Allocation of TCSC Devices to Optimize Total Transmission Capacity

in a Competitive Power Market

Wang Feng G. B. Shrestha

Student Member, IEEE Senior Member, IEEE
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Abstract: System (OASIS) [1]. ATC is defined by North

FACTS devices such as Thyristor Controlled Series
Compensator can help increase power transfer capacity in
heavily loaded network because of its capability to control
power flow flexibly. In a multi-machine network, the
influence of TCSCS on the network f-lows is complex since
the control of any one device influences all others, In a
competitive (deregulated) power market, the location of these
devices and their control can significantly affect the operation
of the system. Optimal allocation and control of these devices
will be very important for ISO or other power market
regulators.
This paper investigates the use of TCSC to maximize Total
Transfer Capability generally defined as the maximum power
transfer transaction between a specific power-seller and a
power-buyer in a network. Genetic Algorithm is used as the
optimization tool to determine the location as well as the
parameters of TCSC simultaneously. Simulation studies on a
multi-machine network are presented to illustrate the
methodology and to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed
method.
Keywords: Total Transfer Capability, TCSC, Genetic
Algorithm, Continuation Power Flow.
I. INTRODUCTION
Deregulation and restructuring of the electric power
industry is occurring in many nations throughout the
world. Competitive marketplace is established for
market participants who will encounter many new
problems in market operation and regulation. In the US,
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
gave the right of nondiscriminatory open access to the
transmission facilities to all market participants. It is
required that so-called Available Transfer Capability
(ATC) information be made available on a publicly
Accessible Open Access Same-time Information
American Electric Reliability Council (NAERC) as a
measure of the transfer capability in the physical
transmission network for transfers for future
commercial activities over already committed uses. The
calculation of ATC involves three components: Total
Transfer Capability (TTC), Transmission Reliability
Margin (TRM) and Capacity Benefit Margin (CBM)
[1]. Based on a base case, TTC is the largest flow
increase between the selected source/sink transfer
without any line thermal overload, violation of voltage
limits, voltage collapse or transient instability. The
calculation of TTC is the major burden during the
calculation of ATC. TTC is dependent on many factors,
such as the base case of system operation, system
operation limits, network configuration, specification of
contingencies, etc. FACTS devices, which can provide
direct and flexible control of power transfer, can be
very helpful in the operation of competitive power
markets. How to use FACTS to control power flow
control to improve power transfer capability so that it
enhance the power market competitiveness is an active
research area. The compensation scheme of TCSC has
been widely accepted as a solution for the limitation
created by generation and transmission systems. With
proper control of FACTS devices, TTC may be adjusted
significantly. Thyristor Controlled Series Compensator
(TCSC) as an effective series compensation device can
be used for this purpose. In this paper the effectiveness
of TCSC to enhance TTC at steady state is investigated.
The location and the amount of compensation will have
to be determined in power flow control problems.
Several studies have evaluated the function of series
compensators using objective sensitivities for the
predetermined locations or parameters of the device
required [2,3].

Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are probabilistic heuristic

search procedures based on natural genetic system. It
uses probabilistic transition rules, not deterministic
rules. GA is highly multi-direction, pmallel and rather
robust method in searching global optimal solution of
complex optimization problems. By using random

