ukZ,Damir NouoselX

s open transmission access is becoming a reality, a major concern of

electric power utilities is to maintain the reliability of the grid. Increased
power transfers raise concerns about steady-state overloads, increased
risks of voltage collapses, and potential stability problems. Strengthening the
protection and control strategies is what utilities must do to prevent a local
problem from spreading to other parts of the grid.
This article defir:es the framework and motivation for development of a
multilayered protection and control scheme that starts with local measure-
ment devices and integrates higher-level control schemes into an overall
control strategy.

Protection and Control Approaches

Although the complexity of the voltage collapse problem has beeG studied by
various researchers, many questions still remain unanswered. The multitude of
approaches have resulted in the implementation of a few protection and con-
trol schemes against voltage collapse.
The symptoms often associated with collapse are low voltage profile, high
consumption, heavy transmission system loading, long distances between most
of the generation and loads, and insufficient reactivepower compensation facil-
ities, The onset of voltage collapse can sometimes be precipitated by the activa-
tion of limiters when some of the generators reach their reactive generation
capability limits and cannot maintain voltages with increasing demand.
Disturbances leading to potential voltage instability problems can be split
into two categories:
Disturbances of topology, which may involve equipment outages, or faults
followed by equipment outages
Load disturbances, representing the fluctuations of load which may have
dynamics of their own.
They can be slow load changes (normal random load fluctuations) or fast
load fluctuations (such as outages of large blocks of loads). A very typical sce-
nario may involve a rapid load pickup (in some recorded cases several hundred
MW per minute), corresponding deterioration of the voltage profile in the net-
work, triggering of automatic protection and control events (such as activation
of limiters in generator excitation, tap blocking of transformers, load shedding
etc.), and final descent to a collapse, often accompanied by a cascaded action
of assorted protective relaying.
An example of voltage collapse simulated on a New England system model is
shown in Figure 1. The random load is modeled as increasing in time linearly.
The onset of collapse is identified as a point where slopes of load voltages
(shown here for 10 representative buses) suddenly change downwards, and the
system loses its stable equilibrium.

I ABB Electric Systems Technology Institute Georgia Institute of Technology

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 Smart Devices
An element of great importance in any mitigation scheme is to track the proxim-
ity of the power system to a collapse. Knowing such proximity permits proper
utilization of control and protective equipment to steer the system from a cri-
sis. At present, estimating the proximity to collapse in real-time still faces many
difficulties. Beside computational issues (e.g., speed, complexity, etc.), any cen-
tralcontrol method is subject to the reliability of longdistance data communi-
cations. Although this problem is mitigated by the increasing use of redundant
data from microwave, optical fiber, and wireless systems and through state
estimation methods, there is always concern when reliance must be placed on
receiving data from a remote location. To reduce or eliminate the need for this
transmission of data, a local undervoltage relay (or any of its variations) is often
used. The collapse is deemed imminent when the observed voltage falls below
a threshold. Selecting a proper value for the threshold, however, can be diffi-
cult, because systems may experience a normal voltage when they are at the
brink of collapse.
Advances in microprocessor technology have made it affordable to improve
the computing capabilities of existing decentralized subsystems. Local devices
can now utilize advanced algorithms to make local decisions based on local
measurements and possibly selected remote information. Utilities can start
improving the control and protection of their grids by enhancing devices
already in use at substations. The enhanced devices form the line of defense at
the low level and offer the most advanced protection schemes that use local
information. In time, the communication links will gradually be built to integrate
all local devices into a control network. This progressive strategy helps the util-
ity to spread its investment over time.

Voltage Instability Prediction

Tracking how close a system operation is to a point of collapse has always been
a challenging problem. Toward practical applications, the key element that dis-
tinguishes one method from another is in regarding what information is
required. Most methods in existence today require that system-wide informa-
tion be available. Fortunately, recent R&D efforts to make effective use of local
measurements have resulted in smart algorithms that can predict collapse from
local information. Implementation of
such smart algorithms is simpler, faster,
&fultilayeg-edprotection and less costly when compared with the
traditional approach.
and control schemes Figure 2 shows a load bus and the
LQC~
start with rest of the system treated as a Thevenin
equivalent. The following principle is
measurement deuices well known in electriccircuit theory:
and integrate higher
level control schemes Maximal power transfer tf lZappI = I.&" I

where the apparent impedance Zcppis

merely the ratio between the voltage and current phasors measured at the bus.
This maximal-power-transfer relation, holding true regardless of the load char-
acteristic, separates the impedance plane into two regions, as shown in Figure
3. As the load varies, its Zapptraces a path in the plane, and voltage instability
.- occurs, in the steady-state sense, when ZaDp crosses the Thevenin circle.
Tracking parameters as the system approaches voltage instability, th ere-
fore, becomes the problem of tracking the distance of the present-time Z, ,p to
the Thevenin circle. This is the principle behind the voltage instability pre!dit-
tor (VIP). The circle is not a fixed object, because it represents the rest of the
system lumped together; such collection involves thousands of pieces of eq uip-

