DIgSILENT

PowerFactory 2019

User Manual

I N T EG R AT E D P O W E R S Y S T EM A N A LY S I S S O F T WA R E F O R
T R A N S M I S S I O N / D I S T R I BU T I O N / I N D U S T RY / G EN E R AT I O N / I N T EG R AT I O N O F R EN E WA B L E S
DIgSILENT PowerFactory
Version 2019

User Manual

Online Edition

DIgSILENT GmbH

Gomaringen, Germany

December 2018
 Publisher:
DIgSILENT GmbH
Heinrich-Hertz-Straße 9
72810 Gomaringen / Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 7072-9168-0
Fax: +49 (0) 7072-9168-88

Please visit our homepage at:

https://www.digsilent.de

Copyright DIgSILENT GmbH

All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or
distributed in any form without written
permission of the publisher.

December 2018
r5185
Contents

I General Information 1

1 About this Guide 3

1.1 Contents of the User Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.2 Used Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Contact 5

2.1 Direct Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.1.1 PowerFactory Support Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.1.2 Licence Support Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.2 Knowledge Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.3 General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3 Documentation and Help System 9

4 PowerFactory Overview 11

4.1 General Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4.2 PowerFactory Simulation Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4.3 General Design of PowerFactory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4.4 Type and Element Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4.5 Data Arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4.5.1 Global Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4.5.2 User Defined Global Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

4.5.3 Project Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4.5.4 Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4.5.5 Network Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4.5.6 Operation Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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4.5.7 Study Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.5.8 Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.6 Project Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.6.1 Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4.6.2 Edge elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4.6.3 Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4.6.4 Cubicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4.6.5 Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4.6.6 Substations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.6.7 Secondary Substations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.6.8 Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.6.9 Branch Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.7 User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.7.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

4.7.2 Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4.7.3 Main Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

4.7.4 The Output Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4.8 Scripting in PowerFactory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4.8.1 DIgSILENT Programming Language (DPL) Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4.8.2 Python Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

II Administration 35

5 Program Administration 37

5.1 Program Installation and Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

5.2 PowerFactory Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

5.2.1 General Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

5.2.2 Database Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

5.2.3 Workspace Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

5.2.4 External Applications Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

5.2.5 Network Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

5.2.6 Geographic Maps Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

5.2.7 Advanced Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

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5.3 Licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

5.3.1 Select Licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

5.3.2 Activate / Update / Deactivate / Move Licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

5.4 Workspace Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

5.4.1 Show Workspace Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

5.4.2 Import and Export Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

5.4.3 Show Default Export Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

5.4.4 Import Workspace from 14.X or 15.0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

5.5 Offline Mode User Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

5.5.1 Functionality in Offline Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

5.5.2 Functionality in Online Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

5.5.3 Terminate Offline Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

5.6 Housekeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

5.6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

5.6.2 Configuring Permanently Logged-On Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

5.6.3 Configuring Housekeeping Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

5.6.4 Project Archiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

5.6.5 Configuring Deletion of Old Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

5.6.6 Configuring Purging of Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

5.6.7 Configuring Emptying of Recycle Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

5.6.8 Monitoring Housekeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

5.6.9 Summary of Housekeeping Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

6 User Accounts, User Groups, and Profiles 53

6.1 PowerFactory Database Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

6.2 The Database Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

6.3 Administration Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

6.3.1 User Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

6.3.2 Security and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

6.3.3 Calculation Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

6.3.4 Housekeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

6.4 Security and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

6.4.1 Audit Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

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6.4.2 Login Policy Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

6.4.3 Idle Session Timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

6.4.4 External Data Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

6.4.5 Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

6.5 Creating and Managing User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

6.6 Creating User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

6.7 User Interface Customisation (Profiles) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

6.7.1 Tool Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

6.7.2 Configuration of Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

6.7.3 Configuration of Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

6.7.4 Configuration of Dialog Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

6.7.5 Configuration of Dialog Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

6.7.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

7 User Settings 67

7.1 Data/Network Model Manager Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

7.2 Graphic Windows Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

7.2.1 General tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

7.2.2 Advanced tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

7.3 Output Window Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

7.4 Profile Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

7.5 Functions Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

7.6 Editor Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

7.7 Colours Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

7.8 StationWare Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

7.9 Offline Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

7.10 Parallel Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

7.11 Miscellaneous Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

III Handling 75

8 Basic Project Definition 77

8.1 Defining and Configuring a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

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8.1.1 Project Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

8.1.2 Project Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

8.1.3 Activating and Deactivating Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

8.1.4 Exporting and Importing Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

8.1.5 External References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

8.2 Creating New Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

8.3 Project Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

9 Network Graphics 89

9.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

9.2 Graphic Windows and Database Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

9.2.1 Network Diagrams and other graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

9.2.2 Active Graphics, Graphics Board and Study Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

9.2.3 Single Line Graphics and Data Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

9.2.4 Creating New Graphic Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

9.2.5 Page Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

9.2.6 Drawing Toolboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

9.2.7 Active Grid Folder (Target Folder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

9.3 Graphic Commands, Options, and Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

9.3.1 Freeze Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

9.3.2 Rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

9.3.3 View commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

9.3.4 Select commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

9.3.5 Graphic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

9.3.6 Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

9.3.7 Colouring Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

9.3.8 Graphic Legends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

9.3.9 Node Default Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

9.3.10 Page and Print Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

9.3.11 Diagram Layout Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

9.3.12 Insert New Graphic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

9.3.13 Element Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

9.4 Editing and Changing Symbols of Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

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9.5 Result Boxes, Text Boxes and Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

9.5.1 Result Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

9.5.2 Text Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

9.5.3 Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

9.5.4 Free Text Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

9.6 Annotation Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

9.7 Annotation of Protection Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

9.8 Navigation Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

9.9 Graphic search facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

9.10 Geographic Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

9.10.1 Using an External Map Provider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

9.10.2 Using Local Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

10 Data Manager 123

10.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

10.2 Using the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

10.2.1 Navigating the Database Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

10.2.2 Adding New Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

10.2.3 Deleting an Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

10.2.4 Cut, Copy, Paste and Move Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

10.2.5 The Data Manager Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

10.2.6 Additional Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

10.3 Searching for Objects in the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

10.3.1 Sorting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

10.3.2 Searching by Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

10.3.3 Using Filters for Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

10.4 Auto-Filter functions in Data Manager and browser windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

10.5 Editing Data Objects in the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

10.5.1 Editing in Object Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

10.5.2 Editing in “Detail” Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

10.5.3 Copy and Paste while Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

10.6 The Flexible Data Page Tab in the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

10.6.1 Customising the Flexible Data Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

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10.7 The Input Window in the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

10.7.1 Input Window Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

10.8 Save and Restore Parts of the Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

10.8.1 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

10.9 Spreadsheet Format Data Import/Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

10.9.1 Export to Spreadsheet Programs (e. g. MS EXCEL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

10.9.2 Import from Spreadsheet Programs (e. g. MS EXCEL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

11 Building Networks 147

11.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

11.2 Defining Network Models using the Graphical Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

11.2.1 Adding New Power System Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

11.2.2 Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

11.2.3 Edge Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

11.2.4 Cubicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

11.2.5 Marking and Editing Power System Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

11.2.6 Interconnecting Power Subsystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

11.2.7 Substations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

11.2.8 Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

11.2.9 Composite Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

11.2.10 Single and Two Phase Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

11.3 Lines and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

11.3.1 Defining a Line (ElmLne) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

11.3.2 Defining Line Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

11.3.3 Defining Line Couplings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

11.3.4 Defining Cable Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

11.4 Neutral Winding Connection in Network Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

11.5 Defining Network Models using the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

11.5.1 Defining New Network Components in the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

11.5.2 Connecting Network Components in the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

11.5.3 Defining Substations in the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

11.5.4 Defining Composite Branches in the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

11.5.5 Defining Sites in the Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

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11.6 Drawing Diagrams with Existing Network Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

