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UNIT – V
COMPUTER CONTROL OF POWER SYSTEMS
5.1 Necessity for Computer Control of Power Systems
The electrification of many processes through technological advances resulted in the continuous
development and evolution of the electric power system over the last one hundred plus years.
Electric power systems are the structures that have the purpose of generating, transporting and
distributing electricity. These structures are composed of energy generating plants, transmission
lines, distribution systems and elevating and distribution substations. With the development of
electric power systems, the neighboring electric power systems are interconnected, and the operation
of power system in an interconnected fashion system usually leads to improved system security and
economy. However, with the advent of interconnection of large scale power systems, operation,
control and planning of such real time power systems become challenging tasks for power system
engineers. To manage such a complex power system, monitoring, control and operation of power
system functions are required to be computer assisted.
The number of variables involved in a large power system, the quantity of data to be
processed, and the complexity and variety of decisions that have to be taken keeping in view the
large number of constraints involved makes the instrumentation and controllers so complicated that
the use of computers becomes a natural choice for controlling the system. When the controllers are
replaced by a computer or when a computer is introduced into a control loop, the process is said to be
computer controlled.
The computer system involves dual configuration with external interfaces to monitor the
data. The first one is a process computer linked by telechannels to various generating and sub-
stations for data acquisition. The second one is a larger one where major calculations are carried out
and is linked to the process computers. For real-time computer control of power systems, the
following basic components are needed:
a. System wide instrumentation,
b. High speed digital telemetry,
c. Central processing unit,
d. Memory and bulk storage,
e. Interactive display, and
f. Software (operating and application).
The real time computer is designed to perform data acquisition, storage and retrieval, data
processing, interactive display and remote signaling and control. It consists of modems and
interfaces, CPU, memory and bulk storage- and input-output devices like display devices, card
reader, printer etc. The functional block diagram of a real time-computer is shown in Figure 1.
The data base consists of static data, dynamic data and software. The static data consists of
the details of lines, transformers, generators, etc. The dynamic data includes line flows, voltage
levels, breaker condition, generation and demand. The software includes operating software,
application software and support software.
 (CORE)
MEMORY