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 ment, any of which can change with time. Quite likely
when the voltage is unstable, the circle expands
(transmission becoming weaker) and the impedance
Zu,, moves toward it (increasing load).
Tracking the Thevenin equivalent is essential for
a VIP-based device to properly detect a voltage col-
lapse. There a r e many methods t o track t h e
Thevenin parameters, and they can be based on the
relation E =I/ + Z,,,, . I, where the unknowns are E
(equivalent source in Figure 2) and Z,,,. In the ideal
condition, two different measurement sets (V and I)
taken at two different times are sufficient to com-
pute the two unknowns. In the real environment,
however, measurements are not precise, and the
Thevenin parameters drift due to the system’s
changing conditions. To suppress numerical oscil-
lations in the estimated parameters, a larger data
window must be used. Intuitively, this window must
contain sufficient variations in the measurements.
Since load variations take place with a nonuniform
rate, the time span of the window is not fixed. In fact,
a faster variation in the data takes less time for a
VIP-based device to produce an output.
For illustration, a multinode power network
model is driven to maximal transfer by gradually
increasing the load demand. The critical loading is
Figure I . Voltage collapse simulated on a New 163.4 percent of the base-case loading; beyond this
England system model loading level, the power-flow equations admit no
solutions. A VIP is placed at each load bus and is
unaware of the changes that take place in the rest of
the network (no data communications). Its inputs
are the local measurements (bus voltage and load
current) and its output is a stream of Thevenin para-
meters which vary with time. The plot in Figure 4
shows that the estimated Thevenin impedance
merges with the load impedance at the point of col-
lapse. The load increase is evident by a decaying
load-impedance profile.

VIP Interpretation and Applications

VIP can be viewed as an adaptive relay. Two different
interpretations can be given. The first interpretation
of VIP is direct from Figure 3: an impedance relay
Figure 2. Local bus and the rest of the system treated with a self-tuned setting (the setting being the vary
as a Thevenin equivalent ing radius of the red circle). The second interpreta-
tion is an adaptive voltage relay, and can be better
seen when the two curves in Figure 4 are multiplied
by the load current profile. The result is shown in Fig-
ure 5; the green curve is associated with the load
voltage, and the red curve is associated with the volt-
age drop across the Thevenin impedance. If one
views the red curve as the voltage setpoint of the
relay, then the setpoint is tuned so that at the col-
lapse, the load voltage is equal to the setpoint. Recall
that the conventional voltage relay measures the
voltage only, and its decision is based on a fixed set-

42 IEEE ComputerApplications in Power

I 1

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 Tracking the Thevenin
equivalent is essential for a
VIP-based device to properly
detect a voltage collapse

point. The VIP, on the other hand, makes use of an

additional input (namely, electric current) to adapt
its setpoint to the system’s condition.
The algorithm can be coded and embedded in
existing microprocessor-based relays/controllers, or
implemented as an individual unit. The required
inputs are local bus voltage and load current, which Figure 3. Maximal power transfer i s reached (voltage
are already available at substations for other applica- instability) when the apparent impedance o f the load
tions. The output of the VIP can be used to guide lands on the Thevenin circle, Izapp
I=I I zm,,
control actions at the substation. For example, if the
total load connected to the substation is found to be
excessive by the VIP (Zapp in Figure 3 is sufficiently
close to the red circle), a partial shedding can be
issued to maintain a sufficient margin. In another
example, tap-changing transformers are frequently
used to regulate the voltage on the load side. Their
actions basically drain the reactive power from the
system to support the voltage at their loads. A VIP
that processes measurements on the primary side of
a tap-changing transformer can detect when the
drain is excessive, and thus the decision to block the
tapchanging action can be carried out.
Another application is to enhance the perfor-
mance of a static var controller (SVC) by adding volt-
age-collapse prediction. Traditionally, SVC behavior
can mask the imminent collapse, leading to sudden
and unexpected loss of reliable power supply. The
VIP can be incorporated to ensure accurate collapse Figure 4. Thevenin impedance and load impedance
prediction taking into account the SVC operation. merge a t the point of collapse

