Monitoring and predicting power system behaviour by tracking dominant modes of oscillation

Manitoba Hydro has dynamic swing recorders (DRSs) located on tie-lines between the Manitoba power system and neighbouring Canadian provinces, as well as the USA. These DSRs are triggered by major system contingencies and record post contingency data. This paper shows that off-line analysis of this data can provide useful information on the behaviour of dominant electromechanical modes of oscillation in the system which can be correlated to system loading and topology. Results obtained are compared to off-line eigenvalue analysis using available small signal analysis tools. Results suggest that with the development of suitable on-line measurement and analysis techniques, this information may be used to correlate system behaviour with particular events, provide useful information to help system operators regarding appropriate system topology, allowable transfer levels and in general provide more insight regarding the state of the system.