CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Many of the researchers in the recent-past focused on the effective

online monitoring of status of the system and hence to solve the problem of
voltage collapse. In this regard, voltage stability index of each transmission line
becomes a useful measure of power system monitoring. The index could identify
how far a system is from its point of collapse. Performance indices to predict
closeness to voltage stability boundary have been a permanent concern of
researchers and power system operators, as these indices can be used online or
offline to help dispatchers determine how close the system is to a possible voltage
instability state. Publications on the topic relevant to voltage stability and its
improvement are too numerous and so only those important publications which
are directly related to this work have been referred and presented in this thesis.
The optimal reactive power reserves techniques and the load shedding methods
cited in the literature along with a few research reports on contingency
techniques using varies indices and the inference from literature are discussed in
this chapter. Literature survey made has been presented under the following
topics: Voltage stability indices, Maximum loadability, Contingency analysis,
Compensation placement method, and load shedding method.

2.2 VOLTAGE STABILITY INDICES

In order to extract distinctive features of voltage stability indices for

voltage instability and security analysis, a number of studies had been
made and reported in the literature. From this, the voltage stability indices could
be broadly classified as Jacobian based Voltage Stability Index (VSI) and system
variables based VSI. Jacobian matrix based VSIs were proposed in
(Hatziargyriou & Vancutsem 1994, Chiang & Jumeau 1995, De Souza et al
1997) who could calculate the voltage collapse point or maximum loadability
limit and determine the voltage stability margin. The minimum singular value of
the power flow Jacobian matrix was used as a static voltage stability index,
indicating the distance between the studied operating point and the steady state
voltage stability limit. A fast method to calculate the minimum singular value
and the corresponding (left and right) singular vectors was presented (Lof et al
1992). This index, however, could accurately estimate the collapse point
because it shows a very non-linear behaviour near that point. Based on the power
flow Jacobian matrix, some other indices were proposed trying to avoid this non-
linearity problem (Cardet 2012). These indices were test function (Chiang &
Jumeau 1995), second order index (Berizzi et al 1998), tangent vector (De Souza

et al 1997) and V/V0 ( Hatziargyriou & Van cutsem 1994). Among these, based
on computational costs, accuracy of collapse predictions and adequacy to
nonlinearities comparatively good results were achieved in second order index.
Based on the non-iterative characteristic of Incremental Condition Estimation
(ICE) method and employing the sparsity characteristic of power systems, this
reference proposed a highly efficient method for finding an accurate estimate of
minimum singular value of the load flow Jacobian matrix as a voltage stability
index (Huei et al 1997). In Jacobian matrix based VSI method, the computation
time is high, and hence, it is not suitable for on-line assessment but it can be,
however, used for determining voltage stability margin and proximity to voltage
collapse (Cardet 2012).

In literature, many other indices which use elements of the admittance

matrix and some system variables such as bus voltages or power
flow through lines were proposed and it was classified as system variables based
VSI. These indices were again classified into two groups as bus voltage
computation indices (or nodal voltage stability indices) and line stability indices.

L-index (Kessel & Glavitsch 1986), Voltage Collapse Index (VCI)

(Haque 2007) and Stability Index (SI)(Eminoglu & Hocaoglu 2007) were
proposed under the category of bus voltage computation indices.

Some of the indices such as LQP index (Mohamed & Jasmon 1989),
Lmn-index (Moghavvemi & Omar 1998), Voltage collapse point indicator
(Moghavvemi & Faruque 1998) and Fast Voltage Stability Index (FVSI)
(Musirin & Rahman 2002) were proposed under the category of line stability
indices. These indices requires less amount of computation time, and therefore,
are adequate for online assessment and they cannot estimate the voltage stability
margin but can be used to determine critical lines or critical buses in a given load
level which is explained by Cardet (2012). Most of these line indices are more
dependent on the reactive power than on the apparent power.