11.6.1 Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

11.6.2 Node Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

11.6.3 Edge Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

11.6.4 Protection Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

11.6.5 Draw existing elements using Drag & Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

12 Network Model Manager 177

12.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

12.2 Using the Network Model Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

13 Study Cases 181

13.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

13.2 Creating and Using Study Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

13.2.1 The Study Case Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

13.3 Summary Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

13.4 Study Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

13.5 The Study Case Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

13.6 Variation Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

13.7 Operation Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

13.8 Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

13.9 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

13.9.1 Dispatch Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

13.9.2 External Measurement Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

13.9.3 Inter-Circuit Fault Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

13.9.4 Events of Loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

13.9.5 Message Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

13.9.6 Outage of Element (EvtOutage) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

13.9.7 Parameter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

13.9.8 Save Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

13.9.9 Save Snapshot event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

13.9.10 Short-Circuit Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

13.9.11 Stop Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

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13.9.12 Switch Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

13.9.13 Synchronous Machine Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

13.9.14 Tap Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

13.9.15 Power Transfer Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

13.10Simulation Scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

13.11Results Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

13.12Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

13.13Graphic Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

14 Project Library 193

14.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

14.2 Equipment Type Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

14.3 Operational Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

14.3.1 Circuit Breaker Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

14.3.2 Demand Transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

14.3.3 Fault Cases and Fault Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

14.3.4 Capability Curves (Mvar Limit Curves) for Generators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

14.3.5 Planned Outages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

14.3.6 Planned Outages IntOutage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

14.3.7 Running Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

14.3.8 Thermal Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

14.4 Templates Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

14.4.1 General Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

14.4.2 Substation Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

14.4.3 Busbar Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

14.4.4 Composite Branch Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

14.4.5 Example Power Plant Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

14.4.6 Wind Turbine Templates according to IEC 61400-27-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

14.4.7 Example Busbar Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

15 Grouping Objects 211

15.1 Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

15.2 Virtual Power Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

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15.2.1 Defining and Editing a New Virtual Power Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

15.2.2 Applying a Virtual Power Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

15.2.3 Inserting a Generator into a Virtual Power Plant and Defining its Virtual Power
Plant Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

15.3 Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

15.3.1 Boundary Definition Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

15.3.2 Element Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

15.4 Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

15.5 Feeders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

15.5.1 Feeder Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

15.6 Meteo Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

15.7 Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

15.8 Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

15.9 Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

15.10Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

15.11Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

16 Operation Scenarios 227

16.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

16.2 Operation Scenarios Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

16.3 How to use Operation Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

16.3.1 How to create an Operation Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

16.3.2 How to save an Operation Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

16.3.3 How to activate an existing Operation Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

16.3.4 How to deactivate an Operation Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

16.3.5 How to identify operational data parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

16.4 Administering Operation Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

16.4.1 How to view objects missing from the Operation Scenario data . . . . . . . . . . 232

16.4.2 How to compare the data in two operation scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

16.4.3 How to view the non-default Running Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

16.4.4 How to transfer data from one Operation Scenario to another . . . . . . . . . . . 233

16.4.5 How to update the default data with operation scenario data . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

16.4.6 How exclude a grid from the Operation Scenario data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

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16.4.7 How to create a time based Operation Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

16.5 Advanced Configuration of Operation Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

16.5.1 How to change the automatic save settings for Operation Scenarios . . . . . . . 237

16.5.2 How to modify the data stored in Operation Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

17 Network Variations and Expansion Stages 239

17.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

17.2 Variations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

17.3 Expansion Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

17.4 The Study Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

17.5 The Recording Expansion Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

17.6 The Variation Scheduler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

17.7 Variation and Expansion Stage Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

17.8 Variation and Expansion Stage Housekeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

17.8.1 Applying Changes from Expansion Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

17.8.2 Consolidating Variations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

17.8.3 Splitting Expansion Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

17.8.4 Comparing Variations and Expansion Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

17.8.5 Colouring Variations the Single Line Graphic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

17.8.6 Variation Conflicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

17.8.7 Error Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

17.9 Compatibility with Previous Releases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

17.9.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

17.9.2 Converting System Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

18 Parameter Characteristics, Load States, and Tariffs 253

18.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

18.2 Parameter Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

18.2.1 Time Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

18.2.2 Profile Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

18.2.3 Scaling Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

18.2.4 Linear Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

18.2.5 Vector Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

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18.2.6 Matrix Parameter Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

18.2.7 Parameter Characteristics from Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

18.2.8 Characteristic References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

18.2.9 Edit Characteristic Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

18.2.10 Characteristics Tab in Data Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

18.2.11 Example Application of Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

18.3 Load States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

18.3.1 Creating Load States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

18.3.2 Viewing Existing Load States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

18.3.3 Load State Object Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

18.3.4 Example Load States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

18.4 Load Distribution States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

18.4.1 Creating Load Distribution States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

18.4.2 Viewing Existing Load Distribution States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

18.4.3 Load Distribution State Object Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

18.4.4 Example Load Distribution States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

18.5 Tariffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

18.5.1 Defining Time Tariffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

18.5.2 Defining Energy Tariffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

19 Reporting and Visualising Results 275

19.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

19.2 Result Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

19.2.1 Editing Result Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

19.3 Variable Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

19.3.1 Variable Selection Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

19.4 Output Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

19.4.1 Documentation of Device Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

19.4.2 Output of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

19.5 Comparisons Between Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

19.6 Results Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

19.6.1 Exporting Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

19.7 Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

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19.7.1 Curve Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

19.7.2 Curve Plot (2 y-axes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

19.7.3 Curve Plot (multiple x-axes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

19.7.4 Binary Bar Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

19.7.5 Specifying Curves for Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

19.7.6 Bar Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

19.7.7 Vector Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

19.7.8 Curve-Input Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

19.7.9 Virtual Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

19.7.10 Voltage Profile Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

19.7.11 Plots Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

19.7.12 Context Sensitive Menu Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

19.7.13 The Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

19.7.14 User-Defined Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

20 Data Extensions 311

20.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

20.2 Data Extension Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

20.2.1 Creating Data Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

20.2.2 User Defined Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

20.3 Using Data Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

20.4 Sharing Data Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

21 Data Management 315

21.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

21.2 Project Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

21.2.1 What is a Version? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

21.2.2 How to Create a Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

21.2.3 How to Rollback a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

21.2.4 How to Check if a Version is the Base for a Derived Project . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

21.2.5 How to Delete a Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

21.3 Derived Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

21.3.1 Derived Projects Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

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21.3.2 How to Create a Derived Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

21.4 Comparing and Merging Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

21.4.1 Compare and Merge Tool Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

21.4.2 How to Merge or Compare Two Projects Using the Compare and Merge Tool . . 321

21.4.3 How to Merge or Compare Three Projects Using the Compare and Merge Tool . 322

21.4.4 Compare and Merge Tool Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

21.4.5 Compare and Merge Tool ’diff browser’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

21.5 How to Update a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

21.5.1 Updating a Derived Project from a new Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

21.5.2 Updating a Base Project from a Derived Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

21.5.3 Tips for Working with the Compare and Merge Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

21.6 Sharing Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

21.7 Combining Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

21.7.1 Project Combination Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

21.7.2 Project Connection Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

21.7.3 Final Project State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

21.7.4 Project Normalisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

21.8 Database Archiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

22 Task Automation 337

22.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

22.2 Configuration of Task Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

22.2.1 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

22.2.2 Parallel Computing Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

22.2.3 Output Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

22.3 Task Automation Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

22.4 Parallel Computing Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

22.4.1 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

22.4.2 Communication page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

23 Scripting 345

23.1 The DIgSILENT Programming Language - DPL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

23.1.1 The Principle Structure of a DPL Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

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23.1.2 The DPL Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

