Load Flow Studies

Load flow is the solution for the normal balanced three-phase steady-state operating conditions of
an electric power system.
The power flow problem can be defined as the calculation of the real and reactive powers flowing
in each line, and the magnitude and phase angle of the voltage at each bus of a given transmission
system for specified generation and load conditions.
In general, power flow calculations are performed for power system planning and operational
planning, and in connection with system operation and control. The data obtained from power flow
studies are used for the studies of normal operating mode, contingency analysis, outage security
assessment, and optimal dispatching and stability.

Network Model Formulation

Consider an 𝑖th bus of an 𝑛 bus power system

It is convenient to work with power at each bus injected into the transmission system, called the
‘Bus Power’. The 𝑖th bus power is defined as 𝑆𝑖 = 𝑆𝐺𝑖 − 𝑆𝐷𝑖

In terms of real and reactive powers

𝑆𝐺𝑖 = 𝑃𝐺𝑖 + 𝑗𝑄𝐺𝑖

𝑆𝐷𝑖 = 𝑃𝐷𝑖 + 𝑗𝑄𝐷𝑖 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (1)
𝑆𝑖 = 𝑃𝑖 + 𝑗𝑄𝑖

Also,
 𝑆𝑖 = 𝑆𝐺𝑖 − 𝑆𝐷𝑖 = (𝑃𝐺𝑖 − 𝑃𝐷𝑖 ) + 𝑗(𝑄𝐺𝑖 − 𝑄𝐷𝑖 ) 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (2)

The ‘Bus Current’ at the 𝑖th bus is defined as

𝐼𝑖 = 𝐼𝐺𝑖 − 𝐼𝐷𝑖 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (3)

Voltage-Current Relationship
Based on the following assumptions, the relation between bus currents and bus voltages are
developed:
1. That there is no mutual coupling between the transmission lines.
2. There is an absence of regulating transformers.
Let 𝑦𝑖𝑘 (𝑖 ≠ 𝑘) be the total admittance connected between the 𝑖th and 𝑘th buses and 𝑦𝑖0 be the
admittance between 𝑖th bus and the ground. This is usually due to the capacitance present between
transmis sion lines and the ground.
The total admittance (𝑦𝑖0 ) is the sum of the admittances due to all the transmission lines connected
to the bus. Also 𝑦𝑖𝑘 (𝑖 ≠ 𝑘) = 0, if there is no transmission line between the 𝑖th and 𝑘th bus.
By applying KCL at the 𝑖th bus, we get

𝐼𝑖 = 𝑦𝑖0 𝑉𝑖 + 𝑦𝑖0 (𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉1 ) + 𝑦𝑖0 (𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉2 ) + ⋯ + 𝑦𝑖, 𝑖−1 (𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑖−1 ) + 𝑦𝑖, 𝑖+1 (𝑉𝑖 −
𝑉𝑖+1 ) + ⋯ + 𝑦𝑖𝑛 (𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑛 )
𝐼𝑖 = −𝑦𝑖1 𝑉1 − 𝑦𝑖2 𝑉2 − 𝑦𝑖3 𝑉3 − ⋯ − 𝑦𝑖, 𝑖−1 𝑉𝑖−1 (4)
+ (𝑦𝑖0 + 𝑦𝑖1 + ⋯ + 𝑦𝑖, 𝑖−1 + 𝑦𝑖, 𝑖+1 + ⋯ + 𝑦𝑖𝑛 )𝑉𝑖 − 𝑦𝑖, 𝑖+1 𝑉𝑖+1 −⋯
− 𝑦𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑛

In general form:

𝐼𝑖 = 𝑌𝑖1 𝑉1 + 𝑌𝑖2 𝑉2 + ⋯ + 𝑌𝑖i 𝑉𝑖 + ⋯ + 𝑌𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑛 =

𝑛
𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (5)
∑ 𝑌𝑖𝑘 𝑉𝑘
𝑘=1
 𝐼
𝑦𝑖𝑘 (𝑖 ≠ 𝑘) = 𝑉𝑖 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑉 = 0 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑉𝑘 (6)
𝑘

where 𝑦𝑖𝑘 is the short circuit transfer admittance between 𝑖th and 𝑘th bus.
and
𝐼
𝑦𝑖𝑖 = 𝑉𝑖 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑉 = 0 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑉𝑖 (7)
𝑖

where 𝑦𝑖𝑖 is the short circuit driving point admittance or self-admittance at the 𝑖th bus.
From (4) and (6)