2.3 MAXIMUM LOADABILITY

Maximum loadability gives the information about the stage of voltage

instability to the operators and planners of the power system. The estimation of
maximum loadability is becoming an important task to predict the system
collapse and to optimize the capital investment. Most literature agreed that
maximum loadability depends on the solvability margin of load flow when the
Jacobian matrix becomes singular (Sauer et al 1990, Melo et al 1999, Hiskens &
Davy 2001, Moon et al 1999). However, the problem of identifying loadability
conditions in real time (and preferably locally without the need of centralized
computations) is still open. A well-known loadability
condition, namely that of load and Thevenin impedance matching at a load bus
was proposed by some researchers (Begovic et al 1999, Holen & Warland 2002,
Milosevic & Begovic 2003) for on-line stability monitoring. But, the Thevenin
impedance is not easily measurable. The impedance matching condition is
necessarily met after the onset of instability and is thus not able to provide an
advance warning. Maximum loadability could also be determined using the
direct interior point algorithm as reported in (Dai et al 2000, Kubokawa et al
2000, Irrisari et al 1997). Maximum loadability of reactive power at each line
was determined using line stability index (Mohamed & Jasmon 1989,
Moghavvemi & Omar 1998, Musirin & Abdul Rahman 2002) which could be
used to identify weakest bus and critical line in the network. This process is
offline; hence, various artificial techniques like neural networks, evolutionary
algorithm, and particle swarm optimization were implemented to identify the
critical line and bus using maximum loadability (Jayasankar et al 2010, Musirin
& Rahman 2003, Karystianos et al 2007).

2.4 CONTINGENCY ANALYSIS

Robust operation of a power grid requires anticipation of unplanned

component outages that could lead to dramatic and costly blackouts. Different
methods were proposed for voltage stability contingency ranking (Vaahedi et
al1999). A method for ranking contingencies based on information from the base
case and post- contingency operating states using Voltage Stability Margin
(VSM) was proposed (Dester & Csatro 2009). A new index based on P_Q_V
curve of a specified bus, area, or overall system was proposed to provide useful
information about the ranking of voltage weak nodes, classification of areas
susceptible to voltage stability and also extended to contingency analysis and
load shedding schemes (Lee et al 2010). The NSGA
II and MNSGA II algorithms were proposed for network contingency to obtain
the optimal values of the control variable by considering L-index
(Ramesh et al 2012).Total reactive generation gradient (TRGG) with respect to
reactive/active power demand was used as voltage stability indicator for
mitigation of cascaded voltage collapses. This proposed voltage stability index,
TRGG, could guarantee the voltage security and stability, with a good physical
meaning, and low computational burden. The capability to detect the most
effective generators and maximise their reactive reserves was expressed as
another advantage (Amraee et al 2009).

2.5 COMPENSATION PLACEMENT METHOD

The increase in electric power demand, together with environmental

constraints and competition of electricity markets force power systems to operate
closer to their thermal and stability limits. FACTS can increase the system
loading margin and alleviate power system congestion. A systematic analysis
and design method, based on the singular value/eigenvalue decomposition
analysis of the load-flow Jacobian and the study of the controllability
characteristics of an equivalent state model, was used to study the voltage
instability phenomenon as well as to assess the potential for small-signal voltage
stability improvement by means of FACTS compensation in (Messina et al
2003). Series compensation of transmission lines is one of the best ways to
improve the loading margin of an interconnected system. Nowadays researchers
are interested in recommending new techniques for selecting the best location
for the placement of FACTS devices. Three various methods available for the
identification of the best location are sensitivity analysis (Lee 2007, Prakash &
Sydulu 2006), stability index based analysis (Besharat & Taher 2008, Singh and
David 2001), optimization technique (Zeraatzade et al 2007, Wu et al 2008). A
methodology in order to identify the critical transmission line using sensitivity
index for effective location of series compensation was presented in (Leonidaki
et al 2004). A new power injection model of STATCOM for
power flow and voltage stability analysis was implemented (Zhang et al 2006)
which proved good performance for large scale power systems with considering
active power loss of STATCOM in power flow using singular value
decomposition (SVD) based voltage stability index. An index called contingency
capacity index (CCI) and thermal capacity index were introduced to evaluate the
suitability of placing TCSC at appropriate location under normal and network
contingency conditions respectively in (Sundar & Ravikumar 2012). Many
researchers proposed computational intelligent methods for optimal placement
of FACT devices. Hybrid fuzzy neural approach was used to present voltage
stability state of power systems with SVC using performance index which was
utilized to calculate loadability margin (Modi et al 2008).