23.1.3 The DPL Script Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

23.1.4 The DPL Script Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

23.1.5 Access to Other Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

23.1.6 Access to Locally Stored Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

23.1.7 Accessing the General Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

23.1.8 Accessing External Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

23.1.9 Remote Scripts and DPL Command Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

23.1.10 DPL Functions and Subroutines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

23.2 Python . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

23.2.1 Installation of a Python Interpreter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

23.2.2 The Python PowerFactory Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

23.2.3 The Python Command (ComPython) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

23.2.4 Running PowerFactory in Non-interactive Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

23.2.5 Debugging Python Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

23.2.6 Example of a Python Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

23.3 Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

23.4 Add On Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

23.4.1 Add On Module framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

23.4.2 Creating a new Add-on Module command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

23.4.3 Executing an Add-on Module command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

23.4.4 Adding Add On Modules to the User-Defined Tools toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

24 Interfaces 375

24.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375

24.2 DGS Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375

24.2.1 DGS Interface Typical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376

24.2.2 DGS Structure (Database Schemas and File Formats) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

24.2.3 DGS Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

24.2.4 DGS Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

24.3 PSS/E File Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381

24.3.1 Importing PSS/E Steady-State Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381

24.3.2 Import of PSS/E file (Dynamic Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

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24.3.3 Exporting a project to a PSS/E file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384

24.4 ELEKTRA Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

24.4.1 Import of Elektra Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

24.4.2 General Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

24.4.3 Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

24.4.4 Importing Elektra Network Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

24.4.5 Importing Elektra Type Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

24.4.6 Output Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387

24.5 NEPLAN Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388

24.5.1 Importing NEPLAN Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388

24.6 INTEGRAL Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

24.6.1 Importing Integral Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

24.6.2 Export Integral Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

24.7 PSS SINCAL Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

24.7.1 Importing PSS SINCAL Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

24.8 UCTE-DEF Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

24.8.1 Importing UCTE-DEF Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

24.8.2 Exporting UCTE-DEF Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

24.9 CIM Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392

24.9.1 Importing CIM Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392

24.9.2 General Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392

24.9.3 Exporting CIM Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

24.10CGMES Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

24.10.1 CIM Data Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394

24.10.2 CIM Data Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394

24.10.3 CIM to Grid Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

24.10.4 Grid to CIM Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

24.10.5 CIM Data Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396

24.10.6 Import and Export of the EIC as additional parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396

24.11MATLAB Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

24.12OPC Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

24.12.1 OPC Interface Typical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

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24.13StationWare Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

24.13.1 About StationWare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

24.13.2 Component Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399

24.13.3 Fundamental Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401

24.13.4 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405

24.13.5 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405

24.13.6 DPL Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

24.13.7 Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

24.14API (Application Programming Interface) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

IV Power System Analysis Functions 425

25 Load Flow Analysis 427

25.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

25.2 Technical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

25.2.1 Network Representation and Calculation Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431

25.3 Executing Load Flow Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

25.3.1 Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

25.3.2 Active Power Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

25.3.3 Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439

25.3.4 Calculation Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441

25.3.5 Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

25.3.6 Load/Generation Scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

25.3.7 Low Voltage Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

25.4 Detailed Description of Load Flow Calculation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446

25.4.1 Active and Reactive Power Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446

25.4.2 Voltage Dependency of Loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

25.4.3 Feeder Load Scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452

25.4.4 Coincidence of Low Voltage Loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

25.4.5 Temperature Dependency of Lines and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458

25.5 Results Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

25.5.1 Viewing Results in the Single Line Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

25.5.2 Flexible Data Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

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25.5.3 Predefined Report Formats (ASCII Reports) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

25.5.4 Diagram Colouring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

25.5.5 Load Flow Sign Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

25.5.6 Results for Unbalanced Load Flow Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

25.5.7 Update Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

25.6 Troubleshooting Load Flow Calculation Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462

25.6.1 General Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462

25.6.2 Data Model Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

25.6.3 Some Load Flow Calculation Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

25.6.4 Too many Inner Loop Iterations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

25.6.5 Too Many Outer Loop Iterations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

26 Short-Circuit Analysis 469

26.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469

26.2 Technical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

26.2.1 The IEC 60909/VDE 0102 Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472

26.2.2 The ANSI Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

26.2.3 The Complete Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

26.2.4 The IEC 61363 Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478

26.2.5 The IEC 61660 (DC) Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

26.2.6 The ANSI/IEEE 946 (DC) Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481

26.3 Executing Short-Circuit Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481

26.3.1 Toolbar/Main Menu Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481

26.3.2 Context-Sensitive Menu Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482

26.3.3 Faults on Busbars/Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482

26.3.4 Faults on Lines and Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483

26.3.5 Multiple Faults Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483

26.4 Short-Circuit Calculation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

26.4.1 Basic Options (All Methods) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

26.4.2 Verification (Except for IEC 61363, IEC 61660 and ANSI/IEEE 946) . . . . . . . . 488

26.4.3 Basic Options (IEC 60909/VDE 0102 Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488

26.4.4 Advanced Options (IEC 60909/VDE 0102 Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489

26.4.5 Basic Options (ANSI C37 Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491

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26.4.6 Advanced Options (ANSI C37 Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492

26.4.7 Basic Options (Complete Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493

26.4.8 Advanced Options (Complete Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

26.4.9 Basic Options (IEC 61363) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496

26.4.10 Advanced Options (IEC 61363) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497

26.4.11 Basic Options (IEC 61660 Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497

26.4.12 Advanced Options (IEC 61660 Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498

26.4.13 Basic Options (ANSI/IEEE 946 Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498

26.4.14 Advanced Options (ANSI/IEEE 946 Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

26.5 Results Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

26.5.1 Viewing Results in the Single Line Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

26.5.2 Flexible Data Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

26.5.3 Predefined Report Formats (ASCII Reports) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

26.5.4 Diagram Colouring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

26.6 Capacitive Earth-Fault Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501

27 Contingency Analysis 503

27.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

27.2 Short Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

27.2.1 Contingency Analysis Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

27.2.2 Results Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

27.2.3 Configuring Network Restoration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

27.2.4 Visualisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

27.3 Contingency Analysis Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

27.3.1 Contingency Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

27.3.2 Contingency Analysis Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

27.3.3 Contingency Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

27.3.4 Show Contingencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

27.3.5 Show Fault Cases / Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

27.3.6 Remedial Action Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

27.3.7 Edit Results Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

27.3.8 Tracing Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

27.3.9 Contingency Analysis Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

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27.3.10 Load Contingency Analysis Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

27.4 Command dialog and Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

27.4.1 Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

27.4.2 Recording of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

27.4.3 Time Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509

27.4.4 Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512

27.4.5 Time Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513

27.4.6 Screening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514

27.4.7 Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515

27.4.8 Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515

27.4.9 Parallel Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516

27.4.10 Calculating an Individual Contingency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516

27.4.11 Representing Contingency Situations

Contingency Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516

27.5 Reporting Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

27.5.1 Predefined Report Formats (Tabular and ASCII Reports) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

27.6 Trace Function for Multiple Time Phase and/or RAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522

27.7 Creating Contingencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522

27.7.1 Creating Contingencies Using the Contingency Definition Command . . . . . . . 523

27.7.2 Creating Contingencies Using Fault

Cases and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524

27.8 Fault Cases and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525

27.8.1 Browsing Fault Cases and Fault Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526

27.8.2 Defining a Fault Case from Network Element(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526

27.8.3 Defining Fault Cases using the Contingency Definition Command . . . . . . . . . 527

27.8.4 Representing Contingency Situations with Post-Fault Actions . . . . . . . . . . . 527

27.8.5 Defining a Fault Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527

27.9 Comparing Contingency Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528

27.10Managing variables to be recorded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529

27.10.1 Using filters to enable selective results recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

27.11Remedial Action Schemes (RAS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

27.11.1 Creating a RAS object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

27.11.2 Trigger Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531

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27.11.3 Logical combinations of triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531

27.11.4 Remedial actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531

27.11.5 RAS groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532

27.11.6 Using Remedial Action Schemes in Contingency Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532

27.11.7 Results and reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532

27.11.8 Visualising RAS using the Trace Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

27.12Load Contingency Analysis Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

