Frequency control

• If power generated is less than load, the mismatched will be compensated

by the kinetic energy stored in the rotor inertia, hence, speed drops.
• If power generated is more than load, the mismatched will be stored as
kinetic energy in the rotor inertia, hence, speed increases.
• It was shown that the frequency of induced voltage on stator is a function of
rotor speed. So increase/decrease in speed causes increase/decrease in
frequency.

• So, frequency is mainly

dependent on active
power variation.
Frequency control
• In both cases, the Turbine Governor senses the change in speed and
increases/decreases the mechanical input power to restore the speed,
hence frequency:

So the change of
frequency in steady state
can be describe using the
following equation in
terms of change in load
power. This equation is
called “droop” and m (in
Hz/MW) is droop gain: f-f0=-m(P-P0)
Frequency control

• The gain m is set such that the frequency deviation for maximum power
generation is within the grid’s code (usually 2%). f-f0=-m(P-P0)
• The droop control is also called Primary Control.

• If demand increases, frequency settles at

a value less than nominal. So it should
be brought back to its nominal value
using a Secondary control called Load
Frequency Control (LFC). Its action
corresponds to shifting the droop
characteristic up and down.
Frequency control

If two generators have the same gain m, any change in load will be shared by
them equally.

Therefore, one approach is to set the droop

gains in proportion to the rating of the
machines, so that the load is shared by the
generators proportional to their ratings:
S1m1=S2m2=….=Δf
Δf is the maximum permitted frequency
deviation
S is the rating of the generators
Frequency control

However, other factors such as

economy, security, reliability,
environmental, etc. must be also
taken into account.

The economic dispatch problem determines the amount of generation from

each unit in such a way that the cost of the delivered power is minimum.

The extensive interconnection of power systems has made the operation of a

power system in the most economical way, a complex subject. It is intended
here only to outline the problem and indicate the types of approaches
needed.
Economic dispatch
A typical cost curve of a (thermal)
generator is shown:
It indicates that how much money we have
to spend per hour to generate a given
output power.
Obviously there will be some cost even at
P=0, such as maintenance, losses, etc.

Cost/hour = f(P)≈a+bP+cP2
P=output power
Incremental cost Ic (cost/MWh) is
defined as: df ( P)
Ic =  b + 2cP
dP
Economic dispatch

df ( P)
Ic =  b + 2cP
dP

Approximating cost curve as a quadratic function, incremental cost is,

approximately, linear.
Economic dispatch
Assuming than there are n generation units in power system. The equation
that we need to minimize is (total cost): n
F =  f ( Pi ) = f ( P1 ) + f ( P2 ) + ... + f ( Pn )
i =1

Neglecting the losses, total generation must be equal to total demand:

n
 Pi = PL
This is called equality constraint i =1

PL is known through load forecasting and is assumed constant.

The economic dispatch problem is to find the values of unit outputs P1,
P2,…,Pn that minimize F, subject to the equality constraint.
To solve this problem let’s consider two units (for sake of simplicity):
Economic dispatch
F = f ( P1 ) + f ( P2 )
P1 + P2 = PL
P is constant
⎯⎯
L
⎯ ⎯ ⎯⎯→ dP1 + dP2 = 0 (1)

The minimum value of F occurs when dF=0:

F F
dF = dP1 + dP2 = 0
P1 P2
df ( P1 ) df ( P2 )
dF = dP1 + dP2 = 0
dP1 dP2
dF = I c1dP1 + I c 2 dP2 = 0

Using (1) :
I c1dP1 = I c 2 dP2 → I c1 = I c 2
Economic dispatch

This can be expanded to a system with n units:

Economic dispatch criterion: All units on economic

dispatch should operate at equal incremental cost:

df ( P1 ) df ( P2 ) df ( Pn )
= = ... =
dP1 dP2 dPn
I c1 = I c 2 = ... = I cn
Example
Consider two generators operating on economic dispatch with Ic1=0.004P1+4
(£/MWh) and Ic2=0.006P2+3.2 (£/MWh). If each machine is limited between
100-600MW, for PL varies from 200 to 1200MW, draw the output power of
each machine vs PL (on one graph).

Ic1=Ic2→0.004P1+4 =0.006P2+3.2
P2=PL-P1
0.004P1+4 =0.006(PL-P1)+3.2→P1 =0.6PL-80 MW
P2 =0.4PL+80 MW
Economic dispatch

