Blackout prevention in power system using flexible AC transmission system devices and combined corrective actions

Abstract

This article presents a new strategy for blackout prevention in a power system using parallel flexible AC transmission system devices and a combination of corrective actions. The vulnerability index of the power system is used for on-line condition monitoring to determine the status of the system. The proposed method has a high speed for detecting the security level and vulnerable points of the system. When a disturbance occurs, the vulnerability indexes of the system are first obtained; then, by considering the effect of flexible AC transmission system devices on these indices, the proposed corrective actions are utilized to prevent the blackout and restore system stability. These actions include disabling the third zones of distance relays of vulnerable lines by using static VAR compensator, static synchronous compensator, or thyristor-controlled series compensator devices to control reactive power and applying the optimal under frequency load shedding. The adaptive particle swarm optimization algorithm is used for selecting the most economic and optimal amounts of flexible AC transmission system devices and the location of the load shedding. Simulation results on the IEEE 39-bus test system show that the blackout can be effectively prevented by using the proposed method. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.