27.12.1 Load Individual Contingencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

28 Quasi-Dynamic Simulation 537

28.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537

28.2 Technical background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537

28.3 How to execute a Quasi-Dynamic Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539

28.3.1 Defining the variables for monitoring in the Quasi-Dynamic simulation . . . . . . 540

28.3.2 Considering maintenance outages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540

28.3.3 Considering simulation events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541

28.3.4 Running the Quasi-Dynamic simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542

28.3.5 Configuring the Quasi-Dynamic Simulation for parallel computation . . . . . . . . 544

28.3.6 Configure the Quasi-Dynamic Simulation for real time simulation . . . . . . . . . 544

28.4 Analysing the QDS results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544

28.4.1 Plotting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545

28.4.2 Quasi-Dynamic simulation reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545

28.4.3 Statistical summary of monitored variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545

28.4.4 Loading Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546

28.5 Developing QDSL models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546

28.5.1 PowerFactory objects for implementing user defined models . . . . . . . . . . . . 547

28.5.2 Overview of modelling approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550

28.5.3 Algorithm flow of user defined Quasi-Dynamic Simulation models . . . . . . . . . 551

28.5.4 Scripting Functions for Quasi-Dynamic Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

28.5.5 Example: Modelling a battery as a Quasi-Dynamic user defined model . . . . . . 559

28.5.6 QDSL Model Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566

29 RMS/EMT Simulations 567

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29.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

29.2 Calculation Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

29.2.1 Balanced RMS Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

29.2.2 Three-Phase RMS Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

29.2.3 Three-Phase EMT Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570

29.3 Calculation of Initial Conditions command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570

29.3.1 Initial Conditions - Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571

29.3.2 Initial Conditions - Step Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572

29.3.3 Initial Conditions - Solver Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574

29.3.4 Initial Conditions - Simulation Scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577

29.3.5 Initial Conditions - Noise Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578

29.3.6 Initial Conditions - Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578

29.3.7 Advanced Simulation Options - Load Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578

29.4 Results Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579

29.4.1 Saving Results from Previous Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581

29.5 Simulation Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581

29.6 Executing the Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584

29.7 Creating Simulation Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584

29.8 Simulation Scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584

29.8.1 Fault Ride Through Scan Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584

29.8.2 Frequency Scan Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587

29.8.3 Loss of Synchronism Scan Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588

29.8.4 Synchronous Machine Speed Scan Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588

29.8.5 Variable Scan Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589

29.8.6 Voltage Scan Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590

29.9 Save/Load Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

29.9.1 Saving a snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

29.9.2 Loading a snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592

29.10Single/Multiple Domain Co-simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592

29.10.1 Terms and Definitions for Co-simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593

29.10.2 Overview of the Single/Multiple Domain Co-simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593

29.10.3 Configuring the Co-simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595

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29.10.4 Performing a Co-simulation and Retrieving Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596

29.10.5 The “Initial conditions for co-simulation” (ComCosim) Command . . . . . . . . . . 597

29.11Co-simulation with External Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599

29.11.1 Overview of the External Solver Co-simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599

29.11.2 Prepare Case for Co-simulation with External Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602

29.11.3 Performing a Co-simulation and Retrieving Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604

29.11.4 The “Prepare co-simulation with ext. solver ” (ComCosimsetup) Command . . . . 605

29.11.5 The “Initial conditions for co-simulation” (ComCosim) Command . . . . . . . . . 605

29.12Frequency Response Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606

29.12.1 Basic Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606

29.12.2 Basic Data Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607

29.12.3 Output Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610

29.12.4 Advanced Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

29.12.5 Output Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

29.12.6 Output Results Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

29.13Frequency Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

29.13.1 Prony Analysis Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

29.13.2 Basic Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

29.13.3 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614

29.13.4 FFT Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

29.13.5 Prony Analysis Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616

29.13.6 Recalculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618

29.13.7 Output Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618

29.13.8 Output Results Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618

29.13.9 General Recommendations on the Use of Prony Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620

29.13.10Quick Overview of Used Formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623

30 Models for Dynamic Simulations 625

30.1 System Modelling Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626

30.1.1 The Composite Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631

30.1.2 The Composite Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632

30.1.3 The Common Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635

30.2 The Composite Block Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639

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30.2.1 Drawing Composite Block Diagrams and Composite Frames . . . . . . . . . . . 640

30.3 User Defined (DSL) Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645

30.3.1 Modelling and Simulation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647

30.3.2 DSL Implementation: an Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647

30.3.3 Defining DSL Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651

30.4 The DIgSILENT Simulation Language (DSL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656

30.4.1 Terms and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656

30.4.2 General DSL Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657

30.4.3 DSL Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657

30.4.4 DSL Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 658

30.4.5 Definition Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 658

30.4.6 Initial Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 659

30.4.7 Equation Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662

30.4.8 Equation Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662

30.4.9 DSL Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663

30.4.10 Events and Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664

30.4.11 DSL Modelling Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665

30.4.12 Example of a Complete DSL Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665

30.5 DSL Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667

30.5.1 DSL Standard Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667

30.5.2 DSL Special Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668

30.5.3 DSL Global Library Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683

30.6 Interfaces for Dynamic Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683

30.6.1 C Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683

30.6.2 External C Interface acc. to IEC 61400-27-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685

30.6.3 MATLAB Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687

31 System Parameter Identification 695

31.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695

31.2 Target Functions and Composite Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696

31.2.1 The Measurement File Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697

31.2.2 Power System Element Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697

31.2.3 Comparison Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697

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31.3 Creating the Composite Identification Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698

31.3.1 The Comparison Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699

31.4 Performing a Parameter Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700

31.5 Identifying Primary Appliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702

32 Modal Analysis / Eigenvalue Calculation 705

32.1 Theory of Modal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705

32.2 How to Execute a Modal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708

32.2.1 Modal Analysis Command - Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708

32.2.2 Modal Analysis Command - Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710

32.2.3 Modal Analysis Command - Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711

32.3 Viewing Modal Analysis Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714

32.3.1 Modal/Eigenvalue Analysis Results Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714

32.3.2 Modal Analysis Results in Built-in Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716

32.3.3 Eigenvalues Results in Single Line Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721

32.3.4 Modal Analysis Results in the Output Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721

32.3.5 Modal Analysis Results in the Data Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722

33 Protection 725

33.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725

33.1.1 The modelling structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725

33.1.2 The relay frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726

33.1.3 The relay type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727

33.1.4 The relay element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728

33.2 How to define a protection scheme in PowerFactory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729

33.2.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729

33.2.2 Adding protective devices to the network model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729

33.2.3 Protection single line diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732

33.2.4 Locating protection devices within the network model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735

33.3 Setup of an overcurrent protection scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735

33.3.1 Overcurrent relay model setup - basic data page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735

33.3.2 Overcurrent relay model setup - max/min fault

currents tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737

33.3.3 Configuring the current transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737

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33.3.4 Configuring the voltage transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

