ECEN 615

Methods of Electric Power

Systems Analysis
Lecture 1: Power Systems Overview

Prof. Tom Overbye

Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Texas A&M University
[email protected]
Syllabus

Slides will be
posted before
each lecture on
the website

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Course Topics

• Introduction to Power Systems

• Overview of Power System Modeling and Operation
• Power Flow
• Sparse Matrices in Power System Analysis
• Sensitivity Analysis and Equivalents
• Power System Data Analytics and Visualization
• Optimal Power Flow and Power Markets
• Power System State Estimation
• High Impact, Low Frequency Events

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Announcements
• Start reading chapters 1 to 3 from the book (more
background material)
• Download the 42 bus educational versions of
PowerWorld Simulator and PowerWorld DS at
https://www.powerworld.com/gloveroverbyesarma

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About Me: Professional
• Received BSEE, MSEE, and Ph.D. all from University of
Wisconsin at Madison (83, 88, 91)
• Worked for eight years as engineer for an electric utility
(Madison Gas & Electric)
• Was at UIUC from 1991 to 2016, doing teaching and doing
research in the area of electric power systems
• Joined TAMU in January 2017
• Taught many power systems classes over last 28 years
• Developed commercial power system analysis package, known
now as PowerWorld Simulator. This package has been sold to
about 600 different corporate entities worldwide
• DOE investigator for 8/14/2003 blackout
• Member US National Academy of Engineering
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About Me: TAMU Research Group
Spring and Summer 2019

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About Me: Nonprofessional
• Married to Jo
• Have three children: Tim,
Hannah and Amanda
• We homeschooled our kids
with Tim now a PhD student
at TAMU, Hannah working at Stanford,
and Amanda a junior at Belmont in
environmental sciences
• Jo just finished a master’s in counseling,
we attend Grace Bible Church in
College Station (and teach the 3rd and 4th
graders sometimes); I am the faculty
advisor for Christian Engineering Leaders; I also like swimming,
biking and watching football (Aggies and Packers!) 7
About TA Yijing Liu
• Third year graduate student
– BSc (EE, University of Electronic
Science and Technology of China, China)
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– Research assistant since Fall, 2017

– PhD Research Area
• Power Systems Transient Stability Analysis
• Power Systems Protection
Cancun, Mexico, 2018
– Advisor: Prof. Tom Overbye
– Hobbies: Movie, cooking, travelling
– Award: Thomas W. Powell ’62
and Powell  Industries Inc.
Fellowship

The control room at the A&M Center

for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) 8
Electric Grid Control Room at CIR

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 TAMU ECE Energy and Power
Group Picnic: September 27, 2019
This picture is from our event last spring. If you would
like to join us this year, RSVP to Alex Bello
([email protected])

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ECEN 615 Motivation: A Vision for a
Long-Term Sustainable Electric Future
• In 2000 the US National Academy of Engineering
(NAE) named Electrification (the vast networks of
electricity that power the developed world) as the top
engineering technology of the 20th century
– Beating automobiles (2), airplanes (3),
water (4), electronics (5)
– Electricity has changed the world!
• For the 21th century the winner
could be “Development of a
sustainable and resilient
electric infrastructure for the
entire world”
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Power System Examples

• Electric utility: can range from quite small, such as an

island, to one covering half the continent
– there are four major interconnected ac power systems in
North American, each operating at 60 Hz ac; 50 Hz is used in
some other countries.
• Microgrids can power smaller areas (like a campus)
and can be optionally connected to the main grid
• Airplanes and Spaceships: reduction in weight is
primary consideration; frequency is 400 Hz.
• Ships and submarines
• Automobiles: dc 12 V standard; 360-376 V for electric
• Battery operated portable systems 12
North America Interconnections

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Electric Interconnections in Texas

Source: www.puc.texas.gov/industry/maps/maps/ERCOT.pdf 14
Electric Systems in Energy Context

• Class focuses on electric power systems, but we first

need to put the electric system in context of the total
energy delivery system
• Electricity is used primarily as a means for energy
transportation
• Use other sources of energy to create it, and it is usually
converted into another form of energy when used
• About 40% of US energy is transported in electric form
• Concerns about need to reduce CO2 emissions and
fossil fuel depletion are becoming main drivers for
change in world energy infrastructure