DATA FROM
THE SYSTEM
DISPLAY CPU MODEMS

BULK STORAGE

DISK/TAPE

Figure 1 Functional Block Diagram of a Real Time Computer

The operating software is the system software for real time operation compiling routines, file
management, etc. The application software consists of programs written for power system operation
and control. The support software consists of debugging, maintenance and testing programs.
5.1.1 Classification of a Computer Control System
The various methods of classifying the computer control systems are the following:
1. Depending on the nature of the equipment
a. Analog
b. Digital
c. Hybrid (analog plus digital computer)
2. Mode of Configuration
a. Off Line: The computer receives information regarding the process through human
intermediaries and its results are applied to the process by an operator.
b. In Line: The operator can enter the process data rapidly and directly into the computer
through a keyboard.
c. On Line: An on-line system is one which is physically connected to the process so as to
receive information without human intervention. There are two possible modes of
operation:
i. Open Loop: The input to the computer is on-line and the output is applied to the
process by the operator. The operator interprets the computer output and applies
suitable remedial control measures to the process.
ii. Closed Loop: There is no manual intervention required in this mode. The control
actions are signaled directly to the process in an understandable form
5.1.2 Types of Control
a. Supervisory: The computer sends in remedial signals to change the set point of a controller.
b. Direct: The computer itself acts as a controller and controls the process directly. This type of
control is called as Direct Digital Control (DDC).
5.1.3 Advantages of Computer Controlled Power Systems
Advantages of using computers are their speed, reliability and accuracy. Any process that can be
split into the basic operations of addition, subtraction, division and multiplication can be performed
by a computer. One would therefore tend to conclude that process control can be accomplished by
digital computers. Further, the computer is required to perform the operations that are required for
issuing a control command within a very short period of time as compared to the time constants of
the system itself.
The major advantages of a computer control facility in a power system may be summarized as:
1. Efficient operation of a sprawling power system through more efficient, rapid and reliable
network monitoring and fast – response control actions.
2. Optimal operation and control.
3. Increased reliability and protection.
4. Closer adaptation of supply to demand.
5. Improved performance over the entire range.
5.2 Energy Management System (EMS) and Energy Control Centre (ECC)
5.2.1 Energy Management System (EMS)
Energy management is the process of monitoring, coordinating, and controlling the generation,
transmission, and distribution of electrical energy. The physical plant to be managed includes
generating plants that produce energy fed through transformers to the high-voltage transmission
network (grid), interconnecting generating plants, and load centers. Transmission lines terminate at
substations that perform switching, voltage transformation, measurement, and control. Substations at
load centers transform to sub-transmission and distribution levels. These lower-voltage circuits
typically operate radially, i.e., no normally closed paths between substations through sub-
transmission or distribution circuits.
Since transmission systems provide negligible energy storage, supply and demand must be balanced
by either generation or load. Production is controlled by turbine governors at generating plants, and
automatic generation control is performed by control center computers remote from generating
plants. Load management, sometimes called demand-side management, extends remote supervision
and control to sub-transmission and distribution circuits, including control of residential,
commercial, and industrial loads.
Events such as lightning strikes, short circuits, equipment failure, or accidents may cause a system
fault. Protective relays actuate rapid, local control through operation of circuit breakers before
operators can respond. The goal is to maximize safety, minimize damage, and continue to supply
load with the least inconvenience to customers. Data acquisition provides operators and computer
control systems with status and measurement information needed to supervise overall operations.
Security control analyzes the consequences of faults to establish operating conditions that are both
robust and economical.
Energy management is performed at control centers typically called system control centers, by
computer systems called energy management systems (EMS). Data acquisition and remote control
is performed by computer systems called supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)
systems. These latter systems may be installed at a variety of sites including system control centers.
An EMS typically includes a SCADA ‘‘front-end’’ through which it communicates with generating
plants, substations, and other remote devices.
Advances in computers and power system hardware provided new possibilities. As technology
evolved so did the energy measurement system (EMS). The functions of a modern energy
management system are:
1. Real time generation function – allows the operator to monitor, analyze and control real time
generation.
2. Automatic generation control (AGC): controls generation units in real time to maintain the
system frequency at or very near 50 Hz. It also balances overall power generation with
overall load. AGC is also used to import or export power from a utility’s system. Increasing
system frequency will cause power to be exported; decreasing frequency causes power to be
imported.
3. Economic dispatch - helps the dispatcher to determine economic base points for a selected set
of units.
4. Reserve monitor – for calculating spinning reserve, operating reserve and regulating reserve.
5. Production costing – calculates the current cost of generating power of online units.
6. Transaction scheduling.
7. Real time network analysis.
8. Real time contingency analysis.
9. Load Forecasting: Load forecasting uses real-time data like outside temperature and historical
data to predict the load hours or days in advance.
10. Power flow analysis.
11. Optimal power flow.
12. Study security enhancement
13. Study contingency analysis.
14. Study state estimation.
15. Resource Scheduling and
Figure 2 illustrates the functional diagram of a modern energy management system.
5.2.2 Energy Control Centre (ECC)
The control center is the central nerve system of the power system, which As power systems
increased in size, so did the number of lines, substations, transformers, switchgear etc. Their
operation and interactions became more complex; therefore, it became essential to monitor this
information simultaneously for the total system at a focal point called as Energy Control Centre
(ECC). It senses the pulse of the power system, adjusts its condition, coordinates its movement, and
provides defense against exogenous events. The energy control center (ECC) has traditionally been
the decision-center for the electric transmission and generation interconnected system. The ECC
provides the functions necessary for monitoring and coordinating the minute-by-minute physical and
economic operation of the power system. An energy control centre fulfills the function of
coordinating the response of the system elements in both normal operations and emergency
conditions.
 Figure 2 Functional Diagram of a Modern Energy Management System (Source: NPTEL Lecture)
Energy Control Centres are equipped with on-line computers performing all signal processing
through the remote acquisition system. Computers work in all hierarchical structure to properly
coordinate different functional requirements in normal as well as emergency conditions. Every
energy control centre contains a control console which consists of a virtual display unit (VDU),
keyboard, and light pen. Computers may give alarms as advance warning to the operators
(dispatchers) when deviation from the normal state occurs. The dispatcher makes judgements and
decisions and executes them with the aid of a computer. Simulation tools and software packages
written in high-level language are implemented for efficient operation and reliable control of the
system. This is referred to as SCADA, an acronym for “Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition”.
A modern power system Energy Control Centre (ECC) performs the following functions:
1. Automatic generation control: consists of functions that operate on-line in real time to
adjust the generation against load at minimum cost.
2. Load frequency control that has to achieve three primary objectives, which are stated below
in priority order:
a. To maintain frequency at the scheduled value
b. To maintain net power interchanges with neighboring control areas at the scheduled
values
c. To maintain power allocation among units at economically desired values
 3. Economic dispatch that involves the real and reactive power scheduling of each power plant
in such a way as to minimize the operating cost. This means that the generator’s real and
reactive power are allowed to vary within certain limits so as to meet a particular load
demand with minimum fuel cost.
4. Operating Reserve monitoring, that assures enough reserve on the system. Continuous
determination of operating reserve and maintaining its adequacy on the system is one of the
functions performed by the control supervisor. The operating reserve monitoring program is
an on – line means of continually monitoring system operating reserve.
5. Supervisory control, allows operator to remotely control devices, e.g., open and close circuit
breakers. A ‘‘select before operate’’ procedure is used for greater safety.
6. Real time load flow analysis, to examine the steady state conditions of the network. The
solution provides information on network bus voltages (kV), and transmission line and
transformer flows (MVA). The control centre operators use this information to detect system
violations following load, generation, and topology changes in the system.
7. Automatic voltage (reactive power) control regulates the voltage profile and also
minimizes losses due to reactive power flow. The control variables are generator reactive
powers, transformer taps, shunt capacitors and shunt reactors. The control is a two-step
operation. Voltages and VAR flows are checked periodically and when there is any deviation
beyond certain tolerances the voltage profile control calculation is initiated.
8. Unit Commitment, that determines schedules for generation operation, load management
blocks and interchange transactions that can be dispatched. It is an optimization problem,
whose goal is to determine unit startup and shutdown and when on-line, what is the most
economic output for each unit during each time step.
The unit commitment software produces schedules in advance for the next time period.
The algorithm takes the predicted base demand from the load forecasting function and the
predicted sizes of the load management blocks. The software also enables the operator to
compute different plant schedules where there are options on plant availability.
9. On-line short circuit analysis, Determines fault currents for single-phase and three phase
faults for fault locations across the entire power system network.
10. State estimation, used to cleanse real-time data from SCADA and provide an accurate state
of the system’s current operation. A list of possible disturbances, or contingencies, such as
generator and transmission line outages, is postulated and against each of them, power flow is
calculated to check for possible overload or abnormal voltage in the system. This is called
contingency analysis or security analysis.
11. Security monitoring, identifies and display the actual operating conditions of the power
system.
12. Automatic circuit restoration,
13. Emergency control like load shedding, generator tripping, etc.
Twenty-four hours a day, the EMS allows system operators in energy control centres to see at a
glance how much power is being generated throughout the system and how much is being used by
customers; voltage conditions across the system, and the status of virtually all equipment on the main
power grid. This allows for the optimization of system performance and reliability.
Figure 3 illustrates a typical utility energy control centre block diagram, and the energy control
centre functions are shown in figure 4.

