Distributed Control for Improving Power System Stability presented by David Copp

Power systems consist of many components distributed across wide geographic areas. A sudden increase or decrease in load or generation in these systems results in swings in power transfer between regions, called inter-area oscillations. Damping these inter-area oscillations is crucial for maintaining a secure and reliable power grid. In this webinar, we present distributed control schemes that can be used to improve the small-signal stability of large power systems. Implementations include the modulation of power transfer along a High Voltage DC transmission line as well as injecting real power from distributed energy storage devices. We show results from several example power systems including the western North American Power System. Furthermore, we discuss practical challenges arising from using remote measurements for feedback signals. Specifically, we characterize the time delays associated with synchrophasor-based measurements and highlight the effect time delays have on stability of the distributed control system.