P. Donalek

Bio: P. Donalek is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Blackout. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 1156 citations.

Causes of the 2003 major grid blackouts in North America and Europe, and recommended means to improve system dynamic performance

Abstract: On August 14, 2003, a cascading outage of transmission and generation facilities in the North American Eastern Interconnection resulted in a blackout of most of New York state as well as parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario, Canada. On September 23, 2003, nearly four million customers lost power in eastern Denmark and southern Sweden following a cascading outage that struck Scandinavia. Days later, a cascading outage between Italy and the rest of central Europe left most of Italy in darkness on September 28. These major blackouts are among the worst power system failures in the last few decades. The Power System Stability and Power System Stability Controls Subcommittees of the IEEE PES Power System Dynamic Performance Committee sponsored an all day panel session with experts from around the world. The experts described their recent work on the investigation of grid blackouts. The session offered a unique forum for discussion of possible root causes and necessary steps to reduce the risk of blackouts. This white paper presents the major conclusions drawn from the presentations and ensuing discussions during the all day session, focusing on the root causes of grid blackouts. This paper presents general conclusions drawn by this Committee together with recommendations based on lessons learned.

Robust Power System Frequency Control

Abstract: Frequency control as a major function of automatic generation control is one of the important control problems in electric power system design and operation, and is becoming more significant today due to the increasing size, changing structure, emerging new uncertainties, environmental constraints, and the complexity of power systems. Robust Power System Frequency Control uses the recent development of linear robust control theory to provide practical, systematic, fast, and flexible algorithms for the tuning of power system load-frequency controllers. The physical constraints and important challenges related to the frequency regulation issue in a deregulated environment are emphasized, and most results are supplemented by real-time simulations. The developed control strategies attempt to bridge the existing gap between the advantages of robust/optimal control and traditional power system frequency control design. The material summarizes the long term research outcomes and contributions of the author’s experience with power system frequency regulation. It provides a thorough understanding of the basic principles of power system frequency behavior over a wide range of operating conditions. It uses simple frequency response models, control structures and mathematical algorithms to adapt modern robust control theorems with frequency control issues as well as conceptual explanations. The engineering aspects of frequency regulation have been considered, and practical methods for computer analysis and design are also discussed. Robust Power System Frequency Control provides a comprehensive coverage of frequency control understanding, simulation and design. The material develops an appropriate intuition relative to the robust load frequency regulation problem in real-world power systems, rather than to describe sophisticated mathematical analytical methods.

Global Energy Assessment: Toward a Sustainable Future

Abstract: The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) brings together over 300 international researchers to provide an independent, scientifically based, integrated and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options. It has been peer-reviewed anonymously by an additional 200 international experts. The GEA assesses the major global challenges for sustainable development and their linkages to energy; the technologies and resources available for providing energy services; future energy systems that address the major challenges; and the policies and other measures that are needed to realize transformational change toward sustainable energy futures. The GEA goes beyond existing studies on energy issues by presenting a comprehensive and integrated analysis of energy chalenges, opportunities and strategies, for developing, industrialized and emerging economies. This volume is a invaluable resource for energy specialists and technologists in all sectors (academia, industry and government) as well as policymakers, development economists and practitioners in international organizations and national governments.

The anatomy of a power grid blackout - Root causes and dynamics of recent major blackouts

Abstract: This paper examines some of the more recent major blackouts and discusses some of the root causes and dynamics of these events. The paper aims to identify high-level conclusions and recommendations for improving system dynamic performance and reducing the risk of such catastrophic events

Interconnection of Two Very Weak AC Systems by VSC-HVDC Links Using Power-Synchronization Control

Abstract: In this paper, voltage-source converter (VSC) based high-voltage dc (HVDC) transmission is investigated for interconnection of two very weak ac systems. By using the recently proposed power-synchronization control, the short-circuit capacities of the ac systems are no longer the limiting factors, but rather the load angles. For the analysis of the stability, the Jacobian transfer matrix concept has been introduced. The right-half plane (RHP) transmission zero of the ac Jacobian transfer matrix moves closer to the origin with larger load angles. The paper shows that, due to the bandwidth limitation imposed by the RHP zero on the direct-voltage control of the VSC, high dc-capacitance values are needed for such applications. In addition, the paper proposes a control structure particularly designed for weak-ac-system interconnections. As an example, it is shown that the proposed control structure enables a power transmission of 0.86 p.u. from a system with the short-circuit ratio (SCR) of 1.2 to a system with an SCR of 1.0. This should be compared to previous results for VSC based HVDC using vector current control. In this case, only 0.4 p.u. power transmission can be achieved for dc link where only one of the ac systems has an SCR of 1.0.