MATHEMATICAL MODELS Vol.

II - Mathematical Models in Electric Power Systems - Prabha Kundur, Lei Wang

MATHEMATICAL MODELS IN ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEMS

Prabha Kundur and Lei Wang
Powertech Labs Inc., Surrey, B.C., Canada
Keywords: Power, Energy, Power System, Generation, Transmission, Distribution,
Load, Excitation System, Prime Movers, Power System Controls, Power System
Stability
Contents

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1. Introduction
2. Basic Concepts
2.1. Basic Electrical Quantities
2.2. Power in an AC Circuit
3. Elements of an Electric Power System
3.1. Power Generation
3.2. Power Transmission
3.3. Utilization of Electric Energy
4. Power System Design, Operation and Control
5. Equipment Models
5.1. Generator Modeling
5.2. Excitation System Modeling
5.3. Prime Mover and Governing System Modeling
5.4. Power System Load Modeling
5.5. Transmission Network Modeling
6. Modeling and Simulation of Power System Performance
6.1. Power Flow Analysis
6.2. Economic Dispatch
6.3. Fault Analysis
6.4. Power System Stability Analysis
6.5. Electromagnetic Transients Analysis
6.6. State Estimation
6.7. Real-Time Simulation
6.8. Power System Harmonics Analysis
Glossary
Bibliography
Biographical Sketches
Summary

Electric power systems are typically large complex systems spread over vast geographic
areas and comprising a wide array of devices. Mathematical modeling and simulations
play a major role in their design and operation. This article provides a broad overview
of the physical characteristics and mathematical modeling of power systems. First, the
basic electrical quantities used in the mathematical description of power systems are
identified. A description of the physical structure of a typical modern power system,
including the functions of its major components, is then presented. The performance

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MATHEMATICAL MODELS Vol. II - Mathematical Models in Electric Power Systems - Prabha Kundur, Lei Wang

requirements of a properly designed power system and the various levels of controls
used to meet some of the requirements are also discussed. This is followed by a
description of the physical characteristics and mathematical models of individual
components. Finally, the modeling of the integrated power system and the simulation
of the different aspects of its performance normally carried out are discussed. The need
for making judicious simplifying approximations and analyzing specific aspects of
system performance using the appropriate degree of detail of modeling is highlighted.
1. Introduction

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Electric power systems are an integral part of the way of life in modern society. The
electricity supplied by these systems has proved to be a very convenient, clean and safe
form of energy. It runs our factories, warms and lights our homes, cooks our food, and
powers our computers.
Electricity is carrier of energy. Energy is neither naturally available in the electrical
form nor is it consumed directly in that form. The advantage of the electrical form of
energy is that it can be transported and controlled with relative ease and with a high
degree of efficiency and reliability. An electric power system generally refers to the
collection of components interconnected to undertake the entire process of converting
various primary sources of energy (hydro, fossil, nuclear, etc.) to electrical energy,
transmitting it to points of consumption, and driving various power utilization devices.
The electric power industry began in the 1880s and has evolved into one of the largest
industries. Large interconnected power systems have been formed in many parts of the
world, covering vast geographical areas. These systems provide power to millions of
industrial, commercial, and residential users with very high quality and reliability and at
great affordability. To achieve this, power systems are designed and operated with well
established criteria and procedures based on a wide range of engineering analyses,
which require mathematical models appropriate for meeting the objectives of specific
studies.
Electric power systems are predominantly three-phase AC (alternating current) systems.
As opposed to DC (direct current) systems, AC systems are more convenient for
generation, transmission and consumption. In an AC system, voltage levels can be
easily transformed, thus providing the flexibility of using different voltages for
transmission, generation, and utilization; from the viewpoints of efficiency and powertransfer capability, the transmission voltages have to be high, but it is not practically
feasible to generator and consume power at these voltages. As well, AC machines
(generators and motors) are simpler and cheaper than DC machines. In a power system,
electrical power is generated and transmitted in a balanced three-phase system.
Industrial loads are invariably three-phase; single-phase residential and commercial
loads are distributed nearly equally among the phases so as to effectively form a
balanced three-phase system.
The following sections describe the physical features of power systems, and introduce
the mathematical models and simulations commonly used in engineering analyses of the
steady state and dynamic performance of power systems.