Integrated Control and Protection

Today’s communication and computer technologies
have created a new revolution in the power industry,
especially in the field of power system control where
vertical integration is much improved. Communica-
tion capability is one of the potential benefits for
computer relays, which communicate not only with a
center, but with each other. This in turn will facilitate
the overall system-wide protection and control phi-
losophy.
The Self-Managing And Reliable Transmission
Grid (SMARTGrid) is seen as the future of protec-
tion and control systems. It is an automated system
of monitoring, control, and protection devices that
improves the reliability of the transmission grid by
preventing wide-spread break-ups. It utilizes infor-
mation technology to improve grid reliability and Figure 5. VIP can be viewed as a voltage relay with
capability. It builds on existing components such as an adaptive setpoint

October 1997 43

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 Gfi eir gri

relays, sensors, meters, energy manage-

ment systems, SCADA, SVC, etc., by
adding better algorithms and utilizing
information more effectively. The devices
are coordinated under several hierarchical
levels. Figure 6 shows a two-level design.
At the substation level, each device
processes local measurements (substation
voltage, load current, etc.), assesses the
proximity to system instability or thermal
capability, and carries out its own control
decisions. No long-distance communica-
tions are required t o implement t h e
SMARTGrid concept at the substation
level. At the regional level, several regional
Figure 6. Smart devices such a s VIP-baseddevices are deployed to form
computers raw and processed data the low-level control, and communication links to regional centers and
from substation-level devices and perform h&her are needed for proper coordination
the coordinating- role. The process is simi-
lar at the global level. Long-distance communications
(SCADA or dedicated links) are required for the regional
and global levels.
There are two major steps in realizing a SMARTGrid.
The first step is to provide immediate solutions by
means of enhanced products that will improve the sys-
tem reliability and performance. For example, imple-
menting the VIP method is done at the device level, and
does not require communication links. This strategy is
appealing to utilities, because they need not invest in
developing new techniques, but can actually implement
existing technologies. Implementation of these technolo-
gies form the substation or local level of SMARTGrid
hierarchy. The second step is the integration, which
rewires advanced technologies and methods to tie all
the local controllers together:
In a SMARTGrid’smart devices such as ‘Ontinu-
OuS1Y report their to the The ten-
tral computer combines the reported proximities to
collapse, performs extra calculations and issues coordi-
nating The central computer can override the
load-shedding decision of individual devices.
Smart devices processing Only local measurements
can be counted upon when center-based emergency con-
trois fail to mitigate an aggravating situation. These
devices also form
the fall-&k for any global
protection and control scheme when communications
channels fail.
For Further ing
K. VU, M. Begovic, D. Novosel, M. Saha, “Use of Local Measurements to
Estimate Voltage-Stability Margin,” PICA ’97: Proceedings of the 20th
Intemational Conference on Power Industry Computer Application, IEEE,
May 1997.
C. W. Taylor, Power System Voltage Stability,McGraw-Hill, 1994.
Proceedings of Bulk Power System Voltage Phenomena-Ill: Voltage Sta-
bility, Security, and Control,Davos, Switzerland,August 1994.
IEEE Power Systems Relaying Committee, Working Group K12,
“Voltage Collapse Mitigation,” 1995, available on the World-Wide Web,
http://www.rt66.com/-w5sr/psrc.html.
C. Barbier and J. Barret, “An Analysis of Phenomena of Voltage Col-
lapse on a Transmission System,”Revue Genem.de de I’Electricite, spe-
cial CIGFE issue, pages 3-21, July 1980.
N. Grudunin and I. Roytelman, “Heading Off Emergencies in Large
Electric Grids,”IEEE Spectrum, April 1997,pp. 4247.
Biographies
Khoi Vu received his BSEE, MSEE, and PhD degrees from the University
of Washington. He was a visiting faculty member at Clemson University
during 1991-1993,and is now with the Power Systems Center, ABB Elec-
tric Systems Technology Institute, in Raleigh, North Carolina. His areas
of interest in power systems include stability, computer-based protec-
tion and control, and power quality. He is an IEEE member.
Miroslav M. Begovic received his BSEE and MSEE from Belgrade
University, and his PhD in electrical engineering from Virginia Polytech-
nic Institute and State University. Since 1989, he has been a member of
the faculty of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Geor-
gia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, where he currently
holds the position of associate professor. His current interests are in
the general area of computer applications in power system monitoring,
protection and Control, and design and analysis of renewable energy
sources. He is a member of Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and
Phi Kappa Phi, and is an IEEE Senior Member.
Damir Novosel is manager of the Power System Center at ABB Elec-
I tric Systems Technology Institute. He received his PhD from Mississip-
pi State University, where he was a Fulbright scholar, in 1991. His
research area is computer-based protection and control of power sys-
terns. He is a member of Eta Kappa Nu and an IEEE Senior Member.

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