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 Looking at the 2018 Energy Pie:
Where the USA Got Its Energy
About 40% of our energy is
Biomass, 5 Wind, 2.6

Hydro, 2.7
Nuclear, 8.3 consumed in the form of electricity, a
Petroleum,
36.5
percentage that is gradually
Natural Gas,
30.6 increasing. The vast majority on the
Coal,
13.1 non-fossil fuel energy is electric!
In 2018 we got about 2.5% of
our energy from wind and 0.94%
About 80% Fossil Fuels (89% in
from solar (PV and solar thermal),
1980 and 85% in 2000)
2.7% from hydro
Total of 97.7 Quad; 1 Quad = 293 billion kWh (actual), 1 Quad =
98 billion kWh (used, taking into account efficiency)

EIA is US DOE Energy

Information Administration Source: EIA Monthly Energy Review, July 2019 16
US Historical Energy Usage

Source: EIA Monthly Energy Review, July 2019

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Renewable Energy Consumption

Source: EIA Monthly Energy Review, July 2019

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 US Electricity Generation

In 2018 the major sources were natural gas (35.5%), coal (26.8%),
nuclear (19.2%), hydro (6.8%), wind (6.4%), and solar (2.3%)
Wind and solar are rapidly growing (11% and 25% growth in 2018)
though the growth is slowing (solar was a over 100% from 2012-13)
Source: EIA Monthly Energy Review, July 2019
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US Generator Capacity Additions
Natural gas and wind
generation additions in
the last decade dwarfed
all other technologies,
but with solar rapidly
growing. The gas
generation, and low
natural gas prices were
partially responsible
for the recent
decrease in carbon
dioxide emissions.

Sources: www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=25432 20
New Generation March 2019 to Feb 2020

Sources: EIA Electricity Monthly, April 2019 21

Growth in US Wind Power Capacity

Source: AWEA Wind Power Outlook Fourth Quarter, 2018

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Wind Capacity Installations by State

Texas is
number
one!
Total capacity
at end of
2017 was
89 GW and
96.5 at the
end of 2018

Source: AWEA Wind Power Outlook Fourth Quarter, 2018

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The World: Energy Consumption by
Source

Source: EIA, International Energy Outlook 2018

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Energy Economics

• Electric generating technologies involve a tradeoff

between fixed costs (costs to build them) and
operating costs
• Nuclear and solar high fixed costs, but low operating
costs (though cost of solar has decreased substantially
recently)
• Natural gas/oil have low fixed costs but can have higher
operating costs (dependent upon fuel prices)
• Coal, wind, hydro are in between
• Also the units capacity factor is important to
determining ultimate cost of electricity

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Estimated Energy Costs for New
Generation

Source: www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/electricity_generation.pdf (February 2019)

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Natural Gas Prices 1997 to 2018

Marginal cost for natural gas fired electricity price

in $/MWh is about 7-10 times gas price; Henry Hub is a
gas pipeline located in Erath, Louisiana.
Source: http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdW.htm 27
Coal Prices had Fallen But Are Now
Back to Values from Five Years Ago

Current prices
are about the
same as in
Sept. 2017

BTU content per pound varies between about 8000

and 15,000 Btu/lb, giving costs of around $1 to 2/Mbtu
Source: eia.gov/coal
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 Solar PV Prices

Images:
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/08/13/us-solar-pv-cost-fell-50-5-years-government-report/screen-shot-2015-08-12-at-12-33
-53-pm
/ and https://news.energysage.com/how-much-does-the-average-solar-panel-installation-cost-in-the-u-s/ 29
 Average Cost of Solar Systems, 2019

For the cost

for a 10 kW
system is
$2.98 per watt
before the
tax credit and
$ 20.86 after

Source news.energysage.com/how-much-does-the-average-solar-panel-installation-cost-in-the-u-s/ 30
Brief History of Electric Power

• First real practical uses of electricity began with the

telegraph (1860's) and then arc lighting in the 1870’s
• Early 1880’s – Edison introduced Pearl Street dc
system in Manhattan supplying 59 customers
• 1884 – Sprague produces practical dc motor
• 1885 – invention of transformer
• Mid 1880’s – Westinghouse/Tesla introduce rival ac
system
• Late 1880’s – Tesla invents ac induction motor
• 1893 – Three-phase transmission line at 2.3 kV

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