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MATHEMATICAL MODELS Vol. II - Mathematical Models in Electric Power Systems - Prabha Kundur, Lei Wang

2. Basic Concepts
Before the physical characteristics and modeling of power systems are discussed in
detail, various electrical quantities associated with AC networks and their mathematical
representation will be outlined in this section. In addition, the concepts of active power,
reactive power and complex power are introduced. A clear conceptual understanding of
these quantities is essential in the development and application of mathematical models
of power systems.
2.1. Basic Electrical Quantities

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In the normal steady-state operation, the wave forms of voltages and currents in an AC
network are ideally sinusoidal functions of time. A sinusoidal voltage function may be
written as
v ( t ) = Vmax cos t

(1)

The amplitude or peak value of the sinusoid is Vmax (in volts) and the angular frequency
is (in radians per second). The function repeats itself every T seconds, with
T = 2

(2)

In one second the function goes through 1/T cycles or periods. The frequency in cycles
per second, or hertz (abbreviated Hz) is then
f = 2

(3)

In a power system, all voltages and currents in the AC network at a steady state have the
same frequency, but are generally displaced from each other in time phase. Therefore, a
more general expression for the voltage is
v ( t ) = Vmax cos ( t + )

(4)

= 2 V cos ( t + )

where is the phase angle or simply the phase of the voltage, and V is the effective or
root mean square (rms) value of the voltage. Since the frequency is known and
common to all voltages and currents in the network, the voltage v(t) is completely
specified by its amplitude Vmax or V and its phase . Using the phasor representation in
the polar form, the voltage may be expressed as
V = Ve j = V
The phasor representation in the rectangular (Cartesian) form is

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MATHEMATICAL MODELS Vol. II - Mathematical Models in Electric Power Systems - Prabha Kundur, Lei Wang

V = V cos + jV sin

(6)

The real quantities are time-domain functions, and their phasors are frequency-domain
functions. To solve time-domain problems in the steady state, phasors can be used and
the corresponding frequency domain problems solved; this makes analysis much easier.

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Figure: 1 General Electrical Circuit

Let us now consider a general circuit with two accessible terminals as shown in Figure
1.
If the instantaneous values of the voltage and current at the terminals are given by
v ( t ) = 2 V cos ( t + )

(7)

i ( t ) = 2 I cos ( t + )

then the phasor quantities at the terminals are

V = V

(8)

I = I

We define the ratio of the phasor voltage to the phasor current as the impedance of the
circuit which we denote by Z. That is,
Z=

V V
= ( )
I I

(9)

The above equation looks very much like the Ohm's law. Impedance, being the ratio of
voltage to current, is a complex number and is measured in ohms. In the rectangular
form, it is denoted by

Z = R + jX

(10)

where R is the resistive component or simply the resistance, and X is the reactive
component or reactance.

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MATHEMATICAL MODELS Vol. II - Mathematical Models in Electric Power Systems - Prabha Kundur, Lei Wang

The reciprocal of impedance, denoted

Y=

1
= G + jB
Z

(11)

is called admittance and is measured in mhos. Impedance and admittance are complex
numbers, but are not phasors; that is, they have no sinusoidal time-domain functions of
any physical meaning.
The impedance of a resistor is purely resistive, its reactance being zero. Impedances of
ideal inductors and capacitors are purely reactive, having zero resistive components.
The impedance of an element with an inductance L is
Z L = jX L = j L

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(12)

and the impedance of an element with a capacitance C is

ZC = jX C = j

1
C

(13)

2.2. Power in an AC Circuit

Referring to Figure 1, the instantaneous power into the circuit is

p(t) = v ( t ) i ( t )

= Vmax I max cos ( t + ) cos ( t + )

1
= Vmax I max cos cos ( 2 t )
2

where = , the angle by which the voltage phasor leads the current phasor,
commonly referred to as the power factor angle.
If the effective (rms) values of voltage and current are used instead of the amplitudes,
p(t)= VI cos VI cos ( 2 t )

= VI cos (1 cos 2 t ) VI sin sin 2 t

= P (1 cos 2 t ) Q sin 2 t
where

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MATHEMATICAL MODELS Vol. II - Mathematical Models in Electric Power Systems - Prabha Kundur, Lei Wang

P = VI cos

(15)

Q = VI sin

(16)

The instantaneous power p(t) thus has two components:

p p = P (1 cos 2 t )
pq = Q ( sin 2 t )

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The component pp has an average value of P=VI cos , and represents the component of
power utilized for permanent irreversible consumption, e.g. conversion to heat or light.
The quantity P is referred to as the active power or real power.
In contrast, the component pq has a zero average value and represents power utilized in
establishing and discharging magnetic fields in inductors and electrostatic fields
capacitors twice every cycle. In a network this interchange of energy takes place
between the source, inductive elements and capacitive elements. The net energy
associated with the reactive power is the sum of various inductive and capacitive stored
energies. Although pq has a zero average value, it does nevertheless represent real
reciprocating energy that must be present by virtue of the inductive and capacitive
elements of the network. The quantity Q=VI sin corresponds to the peak value of pq
and is referred to as the reactive power.

