This dissertation focuses on two specific problems related to the reliability of the modern power grid. The first part investigates the economic dispatch problem with uncertain power sources. The classic economic dispatch problem seeks generator power output levels that meet demand most efficiently; we add risk-awareness to this by explicitly modeling the uncertainty of intermittent power sources using chance-constrained optimization and incorporating the chance constraints into the standard optimal power flow framework. The result is a dispatch of power which is substantially more robust to random fluctuations with only a small increase in economic cost. Furthermore, it uses an algorithm which is only moderately slower than the conventional practice. The second part investigates “the power grid attack problem”: aiming to maximize disruption to the grid, how should an attacker distribute a budget of “damage” across the power lines? We formulate it as a continuous problem, which bypasses the combinatorial explosion of a discrete formulation and allows for interesting attacks containing lines that are only partially damaged rather than completely removed. The result of our solution to the attack problem can provide helpful information to grid planners seeking to improve the resilience of the power grid to outages and disturbances. Both parts of this dissertation include extensive experimental results on a number of cases, including many realistic large-scale instances.

Abstract not available

This thesis proposes, analyses and implements a fast and accurate real-time power system disturbances identification method based on an enhanced linear least squares algorithm for mitigation and monitoring of various power quality problems such as current harmonics, grid unbalances and voltage dips. The enhanced algorithm imposes less real-time computational burden on processing the system and is thus called ???efficient least squares algorithm???. The proposed efficient least squares algorithm does not require matrix inversion operation and contains only real numbers. The number of required real-time matrix multiplications is also reduced in the proposed method by pre-performing some of the matrix multiplications to form a constant matrix. The proposed efficient least squares algorithm extracts instantaneous sine and cosine terms of the fundamental and harmonic components by simply multiplying a set of sampled input data by the pre-calculated constant matrix. A power signal processing system based on the proposed efficient least squares algorithm is presented in this thesis. This power signal processing system derives various power system quantities that are used for real-time monitoring and disturbance mitigation. These power system quantities include constituent components, symmetrical components and various power measurements. The properties of the proposed power signal processing system was studied using modelling and practical implementation in a digital signal processor. These studies demonstrated that the proposed method is capable of extracting time varying power system quantities quickly and accurately. The dynamic response time of the proposed method was less than half that of a fundamental cycle. Moreover, the proposed method showed less sensitivity to noise pollution and small variations in fundamental frequency. The performance of the proposed power signal processing system was compared to that of the popular DFT/FFT methods using computer simulations. The simulation results confirmed the superior performance of the proposed method under both transient and steady-state conditions. In order to investigate the practicability of the method, the proposed power signal processing system was applied to two real-life disturbance mitigation applications namely, an active power filter (APF) and a distribution synchronous static compensator (D-STATCOM). The validity and performance of the proposed signal processing system in both disturbance mitigations applications were investigated by simulation and experimental studies. The extensive modelling and experimental studies confirmed that the proposed signal processing system can be used for practical real-time applications which require fast disturbance identification such as mitigation control and power quality monitoring of power systems

This thesis addresses the problem of reactive power scheduling in a power system with several areas controlled by independent transmission system operators (TSOs). To design a fair method for optimizing the control settings in the interconnected multi-TSO system, two types of schemes are developed. First, a centralized multi-TSO optimization scheme is introduced, and it is shown that this scheme has some properties of fairness in the economic sense. Second, the problem is addressed through a decentralized optimization scheme with no information exchange between the TSOs. In this framework, each TSO assumes an external network equivalent in place of its neighboring TSOs and optimizes the objective function corresponding to its own control area regardless of the impact that its choice may have on the other TSOs. The thesis presents simulation results obtained with the IEEE 39 bus system and IEEE 118 bus systems partitioned between three TSOs. It also presents some results for a UCTE-like 4141 bus system with seven TSOs. The decentralized control scheme is applied to both time-invariant and time-varying power systems. Nearly optimal performance is obtained in those contexts.

M. Tech. Electrical Engineering / Investigates the growing consensus that significant advantages can be achieved through the automation of distribution feeder switches In order to ensure quality and reliability of supply to single phase consumers by electrical utilities, a need arose to minimize unbalance. it is then postulated the unbalance due to uneven distribution of single-phase loads at the secondary side of the distribution network can be minimized using automatic and remote sensing technology.

No description available.

This thesis proposes, analyses and implements a fast and accurate real-time power system disturbances identification method based on an enhanced linear least squares algorithm for mitigation and monitoring of various power quality problems such as current harmonics, grid unbalances and voltage dips. The enhanced algorithm imposes less real-time computational burden on processing the system and is thus called ???efficient least squares algorithm???. The proposed efficient least squares algorithm does not require matrix inversion operation and contains only real numbers. The number of required real-time matrix multiplications is also reduced in the proposed method by pre-performing some of the matrix multiplications to form a constant matrix. The proposed efficient least squares algorithm extracts instantaneous sine and cosine terms of the fundamental and harmonic components by simply multiplying a set of sampled input data by the pre-calculated constant matrix. A power signal processing system based on the proposed efficient least squares algorithm is presented in this thesis. This power signal processing system derives various power system quantities that are used for real-time monitoring and disturbance mitigation. These power system quantities include constituent components, symmetrical components and various power measurements. The properties of the proposed power signal processing system was studied using modelling and practical implementation in a digital signal processor. These studies demonstrated that the proposed method is capable of extracting time varying power system quantities quickly and accurately. The dynamic response time of the proposed method was less than half that of a fundamental cycle. Moreover, the proposed method showed less sensitivity to noise pollution and small variations in fundamental frequency. The performance of the proposed power signal processing system was compared to that of the popular DFT/FFT methods using computer simulations. The simulation results confirmed the superior performance of the proposed method under both transient and steady-state conditions. In order to investigate the practicability of the method, the proposed power signal processing system was applied to two real-life disturbance mitigation applications namely, an active power filter (APF) and a distribution synchronous static compensator (D-STATCOM). The validity and performance of the proposed signal processing system in both disturbance mitigations applications were investigated by simulation and experimental studies. The extensive modelling and experimental studies confirmed that the proposed signal processing system can be used for practical real-time applications which require fast disturbance identification such as mitigation control and power quality monitoring of power systems