Figure 3 Typical Utility Energy Control Centre Block Diagram Source: Review of SCADA Systems)

AGC: Automatic Generation Control

ED: Economic Dispatch
PF: Power Flow
SCOPF: Security Constraint Optimal
Power Flow
LF: Load Forecast
N/W TP: Network Topology
UC: Unit Commitment
CA: Contingency Analysis
COP: Current Operation Plan
OPF: Optimal Power Flow
HTC: Hydrothermal Coordination
SE: State Estimator
HMI: Human Machine Interface

Figure 4 Energy Control Centre Functions (Source: Power System SCADA and Smart Grids)
5.3 Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) or Power System
SCADA
SCADA is an acronym that stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. SCADA is a term
used in several industries fairly generically to refer to a centralized control and monitoring system.
The SCADA system specifies facilities for monitoring and control functions of distributed process
from a central location. SCADA system is deployed as an integrated component of energy
management systems/distribution management systems in present day control centres.
5.3.1 Building Blocks or Hardware Components of SCADA System
The SCADA system has four components:
1. The first being the remote terminal unit (RTU) or data concentrator, which is the link of the
control system to the field, for acquiring the data from the field devices and passing on the
control commands from the control station to the field devices. Modern-day SCADA systems
are incomplete without the data concentrators and intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) which
are replacing the conventional RTUs with their hardwired input and output (I/O) points.
2. The second component is the communication system that carries the monitored data from the
RTU to the control centre and the control commands from the Master Station to the RTU or
data concentrator to be conveyed to the field. The communication system is of great
significance in SCADA generally and in power automation specifically, as the power system
field is widely distributed over the landscape, and critical information that is time bound is to
be communicated to the Master Station and control decisions to the field. Communication is
generally via dedicated circuits operating in the range of 600 to 4800 bits/s with the RTU
responding to periodic requests initiated from the master station (polling) every 2 to 10 s,
depending on the criticality of the data.
3. The third component of the SCADA system is the Master Station where the operator
monitors the system and makes control decisions to be conveyed to the field.
4. The fourth component is the user interface (UI) also referred to as the human-machine
interface (HMI) which is the interaction between the operator and the machine
All automation systems essentially have these four components, in varied proportions depending on
the process requirements. Power system SCADA systems are focused on the Master Stations and
HMI is of great significance, whereas process automation is focused on controllers, and Master
Station and the HMI has less significance. Figure 5 shows the components and general configuration
of a SCADA system.
5.3.2 Objectives of SCADA System
The important objectives of SCADA in Power System are listed below:
1. Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of the parameters of voltage, current, etc.
2. Measurement: Measurement of variables for processing.
3. Data Acquisition: Frequent acquisition of data from RTUs and Data Loggers / Phasor data
Concentrators (PDC).
4. Data Communication: Transmission and receiving of large amounts of data from field to
control centres.
 5. Control: Online real time control for closed loop and open loop processes.
6. Automation: Automatic tasks of switching of transmission lines, Circuit Breakers, etc.

