Determination of Steady-State Voltage Stability Limit Using P-Q Curve

M.H. Haque

Vs = (a, + ja2)VR + (b, + jb2)(P -IQ)IV.

(4)

For a given load (P and Q) and sending end voltage magnitude (Vs), the load voltage magnitude (VR) can easily be obtained form (4). After some mathematical manipulations, equation (4) can be written as

C1V4 +(C2P+ C,Q_-V,S)V + C4(P2 +(Q2) =0 Author Affiliation: School of Electrical and Electronic Engi(5) neering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Abstract: P - V and Q - V curves are commonly used to determine where the steady state voltage stability limit of a power system. In this letter, a new method of determining the voltage stability limit using the P -Q c, = 2 + a2 c2 = 2(a,b, + a2b2) curve is presented. The boundary of the voltage stability region is first determined and then presented in the P - Q plane. For a given operating C, = 2(a,b, - a2b) C4 = b2+ b 2. point, the voltage stability margin can easily be determined from the stability boundary in the P - Q plane. The proposed method of deterConsider x = V,2; thus (5) becomes mining the voltage stability limit was tested on a simple system and very interesting results were found. ax2+bx+c =0 (6) Keywords: Voltage stability, voltage collapse, power transfer capability. wherea = cl, b =(c2P+ C,Q -V,2), and c = C4(p2 +Q'2). Thus the load Introduction: Modem transmission networks are more heavily voltage magnitude VR can be written as loaded than ever before to meet the growing demand. One of the major problems associated with such a stressed system is voltage collapse or -b+ b2 _-4ac instability. There are many incidents of system blackout, due to voltage 2a (7) collapse, reported [1]. Thus it is very important to know the maximum with an adepermissible loading of a system so that it can be operated Note that when the system operates within the voltage stability quate voltage stability margin to prevent voltage collapse. system, within the voltage limit, both values ofVR (given by (7)) are real positive and may be used The maximum permissible loading of a stability limit, is usually determined from the well-known P - V curve to plot the conventional P - V curve of the system. The higher value of or Q - V curve [2]-[4]. The P - V curve is plotted for a constant power VR (VRH) is called the stable voltage and the lower value of VR (V'L ) is factor and the Q - V curve is plotted for a constant power. A series of called the unstable voltage [2]. For such an operation, the discriminant computer simulations is required to generate a family of these curves. (b2 - 4ac) of (6) is positive. When the system load increases and ultiThere are other methods to find the voltage stability limit of a system, mately approaches the voltage collapse point, both the higher and lower such as multiple load flow solutions [5], singularity criterion of the voltages approach to the same value and are called the critical voltage (VRc'). The same voltage can only be obtained from (7) when the Jacobian matrix [6], etc. fact that the voltage collapse occurs when the discriminant (b2 - 4ac) becomes zero. If the load is increased further, It is an established system load (P and/or Q) increases beyond a certain limit. If the limit- the discriminant becomes negative and no real value of VR can be found. ing values of P and Q are known, the voltage stability margin for a Theoretically, it is not possible to operate the system for such a load given operating point can directly be determined. This requires the plotting of voltage stability boundary of the system in P -Q plane, however, using the limiting values of P and Q. To the best knowledge of the author, no such work has been reported so far that can determine the voltage stability margin using the P -Q curve. In this letter, the limiting or critical values of P and Q at the voltage collapse point are first determined and then used to plot the voltage stability boundary in P - Q plane. Unlike the conventional P - V or Q - V curves, no fixed value of power or power factor is used in generating the Figure 1. Single line diagram of a simple system stability boundary. Using the above curve, the voltage stability margin in terms ofP, Q, or S (for a given power factor) can easily be determined when the initial operating point is known. Voltage Stability Boundary: Consider a large power system or an equivalent generator transferring power to a load center through a transmission line as shown in Figure 1. Using the generalized circuit constants (ABCD) of the line, the voltage equation of the system can be
written as V
=

AVR + BI.

(1) (2)

In rectangular form, constants A and B can be expressed as

A = (a, + ja2) and B= (b1 + jb2).

Note that the impedance of the equivalent system or generator at the sending end can easily be incorporated in the ABCD constants of the line. The receiving end current IR of the line can be written as

IR =(S/ VR)

(P () / V.
-

(3)
Figure 2. P-Q curve of the system

Here VR is considered as reference. Using (2) and (3), the voltage equation (1) can be rewritten as
IEEE Power Engineering Review, April 2002

0272-1 724/02/S17. 000f2002 MEEE

71

Table 1. Critical values of active and reactive power

Load power factor
0.8 lag

0.9 lag 3.17

unity

0.95 lead

PI,
Qcr
1.4

2.56
1.92

4.85
0

6.44
-2.12

1.53

1,2

p- 0.9 lead

0.6

-a

(6

0.4

0.2

Load active power, pu

Figure 3. P-V curve of the system

condition. Thus the system load at the verge of voltage collapse can be obtained from the condition (b2 4ac) = 0. This gives
(c - 4cc4)Q2 + (C2

4c1c4 )p2

2C3VSQ 2C2VYP + 2C2c3PQ + VS

0.