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 choice as a tool in the search process, it possesses the
advantage to help preventing the algorithm getting stuck
in a local minimum. Power system researchers have
implemented the technique broadly in recent years [4].
This paper explores the application of Genetic
Algorithm (GA) to determine the location and the
amount of compensation of TCSC for enchanting TTC.
A simplified TTC has been used as an index to evaluate
the impacts of TCSCS in competitive power markets
and then a real Genetic Algorithm is developed to
explore the allocations and the amount of compensation
of one and two TCSCS in a system.
This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses
the calculation of Total Transfer Capability. TCSC
modeling is outlined in Section 3. Section 4 presents the
procedure for constructing Genetic Algorithm and
applying different techniques for GA operators. Studies
on the IEEE 14-bus to demonstrate the implementation
of proposed algorithm are presented in Section 5.
II. TOTAL TRANSFER CAPABILITY
TTC can be considered as the maximum power a
power seller can transfer through the network to the
power consumers. It is the maximum power that a
source and a sink can interchange subject to system
operation constrains. Continuation Power Flow (CPF)
can be used to compute it [5]. CPF is a base tool for
accurately computing transfer capabilities. It is used for
finding the maximum value of a scalar parameter in a
linear function of changed injections at a set of buses in
a power flow problem. The CPF algorithm effectively
adjusts the controlling parameter in discrete steps and
solves the resulting power flow problem at each step.
This procedure is continued until a given limit
preventing further increase is reached. It traces the
solution of the power flow equation F(4 K A) =0 where
the parameter 2 stands for the loading factor. The
method can be summarized in following three steps.
The detailed description can be found in [6].
1) Predicto~ Given an initial operating point, the next
point in system variables is found by choosing the
tangent to the system trajectory and a step length;
2) Corrector: Using the solution of the above step as
the starting point, intersection between the
perpendicular plane to the tangent vector and the
systems solution trajectory is found;
3) Parameterization: Checking the relative change in
all the system variables, the appropriate parameter is
selected.
In this work, CPF program is used to determine the
amount of TTC, which satis~ the line thermal limits
and bus voltage magnitude limits. For simplicity, the
following are assumed in this preliminary study.
1) The base case power flow is a feasible operation
point without any constraints violated.
2) Bus voltage limits or line thermal limits are
reached before the system get to the voltage collapse
point.
3) The load changes are relatively slow to avoid
system transient stability.
4) A typical PQ load model is used for the demand of
power buyers, which maintains a constant power factor.
A continuation power flow is performed by starting
from an initial point and then increasing the load by a
factor until some system limit is reached. The loads are
defined as:
where PLOi, QLO, are the active and reactive power
respectively of bus i in the base case; PLi, QLi are the
active and reactive power of bus i increased by
parameter A
For a specific source/sink transfer case, the steps for
calculating the TTC maybe summarized as [5]:
1) Specify Continuation parameters;
2) Predictor operation with Jacobin matrix obtained
by step 1;
3) Corrector operation by solving power flow
equation with augmented Jacobin matrix;
4) Check the solution of step 3 for violations of
constraints. If there are violations, return the power
flow solutions of the previous step and terminate the
program. If not, recycle the step 2-4 until a violation
occurs.
III. MODELING OF TCSC

Transmission lines are represented by lumped x

equivalent parameters. The series compensator TCSC is

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 simply a static capacitor/reactor with impedance jxc . basic operators: reproduction, crossover and mutation.
Finally, the population stabilizes, because no better
Fig. 1 shows a transmission line incorporating a TCSC.
individual can be found. When algorithm converges,
and most of the individuals in the population are almost
identical, it represent a sub-optimal solution. A genetic

‘“mBus-J algorithm has three parameters: the population size,

crossover rate and mutation rate. These parameters are
important to determine the performance of the
algorithm. The detailed description can be found in [8].
Figure 1. Equivalent circuit of a line with TCSC
A. Presentation of control variables
In this study TCSC only operates as a capacitor and
To apply GA to solve a specific problem, one has to
the maximum compensation will be limited to 60% of
define the solution representation and the coding of
the line reactance, where it is placed.
control variables. The optimization problem here is to
use Continuation Power Flow (CPF) to find the Total
The difference between the line susceptance before
Transfer Capability for different TCSC locations and
and after the addition of TCSC can be expressed as:
compensations. Every individual chromosome should
contain TCSC location and compensation level, as
Ayv =y; –yV=(g; +j~; )–(gy+J~Y)
shown in Fig. 2.