The optimal dispatch of reactive power was treated as multi objective

problem along with minimizing the real power losses, voltage deviation, and the
value of performance index and it was solved by means of fuzzy optimization
strategy and fuzzy adaptive PSO (Zhang & Liu 2008). Wibowo et al(2011) has
been proposed an optimal allocation method for FACTS devices for market-
based power systems considering congestion relief and voltage stability and also
this problem was highly nonlinear and mixed integer, an iterative method using
Hybrid PSO was employed to avoid difficulty of the computation.

2.6 LOAD SHEDDING METHODS

Automatic load shedding is basically a last resort backup measure. As

such, it will be called on to operate only when highly improbable, potentially
catastrophic disturbance occurs. Therefore, if the possibility of complete system
collapse is to be avoided during such a disturbance, load shedding should be
simple and drastic rather than elaborate and complex.
Many earlier works are available for under frequency, under voltage with no
solution for power flow equations being suggested.

Optimal steady state load shedding was formulated to minimize the

sum of the squares of the differences between the connected loads and the
generated power. The supplied power was treated as a dependent variable
modeled as a function of the bus voltage magnitude (Mostafa et al 1996). A
simple new technique was developed to define the optimum location and the
optimum quantity of load to be shed in order to prevent the system voltage from
going to the unstable zone using L-indicator index (El-Sadek et al 1999).
Hazarika & Sinha (1998) has proposed a method of load shedding with the
objective of minimizing load shedding in the situation where total generation is
less than the total demand by minimizing system loss with the constraints on
generator limits and line flow limits. Some studies proposed corrective model or
preventive model for load shedding incorporating dynamic analysis to increase
loading margin (Chattopadhyay & Chakrabarti 2003, Echavarren et al 2006). A
new methodology has been developed for optimum load shedding based on
Hopfield neural network model for optimization. Minimum Eigen value was
used as indicator. A threshold value of this indicator could be assumed for a
specific system. Emergency load shedding was required if this value fell below
the threshold value (Arya et al 2005).

Recently many researchers proposed many heuristic algorithms to

improve load shedding automation. An optimal load-shedding algorithm was
developed for under-voltage load shedding using two heuristic (PSO and GA)
methods (Amraee et al 2007). A computational algorithm for minimum load
shedding at selected load buses was developed using Differential Evolution
(DE), Self-adaptive Differential Evolution (SaDE) and Ensemble of Mutation
and Crossover Strategies and Parameters in Differential Evolution (EPSDE).
Developed algorithm accounts for inequality constraints not only in the
present operating conditions (after load shedding) but also for predicted next
interval load (with load shedding) in (Arya et al 2012a). The buses for load
shedding were selected based on the sensitivity of minimum Eigen value of load
flow Jacobian with respect to load shed. A computational algorithm for minimum
load shedding was developed using DE (Arya et al 2012b). Computational
intelligence techniques, due to their robustness and flexibility in dealing with
complex non-linear systems, could be an option in addressing this problem.
Computational intelligence includes techniques like artificial neural networks,
genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic control, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system,
and particle swarm optimization. Research in these techniques is being
undertaken in order to discover means for more efficient and reliable load
shedding. Advantages and drawbacks of these intelligence techniques in load
shedding were discussed briefly in (Laghari et al 2013).

Analysis of the power flow feasibility boundary has received

considerable attention in the literature. Very few reports are available with regard
to load shed to restore power flow solution. A methodology was to propose for
identifying the fewest network topological changes (removal of transmission
lines) that resulted in operating point infeasibility, such that the amount of
minimum load shedding required for feasible operation was greater than a user-
defined threshold (Donde et al 2008). A computationally simple algorithm was
developed for studying the load shedding problem in emergencies where an AC
power flow solution could not be found for the stressed system. This algorithm
was divided into two sub-problems: restoring solvability sub-problem and
improving voltage stability margin (VSM) sub-problem. Linear optimization
(LP)-based optimal power flow (OPF) was applied to solve each sub-problem.
In restoring solvability sub-problem, rather than taking restoring power flow
solvability as direct objective function, the objective function of maximization
of voltage magnitudes of weak buses was employed. In VSM sub-problem, the
traditional load
shedding objective was extended to incorporate both technical and economic
effects of load shedding and the linearized VSM constraint was added into the
LP based OPF (Fu & Wanga 2011).