33.3.5 Configuring a combined Instrument transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742

33.3.6 How to add a fuse to the network model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742

33.3.7 Basic relay blocks for overcurrent relays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743

33.4 The time-overcurrent plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748

33.4.1 How to create a time-overcurrent plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749

33.4.2 Understanding the time-overcurrent plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750

33.4.3 Showing the calculation results on the time-overcurrent plot . . . . . . . . . . . . 750

33.4.4 Displaying the grading margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750

33.4.5 Adding a user defined permanent current line to the time-overcurrent plot . . . . 751

33.4.6 Configuring the auto generated protection diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752

33.4.7 Overcurrent plot options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752

33.4.8 Altering protection device characteristic settings from the time-overcurrent plot . 754

33.4.9 How to split the relay/fuse characteristic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754

33.4.10 Equipment damage curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757

33.5 Setup and analysis of a distance protection scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 767

33.5.1 Distance relay model setup - basic data page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768

33.5.2 Primary or secondary Ohm selection for distance relay parameters . . . . . . . . 768

33.5.3 Basic relay blocks used for distance protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768

33.6 The impedance plot (R-X diagram) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775

33.6.1 How to create an R-X diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775

33.6.2 Understanding the R-X diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776

33.6.3 Configuring the R-X plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777

33.6.4 Modifying the relay settings and branch elements from the R-X plot . . . . . . . . 779

33.7 The relay operational limits plot (P-Q diagram) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780

33.7.1 How to create a P-Q diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780

33.7.2 Understanding the P-Q diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780

33.7.3 Configuring the P-Q plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 781

33.7.4 Modifying the starting element settings from the R-X plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783

33.8 The time-distance plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783

33.9 Setup of the differential protection scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787

33.9.1 Differential relay model setup-basic data page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788

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33.9.2 Basic relay blocks used for differential protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788

33.10Differential Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788

33.10.1 Magnitude biased differential diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 789

33.10.2 Phase comparison differential diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790

33.11The Short-Circuit Sweep command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790

33.12Short-Circuit Sweep Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791

33.12.1 Configuration of Short-Circuit Sweep plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793

33.13Distance protection coordination assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 794

33.13.1 Distance protection coordination assistant - technical background . . . . . . . . . 794

33.13.2 Worked example of the distance protection coordination assistant . . . . . . . . . 798

33.13.3 Prerequisites for using the distance protection coordination tool . . . . . . . . . . 800

33.13.4 How to run the distance protection coordination calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . 800

33.13.5 Distance protection coordination options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801

33.13.6 How to output results from the protection coordination assistant . . . . . . . . . . 802

33.14Accessing results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804

33.14.1 Quick access to protection plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805

33.14.2 Tabular protection setting report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 806

33.14.3 Results in single line graphic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808

33.15Protection Audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809

33.15.1 Protection Audit Command Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809

33.15.2 Protection Audit Results Command Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811

33.15.3 Report Handling and interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814

33.16Short circuit trace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817

33.16.1 Short Circuit Trace Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819

33.17Protection Graphic Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821

33.17.1 Reach Colouring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821

33.17.2 Short-Circuit Sweep Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823

33.17.3 Diagram Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825

33.18Building a basic overcurrent relay model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825

33.19Appendix - other commonly used relay blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829

33.19.1 The frequency measurement block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830

33.19.2 The frequency block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830

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33.19.3 The under-/overvoltage block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830

34 Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis 831

34.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831

34.2 Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831

34.2.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831

34.2.2 Data Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832

34.3 Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis Calculation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 833

34.3.1 Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 833

34.3.2 Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis Advanced Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834

34.4 Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834

34.4.1 Viewing Results in the Single Line Graphic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834

34.4.2 Arc-Flash Reports Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835

34.4.3 Arc-Flash Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835

34.5 Example Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836

35 Cable Analysis 839

35.1 Cable Sizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840

35.2 Calculation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840

35.2.1 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840

35.2.2 Constraints Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841

35.2.3 Output Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 842

35.2.4 Advanced Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844

35.3 Cable Ampacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845

35.3.1 Cable Ampacity calculation options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 846

35.4 Reporting command (ComCablereport) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 846

35.5 Model Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 847

35.5.1 Line Type Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 847

35.5.2 Line Element Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 848

35.5.3 Single Core and multicore/pipe cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 849

35.5.4 Cable Layout object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 849

36 Power Quality and Harmonics Analysis 853

36.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 853

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36.2 Harmonic Load Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 854

36.2.1 Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 854

36.2.2 IEC 61000-3-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855

36.2.3 Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856

36.3 Frequency Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856

36.3.1 Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857

36.3.2 Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857

36.4 Filter Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 858

36.5 Modelling Harmonic Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859

36.5.1 Definition of Harmonic Injections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 860

36.5.2 Assignment of Harmonic Injections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864

36.5.3 Harmonics Indices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864

36.5.4 Frequency Dependent Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866

36.5.5 Waveform Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868

36.6 Flicker Analysis (IEC 61400-21) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870

36.6.1 Continuous Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870

36.6.2 Switching Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871

36.6.3 Flicker Contribution of Wind Turbine Generator Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872

36.6.4 Definition of Flicker Coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872

36.6.5 Assignment of Flicker Coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873

36.6.6 Flicker Results Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873

36.7 Short-Circuit Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874

36.7.1 Balanced Harmonic Load Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874

36.7.2 Unbalanced Harmonic Load Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874

36.7.3 Sk Result Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 875

36.7.4 Short-Circuit Power of the External Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 875

36.8 Connection Request Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 875

36.8.1 Connection Request Assessment: D-A-CH-CZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876

36.8.2 Connection Request Assessment: BDEW, 4th Supplement . . . . . . . . . . . . 878

36.8.3 Connection Request Assessment: VDE-AR-N 4105 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 879

36.8.4 Connection Request Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881

36.8.5 Connection Request Assessment Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886

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36.9 Definition of Result Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886

36.9.1 Definition of Variable Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 887

36.9.2 Selection of Result Variables within a Variable Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 888

37 Flickermeter 889

37.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 889

37.2 Flickermeter (IEC 61000-4-15) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 889

37.2.1 Calculation of Short-Term Flicker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 889

37.2.2 Calculation of Long-Term Flicker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890

37.3 Flickermeter Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890

37.3.1 Flickermeter Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890

37.3.2 Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890

37.3.3 Signal Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 891

37.3.4 Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 892

37.3.5 Input File Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893

38 Optimal Power Flow 897

38.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897

38.2 AC Optimisation (Interior Point Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897

38.2.1 AC Optimisation - Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897

38.2.2 AC Optimisation - Initialisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906

38.2.3 AC Optimisation - Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906

38.2.4 AC Optimisation - Iteration Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907

38.2.5 AC Optimisation - Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908

38.3 DC Optimisation (Linear Programming) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 909

38.3.1 DC Optimisation - Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910

38.3.2 DC Optimisation - Initialisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913

38.3.3 DC Optimisation - Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913

38.3.4 DC Optimisation - Iteration Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 914

38.4 Contingency Constrained DC Optimisation (LP Method) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915

38.4.1 Contingency Constrained DC Optimisation - Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . 916

38.4.2 Contingency Constrained DC Optimisation - Initialisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 918

38.4.3 Contingency Constrained DC Optimisation - Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . 918

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38.4.4 Contingency Constrained DC Optimisation - Iteration Control . . . . . . . . . . . 918

38.4.5 Contingency Constrained DC Optimisation - Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 918

38.5 Troubleshooting Optimal Power Flow Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 920

38.5.1 Verification of Load Flow Options and Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 920

38.5.2 Verifications of OPF Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 920

38.5.3 Verification of the OPF Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921

38.5.4 Step-by-Step Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921

39 Unit Commitment and Dispatch Optimisation 923

39.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923

39.2 Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923

39.2.1 Load flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923

39.2.2 Consider Contingencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 924

39.2.3 Time Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 924

39.3 Objective Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 924

39.4 Controls/Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925

39.4.1 Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925

39.4.2 Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 926

39.5 Results/Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 926

39.6 Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927

39.7 Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927

39.7.1 Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927

39.7.2 Additional Algorithm Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 928

39.8 Handling of results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 929

39.8.1 Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 929

39.8.2 Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 929

39.8.3 Colouring Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 929

39.8.4 Load Time Sweep Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930

39.8.5 Flexible Data Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930

39.9 Generating Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930

39.9.1 Controls and Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930

39.9.2 Operating Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 931

39.9.3 Redispatch Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 932

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39.9.4 Start-Up/Shut-down Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 932

