Power System Operation as a Viable Island: The Australian Experience

Regional power balancing is an important require-ment for Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM), which is comprised of an electrical grid interconnecting five regions on the east coast of Australia. In recent years, the NEM has faced significant challenges related to extreme weather events, which have caused failures in power transmission infrastructure-leading to the separation of regional frequencies and the emergence of 'power islands' within the NEM. Consequently, we are motivated to investigate the operation of a regional power system when it is at credible risk of islanding or when it is an island. In this paper, we discuss how South Australia can operate electrically islanded from the rest of the NEM, while confirming to the system strength and inertia requirements. Alternatively, it may be possible to disaggregate power system regions within a connected grid into multiple synchronous zones, each with its own independent frequency and frequency control, thereby making it easier to provide essential services and help prevent widespread blackouts.