This leads us next to the concept of complex power S, which is defined as the product of
V and the conjugate of I . Thus
S = V I* = V ( I )

= VI = VI = VI cos + j VI sin

= P + jQ

(17)

The reason for using the conjugate of I in the above is to arrive at the agreed upon
convention for reactive power Q, which is considered positive with I lagging V. By
convention, Q absorbed by an inductive load is considered positive and by a capacitive
load negative. The magnitude of the complex power S is used to specify the MVA
(mega voltamperes) rating of equipment.
P and Q are scalar quantities. The unit of P is the watt. Although dimensionally, P and
Q have the same units, the unit of Q used in practice is defined as the var (voltampere
reactive) to distinguish it as the unit used for measuring reactive power.

The principle of conservation of energy requires that a balance exist between generated
and consumed active (or real) power. By analogy a similar statement can be made
about the reactive power. At any junction or node in a network, the total injected P and

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MATHEMATICAL MODELS Vol. II - Mathematical Models in Electric Power Systems - Prabha Kundur, Lei Wang

Q are equal to the total P and Q extracted. Thus, P and Q are very useful as working
quantities as they can be added arithmetically, as opposed to phasor addition required
for currents and voltage. For the power system as a whole, a "balance sheet" of active
and reactive power can be drawn.

At first glance the concept of reactive power may appear mysterious and obscure. In
fact, it plays a very significant role in the modeling and analysis of power systems.

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The flows of active power and reactive power in a transmission network are fairly
independent of each other and are influenced by different control actions. The active
power transfer depends mainly on the angle by which the sending end voltage leads the
receiving voltage. Reactive power transfer depends mainly on the difference in voltage
magnitudes. Active power control is closely related to frequency control, whereas
reactive power control is closely related to voltage control. Efficient and reliable
operation of power systems requires considerations to both active and reactive power
controls.
3. Elements of an Electric Power System

Figure 2 illustrates the basic elements of a modern power system. Electric power is
produced at generating stations (GS) and transmitted to consumers through a complex
network of individual components, including transmission lines, transformers and
switching devices

Figure 2: Basic Elements of a Power System

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MATHEMATICAL MODELS Vol. II - Mathematical Models in Electric Power Systems - Prabha Kundur, Lei Wang

The overall power system consists of multiple generating sources and several layers of
transmission networks. This provides a high degree of structural redundancy that
enables the system to withstand unusual contingencies and outages without service
disruption to the consumers.
The following is a description of the functions and physical characteristics of individual
components.
-

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Bibliography

Bergen, A.R. and Vittal, V. (2000). Power Systems Analysis (Second Edition). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
[A comprehensive book on basic power system analysis]

Dommel, H.W. (1969). Digital Computer Solution of Electromagnetic Transients in Single- and
Multiphase Networks. IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-88, No. 4, 388399. [A widely referenced paper on Electromagnetic Transients Analysis]

Grigsby, L.L. (Editor-in-Chief) (2001). The Electric Power Engineering Handbook. Florida: CRC Press.
[Provides a comprehensive coverage of the generation, transformation, transmission, distribution and
utilization of electric power as well as modeling, analysis, design, monitoring, and control of electric
power system]
Kundur, P. (1994). Power System Stability and Control. New York: McGraw-Hill. [A comprehensive
book on modeling of power system components, power system control, and stability analysis]

Wood, A.J. and Wollenberg, B.F. (1996), Power Generation, Operation, and Control. New York, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. [A comprehensive text on the operation and control of power systems]
Biographical Sketches

Dr. Kundur, holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto and has over 30
years of experience in the electric power industry. He is currently the President and CEO of Powertech
Labs Inc., the research and technology subsidiary of BC Hydro. Prior to joining Powertech in 1993, he
worked at Ontario Hydro for 25 years and was involved in the planning, design and operation of power
systems.He has served as Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto since 1979 and at the University
of British Columbia since 1994. He is the author of the book Power System Stability and Control
(McGraw-Hill, 1994), which is the standard modern reference for the subject. He has performed
extensive international consulting and has delivered technical courses for utilities and universities around
the world.Dr. Kundur is a Fellow of the IEEE, and is currently Chair of the Power System Dynamic
Performance Committee of the Power Engineering Society. He is also very active in CIGRE and is
currently the Chair of the Study Committee C-4 on System Technical Performance. He is the recipient
of the 1997 IEEE Nikola Tesla Award and the 1999 CIGRE Technical Committee Award. In 2003, he
was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineers.
Dr. Wang, holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto and has over 15 years
of experience in the electric power industry. He worked for Ontario Hydro before joining Powertech Labs
Inc. in 1993 where he is now a principal engineer.Dr. Wang has been involved with the development of

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MATHEMATICAL MODELS Vol. II - Mathematical Models in Electric Power Systems - Prabha Kundur, Lei Wang

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mathematical models and computer software used in the electric power industry. He is the recipient of the
1994 IEEE PES Walter Fee Outstanding Young Engineer Award.

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