39.9.5 Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 932

39.10Other Network Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933

39.10.1 Transformers, voltage regulators and shunts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933

39.10.2 Loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933

39.10.3 Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933

39.10.4 Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933

39.10.5 Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933

39.10.6 Regions: Grids, Zones and Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933

39.10.7 HVDC Converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 934

40 Transmission Network Tools 935

40.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935

40.2 PV Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 936

40.2.1 PV Curves Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 936

40.2.2 PV Curves Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938

40.2.3 Outputs and Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938

40.3 QV Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939

40.3.1 QV Curves Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940

40.3.2 QV Curves Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 942

40.4 Power Transfer Distribution Factors (PTDF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943

40.4.1 Calculation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943

40.5 Transfer Capacity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 944

40.5.1 Basic Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 945

40.5.2 Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 945

40.5.3 Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 946

40.5.4 Iteration Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 946

40.5.5 Advanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 946

41 Distribution Network Tools 949

41.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 949

41.2 Voltage Sag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 949

41.2.1 Calculation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 950

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41.2.2 How to Perform a Voltage Sag Table Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 950

41.2.3 Voltage Sag Table Assessment Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 951

41.3 Voltage Profile Optimisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 952

41.3.1 Optimisation Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 953

41.3.2 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 956

41.3.3 Output Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 956

41.3.4 Advanced Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 957

41.3.5 Results of Voltage Profile Optimisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 957

41.4 Tie Open Point Optimisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 958

41.4.1 Tie Open Point Optimisation Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 958

41.4.2 How to run a Tie Open Point Optimisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 959

41.5 Backbone Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 962

41.5.1 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 963

41.5.2 Scoring Settings Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 963

41.5.3 Tracing Backbones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 965

41.5.4 Example Backbone Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 965

41.6 Optimal Capacitor Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966

41.6.1 OCP Objective Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967

41.6.2 OCP Optimisation Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 968

41.6.3 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969

41.6.4 Available Capacitors Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 970

41.6.5 Load Characteristics Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 971

41.6.6 Advanced Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 971

41.6.7 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 972

41.7 Phase Balance Optimisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973

41.7.1 Objective functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973

41.7.2 Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 974

41.7.3 Considered elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975

41.7.4 Representation of solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975

41.7.5 Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975

41.8 Optimisation Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975

41.8.1 Genetic Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 976

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41.8.2 Simulated Annealing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977

41.9 Hosting Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977

41.9.1 Technical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 978

41.9.2 Hosting Capacity Analysis Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 979

41.9.3 Results of the Hosting Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 983

42 Outage Planning 985

42.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 985

42.2 Creating Planned Outages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 985

42.2.1 Creating Planned Outages from Graphic or Network Model Manager . . . . . . . 985

42.2.2 Creating Planned Outages in Data Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986

42.2.3 Recurrent Outages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986

42.2.4 Adding Additional Events to an Outage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986

42.3 Handling Planned Outages using the Outage Planning toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986

42.3.1 Show Planned Outages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986

42.3.2 Apply Planned Outages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 987

42.3.3 Reset All Planned Outages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 987

42.3.4 Start Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 987

42.3.5 Outage Schedule Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 987

43 Probabilistic Analysis 989

43.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989

43.2 Technical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 990

43.2.1 Distributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 990

43.2.2 Modelling Dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993

43.2.3 Probabilistic Analysis Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 994

43.2.4 Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 996

43.2.5 Distribution Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 998

43.2.6 Distribution Fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 999

43.3 Object Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000

43.3.1 Distributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000

43.3.2 Dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1002

43.3.3 Distribution Estimation Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1003

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43.3.4 Probabilistic Analysis Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1005

43.3.5 Continue Probabilistic Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006

43.3.6 Probabilistic Analysis Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006

43.3.7 Results File Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006

43.3.8 Representation of results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1007

44 Reliability Analysis 1011

44.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1011

44.2 Probabilistic Reliability Assessment

Technical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1013

44.2.1 Reliability Assessment Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1014

44.2.2 Stochastic Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1015

44.2.3 Calculated Results for Reliability Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1016

44.2.4 System State Enumeration in Reliability Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021

44.3 Setting up the Network Model for Reliability Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1022

44.3.1 How to Define Stochastic Failure and Repair models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1023

44.3.2 How to Create Feeders for Reliability Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028

44.3.3 Configuring Switches for the Reliability Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1029

44.3.4 Load Modelling for Reliability Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1031

44.3.5 Modelling Load Interruption Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1032

44.3.6 System Demand and Load States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1032

44.3.7 Fault Clearance Based on Protection Device Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1033

44.3.8 How to Consider Planned Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1033

44.3.9 Specifying Individual Component Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1034

44.3.10 Consider switching rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1034

44.4 Running The Reliability Assessment Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1034

44.4.1 How to run the Reliability Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1034

44.5 Results of the Reliability Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1042

44.5.1 Contribution to Reliability Indices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1042

44.5.2 Viewing Results in the Single Line Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1043

44.5.3 Viewing Results in the Data Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1045

44.5.4 Reliability Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1045

45 Optimal Power Restoration 1047

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45.1 Failure Effect Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1047

45.2 Animated Tracing of Individual Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1052

45.3 Optimal RCS Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1052

45.3.1 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1053

45.3.2 Output Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1053

45.3.3 Advanced Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1054

45.3.4 Example Optimal RCS Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1054

45.4 Optimal Manual Restoration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1055

45.4.1 OMR Calculation Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1056

45.4.2 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1056

45.4.3 Advanced Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1057

45.4.4 Definition of the objective function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1058

45.4.5 Example of an Optimal Manual Restoration Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059

46 Generation Adequacy Analysis 1061

46.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1061

46.2 Technical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1061

46.3 Database Objects and Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1064

46.3.1 Stochastic Model for Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1064

46.3.2 Power Curve Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1065

46.3.3 Meteorological station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1065

46.4 Assignment of Stochastic Model for Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1066

46.4.1 Definition of a Stochastic Multi-State Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1066

46.4.2 Stochastic Wind Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1066

46.4.3 Time Series Characteristic for Wind Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067

46.4.4 Demand definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068

46.5 Generation Adequacy Analysis toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069

46.5.1 Generation Adequacy Initialisation command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069

46.5.2 Run Generation Adequacy command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1070

46.6 Generation Adequacy results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072

46.6.1 Distribution (Cumulative Probability) Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072

46.6.2 Monte-Carlo Draws (Iterations) Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1074

46.6.3 Convergence Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1075

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 CONTENTS

46.6.4 Summary of variables calculated during the Generation Adequacy Analysis . . . 1077

47 Load Flow Sensitivities 1079

47.1 Load Flow Sensitivities Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1079

47.1.1 Load Flow Sensitivities Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1079

47.1.2 Load Flow Sensitivities Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1080

47.2 Load Flow Sensitivities Execution and Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1080

47.3 Technical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1081

48 Network Reduction 1083

48.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1083

48.2 Technical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1083

48.2.1 Network Reduction for Load Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1084

48.2.2 Network Reduction for Short-Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1084

48.2.3 Network Reduction using REI Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1084

48.3 How to Complete a Network Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1084

48.3.1 How to Backup the Project (optional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1085

48.3.2 How to run the Network Reduction tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1085

48.3.3 Expected Output of the Network Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1086

48.4 Network Reduction Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087

48.4.1 Basic Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088

48.4.2 Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1090

48.4.3 Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1091

48.4.4 Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1092

48.5 Network Reduction Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1093

48.6 Tips for using the Network Reduction Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1094

48.6.1 Network Reduction doesn’t Reduce Isolated Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1094

48.6.2 The Reference Machine is not Reduced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1095

49 Techno-Economical Calculation 1097

49.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1097

49.2 Requirements for Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1098

49.3 Calculation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1098

49.3.1 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1098

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49.3.2 Costs Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1099