It says that for each load how much generation from each machine is the
most economical value.
Not that, for some load, economic generation of machine 1 is more/less
than its maximum/minimum limits i.e. economical operation is not
possible.
Voltage control
V = IR cos + IX cos(90 −  ) = IR cos + IX sin 
V
V → V = V (IR cos + IX sin  ) PR + QX
⎯⎯⎯ =
V V
Since δ is usually small: ΔV=Ecosδ-V≈E-V , hence:
PR + QX R 0 QX
E −V = ⎯⎯⎯→ E − V =
V V

i.e. voltage deference determines Q

and vice versa.
d dQ E − 2V dV X
2
EV − V = XQ ⎯⎯dV
⎯→ = → =
dV X dQ E − 2V
since V is usually small E  V
dV − X − 1
= = → Q = − I sc V Isc is the 3-phase short circuit current occurred at
dQ V I sc
receiving-end, neglecting R.
Isc is calculated by protection engineers at all
points in the system.
Example-Voltage control
In the system shown, the pu values are ~ ~
257 /132
expressed on 500MVA base. If the line kV

voltage of point M drops by 5kV, how

257 /132
kV
much reactive power is needed to restore
its nominal voltage

Q = − I sc V
~
V = −5kV = −5 / 132 = −0.0379 pu

So we need to calculate Isc at point

j0.1 j0.1
M: ~ j1.43
2 j1.43 j1.43
Vb 132 2
Zb = = = 34.85 M
Sb 500
Example-Voltage control

Line reactances in pu is: 50/34.85=1.43 pu

The equivalent reactance from M to N is Xeq=0.5pu

V ( pu ) 1
I sc ( pu ) = = = 2 pu
X eq ( pu ) 0.5
Q( pu ) = − I sc ( pu )  V ( pu ) = 2  0.0379 = 0.0758 pu
Q = 0.0758  500 = 37.9 MVAr
Method of Voltage control
There are two main methods to control voltage:
• Tap-changing Transformers
• and injection / absorption of reactive power.

Tap-changing Transformers
A simple schematic diagram of a single-
phase tap changing transformer is shown.
The taps are usually located on the H.V.
side as it is larger than the L.V. side and
more taps can be applied on it.

It is very economic, however, is limited to a narrow range of voltage

and it changes in steps (not a smooth control).
Injection/absorption of reactive power:
• Since almost all RLC loads absorb reactive power, in order to keep the voltage constant and
avoid voltage sags, we need to inject reactive power.
• However, absorption of reactive power to reduce the voltage is also sometimes needed.
These are done by using a compensating device:

Shunt capacitors or reactors banks: Q=QL-Qr

• Shunt capacitors are used for lagging power

factor loads, Q = V 2 C
• Shunt reactors are used for leading power −V 2
Q=
factor loads: L
Injection/absorption of reactive power:

Shunt capacitors or reactors banks:

The main disadvantages:

• the reactive power produced or absorbed depends on Q = V 2 C
voltage. So, for example, when V is the lowest and we need −V 2
Q=
the most reactive power from capacitor, it generates the L
minimum.
• banks are increased or removed in steps i.e. smooth control
is not possible.
Injection/absorption of reactive power:

• Series capacitors are connected in series with line conductors to reduce

the inductive reactance between the supply and load.
• Drawback: high overvoltage is produced during faults since large
currents flow through it.
• Advantage: Reduces voltage drop (when line reactance is high), hence
improves stability
Voltage drop is:

V = IR cos  + IX sin 
X = jX L − 2 jX C
Injection/absorption of reactive power:

Synchronous compensator is a synchronous machine running at no load.

Hence depending the excitation:
• Over-excited synchronous machine (E>Vt) injects reactive power

• Under-excited synchronous machine(E<Vt) absorbs reactive power

• Advantage: smooth control of reactive power-voltage

• Disadvantage: expensive
Injection/absorption of reactive power:

Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS):

In recent years technological advances in power electronics
have facilitated the development of electronic equipment
that offer the ability to handle large amounts of power;
consequently, the use and application of this technology into
electrical power systems have increased significantly. These
electronic devices, called FACTS, are based on power
electronic converters and they provide the ability to make
quick adjustments and to control the electrical system:
Injection/absorption of reactive power:
• Static Var Compensator (SVC):
A Thyristor-Controlled Reactor (TCR)-SVC is
shown in the figure in which the shunt reactor is
dynamically controlled from a minimum value
(practically zero) to a maximum value by means of
conduction control of the by-directional thyristor valves. By this controlled
action the SVC can be seen as a variable shunt reactance. The effective
reactance of the TCR is varied by firing angle control of the antiparallel
thyristors. The firing angle can be controlled through a PI (Proportional +
Integral) controller in such a way that the voltage of the bus, where the SVC
is connected, is maintained at the reference value.
Thyristor-switched capacitors (TSC) is also possible.
Injection/absorption of reactive power:
• Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM):
• STATCOM is a static compensator that it is connected
to the grid in parallel for the compensation of reactive
power.

• It is able to inject or absorb reactive power in a controlled way regardless of the

grid voltage.
• The basic element is the Voltage Source Converter (VSC) which converts an input
DC voltage to an AC voltage at the fundamental frequency with a given magnitude
and a controllable phase.
• The AC output voltage is dynamically controlled in order to provide the required
reactive power to the network.
Injection/absorption of reactive power:

VSC is basically a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)-controlled IGBT(insulated gate

bipolar transistor)-based converter.
STATCOM, compared with SVC, is much faster and required much smaller filter.
However it is more expensive.