Time-varying contingency screening for dynamic security assessment using intelligent-systems techniques

A time-frequency-based approach for contingency severity ranking and rapid stability assessment is described. The aim is to classify correctly all single or multiple contingencies that may result in loss of voltage or frequency stability in the first 20 s following the last disturbing action. We start by selecting a number of strategic monitoring buses where the phasor measurement units are located to capture representative voltage magnitudes and angles during detailed time-domain simulations, which cover special protection systems and on-load tap-changers. The short-time Fourier transform is then dynamically applied to the responses for extracting selected decision features as the simulation time evolves. It is shown that frequency-domain features such as the peak spectral density of the angle, frequency and their dot product evaluated over the grid areas are reliable time-varying stability indicators that can form the basis of an entirely secure classification system able to respond within 2 to 3 s after the last event in the contingency. This allows early termination of about 60% of permanently stable simulations. Fuzzy logic and neural networks are used together to make initial decisions which are then mixed by voting in order to improve the assessment reliability and security at the expense of a reduced yield. The proposed DSA scheme is successfully tested with 1027 contingencies from two widely differing test systems: a 67-bus fictitious system and a 783-bus system in actual use at Hydro-Quebec's operations planning department.