𝑦𝑖𝑘 (𝑖 ≠ 𝑘) = −𝑦𝑖𝑘
(8)

where 𝑦𝑖𝑘 is the negative of the total admittance connected between 𝑖th and 𝑘th bus and 𝑦𝑖𝑘 (𝑖 ≠ 𝑘) =
0 if there is no transmission line between 𝑖th and 𝑘th bus.
From (4) and (7)

𝑦𝑖𝑖 = 𝑦𝑖0 + 𝑦𝑖1 + 𝑦𝑖2 + ⋯ + 𝑦𝑖, 𝑖−1 + 𝑦𝑖, 𝑖+1 + ⋯ + 𝑦𝑖𝑛 (9)

where 𝑦𝑖𝑖 is the sum of the admittances directly connected to 𝑖th bus.
Writing (5) for all the 𝑛 buses in matrix form yields

𝐼𝐵𝑈𝑆 = 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 𝑉𝐵𝑈𝑆 (10)

where 𝐼𝐵𝑈𝑆 is 𝑛 × 1 column vector of bus currents, 𝑉𝐵𝑈𝑆 is 𝑛 × 1 column vector of bus voltages and
𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 is 𝑛 × 𝑛 matrix of admittances given as
𝑌11 𝑌12 … 𝑌1𝑛
𝑌21 𝑌22 … 𝑌2𝑛
𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 =[ ]
⋮ ⋮ ⋮
𝑌𝑛1 𝑌𝑛1 … 𝑌𝑛𝑛
• The diagonal element of 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 is the self-admittance. The off-diagonal element of 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 is the
transfer admittance.
• 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 is 𝑛 × 𝑛 matrix where 𝑛 is the number of buses.
Equation (10) can be written in the form

𝑉𝐵𝑈𝑆 = 𝑍𝐵𝑈𝑆 𝐼𝐵𝑈𝑆 (11)

where 𝑍𝐵𝑈𝑆 is the bus impedance matrix.

𝑍𝐵𝑈𝑆 = 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 −1 (12)

 𝑍11 𝑍12 … 𝑍1𝑛
𝑍 𝑍22 … 𝑍2𝑛
𝑍𝐵𝑈𝑆 = [ 21 ]
⋮ ⋮ ⋮
𝑍𝑛1 𝑍𝑛1 … 𝑍𝑛𝑛
• The diagonal elements are short circuit driving point impedances, and the off-diagonal elements
are short circuit transfer impedances.
• Symmetric 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 yields symmetric 𝑍𝐵𝑈𝑆 .
• 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 is a full-matrix, i.e., zero elements in 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 become nonzero elements in the corresponding
𝑍𝐵𝑈𝑆 .
𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 is often used in solving load flow problems. One of its greatest advantages is its sparsity, as
it heavily reduces computer memory and time requirements.
Example 1:
The transmission lines in Figure (a) are replaced by their nominal-𝜋 equivalent as shown Figure b.
The shunt admittances lumped at the buses in Figure c. The mutual admittances between the lines is
assumed to be zero.
By Applying KCL at nodes 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively, four equations are obtained:
 In matrix form

The diagonal elements of 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 are self-admittances

The off-diagonal elements of 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 are transfer admittances

Example 2: Consider the impedance diagram of the following figure in which the system parameters
are given in per unit by

Impedance diagram of the power network is shown in the following figure.

 Equivalent admittance diagram of the impedance is shown in the following figure.
Here
1
𝑌𝑖𝑗 = 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 4 and 𝑗 = 1, 2, … , 4 (13)
𝑍𝑖𝑗

The voltage sources 𝐸𝐺1 and 𝐸𝐺2 are converted into the equivalent current sources 𝐼1 and 𝐼2
respectively using the Norton’s theorem.

The system admittance can then be written in per unit as

where
1 1
𝑌11 = = = −𝑗4
𝑍11 𝑗0.25
1 1
𝑌12 = − =− = 𝑗5
𝑍11 𝑗0.2
Example 3:
The one-line diagram of a simple four-bus system is shown below. Following table gives the line
impedances identified by the buses on which these terminate. The shunt admittance at all the buses is
assumed to be negligible.
(a) Find 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 , assuming that the line shown dotted is not connected.
(b) What modifications need to be carried out in 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 if the line shown dotted is connected?

