de tensão controlada, embora na literatura somente as barras de carga são analisadas. A verificação do comportamento do gerador e compensador síncrono como dispositivo de controle torna-se necessária já que, se funcionar de forma inversa, poderá levar o sistema ao colapso por problemas de tensão. Uma vez que a avaliação do carregamento da rede de transmissão detectou uma barra de geração crítica em um determinado ponto de operação, o reforço consiste do cálculo de ações de controle para aumentar a distância ou margem de potência entre a geração daquela barra e o novo máximo permitido. Muitas vezes isso pode ser conseguido através da alteração do perfil de tensão com a conseqüente redução nas perdas. Muitas outras vezes, o redespacho de potência ativa torna-se necessário. As etapas do método são: identificar a barra crítica, identificar a sub-rede utilizada para transmitir potência ativa dessa barra para as cargas, nessa sub-rede determinar o caminho e ramo mais carregados e, desviar o fluxo de potência do ramo mais carregado para outros. A seqüência é repetida até que as novas margens de potência sejam consideradas aceitáveis. Exemplos numéricos ilustrativos reais com o sistema brasileiro são apresentados. É verificado que o método proposto realmente produz os resultados desejados. / [en] After the incidence of some voltage collapses in the energy transmission systems in the world, the voltage security became an issue of great interest in the last years due to the importance of its impact. The phenomenon of voltage stability is due to the excessive active and reactive power flow in the electrical transmission network and has been associated with environment questions and lack of financial resources for transmission system expansion. Nowadays, it is well-known that there is a maximum power that the network can transmit to a load bus and is the best known manifestation of the phenomenon, but, is not familiar to many that there is a maximum power that can be injected by generators and synchronous compensators into the network. Moreover, in heavy loading conditions is possible that voltage control actions would have the inverse effect. It is shown a sequential iterative method for assessment and voltage security reinforcement in voltage-controlled buses, although the literature only the load buses are analyzed. The verification of the behaviour of the generator and synchronous compensator as control device becomes necessary since, if it works in an inverse way, it can take the system to the voltage collapse. Once the assessment is performed and is detected one generation critical bus in some operating point, the objective of the reinforcement function is to calculate adequate control actions in order to increase the distance or power margin between the actual generation and the new maximum power flow. Several times this may be achieved by voltage profile changes and consequent loss reduction. Sometimes that procedure is not enough and active generation rescheduling is recommended. The stages of the method are: identify the critical bus, identify the sub-network used to transmit active power flow from this bus to load buses, in this sub-network the critical transmission path and critical branch are determined and redirect the power flow from the branch more loaded to others. The sequence is repeated until resultant power margins are judged suitable. Illustrative real life numerical examples with the Brazilian system are provided. It is verified that the proposed method really produces the desired results.

[pt] Este trabalho analisa o fenômeno da estabilidade de tensão no domínio do tempo incluindo fenômenos rápidos (transitórios) e lentos (longo-termo). As diferentes formas de estabilidade existentes nos sistemas elétricos de potência são definidas e classificadas de acordo com a variável de interesse e com a amplitude do distúrbio. Utilizando-se um simples sistema elétrico de potência, verifica-se através de formulações dinâmicas fatores relevantes ao fenômeno da estabilidade de tensão. Investiga-se a influência de cargas do tipo potência constante e impedância constante sobre a estabilidade de tensão. Compensadores estáticos são incluídos nas análises e verifica-se a existência de regiões de operação onde as ações de controle não apresentam o efeito esperado. Investiga-se através de cenários o efeito adverso de dispositivos de controle com o limitador de sobre- excitação e o transformador de tape variável sobre a estabilidade de tensão. A partir de uma versão do programa de estabilidade transitória TRANSTAB, foram desenvolvidas duas versões do programa computacional VOLTDYN para simular no domínio do tempo o fenômeno da estabilidade de tensão. A primeira versão do programa Utiliza um algoritmo de integração de passo variável usando o método trapezoidal implícito enquanto que a segunda versão utiliza o método de Adams-Bashforth- Moulton. Diversos testes computacionais com as duas versões são realizados comprovando-se a importância desta forma de análise. / [en] This work is concerned with voltage stability analysis in time domain including transient and long-term time frames. Different power system stability forms are defined and classified according to the variable of interest and with the disturbance magnitude. Using a simple power system model, it is shown through dynamics formulations important aspects of the voltage stability phenomenon. Important aspects of load characteristics of constant power type and mixed (constant power/constant impedance) type on voltage stability are investigated. A static compensator model is included in the analysis and it is verified that under specific operation conditions the control actions are not efficient. Scenarios show the adverse effects of long-term control devices such as overexcitation limiters and under load tap changers on voltage stability. One version of the transient stability program TRANSTAB is modified in order to simulate transient and long-term voltage phenomena. The resulting modified computer program is called VOLTDYN. Two versions of the VOLTDYN progran are available. The first version uses a variable step-size algorithm based on the trapezoidal method. The other includes a variable step-size algorithm based on the Adams- Bashforth-Moulton method.

abstract: In the recent past, due to regulatory hurdles and the inability to expand transmission systems, the bulk power system is increasingly being operated close to its limits. Among the various phenomenon encountered, static voltage stability has received increased attention among electric utilities. One approach to investigate static voltage stability is to run a set of power flow simulations and derive the voltage stability limit based on the analysis of power flow results. Power flow problems are formulated as a set of nonlinear algebraic equations usually solved by iterative methods. The most commonly used method is the Newton-Raphson method. However, at the static voltage stability limit, the Jacobian becomes singular. Hence, the power flow solution may fail to converge close to the true limit. To carefully examine the limitations of conventional power flow software packages in determining voltage stability limits, two lines of research are pursued in this study. The first line of the research is to investigate the capability of different power flow solution techniques, such as conventional power flow and non-iterative power flow techniques to obtain the voltage collapse point. The software packages used in this study include Newton-based methods contained in PSSE, PSLF, PSAT, PowerWorld, VSAT and a non-iterative technique known as the holomorphic embedding method (HEM). The second line is to investigate the impact of the available control options and solution parameter settings that can be utilized to obtain solutions closer to the voltage collapse point. Such as the starting point, generator reactive power limits, shunt device control modes, area interchange control, and other such parameters. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2017