Figure 5 General Configuration of SCADA system

5.3.2 Functions of SCADA in Power System
The traditional functions of SCADA in power system are summarized:
a. Data acquisition: Data acquisition is the process of collection of data by the RTU from the
field and by the master station from the RTU. The type of data to be acquired, its periodicity,
the update requirements and ultimate point counts need to be specified by the user. Provides
telemetered measurements and status information to operator.
The data required by SCADA system shall be governed by a data acquisition principle of the
user, which shall identify the minimum data which is required for monitoring of the
substation for the desired applications at the control centre. The process data in an electrical
utility can be mainly categorized into the following types:
 Analog inputs — continuously varying parameters like voltage, current, power,
power factor, transformer tap position indication, temperature.
 Digital inputs — Switchgear (Isolator/ breaker/earth switch) status, alarm status,
sequence of events (SOE) inputs, relay indications. Pulse accumulator value —
Energy values, rainfall.
 Digital outputs — Control of switchgear, raise/lower control of tap position of
transformers, reset of relays.
 Analog outputs — Set point controls for generators, HVDC controller.
b. Supervisory control: Supervisory control enables controlling of devices from remote. The
devices to be controlled include switchgear, transformer tap position, capacitor bank
switching, AGC of generators etc. A ‘‘select before operate’’ procedure is used for greater
safety.
c. Tagging: Identifies a device as subject to specific operating restrictions and prevents
unauthorized operation.
d. Alarms: Inform operator of unplanned events and undesirable operating conditions. Alarms
are sorted by criticality, area of responsibility, and chronology. The visual indication of each
 alarm condition shall remain as long as the alarm condition exists. It shall be possible to
designate alarms as part of different groups, priorities and categories.
e. Logging: Logs all operator entry, all alarms, and selected information.
f. Generalized calculations – for adding and removing operator’s defined calculations.
g. Historical data storage and retrieval.
h. Load shed: Provides both automatic and operator-initiated tripping of load in response to
system emergencies.
i. Providing user interface to operators.
j. Inter control center communication.
k. Trending: Plots measurements on selected time scales.
Since the master station is critical to power system operations, its functions are generally distributed
among several computer systems depending on specific design. A dual computer system configured
in primary and standby modes is most common.
Figure 6 represents the functional block diagram of a SCADA system
Master
Station

Data
Displays

Master
Alarm
MODEM Station
Annunciators
Computer

Control
Communication Lines Data Input

(to and from remote stations)

Analog
Data A/D
Measuring Converters
Equipment
Remote
Data
Station
Digital Data Remote
Data Station MODEM
Measuring Data SCADA
Equipment Control