A few authors have proposed the use of GA for load shedding but the
algorithm proposed by them are not the same (Rong et al 2011, Luan et al 2002
). The survey that has been presented concludes that the GA is a global
optimization technique for solving non-linear, multi objective problems and also
it ensures minimum amount of load shedding even though taking comparatively
long time to determine the load shedding amount.

2.6.1 Computational Intelligence in Load Shedding

Load shedding techniques are commonly divided into three main

categories conventional, adaptive, and computational intelligence- based. The
drawbacks of the conventional method of load shed are (i) it does not provide
optimum load shedding (ii) does not deal efficiently with modern and complex
power systems.

of techniques that are applied to mimic human intelligence. The computational

intelligence based load shedding techniques have been again divided into
Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC), Adaptive Neuro
Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm
Optimization (PSO). These techniques can easily solve those nonlinear, multi
objective problems in power systems that cannot be solved by the conventional
methods with the desired speed and accuracy. Table 2.1 summarizes the
advantages and disadvantages of computational intelligence techniques for load
shedding applications in power systems (Laghari et al 2013).The review shows
that computational intelligence techniques are the better option for modern
power systems compared with
conventional load shedding techniques. Computational intelligence techniques
have the ability to provide fast and optimum load shedding during contingencies
to prevent power blackouts.

Table 2.1 Advantages and drawbacks of computational intelligence

techniques.

No Technique Advantages Drawbacks

1 Artificial neural ANN has the ability to ANN can provide
Networks (ANN) ensure an optimum satisfactory results for
amount of load shedding. known cases only and may
fail to predict accurate
results for unknown or
varying cases.
2 Fuzzy logic FLC can be used for load The membership
control (FLC shedding application on a parameters of FLC require
power system of any size. prior system knowledge.
Otherwise, it may fail to
provide optimum load
shedding.
3 Adaptive neuro- FLC parameters are It can only work with
fuzzy inference optimized by using ANN, Sugeno-type systems.
system (ANFIS) which may lead to
accurate load shedding.
4 Genetic GA is a global GAs take a long time to
algorithms optimization technique determine the load
(GA) for solving non-linear, shedding amount. This
multi-objective problems. relative slowness limits
GA ensures a minimum their usage for online
amount of load shedding application.
5 Particle swarm PSO computation is PSO is easily interrupted
optimization simple and has the ability by partial optimization
(PSO) to find the optimum
value

However, each computational intelligence technique has certain

drawbacks that restrict their implementation in real-time applications. In this
work, the load shedding is considered as multi objective problem, so the
weighted sum GA is utilized for restoring ac load flow analysis during heavy
loading and contingency conditions.

2.7 INFERENCE FROM LITERATURE

Voltage stability indices are used to identify loadability margin,

critical line, and bus for on line monitoring rather than Jacobian
or Eigen value based methods which are effectively utilized in
off line process.

Many line stability indices have been proposed to improve the

system voltage stability but, still there is a space for lack of usage
in load shedding applications.

Many heuristic algorithms have been used in both voltage stability and
security analysis. Nevertheless, the Genetic Algorithm deserves greater attention
by voltage stability researchers in view of the following possibilities:

Global optimization technique can be used for solving non-

linear, multi-objective problems.

Optimal reactive power dispatch, power tracing, and load

shedding can be solved as multi objective problems.

Hence, this proposed index based work is designed using GA

techniques to advance voltage stability research one step further and explore new
horizons.

2.8 RESEARCH MOTIVATION

Power systems are affected by events that depend upon the state
(voltages and currents) of the power system. The state of the power system is
influenced by both controllable and uncontrollable factors. For instance,
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either load increases or element outage can initiate a change in the operation of
the power system. The change in operation is reflected by a change in the
equations that model the power system, or the nature of the solutions that the
equations yield. The motivational force behind this research is the genuine
concern for and deep interest coupled with a burning desire to find a pragmatic
solution for the problem of voltage instability through identifying the weak bus,
critical line, and the weak area and giving information to the operator as to the
closeness or the proximity of the system to the next event or stable region so that
it will lead to proper corrective action such as load shedding, that can effectively
tackle the emergencies.