(8)

For a given P, the value of Q that forces the system to operate at the verge of voltage collapse can be obtained from the solution of (8). For such an operation, (8) can be rewritten as

c5Q2+c6Q+c7= 0
where c5
=

(9)

(c

4c1c4)

creased without facing the threat of voltage instability. Similarly, distances b and c represent the maximum reactive power and apparent power (at a power factor angle d) that can be increased without losing voltage stability. For a given power factor, the maximum or critical load (Pc/ and Qcr) at the voltage collapse point can also be determined from the point of intersection of the power factor line with the voltage stability boundary. The critical values of active and reactive power, for some assumed values of power factors, found from the point of intersections are given in Table 1. It may be mentioned here that the values of Pcr shown in Table 1 are the power at the nose points (marked by *) of the P -V curve of Figure 3. It can be observed in Table 1 as well as in Figure 3 that the active power at the critical point increases as the load power factor is changed from lagging to leading. Conclusions: A new method of finding the voltage stability limit of a simple system is described in this letter. The method first determines the values of active and reactive power at the voltage collapse point. These values are then used to plot the voltage stability boundary in the P -Q plane. The equations required to generate the voltage stability boundary, using the exact transmission line model, are also derived. For a given operating point, the voltage stability margin of the system in terms of P, Q, or S (for a given power factor) can easily be determined using the proposed P - Q curve. The above margins may provide very useful information about further possible stressing of the system without facing the threat of voltage collapse. References: [1] IEEE Committee Report, "Voltage stability of power systems: Concepts, analytical tools and industrial experiences," IEEE Publication No. 90TH0358-2-PWR, New York, 1990. [2] C.W. Taylor, Power System Voltage Stability. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. [3] H.K. Clark, "New challenge: Voltage stability," IEEE Power Eng. Rev., vol. 10, pp. 33-37, 1990. [4] R.K. Gupta, Z.A. Alaywan, R.B. Stuart, and T.A. Reece, "Steady state voltage instability operations perspective," IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 5, pp. 1345-135 1, 1990. [5] A. Yokoyama and T. Kumano, "Static voltage stability index using multiple load-flow solutions," Elec. Eng. Jpn., vol. 111, pp. 69-79, 1991. [6] A Tiranuchit and R.J. Thomas, "A posturing strategy against voltage instabilities in electric power systems," IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 3, pp. 87-93, 1988. Copyright Statement: ISSN 0282-1724/02/$17.00 2002 IEEE. Manuscript received 17 September 2001. This paper is published herein in its entirety.

c6 = 2( C2c3P-c3V ) c = (c 2-4c1c4 ) p2 2c2V P+ VS'.

The acceptable solution of (9) for different values of P can now be used to plot the boundary of the voltage stability region in P - Q plane and is considered as the P -Q curve of the system. Simulation Results: The proposed method for finding the voltage stability limit using the P - Q curve has been tested on the simple system of Figure 1. The transmission line of the system is considered as a single circuit, 345 kV and 280 mi long. The series impedance and shunt admittance of the line are considered as (0.0480+jO.4584) W/mi and j6.418x 10-6 S/mi, respectively. The results of the system on a 100 MVA, 345 kV base are briefly described in the following. Figure 2 shows the variation of load reactive power Q against the load active power P at the critical or voltage collapse point. The region above the curve (shaded area) is considered to be an impossible operating region. In this region, the discriminant of (6) becomes negative and thus no feasible value of VR can be found. The region below the curve (white area) is considered to be a normal operating region. When the system operates in this region at a constant power factor, the values of VR found from (7) can be used to generate the P-V curve of the system, shown in Figure 3. Consider the system is initially operating at point x in the normal operating region (see Figure 2). For this operating point, the distance a represents the maximum active power that can be in72

IEEE Medal for Engineering Excellence Award Nomination deadline: 1 July 2002
The IEEE Medal for Engineering Excellence is bestowed by the IEEE on its members to recognize outstanding contributions in the application of engineering achievements to a product, system, service, program, or project, for the benefit of the public and engineering profession. The award is given for development, innovative design, and utilization in one of the technical disciplines, simplification of a complex technological process, application of the existing technology, etc. The Medal may be awarded annually to an individual or a team of not more than three people. The Award consists of a gold medal, bronze replica, certificate, and a cash honorarium. The Award is sponsored by Siemens AG. The nomination deadline is July 1, 2002. A nomination form is available on the Web, http://www.ieee.org/abouV

awards/noms/engxnom.htm.

IEEE Power Engineering Review, April 2002