An Online Approach to Allocate Operating Reserve for an Isolated Power System

Utilities use operating reserve to cope with the disturbances. To ensure that the operating frequency and system security are well maintained, the operating guidelines always specify that the reserve quantity and response rate should meet some prescribed levels. This paper proposes methodologies to evaluate system's frequency response characteristic (beta) and operating reserve for the isolated power system. With the presented algorithm to estimate system's beta online, a real-time allocation of operating reserve would be feasible to meet the guidelines for either regulation or contingency operation. Test results from the simulated conditions, and from the actual operating data verify the merits of the proposed methodologies to system's frequency control, and reliability.