Automation of transmission planning analysis process using Python and GTK+

To decrease the amount of time and effort needed to perform transmission planning analysis required by PJM reliability criteria, the open source Python language has been used to automate these processes. To make these programs easier to use, an open source graphical toolkit, the GIMP toolkit (GTK+), was also utilized along with Glade, a tool that can be used to easily create graphical user interfaces. All of these software development tools can be freely obtained and are easy to install. Our applications were developed for the Microsoft Windows operating system, although Python, GTK+, and Glade are also available for other platforms such as Linux. This paper presents the basic building blocks needed to create an application and summarizes the steps required for rapid software tool development with application to power systems analysis.