“=&
’bq=-&’ An Individual Chromosome

‘J=
Jo+=’’’*-* ocation code Comi3ensation

Figure 2. Chromosome presentation for control

level

Afler adding TCSC on the line between bus i and bus variables
j of a general power system, the new system admittance
In this study, real code Genetic Algorithm is used.
matrix Y~w can be updated as:
Compared with binary GA, it offers higher accuracy of
the control variables. As for location information, we
00 0...000
use a series of integrals to express different placement
0 Ayv O ... 0 –Ayq O row - i of TCSCS. For example, if the location for TCSC has 6
00 0...000 choices, six integrals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are used as
... ... ... ... ... ... ... candidates for this control variable. In every procedure
i
000.000 of GA (initialization, reproduction, crossover,

1
0 –Ayv

000..000
CO1– i
O ... 0 Ayq

col –j
0

1
row -j mutation), the resulting location code will be held as
one of those integers.

B. Initialization
Because the ybu has to be updated for each of The initialization procedure will select the initial
different locations and the amount of compensation of population within the range of the control variables with
TCSC, the above formulation is applied at each a random number generator. The user can specify the
iteration. population number in this procedure.

IV. CONSTRUCTION OF GENETIC ALGORITHM C. Fitness Evaluation

In genetic algorithms, individuals are simplified
chromosome that codes the control variables of the
problem. The strength of an individual is the objective
function (fitness) that must be optimized. A random
start function might generate the initial population size.
After the start, successive populations are generated
using the GA iteration process, which contains three
to a After control variables are coded, the objective
function (fitness) will be evaluated. These values are
measures of quality, which is used to compare different
solutions. The better solution joins the new population
and the worse one is discarded. The fitness value of an
individual will determine its chance to propagate its
features to future generations. Here TTC is used as the

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 fitness in the genetic algorithm. In order to test the where r is a uniform random number chosen between
impact of maximum possible compensation, the range the range (O,1), t is the current generation number, T is
of TCSC compensation is kept between 60% of the maximum number of generations and b is a
maximal line reactance and O. During the evaluation parameter determining the degree of nonuniformity.
procedure, for every individual when the compensation The amount of mutation decreases as the number of
offered by TCSC goes beyond the 60°A of the respective generations increases. In this study, the value b = 2 is
line reactance, which is determined by the Location used.
code, a low TTC will be returned as the fitness value.
This will prevent this kind of individual from being G. Population Replacement
inherited.
Two population replacement methods, non-
overlapping generations and steady-state replacement
D. Reproduction
are used in this work. When using non-overlapping
Reproduction is a process in which individual generations, a generation was entirely replaced by its
chromosomes are copied according to their objective offspring created through selection, crossover and
function (fitness), This operation is an artificial version mutation. It is possible for the offspring to be worse
of the Darwinian Process of natural selection. The first than their parents and some fitter chromosomes may be
stage of the reproduction process is to select lost from the evolutionary process. Steady-state
chromosomes for mating. Two different techniques, replacement is used to overcome this problem. In this
roulette wheel selection and stochastic universal process, a number of offspring are created and these
sampling are tested here. It is seen that stochastic replace the same number of the least fit individuals in
universal sampling exhibits better convergence. the population. In this work the steady-state
replacement demonstrates better convergence than non-
E. Crossover overlapping generations.

Crossover is one of the main distinguishing features

Fig. 3 shows the flow chart of the proposed algorithm
of GAs that make them different from other algorithms.
Its main aim is to recombine blocks on different
individual to make a new one. Convex crossover is used
in this work as the following formulation. I read
system
PF data
operation
and
limit J

x’= 2@+ 22y &

y’= /lly + Ax read TCSClocation an
compensation messag
a~+~=l, 2~,/&>o I
+
where x, y are the two parents, x ~y’ are their two Initilize first generation

offspring. 21 is obtained by a uniform random number I

generator between the range (O-l).