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / A smart grid is an intelligent power delivery system integrating traditional and advanced control, monitoring, and protection systems for enhanced reliability, improved efficiency, and quality of supply. To achieve a smart grid, technical challenges such as voltage instability; power loss; and unscheduled power interruptions should be mitigated. Therefore, future smart grids will require intelligent solutions at transmission and distribution levels, and optimal placement & sizing of grid components for optimal steady state and dynamic operation of the power systems. At distribution levels, feeder reconfiguration and Distributed Generation (DG) can be used to improve the distribution network performance. Feeder reconfiguration consists of readjusting the topology of the primary distribution network by remote control of the tie and sectionalizing switches under normal and abnormal conditions. Its main applications include service restoration after a power outage, load balancing by relieving overloads from some feeders to adjacent feeders, and power loss minimisation for better efficiency. On the other hand, the DG placement problem entails finding the optimal location and size of the DG for integration in a distribution network to boost the network performance. This research aims to develop Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms to solve the distribution network feeder reconfiguration and DG placement & sizing problems. Initially, the feeder reconfiguration problem is treated as a single-objective optimisation problem (real power loss minimisation) and then converted into a multi-objective optimisation problem (real power loss minimisation and load balancing). Similarly, the DG placement problem is treated as a single-objective problem (real power loss minimisation) and then converted into a multi-objective optimisation problem (real power loss minimisation, voltage deviation minimisation, Voltage stability Index maximisation). The developed PSO algorithms are implemented and tested for the 16-bus, the 33-bus, and the 69-bus IEEE distribution systems. Additionally, a parallel computing method is developed to study the operation of a distribution network with a feeder reconfiguration scheme under dynamic loading conditions.

Este trabalho propõe uma metodologia de projeto de controladores para o amortecimento de oscilações eletromecânicas de baixa frequência em sistemas elétricos de potência. O problema de controle é estruturado na forma de desigualdades matriciais, as quais permitem a busca por uma solução numérica para o problema de controle. Os controladores de amortecimento baseados na realimentação dinâmica de saída, gerados por metodologias de projeto na forma de desigualdades matriciais, geralmente apresentam ordem elevada. Além disso, projetos considerando sistemas de potência de médio porte demandam elevado tempo computacional. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho propõe uma metodologia de projeto capaz de gerar controladores de ordem reduzida. A metodologia proposta adota um índice de desempenho que possibilita a redução do tempo computacional demandado no projeto. O índice de desempenho adotado para o sistema em malha fechada é a energia do sinal de saída do sistema. Essa energia corresponde à integral do valor quadrático do sinal adotado como saída do sistema. A metodologia proposta permite especificar um índice de desempenho apenas para aos modos de resposta de interesse do sistema, contornando as limitações das metodologias baseadas em posicionamento regional de polos. A relação entre o valor da energia do sinal de saída do sistema e seu fator de amortecimento é estabelecida por meio de uma equação algébrica. Neste trabalho, a metodologia é aplicada na geração de controladores de amortecimento para geradores síncronos. Entretanto, o procedimento proposto é genérico o suficiente para ser aplicado a outros tipos de geradores (gerador de indução empregado em unidades eólicas, por exemplo), a dispositivos FACTS (do Inglês, Flexible AC Transmission System) assim como a outros tipos de sistemas dinâmicos. A metodologia gerou um controlador eficaz para um caso onde a formulação baseada no tradicional posicionamento regional de polos é incapaz de gerar um controlador que assegure uma boa margem de estabilidade para o modo de resposta de interesse. / This work proposes a methodology for the design of controller to damp low frequency electromechanical oscillations in power systems. The control problem is structured in the form of matrix inequalities, which allows obtaining a numerical solution for the control problem. The damping controllers based on dynamic output feedback, generated by design methodologies in the form of matrix inequalities, usually presents high order. In addition, the design of this controller, considering large power systems, usually requires excessive computational effort. In this context, this work proposes a methodology for the design of reduced order controllers. The proposed methodology employs a performance index that is less costly in terms of computational effort when compared to the one with the traditional regional pole placement. The adopted performance index for the closed loop system is the energy of the system output. This energy corresponds to the integral of the signal squared regarding the system output. The proposed methodology allows specifying a performance index only for the response modes of interest, overcoming the limitations of the methodologies based on regional pole placement. The relation between the energy value of the output signal of the system and its damping factor is established by means of an algebraic equation. In this paper, the methodology is applied to generate damping controller for synchronous generators. However, the proposed procedure is general enough to be applied to other kinds of power plants (wind generation, for example), to FACTS devices, as well as to other dynamic systems. The methodology has generated an effective controller for a case where the formulation based on the regional pole placement is unable to generate a controller which assures a good stability margin for the response mode of interest.