Performance and Reliability of Electrical Power Grids under Cascading Failures

Abstract eng:
The stability and reliability of electrical power grids are essential for the continuous operation of modern cities and also critical for preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation in emergence management. Due to the fact that present power grids in China are usually running near their critical operation points, they are vulnerable and sensitive to disturbances from natural and man-made hazards such as hurricanes, earthquakes and terrorist attacks, etc., which often trigger cascading failures. Using the provincial power grid data from Chinese power utilities including 118 buses (substations) and more than 180 branches (transformers and transmission lines), we first present the properties of the power network with modern complex network concepts such as state transition graph and characteristic length. Then the dynamic power flow over the power grid is calculated with the BPA load flow analysis software. System performance and reliability of the power grids are evaluated under an earthquake scenario and a hypothetical terrorist attack. With the identified most vulnerable (critical) edges and nodes, the robustness of the power network is evaluated under the triggered cascading failures. The findings could be useful for power industries and policy makers to evaluate the risk of blackout induced by cascading failures, and identify the vulnerability of power systems and improve the resilience of power systems to external disturbances.

• Export as: BibTeX | MARC | MARCXML | DC | EndNote | NLM | RefWorks
• Add to your basket