I apply CPF
TTC(fitness)
to calculate

F. Mutation

Mutation is used to introduce some sort of artificial

diversification in the population to avoid premature
convergence to local optimum. An arithmetic mutation
operator that has proved successful in a number of
studies is dynamic or nonuniform mutation, which is
used in this study. This is designed for fine-tuning
aimed at achieving a high degree of precision. For a
given parent x, if the gene x~ is selected for mutation,
then the resulting gene is selected with equal probability
from the two choices:
Xi = X~ + @~ - xk )(1 – ;)b

or Figure 3. Flow chart of Genetic Algorithm

XL = Xk – r(xk – ak )(1 –+)6

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 V. CASE STUDIES compensation offered by TCSC is 0--0.21 (P.u.) which
is d~termined by the maximum possible compensation.
IEEE 14-bus system reproduced in Fig. 4 has been
After using Genetic Algorithms proposed in this work,
used to study the implementation of the proposed GA.
the results obtained are shown in Table 2. It shows that
System data can be found in [7]. Here we represent the
with the flow control function TCSC increased the TTC
two parallel lines connected bus 1 with bus 2 as one line.
significantly. TCSC can detour the power through those
Line ratings are given in appendix A. The voltage
un-congested lines.
magnitude limits of all buses are set from 0.95 to 1.15
p.u.

12 13 14
Table 2. TTCS after incorporating TCSC

Source/Sink TTC TCSC Compensation

Bus No. (MW) Location (p.u.)
1/9 69.46 Line 9 -0.087
1/10 63.19 Line 12 -0.073
1/12 47.88 Line 9 -0.125
1/13 49.01 Line 9 -0.125
1/14 57.82 Line 12 -0.110
1/4 255.89 Line 3 -0.070
1/3 217.69 Line 6 -0.080

Fig. 5 shows the profile of maximum fitness and

Figure 4. IEEE 14-bus system diagram
average fitness when source/sink transfer is between
bus 1 and bus 9. The GA parameters selected were: a
generation number of 80, a crossover rate of 50’XO,a
Using Continuation Power Flow the Total Transfer
mutation rate of 2% and a population number of 120.
Capability are computed for a set of source/sink
After 120 generations, the optimal value of TCSC
transfers. Table 1 shows the TTCS for the 14-bus
location and compensation value are found. It shows a
system without any addition of TCSCS.
good convergence of this algorithm.

Table 1. TTC without any TCSC

Fitness(M~

‘~

I Source/Sink
Bus No. I TTC (MW)
I Violated
Constraints I q+
. MM,
AVB

*
1/9 50.0 Line 8 overflow
1/10 46.5 Line 8 overflow
6
1/12 31.2 Line 8 overflow
1/13 31.6 Line 8 overflow
5
1/14 42.6 Line 8 overflow
1/4 238.2 Line 1 overflow
5
1/3 165.5 Line 2 overflow

No of Generations
A. Incorporation of one TCSC
Figure 5. Fitness profile of TTC with one TCSC
When one TCSC in incorporated in the system, if we
consider all lines of system, there are 20 possible
locations for the TCSC. The location code region are set
as 20 integers as 1,2,...,20. The amount of

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 B. Incorporation of two TCSCS
Fitness (MW)
There are C~O= 190combinations of 2 TCSCS between
a total of 20 lines. Therefore, the region for location

m
90 -
code will be (1-190). Every individual chromosome
contains three parts of gene as: location code, 85 -

compensation for the first TCSC and compensation for 1

80
the second TCSC. Table 3 shows the TTC results
obtained by the proposed algorithm. Compared to the t
7
result with one TCSC shown in Table 2, the two TCSCS
beneficially interacts with each other and cooperate to 7
create extra gain for TTC. Fig. 6 shows the profile of
maximum fitness and average fitness when source/sink 6

pairs are bus 1 and bus 9. The parameters of GA used

601 I
were: a population number of 400, a crossover rate of o 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500

6% and a mutation rate of 2’%.. It is seen that the best No of Generations

value of control variables of two TCSC allocations are Figure 6. Fitness profile of TTC with two TCSCS
found after 500 generations.