Solution:
(a)
 (b) The following elements of 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 of part (a) are modified when a line is added between buses 1
and 2.
 Load Flow Problem
The complex power injected by the source into the 𝑖th bus of a power system is

𝑆𝑖 = 𝑃𝑖 + 𝑗𝑄𝑖 = 𝑉𝑖 𝐼𝑖∗ 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (14)

It is convenient to work with 𝐼𝑖 instead of 𝐼𝑖∗ . So take the complex conjugate of (14)

𝑃𝑖 − 𝑗𝑄𝑖 = 𝑉𝑖∗ 𝐼𝑖 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (15)

But
𝑛

𝐼𝑖 = ∑(𝑌𝑖𝑘 𝑉𝑘 )
𝑘=1
𝑛

𝑃𝑖 − 𝑗𝑄𝑖 = 𝑉𝑖∗ {∑(𝑌𝑖𝑘 𝑉𝑘 )} 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (16)

𝑘=1

Equating real and imaginary parts, gives power flow equations which are known as Static Load
Flow Equations (SLFE),
𝑛

𝑃𝑖 = |𝑉𝑖 | ∑|𝑉𝑘 ||𝑌𝑖𝑘 | cos(𝜃𝑖𝑘 + 𝛿𝑘 − 𝛿𝑖 ) 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (17)

𝑘=1

𝑄𝑖 = −|𝑉𝑖 | ∑|𝑉𝑘 ||𝑌𝑖𝑘 | sin(𝜃𝑖𝑘 + 𝛿𝑘 − 𝛿𝑖 ) 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (18)

𝑘=1

where 𝑉𝑖 = |𝑉𝑖 |𝑒 𝑗𝛿𝑖 , 𝑉𝑘 = |𝑉𝑘 |𝑒 𝑗𝛿𝑘 and 𝑌𝑖𝑘 = |𝑌𝑖𝑘 |𝑒 𝑗𝜃𝑖𝑘 .

There are 𝑛 real and 𝑛 reactive power flow equations giving a total of 2𝑛 power flow equations. At
each bus there are four variables: |𝑉𝑖 |, 𝛿𝑖 , 𝑃𝑖 and 𝑄𝑖 . There are 4𝑛 variables for 𝑛 buses.
Types of buses
1. Slack Bus/Swing Bus/Reference Bus
Real and reactive powers at this bus are not specified. Instead, voltage magnitude (normally set
equal to 1 pu) and voltage phase angle (normally set equal to zero) are specified. Usually, there is
only one bus of this type in a given power system.
2. PQ Bus/Load Bus
At this type of bus, the net powers 𝑷𝒊 and 𝑸𝒊 are known.
𝑃𝐷𝑖 and 𝑄𝐷𝑖 are known from load forecasting and 𝑃𝐺𝑖 and 𝑄𝐺𝑖 are specified.
The unknowns are |𝑽𝒊 | and 𝜹𝒊 . A pure load bus (i.e., 𝑃𝐺𝑖 = 𝑄𝐺𝑖 = 0) is a PQ bus.
3. PV Bus/Generator Bus
This bus has always a generator connected to it. Thus 𝑃𝐺𝑖 and |𝑉𝑖 | are specified. 𝑃𝐷𝑖 is known from
load forecasting, therefore, the net power 𝑃𝑖 is known. The knowns are 𝑷𝒊 and |𝑽𝒊 | and unknowns
are 𝑸𝒊 and 𝜹𝒊 .
4. Voltage Controlled Bus
Frequently the PV bus and the voltage-controlled bus are grouped together. But they have physical
differences and slightly different calculation strategies. The voltage-controlled bus has also voltage
control capabilities, and uses a tap-adjustable transformer and/or a static var compensator instead of
a generator.
Hence 𝑃𝐺𝑖 = 𝑄𝐺𝑖 = 0 at these buses. Thus,
𝑃𝑖 = −𝑃𝐷𝑖
𝑄𝑖 = −𝑄𝐷𝑖
|𝑽𝒊 | are known at these buses and the unknown is 𝛿𝑖 .
By transposing all the variables of (17) and (18) on one side, these equations can be written in the
vector form as