Command

Status
Indicators

On-Off and State Self Point

Change Control Control
Generator Generator

Controlled Controlled
Equipment Equipment

Figure 6 Functional Block Diagram of SCADA System

5.3.4 Applications of SCADA in Power System

  Detection of current flow and line voltage,
 Monitoring the operation of circuit breakers,
 Continuous monitoring of generator speed and frequency,
 Isolating the sections of the power grid online or offline,
 Voltage and frequency based load scheduling,
 Processing of historical data for parameters related to generation,
 Transformers and tap changer control according to the network conditions,
 Real time monitoring and controlling of power network.
5.4 Network Topology
In the electric power system, we are concerned with the interconnection of transmission lines,
transformers and shunt reactors/capacitors that can be modeled in terms of two terminal passive
components called elements. The points of interconnection are called buses. The graph of a network
represents the manner in which the passive elements and the buses are interconnected. Each of the
two terminal elements is represented by a line segment called the edge. The edges will represent the
interconnections or network topology.
Network topology refers to the properties that relate to the geometry of a
network. These properties remain unchanged even if the circuit is bent into any other shape provided
that no parts are cut and no new connections are made.
5.5 State Estimation
Electric power system deals with the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy.
The efficient and optimum economic operation and planning, along with security of electric power
systems, have always occupied an important position in the power industry. In order to achieve these
objectives, it is essential for power engineers to accurately monitor the power system operating
states. An essential tool for monitoring the power system is state estimation.
State estimation is the process of assigning a value to an unknown system state
variable based on measurements from that system according to some criteria. Usually, the process
involves imperfect measurements that are redundant and the process of estimating the system states
is based on a statistical criterion that estimates the true value of the state variables to minimize or
maximize the selected criterion. A commonly used and familiar criterion is that of minimizing the
sum of the squares of the differences between the estimated and “true” (i.e. measured) values of a
function.
In a power system, the state variables are the voltage magnitudes and relative phase
angles at the system nodes. Measurements are required in order to estimate the system performance
in real time for both system security control and constraints on economic dispatch. The inputs to an
estimator are imperfect power system measurements of voltage magnitudes and power, VAR, or
ampere – flow quantities. The estimator is designed to produce the “best estimate” of the system
voltage and phase angles, recognizing that there are errors in the measured quantities and that there
may be redundant measurements. The output of the state estimator provides the core information for
making control decisions including contingency selection and analysis, economic dispatch
calculations, optimal power flow, security assessment and other related functions.
5.5.1 Need of State Estimation or State Estimator
A state estimator is a set of programs which obtains estimates of the static state at some required
instant of time (snap shot) from telemetered values of network variables e.g., voltage magnitudes,
line flows, active, reactive powers etc. and topological information. Since, a large amount of data
may be redundant; the state estimator should incorporate all measurements to obtain the greatest
possible accuracy. The major goal of state estimation solvers is to provide optimal estimates of the
system current operating state based on a group of conventional redundant measurements, and on the
assumed system model
The purpose or need of state estimation in power system is mentioned as:
a. To detect bad or grossly incorrect data and remove it from subsequent state estimates until it
can be physically checked. The operator of the system is usually alarmed of this action.
b. To detect changes in the topology of the network. If one of the three phases is tripped due to
some reason, the average power flow on the intact phase is far less than a value given by the
last state estimate. The operator is alerted as to this condition at the first data scan and a
corrective action is taken by him.
c. To complete a set of measurements so that faulty or missing data could be replaced. It is
possible to determine power flows and voltages at a bus whose measurements have been lost
due to communication line failure or remote terminal units (RTU).
5.5.2 Difference between Load Flow Analysis and State Estimation
State estimation plays a very important role in the monitoring and control of modern power systems.
As in the case of load flow analysis, the aim of state estimation is to obtain the best possible values
of the bus voltage magnitudes and angles by processing the available network data. Two
modifications are, however, introduced in order to achieve a higher degree of accuracy of the
solution at the cost of some additional computations.
First, it is recognized that the numerical values of the data to be processed for the state estimation are
generally noisy due to errors present.
Second, it is noted that there are larger number of variables in the system which can be measured but
are not utilised in the load flow analysis.
State estimation is different from load flow studies in that the number of input variables ‘m’ should
be greater than (2N – 1), the dimension of the state vector; N being the number of buses in the power
system network.
5.5.1 Maximum Likelihood and Weighted Least Square Estimation (WLSE)
Consider there are m observations (or measurements) from a system and that we are interested in
estimating an unknown parameter (or parameters) related to these observations. The concept of
maximum likelihood is usually used in this type of context to find the unknown parameter such that
it maximizes the joint probability density of observations; that is, it maximizes the probability of
occurrence of observed data.
A measurement in a power system can be expressed as follows:
 z meas  z true  γ (1)
where γ represents the observation error. In most state estimation problems there is a prior
knowledge of error patterns, including those for power systems. Typically, the nature of
measurement error in these systems is assumed to be Gaussian. If the mean value of γ is zero, the
probability density function (PDF) of measurement z1 can be written as:

1  (z  z )2 
f ( z1meas )  exp  1meas 2 1true  (2)
2  1  2 1 
where σ1 represents the standard deviation of z1meas . Considering all m measurements of the system,
the joint PDF of measurements is:
f ( z )  f ( z1 ) f ( z 2 )...... f ( z m ) (3)

1  m (z  z )2 
f ( z)  exp   imeas 2 itrue  (4)
m  im1 i 2 i
( 2 )  i 1 

Instead of maximizing the joint PDF expressed by equation (4), we can maximize the logarithm of
the joint PDF. This approach provides the same result, but is more mathematically convenient.