49.3.3 Output Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100

49.3.4 Parallel Computing Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100

49.4 Example Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100

50 State Estimation 1105

50.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1105

50.2 Objective Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1106

50.3 Components of the PowerFactory State Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1106

50.3.1 Plausibility Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1108

50.3.2 Observability Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1108

50.3.3 State Estimation (Non-Linear Optimisation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109

50.4 State Estimation Data Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109

50.4.1 Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1110

50.4.2 Editing the Element Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1115

50.5 Running SE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1116

50.5.1 Basic Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1116

50.5.2 Advanced Setup Options for the Plausibility Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1118

50.5.3 Advanced Setup Options for the Observability Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1119

50.5.4 Advanced Setup Options for Bad Data Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1119

50.5.5 Advanced Setup Options for Iteration Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1119

50.6 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121

50.6.1 Output Window Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121

50.6.2 External Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121

50.6.3 Estimated States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123

50.6.4 Colour Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1124

51 Motor Starting 1127

51.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127

51.2 How to define a motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127

51.2.1 How to define a motor Type and starting methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127

51.2.2 How to define a motor driven machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1129

51.3 How to run a Motor Starting simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1129

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51.3.1 Basic Options Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1129

51.3.2 Output Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1131

51.3.3 Motor Starting simulation results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1133

51.3.4 Motor Starting Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1134

V Appendix 1137

A Hotkeys Reference 1139

A.1 Calculation Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139

A.2 Graphic Windows Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139

A.3 Data Manager Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1141

A.4 Dialog Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143

A.5 Output Window Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143

A.6 Editor Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1145

B Standard Models in PowerFactory 1149

B.1 AVR Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1149

B.2 Turbine-Governor Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1157

B.3 PSS Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1162

B.4 Excitation Limiter Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1164

B.5 Static Compensator Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1165

B.6 Frames for Dynamic Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1166

B.7 Typical Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1167

C ENTSO-E Dynamic Models in PowerFactory 1169

C.1 Excitation Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1169

C.2 Governor Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172

C.3 Power System Stabiliser Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1173

C.4 Voltage Compensator Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1174

C.5 Over-Excitation Limiter Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1174

C.6 Under-Excitation Limiter Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1175

C.7 Frames for ENTSO-E Dynamic Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1175

D The DIgSILENT Output Language 1177

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D.1 Format string, Variable names and text Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1178

D.2 Placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1178

D.3 Variables, Units and Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1179

D.4 Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181

D.5 Advanced Syntax Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181

D.6 Line Types and Page Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1182

D.7 Predefined Text Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1182

D.8 Object Iterations, Loops, Filters and Includes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1183

E Element Symbol Definition 1185

E.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1185

E.2 General Symbol Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1185

E.3 Geometrical Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1186

E.4 Including Graphic Files as Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1188

F Standard Functions DPL and DSL 1189

Bibliography 1191

Glossary 1193

Index 1197

xl DIgSILENT PowerFactory 2019, User Manual

 Part I

General Information
Chapter 1

About this Guide

This User Manual is intended to be a reference for users of the DIgSILENT PowerFactory software.
This chapter provides general information about the contents and the used conventions of this docu-
mentation.

1.1 Contents of the User Manual

The first section of the User Manual provides General Information, including an overview of PowerFac-
tory software, a description of the basic program settings, and a description of the PowerFactory data
model.

The next sections describe PowerFactory administration, handling, and power system analysis func-
tions. In the Power System Analysis Functions section, each chapter deals with a different calculation,
presenting the most relevant theoretical aspects, the PowerFactory approach, and the corresponding
interface.

The online version of this manual includes additional sections dedicated to the mathematical description
of models and their parameters, referred to as Technical References. To facilitate their portability,
visualisation, and printing, the papers are attached to the online help as PDF documents. They are
opened by clicking on the indicated links within the manual.

It is recommended that new users commence by reading Chapter 4 (PowerFactory Overview), and
completing the PowerFactory Tutorials.

1.2 Used Conventions

Conventions to describe user actions are as follows:

Buttons and Keys Dialog buttons and keyboard keys are referred to with bold and underline text
formatting. For example, press the OK button in the PowerFactory dialog, or press CTRL+B
on the keyboard.
Menus and Icons Menus and icons are usually referenced using Italics. For example, press the User
Settings icon , or select Tools → User Settings. . .

Other Items “Speech marks” are used to indicate data to be entered by the user, and also to refer to
an item defined by the author. For example, consider a parameter “x”.

DIgSILENT PowerFactory 2019, User Manual 3

CHAPTER 1. ABOUT THIS GUIDE

4 DIgSILENT PowerFactory 2019, User Manual

Chapter 2

Contact

For further information about the company DIgSILENT, our products and services please visit our web
site, or contact us at:

DIgSILENT GmbH

Heinrich-Hertz-Str. 9

72810 Gomaringen / Germany

www.digsilent.de

2.1 Direct Technical Support

DIgSILENT experts offer direct assistance to PowerFactory users with valid maintenance agreements
via telephone or online via support queries raised on the customer portal.

To register for the on-line portal, select Help → Online User Registration. . . or go to directly to the
registration page (link below). Log-in details will be provided by email shortly thereafter.

To log-in to the portal, enter the email (or Login) and Password provided. When raising a new support
query, please include the PowerFactory version and build number in your submission, which can
be found by selecting Help → About PowerFactory . . . from the main menu. Note that including
relevant *.pfd file(s) may assist with our investigation into your query. The customer portal is shown
in Figure 2.1.1.

Phone: +49-(0)7072-9168-50 (German)

+49-(0)7072-9168-51 (English)
Portal log-in and Registration: https://www.digsilent.de/index.php/support.html

DIgSILENT PowerFactory 2019, User Manual 5

CHAPTER 2. CONTACT

Figure 2.1.1: DIgSILENT customer portal

2.1.1 PowerFactory Support Package

Sometimes as part of a ticket investigation customers are asked to provide a “PowerFactory Support
Package”. This can be generated from within PowerFactory from the top menu by doing Help → Create
support package.... The support package can be saved on the user’s computer then attached to the
ticket. The contents of the “PowerFactory Support Package” are listed in the Advanced Installation and
Configuration Manual.

2.1.2 Licence Support Package

If a customer’s problem is thought to be licence related, the customer may be asked to provide a
“Licence Support Package”. This can be generated from the Licence Manager, where a Create Licence
Support Package button is provided. The support package can then be saved on the user’s computer
then attached to the ticket.

2.2 Knowledge Base

A “Knowledge Base” database of information, based on an FAQ format, is available for any users
(whether registered or not) to look for answers to their questions. The knowledge base contains
interesting questions and answers regarding specific applications of PowerFactory.

Knowledge Base: https://faq.digsilent.de/powerfactory.html

2.3 General Information

For general information about DIgSILENT or your PowerFactory licence, please contact us via:

6 DIgSILENT PowerFactory 2019, User Manual

 2.3. GENERAL INFORMATION

Phone: +49-(0)7072-9168-0
Fax: +49-(0)7072-9168-88

E-mail: [email protected]

DIgSILENT PowerFactory 2019, User Manual 7

CHAPTER 2. CONTACT

8 DIgSILENT PowerFactory 2019, User Manual

Chapter 3

Documentation and Help System

DIgSILENT PowerFactory is provided with a complete help package to support users at all levels of
expertise. Documents with the basic information of the program and its functionality are combined with
references to advanced simulation features, mathematical descriptions of the models and of course
application examples.

PowerFactory offers the following help resources:

• Getting Started: a document describing the first steps to follow after receiving the installation DVD
or downloading the software from the DIgSILENT download area. The Getting Started document
covers the basic installation options.
• Advanced Installation and Configuration Manual: in this document, advanced installation
options e.g. multi-user database, installation on an application server, and the Offline mode
installation, are covered. The Offline mode guide is available in Section 5.5: Offline Mode User
Guide.
• Tutorial: basic information for new users and hands-on tutorial. Access via Help menu of Power-
Factory, and for registered users in the DIgSILENT download area:
https://www.digsilent.de/index.php/downloads.html

• User Manual: this document. Access via Help menu of PowerFactory. Current and previous
manuals (PDF files) can also be found on the in the DIgSILENT download area.
• Technical References: description of the models implemented in PowerFactory for the different
power systems components. The technical reference documents are attached to the online help
(Technical References Document).