𝑓(𝑥, 𝑦) = 0 (19)

where 𝑓 is a vector function of dimension 2𝑛 × 1, 𝑥 is the vector of dependent or state variables of

dimension 2𝑛 × 1 (2𝑛 independent variables specified a priori) and 𝑦 is the vector of independent
variables of dimension 2𝑛 × 1 (2𝑛 unspecified variables).
Some of the independent variables in 𝑥 can be used to manipulate some of the state variables. These
adjustable independent variables are called control variables. The remaining independent variables
which are fixed are called fixed parameters.
Vector 𝑥 can then be partitioned into a vector 𝑢 of control variables and a vector 𝑝 of fixed
parameters,
𝑢
𝑥 = [𝑝 ] (20)

Control variables may be voltage magnitude on PV bus, 𝑃𝐺𝑖 at buses with controllable power, etc.
Fixed parameters are those which are uncontrollable.
Constraints:
1. Voltage magnitude |𝑉𝑖 | must satisfy the inequality

|𝑉𝑖 |𝑚𝑖𝑛 ≤ |𝑉𝑖 | ≤ |𝑉𝑖 |𝑚𝑎𝑥 (21)

 2. Certain of the 𝛿𝑖 (state variables) must satisfy

|𝛿𝑖 − 𝛿𝑘 | ≤ |𝛿𝑖 − 𝛿𝑘 |𝑚𝑎𝑥 (22)

3. Owing to physical limitations of 𝑃 and/or 𝑄 generation sources, 𝑃𝐺𝑖 and 𝑄𝐺𝑖 are constrained as

|𝑃𝐺𝑖 |𝑚𝑖𝑛 ≤ |𝑃𝐺𝑖 | ≤ |𝑃𝐺𝑖 |𝑚𝑎𝑥 (23)

|𝑄𝐺𝑖 |𝑚𝑖𝑛 ≤ |𝑄𝐺𝑖 | ≤ |𝑄𝐺𝑖 |𝑚𝑎𝑥 (24)

and

∑𝑖 𝑃𝐺𝑖 = ∑𝑖 𝑃𝐷𝑖 + 𝑃𝐿 (25)

∑𝑖 𝑄𝐺𝑖 = ∑𝑖 𝑄𝐷𝑖 + 𝑄𝐿 (26)

where 𝑃𝐿 and 𝑄𝐿 are system real and reactive power losses

The load flow problem can be defined as follows
• Specify all the 2𝑛 variables of vector 𝑥:
1. specify 𝑃𝐺𝑖 + 𝑗𝑄𝐺𝑖 at all PQ buses (this specifies 𝑃𝑖 + 𝑗𝑄𝑖 at these buses).
2. specify 𝑃𝐺𝑖 (this specifies 𝑃𝑖 ) and ||𝑉𝑖 | at all PV buses;
3. specify |𝑉𝑖 | and 𝛿1 (= 0)) at the slack bus.
• Solve nonlinear algebraic equations (iteratively) to determine the values of the 2𝑛 variables of the
vector 𝑦
1. determine voltages and angles at the PQ buses
2. determine reactive powers and angles at the PV buses
3. determine active and reactive powers at the slack bus.
• Compute the line flows.
There are two versions of the load flow problem.
Case 1: Assume bus 1 as the slack bus and all the remaining buses are PQ buses.
Given: 𝑉1, 𝑆2 , 𝑆3 , … , 𝑆𝑛
Find: 𝛿1 , 𝑉1, 𝑉2 , … , 𝑉𝑛
Case 2: Assume both PV and PQ buses. Buses 2, 3, … 𝑚 are PQ buses and 𝑚 + 1, … 𝑚 are PV
buses.
Given: 𝑉1, 𝑆2 , 𝑆2 , … , 𝑆𝑚 , (𝑃𝑚+1 , |𝑉𝑚+1 |), … , (𝑃𝑛 , |𝑉𝑛 |)
Find: 𝛿1 , 𝑉2 , … , 𝑉𝑚 , (𝑄𝑚+1 , 𝛿𝑚+1 ), … , (𝑄𝑛 , 𝛿𝑛 )
 Since the load flow equations are essentially nonlinear, they have to be solved through iterative
numerical techniques.