1  m (z  z )2  m m
log( f ( z ))      imeas 2 itrue   log(2 )   log( i ) (5)
2  i 1 i  2 i 1

Clearly, the maximization method results in minimizing the weighted sum of least squares of
difference between observed values and their true values. This is the well – known Weighted Least
Squares (WLS) minimization problem. In an overdetermined system with m measurements and n
unknowns, usually there are measurements which are less accurate. Weight is assigned to each
measurement typically in proportion to the inverse of the variance of each measurement, such that
the weights are smaller for the less accurate measurements (the ones with larger variances), and
larger on the more accurate ones. The objective is to minimize the performance index:
1 m
J ( X )   wi ei 2   wi ( i ( Z  HX )) 2 (6)
mi i 1

where wi is the ith diagonal element of weight matrix, such that wi  1 /  i2 . Hence, the weighting
matrix W is a diagonal matrix, which is the inverse covariance matrix for the measurements.
The solution to the minimization problem can be found by setting the gradient of objective function
(6) to zero, as shown below:

min J ( X )  min ( Z  HX )T W ( Z  HX )  (7)

min J ( X )  min( Z T WZ  Z T WHX  X T H T WZ  X T H T WHX ) (8)

 X J ( X )  0  H T WZ  H T WHX  H T WHX  0 (9)

2 H T WH  2 H T WHX (10)
 X  ( H T WH ) 1 ( H T WZ ) (11)

5.6 Power System Security and Contingency Analysis

The most important concern for any electric utility is the security and stability of the power system.
Power system security is the ability of the power system to operate within system constraints (on bus
voltage magnitudes, current and power flow over the lines) in the event of outage (contingency) of
any component (generator or transmission line).

Security assessment has two functions. The first is the violation detection of the precontingency
operating state, which is conducted as part of the system monitoring. The second, much more
demanding, function of the security assessment is the detection and evaluation of limit violations
after simulating design contingencies called as contingency analysis.

Contingency analysis is divided into three distinct stages:

a. Contingency definition: is the process of enumerating in detail all the contingencies that
have a reasonable probability of occurrence or the ones dictated by the security criteria
observed. They are specified at the system element level where faults on the power system
occur. This list normally remains constant; however, the implications of each contingency
may vary with system topology and generation.
b. Contingency selection: is the process of shortening the original long list of contingencies by
eliminating a vast majority of cases having no violations. The selection is performed to “short
list” the contingencies that need to be studied and thus save time. After the selection, the
contingencies are ranked in order of their severity.
c. Contingency evaluation: is the process of evaluating the selected contingencies. Evaluation
is normally performed using a load flow. With contingency definition and selection preceding
this process, the computing requirements for contingency evaluation remains relatively
constant and is directly proportional to the number of contingencies evaluated.

Hence, the purpose of contingency analysis is to identify the list of contingencies that, if occur,
would create violations in system operating states. They are ranked in order of severity.
5.6.1 Factors Affecting Power System Security
As a consequence of many widespread blackouts in interconnected power systems, the priorities for
operation of modern power systems have evolved to the following.
1. Operate the system in such a way that power is delivered reliably.
2. Within the constraints placed on the system operation by reliability considerations, the system
will be operated most economically.
5.6.1.1 Power System Reliability
The term power system reliability implies that adequate generation has been installed to meet the
load and that adequate transmission has been installed to deliver the generated power to the load. If
the operation of the system went on without sudden failures or without experiencing unanticipated
operating states, no reliability problem exists. However, any piece of equipment in the system can
fail, either due to internal causes or due to external causes such as lightning strikes, objects hitting
transmission towers, or human errors in setting relays. It is highly uneconomical, if not impossible,
to build power system with so much redundancy (i.e., extra transmission lines, reserve generation,
etc.) that failures never cause load to be dropped on a system. Rather, systems are designed so that
the probability of dropping load is acceptably small. Thus, most power systems are designed to have
sufficient redundancy to withstand all major failure events, but this does not guarantee that the
system will be 100% reliable.
5.7 State Transition and Control Strategies
For the analysis of power system security and development of approximate control systems, the
system operating conditions are classified into five states: normal, alert, emergency, in extremis and
restorative. The state and the transitions between them are shown in Figure 6.