VI. CONCLUSION

Implementation of the proposed real Genetic VII. REFERENCES

Algorithm has performed well when it is used to
[1] Transmission Transfer Capability Task Force, “Available
determine the location and compensation level of TCSC
transfer capability definitions and determination,” North
with the aim of maximizing the Total Transfer
American Electric Reliability Council, NJ, June 1996.
Capability. TTC as an index to evaluate the impacts of
TCSC is obtained by the Continuation Power Flow [2] M.Noroozian, G.Anderson, “ Power Flow Control by Use
procedure subject to line thermal limits and bus voltage of Controllable Series Components”, IEEE Transactions
magnitude limits. Different advanced techniques are on Power Delivery, VO1.8, No.3,July 1993, 1420-1428.
tested upon the different GA operators (reproduction,
crossover, mutation). Two case studies are conducted [3] C.R.Fuerte-Esquivel, E.Acha, “Newton-Raphson
using the IEEE 14 – bus system, one with one TCSC algorithms for the reliable solution of large power
and the second with two TCSCS. The results show that networks with embedded FACTS devices”, IEE Proc.
Gener. Transm. Distrib., VO1.143, No.5, Sept. 1996, 447-
this technique can produce good results with
454.
significantly enhanced TTCS. However, fi.u-ther studies
are required in two respects. First, these results need to [4] Vladimiro Miranda, J.V. Ranito, L. M. Proenca, “Genetic
be compared with those obtained using some other Algorithms in Optimal Multistage Distribution Network
techniques to determine its relative benefits. Secondly, Planning”, IEEE Trans. Power Systems, Vol. 9, No. 4,
studies on large practical system with more numbers of NOV. 1994, 1927-1933.
TCSCS should be conducted.
[5] G. C. Ejebe, J. Tong, J. G. Waight, J. G. Frame, X. Wang,
Table 3. TTCS incorporating two TCSC placed and W. F. Tinney, “Available transfer capability
calculations,” IEEE Trans. Power Systems, Vol. 13, No.4,
NOV. 1998, 1521-1527.
Soure/Sink TTC TCSC1 Compen- TCSC2 Compen-
Bus No. (MW) Location sationl(p.u.) Location sation2(p.u.)
[6] V. Ajarapu, and C. Christie, “The continuation power
1/9 93.70 Line 1 -0.136 Line 4 -0.202
flow: a practical tool for tracing power system steady-
1/10 70.85 Line 1 -0.096 Line 9 -0.087 state stationary behavior due to the load and generation
1/12 62.09 Line 7 -0.127 Line 15 -0.096
variations,” IEEE Trans. Power Systems, Vol. 7, No. 1,
Feb. 1992,416-423.
1/13 64.86 Line 1 -0.165 Line 17 -0.209

1/14 69.22 Line 1 -0.126 Line 12 -0.108 [7] Freris, L.L. and Sasson, A. M., Investigation on the load
flow problem. Proceedings of IEE, 1968, 115, 1459-1470.
1/4 282.81 Line 1 -0.113 Line 4 -0.210

1/3 226.06 Line 3 -0.094 Line 6 -0.069

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 [8] Goldberg, D. E., Genetic Algorithms in Search, IX. APPENDIX A
Optimisation and Machine Learning, Addison - Wesley
Longman, 1989. Line ratings of IEEE 14-bus system

Line (From) Bus (To) Bus Line rating (MVA)

1 1 2 342
2 2 3 171
VIII. BIOGRAPHIES 2 4 171
3
4 1 5 171
Wang Feng (IEEE S-99) obtained his B.E. from Hohai
5 2 5 171
University, Nanjing, China in 1994. After working for several
6 3 4 171
years as a Power System Application Software developer in
7 4 5 171
Nanjing Automation Research Institute (NARI), he is pursing
8 5 6 65
his post-graduate degree at Nanyang Technological
9 4 7 65
University, Singapore.
10 7 8 50
11 4 9 40
12 7 9 65
G. B. Shrestha (IEEE S-88, M-90, SM-92) received
13 9 10 50
B.E.(Honors) degree in Electrical Engineering from Jadavpur
University (India) in 1975, MBA from University of Hawaii I 14 6 11 50
15 6 12 50
in 1985, MS. in Electrical Power Engineering from RPI in
1986, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech 16 6 13 50

in 1990. Presently, he is an Assoc. Prof. at NTU, Singapore. 17 9 14 50

His main area of interest is power system operation and 18 10 11 50

planning. 19 12 13 50
20 13 14 50

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