Approximate Load Flow Solution

The following assumptions and approximations in the load flow equations (17) and (18) are
considered:
1. Line resistances, being small, are neglected (shunt conductance of overhead lines is always
negligible), i.e., 𝑃𝐿 , the active power loss of the system is zero. Thus, in (17) and (18), 𝜃𝑖𝑘 =
90o and 𝜃𝑖𝑖 = −90o .
𝜋
2. (𝛿𝑖 − 𝛿𝑘 ) < (small), so that sin(𝛿𝑖 − 𝛿𝑘 ) ≅ (𝛿𝑖 − 𝛿𝑘 ).
6

3. All buses other than the slack bus (numbered as 1) are PV buses, i.e., voltage magnitudes at
all the buses, including the slack bus, are specified.
4. Equations (17) and (18) then reduced to

𝑃𝑖 = |𝑉𝑖 | ∑|𝑉𝑘 ||𝑌𝑖𝑘 | (𝛿𝑖 − 𝛿𝑘 ) 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (27)

𝑘=1

𝑄𝑖 = −|𝑉𝑖 | ∑|𝑉𝑘 ||𝑌𝑖𝑘 | cos(𝛿𝑖 − 𝛿𝑘 ) + |𝑉𝑖 |2 |𝑌𝑖𝑘 | 𝑖 = 1, 2, … , 𝑛 (28)

𝑘=1
𝑘≠𝑖

Since |𝑉𝑖 |s are specified, (27) represents a set of linear algebraic equations in 𝛿𝑖 s, which are (𝑛 − 1)
in number as 𝛿1 is specified at the slack bus (𝛿1 = 0). The 𝑛th equation corresponding to the slack
bus (𝑛 = 1) is redundant as the real power injected at this bus is now fully specified as 𝑃1 = 𝑃𝐷𝑖 −
𝑃𝐺𝑖 ; (𝑃𝐿 = 0). Equation (27) can be solved explicitly (non-iteratively) for 𝛿1 , 𝛿2 , … , 𝛿𝑛 , which, when
substituted in (28), yields 𝑄𝑖 s, the reactive power bus injections. It may be noted that the assumptions
made have decoupled (27) and (28), so that these need not be solved simultaneously but can be solved
sequentially. Solution of (28) follows immediately upon simultaneous solution of (27). Since the
solution is non-iterative and the dimension is reduced to (𝑛 = 1) from 2𝑛, it is computationally highly
economical.
Example:
Consider the four-bus sample system of the following figure, wherein line reactances are indicated
in pu. Line resistances are considered negligible. The magnitudes of all four bus voltages are specified
to be 1.0 pu. The bus powers are specified in the following table.

Solution:
1. As bus voltages are specified, all the buses must have controllable Q sources.
2. From the data that buses 3 and 4 only have Q sources.
3. Since the system is assumed lossless, the real power generation at bus 1 is known a priori to be
𝑃𝐺1 = 𝑃𝐷1 + 𝑃𝐷2 + 𝑃𝐷3 + 𝑃𝐷4 − 𝑃𝐺2 = 2 pu
Therefore, we have 7 unknowns instead of 2 × 4 = 8.
The unknown state and control variables are 𝛿2 , 𝛿3 , 𝛿4 , 𝑄𝐺1 , 𝑄𝐺2 , 𝑄𝐺3 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑄𝐺4 .
Though the real losses are zero, the presence of the reactive losses requires that the total reactive
generation must be more than the total reactive demand (2.9 pu).
From the data given, 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 can be written as follows:
 Using the above 𝑌𝐵𝑈𝑆 and bus powers as shown in the above figure, approximate load flow (27) is
expressed as (all voltage magnitudes are equal to 1.0 pu)

Taking bus 1 as a reference bus, i.e., 𝛿1 = 0, and solving (ii), (iii) and (iv), we get

Substituting 𝛿𝑆 in (28), yields

Reactive power generations at the four buses are

Reactive line losses are

Now, let us find the line flows.

For active power flow

This equation can be written in the form (| 𝑍 | = 𝑋, 𝑞 = 90o )

where 𝑃𝑖𝑘 is the real power flow from bus 𝑖 to bus 𝑘.

Real power flows on other lines can be similarly calculated.

For reactive power flow,

This equation can be written in the general form (𝑍 = 𝑋, 𝑞 = 90o )

Reactive power flows on other lines can similarly be calculated. Generations and load demands at
all the buses and all the line flows are indicated in the following figure.