NORMAL
Restarts Load
Pickup
Preventive Control

RESTORATIVE ALERT
Equality Constraints Violated

Emergency
Resynchronization Control

EXTREMIS EMERGENCY
All Constraints Violated Inequality Constraints Violated

Figure 6 Power System State Transition Diagram

Normal state: In this state, all the system variables are within the normal range with no equipment
being overloaded. The system is in a secure state with both ‘equality’ (total system generation equals
total system load) and ‘inequality’ (bus voltages and equipment currents within the limits)
constraints being satisfied. In this state, a single contingency cannot disrupt the system security and
cannot cause any variable to violate the limit. The system has adequate spinning reserve.
Alert state: If the security level of the system falls below some specified threshold, the system then
enters the alert state and is termed as ‘insecure’. The system variables are still within limits. This
state may be brought about by a single contingency, large increase in system load or adverse weather
conditions. Preventive control steps taken to restore generation or to eliminate disturbance can help
in restoring the system to the normal state. If these restorative steps do not succeed, the system
remains in the alert state. Occurrence of a contingency with the system already in alert state, may
cause overloading of equipments and the system may enter emergency state. If the disturbance is
very severe, the system may enter into extremis state directly from alert state.
Emergency state: If the preventive controls fail or if a severe disturbance occurs, the system enters
emergency state. The transition to this state can occur either from normal state or alert state. In this
state the balance between generation and load is still maintained (equality constraints still satisfied)
and the system remains in synchronism. Some components are however overloaded (some inequality
constraints violated). Failure of these components results in system disintegration. Emergency
control actions like disconnection of faulted section, re-routing of power excitation control, fast
valving, and load curtailment have to be taken. It is most urgent that the system be restored to normal
or alert state by means of these actions.
In-extremis state: If the emergency control actions fail when the system is in emergency state, then
the system enters into in-extremis state. The system starts to disintegrate into sections or islands.
Some of these islands may still have sufficient generation to meet the load. The components are
overloaded and the active power balance is also disrupted. Overloaded generators start tripping
leading to cascade outages and possible ‘blackout’. Control actions, such as load shedding and
controlled system operation are taken to save as much of the system as possible from a widespread
blackout.
Restorative state: The restorative state represents a condition in which control action is being taken
to restart the tripped generators and restore the interconnections. The system transition can be either
to normal or alert state depending on system conditions. The sequence of events that result in system
transition from normal to in-extremis state may take from few seconds to several minutes. Bringing
the system back to normal through the restorative state is an extremely time consuming process and
may last for hours or may be days. A large generator may require many hours from restart to
synchronization. The switched off loads can be picked up gradually and resynchronization of
operating islands to the grids is also a time consuming process.
The control actions may be initiated from the central energy control centre either through operators
or automatically.

Previous Year University Questions

Ques 1: What do you understand by network topology? (2 Marks, December 2007, December 2012)
Ques 2: What are the functions of SCADA? (2 Marks, December 2007, May 2008)
Ques 3: Briefly discuss the various functions of Energy Control centre (16 Marks, December 2007,
December 2010, December 2014, December 2015)
Ques 4: Explain the four operating states of a power system in the security perspective with an
example. (16 Marks, December 2007, December 2010, December 2015)
Answer: Among the various security functions, one of the major security function is security-
constrained optimal power flow. In this function, a contingency analysis is combined with
an optimal power flow which seeks to make changes to the optimal dispatch of generation,
as well as the other adjustments, so that when a security analysis is run, no contingencies
result in violations. In order to explain this, the power system is divided into four operating
states:
a. Optimal dispatch: This is the state that the power system is in prior to any contingency.
It is optimal with respect to economic operation, but it may not be secure.
b. Post contingency: It is the state of the power system after a contingency has occurred.
We shall assume here that this condition has a security violation (line or transformer
beyond its flow limit, or a bus voltage outside the limit).
c. Secure dispatch: It is the state of the system with no contingency outages, but with
corrections to the operating parameters to account for security violations.
d. Secure post- contingency: It is the state of the system when the contingency is applied
to the base-operating condition with corrections.
We shall illustrate the above with an example. Suppose the trivial power system
consisting of two generators, a load, a double circuit line is to be operated with both
generators supplying the load as shown below.

