Preface

In this book the author has endeavored to draw upon his experience in the
fields of applied mathematics, power system design, and power system
operations that include a career spanning more than 26 years in the UK elec-
tricity industry. The author hopes that the book will be of interest and use to
the engineers working in the field of power system frequency stability and
control, to researchers in academia and to students alike.
In power system theoretical studies, frequency control and stability are,
in some ways, regarded as well-understood subjects. In the field of power
system operations, however, they, of course, take on a magnified importance.
To ensure the integrity of modern power systems, particularly in view of
recent technological developments that are changing the frequency behavior
of power systems and the way they must be controlled, the subjects of fre-
quency control and stability must be reexamined extremely carefully.
The book is divided broadly into five sections, containing material as
follows:
The first section of the book, comprising Chapter 1, The need for fre-
quency control, and Chapter 2, What can provide frequency control? forms
an introduction to the rationale behind frequency control:
Chapter 1, The need for frequency control, introduces frequency control
and addresses the question of why we need frequency control. The con-
cept of system requirements is also introduced, together with the monitor-
ing of frequency, modern challenges in frequency control and asks how
we should model the power system for frequency control purposes.
Chapter 2, What can provide frequency control? asks the question “what
can provide frequency control?” with a special emphasis on the chal-
lenges posed by modern low-inertia systems. Different kinds of frequency
control profile are discussed and finishes up with a description of the
issue of system inertia.
The second section of the book, comprising Chapter 3, Per unit systems
for frequency analysis, and Chapter 4, Initial analysis of the frequency con-
trol problem and a derivation of the swing equation, enters the field of the
modeling of the power system for the purposes of analyzing the frequency.
Chapter 3, Per unit systems for frequency analysis, examines the familiar
per unit systems for individual synchronous machines, and how these

xxvii
xxviii Preface

definitions can be extended to cover whole power systems that contain

many machines for the purposes of frequency analysis. The fundamental
relationship between frequency stability and inertia is also discussed. An
initial analysis of the frequency control problem is included in this chap-
ter and a basic derivation of the familiar “swing equation” is given.
Chapter 4, Initial analysis of the frequency control problem and a deriva-
tion of the swing equation, contains a discussion of the elements that
make up the fundamental power balance in the intact system and the con-
sequences of the imbalance that occurs when a generating set or a block
of load is lost from the system.
The third section of the book, which is the largest, consists of Chapters
5 8. This section of the book is concerned with the different techniques that
are available for solving the “swing equation” and subsequently obtaining
the frequency response requirements for a system. Each method is covered in
considerable detail.
Chapter 5, Techniques available for calculating frequency response
requirements, considers the power system frequency during normal opera-
tion, and it looks at what happens when a power imbalance occurs on the
system and the available techniques for solving the resulting mathemati-
cal problem.
Chapter 6, Analytical solutions, describes two analytical methods that can
be used to solve the “swing equation,” the “direct solution of the differen-
tial equation” method and the method by Laplace transforms.
Chapter 7, Numerical methods for solving the “swing equation,” exam-
ines a range of numerical solution methods, starting with the simplest and
finishing up with the most complex and sophisticated, the simplest
method considered being Euler’s method and the most complex the
Adams Bashforth Moulton method.
Chapter 8, The “control diagram” method, considers an approach using
control diagrams. The “swing equation” is represented by a block diagram
and iterations performed to find the optimal solution for a given case.
The fourth section of the book, which consists only of Chapter 9, Some
important practical applications, but this is a very important chapter because
it discusses probably the four main calculations that the control engineer
needs to do concerning the system frequency.
Chapter 9, Some important practical applications, covers four of the most
important applications of the solution of the “swing equation” which are
of use to the control engineer in real-time frequency management. They
are (1) the calculation of the rate of change of frequency following the
loss from the system of an amount of generation or a block of load; (2)
the calculation of the system frequency requirements for a “low-fre-
quency excursion” (following the loss of a generation set); (3) the
 Preface xxix

calculation of the system frequency requirements for a “high-frequency

excursion” (following the loss of a block of load); and (4) the calculation
of the system frequency requirements during “normal operation.”
The fifth section of the book is devoted to current issues and
developments.
Chapter 10, The challenges of operating systems with high penetrations
of renewables (low-inertia systems), contains a discussion of the chal-
lenges posed to control engineers by the high penetration of inertia-less
generation in modern power systems. This chapter considers in turn the
influence on the power system frequency of three relatively recent addi-
tions to power systems: (1) high-voltage direct current links, (2) wind
farms, and (3) solar farms.
Chapter 11, “Smart grids” and the “system frequency,” looks at a very topi-
cal area at the current time: smart grids. How will, for example, the comput-
erized optimization of power system loads affect the system frequency and
our ability to control it in a satisfactory way, such as avoiding instabilities?
Chapter 12, Conclusions, concludes the book by first reviewing the dif-
ferent methods for solving the “swing equation” and comparing them for
effectiveness and suitability in the operational planning and control envi-
ronment. Which is the best method? Second, we ask the perhaps funda-
mental question at present, does a shortfall of inertia on the system
matter? Does it need compensating for, and, if so, what do we have at
our disposal to achieve this? Finally, where do we go from here?

MATLAB example simulations

The book contains a total of 16 MATLAB example simulations to assist the
reader in understanding the techniques and issues described in the book.
Please try them.

Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank Graham Stein, Richard Ierna, Yun Li, Nikola
Gargov, and Ziming Song for providing some helpful feedback in the draft-
ing stage and Rachel Morfill for writing the Foreword.

Andrew Dixon
Middlebury, CT, United States
November 2018