OPTIMAL DISPATCH
We assume that the system as shown is in economic dispatch, which is the 500 MW from
unit 1 and 700 MW from unit 2 is the optimum dispatch. Further, we assert that each circuit
of the double circuit line can carry a maximum of 400 MW, so that there is no loading
problem in the base-operating condition.
Now, we shall postulate that one of the two circuits making up the transmission line has
been opened because of a failure. This result in
 POST CONTINGENCY STATE
Now there is an overload on the remaining circuit. We shall assume that we do not want
this condition to arise and that we will correct the condition by lowering the generation on
unit 1 to 400 MW. The secure dispatch is

SECURE DISPATCH
Now, if the same contingency analysis is done, the post-contingency condition is-

SECURE POST CONTINGENCY STATE

By adjusting the generation on unit 1 and unit 2, we have prevented the post-contingency
operating system from having an overload. This is the essence of what is called “security
corrections”.

Ques 5: Distinguish between reliability and security of a power system (2 Marks, May 2008)
Ques 6: Define state estimation. (2 Marks, December 2010, May 2016)
Ques 7: Mention the use of SCADA in power system (2 Marks, December 2010, December 2014,
May 2015)
Ques 8: Define the EMS system (2 Marks, December 2011)
Ques 9: What is the function of load dispatch centre? (2 Marks, December 2011)
Answer: The State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) shall be the apex body to ensure integrated
operation of the power system in a State. The functions of SLDC are:
 a. Responsible for optimum scheduling and dispatch of electricity within a State, in
accordance with the contracts entered into with the licensees or the generating
companies operating in that State;
b. Monitor grid operations;
c. Keep accounts of the quantity of electricity transmitted through the State grid
d. Exercise supervision and control over the intra-State transmission system; and
e. Responsible for carrying out real time operations for grid control and dispatch of
electricity within the State through secure and economic operation of the State grid in
accordance with the Grid Standards and the State Grid Code.
The National Load Dispatch Centre shall be Apex Body to ensure integrated operation of
the national Power System and discharge the following functions:
a. Supervision over the RLDCs.
b. Scheduling and dispatch of electricity over inter-regional links in accordance with Grid
standards specified by the Authority and Grid Code specified by the Central
Commission in coordination with RLDCs.
c. Coordination with RLDCs for achieving maximum economy and efficiency in operation
of National Grid.
d. Monitoring of operations and grid security of the National Grid.
e. Supervision and control over the inter-regional links as may be required for ensuring
stability of the power system under its control.
f. Co-ordination with Regional Power Committees for regional outage schedule in the
national perspective to ensure optimum utilization of power resources.
g. Coordination with RLDCs for the energy accounting of inter-regional exchange of
power.
h. Coordination for restoration of synchronous operation of National Grid with RLDCs.

Ques 10: (a) Explain need of computer control of power system (6 Marks, December 2011)
(b) Briefly explain various functions of SCADA with a neat diagram (6 Marks, Dec. 2011)
Ques 11: Explain various state transitions and control strategies using state transition diagram.
(16 Marks, Dec. 2011, Dec. 2012, Dec. 2014, May 2016)
Ques 12: What is SCADA? (2 Marks, December 2012)
Ques 13: Discuss the functions of “SCADA” in power system operation. (16 Marks, Dec. 2012,
May 2016)
Ques 14: Define restorative state. (2 Marks, June 2014)
Ques 15: Explain the hardware components and functional aspects of SCADA system using a
functional block diagram. (16 Marks, June 2014, December 2015)
Ques 16: Explain the various controls for secure operation. (16 Marks, June 2014)
Ques 17: What is meant by Power System Security? (2 Marks, December 2014)
Ques 18: What are the responsibilities of regional load dispatch centres? (2 Marks, May 2015)
Regional Load Dispatch Centre (RLDC) is the apex body to ensure integrated operation
of the power. The main responsibilities of RLDC are:
a. To ensure the integrated operation of the power system.
b. Monitoring of system parameters and system security.
c. Daily scheduling and operational planning.
d. Facilitating bilateral and inter-regional exchanges of power.
e. Analysis of tripping/disturbances and facilitating immediate remedial measures.
f. System studies, planning and contingency analysis.
g. Augmentation of telemetry, computing and communication facilities.

Ques 19: What is state estimation with respect to power system? Explain briefly the method of
maximum likelihood weighted least squares estimation. (16 Marks, May 2015)
Ques 20: What is normal operating state of a power system? Describe in detail the various states that
a power system takes, with their operating conditions. (16 Marks, June 2014, December
2015)
Ques 21: Explain the various controls for secure operation. (16 Marks, June 2014, December 2016)