• Additional Packages: additional information and/or examples about specific PowerFactory func-
tions are available on the menu Help → Additional Packages. The additional packages are:
– Programming Interface (API)
– DGS Data Exchange Format
– C++ DPL Extensions
– OPC Interface
– DSL models C-Interface
– DSL functions C-Interface
– External C Interface for dynamic models
• Context Sensitive Help: pressing the key F1 while working with PowerFactory will lead directly
to the related topic inside the User Manual.

• PowerFactory Examples: the window PowerFactory Examples provides a list of application

examples of PowerFactory calculation functions. Every example comes with an explanatory

DIgSILENT PowerFactory 2019, User Manual 9

CHAPTER 3. DOCUMENTATION AND HELP SYSTEM

document that can be opened by clicking on the Show Documentation button ( ). Additionally,
videos demonstrating the software handling and its functionalities are available.
The PowerFactory Examples window will “pop up” automatically every time the software is open,
this could be deactivated by unchecking the Show at Startup checkbox. PowerFactory Examples
are also accessible on the main menu, by selecting File → Examples. . . .
• Release Notes: for all new versions and updates of the program Release Notes are provided,
which document the implemented changes. They are available from the DIgSILENT download
area.
• Knowledge base: see Chapter 2: Contact

• Technical Support: see Chapter 2: Contact

• Portal log-in and Registration: https://www.digsilent.de/index.php/support.html
• Website: www.digsilent.de

10 DIgSILENT PowerFactory 2019, User Manual

Chapter 4

PowerFactory Overview

The calculation program DIgSILENT PowerFactory, is a computer-aided engineering tool for the anal-
ysis of transmission, distribution, and industrial electrical power systems. It has been designed as an
advanced integrated and interactive software package dedicated to electrical power system and control
analysis in order to achieve the main objectives of planning and operation optimisation.

“DIgSILENT ” is an acronym for “DIgital SImuLation of Electrical NeTworks”. DIgSILENT Version 7 was
the world’s first power system analysis software with an integrated graphical single-line interface. That
interactive single-line diagram included drawing functions, editing capabilities and all relevant static and
dynamic calculation features.

PowerFactory was designed and developed by qualified engineers and programmers with many years
of experience in both electrical power system analysis and computer programming. The accuracy and
validity of results obtained with PowerFactory has been confirmed in a large number of implementations,
by organisations involved in the planning and operation of power systems throughout the world.

To address users’ power system analysis requirements, PowerFactory was designed as an integrated
engineering tool to provide a comprehensive suite of power system analysis functions within a single
executable program. Key features include:

1. PowerFactory core functions: definition, modification and organisation of cases; core numerical
routines; output and documentation functions.
2. Integrated interactive single line graphic and data case handling.
3. Power system element and base case database.
4. Integrated calculation functions (e.g. line and machine parameter calculation based on geometri-
cal or nameplate information).
5. Power system network configuration with interactive or on-line SCADA access.
6. Generic interface for computer-based mapping systems.

Use of a single database, with the required data for all equipment within a power system (e.g. line
data, generator data, protection data, harmonic data, controller data), means that PowerFactory can
easily execute all power simulation functions within a single program environment - functions such as
load flow analysis, short-circuit calculation, harmonic analysis, protection coordination, stability analysis,
and modal analysis.

Although PowerFactory includes highly-sophisticated power system analysis functions, the intuitive user
interface makes it possible for new users to very quickly perform common tasks such as load flow and
short-circuit calculations.

The functionality purchased by a user is configured in a matrix-like format, where the licensed calcu-
lation functions, together with the maximum number of buses, are listed as coordinates. The user can

DIgSILENT PowerFactory 2019, User Manual 11

CHAPTER 4. POWERFACTORY OVERVIEW

then, as required, configure the interface and functions according to their requirements.

Depending on user requirements, a specific PowerFactory licence may or may not include all of the
functions described in this manual. As requirements dictate, additional functionality can be added to a
licence. These functions can be used within the same program interface with the same network data.
Only additional data, as may be required by an added calculation function, need be added.

4.1 General Concept

The general PowerFactory program design concept is summarised as follows:

Functional Integration

DIgSILENT PowerFactory software is implemented as a single executable program, and is fully compat-
ible with Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10. The programming method employed allows for fast
selection of different calculation functions. There is no need to reload modules and update or transfer
data and results between different program applications. As an example, the Load Flow, Short-Circuit,
and Harmonic Load Flow analysis tools can be executed sequentially without resetting the program,
enabling additional software modules and engines, or reading and converting external data files.

Vertical Integration

DIgSILENT PowerFactory software uses a vertically integrated model concept that allows models to
be shared for all analysis functions. Studies relating to “Generation”, “Transmission”, “Distribution”,
and “Industrial” analysis can all be completed within PowerFactory. Separate software engines are not
required to analyse separate aspects of the power system, or to complete different types of analysis,
as DIgSILENT PowerFactory can accommodate everything within one integrated program and one
integrated database.

Database Integration

One Database Concept: DIgSILENT PowerFactory provides optimal organisation of data and defini-
tions required to perform various calculations, memorisation of settings or software operation options.
The PowerFactory database environment fully integrates all data required for defining study cases,
Operation Scenarios, single line graphics, textual and graphical Results, calculation options, and user-
defined models, etc. Everything required to model and simulate the power system is integrated into a
single database which can be configured for single and/or multiple users.

Project Management: all data that defines a power system model is stored in “Project” folders within
the database. Inside a “Project” folder, “Study Cases” are used to define different studies of the system
considering the complete network, parts of the network, or Variations on its current state. This “project
and study case” approach is used to define and manage power system studies with object-oriented
software. PowerFactory uses a structure that is easy to use, avoids data redundancy, and simplifies the
task of data management and validation for users and organisations. The application of study cases
and project Variations in PowerFactory facilitates efficient and reliable reproduction of study results.

Multi-User Operation: multiple users each holding their own projects or working with data shared from
other users are supported by a “Multi-user” database operation. In this case the definition of access
rights, user accounting and groups for data sharing are managed by the PowerFactory Administrator
user.

Offline Mode: in some instances, a network connection to a server database may not be available. To
address this, PowerFactory provides functionality to work in Offline Mode. The required project data is
cached to the user’s local machine, which can then later be synchronised to the server database. Offline
Mode functionality includes the ability to lock and unlock projects and to edit projects as read-only.

User Interface Customisation By default, “Base Package” and “Standard” user profiles are available
in PowerFactory. Profiles can be selected from the main menu under Tools → Profiles. The “Base

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 4.2. POWERFACTORY SIMULATION FUNCTIONS

Package” profile limits the icons displayed on the main toolbar to those typically used by new users,
such as load flow and short-circuit commands. The database Administrator can create and customise
user profiles, in particular:

• Customise the element dialog pages that are displayed.

• Customise element dialog parameters. Parameters can be Hidden (not shown) or Disabled
(shown but not editable).
• Fully configure Main Toolbar and Drawing Toolbar menus, including definition of custom DPL
Commands and Templates with user-defined icons.
• Customise Main Menu, Data Manager, and context-sensitive menu commands.
Chapter 6: User Accounts, User Groups, and Profiles (Section 6.7 Creating Profiles) details the cus-
tomisation procedure.

Database, Objects, and Classes

PowerFactory uses a hierarchical, object-oriented database. All the data, which represents power sys-
tem Elements, single line graphics, study cases, system Operation Scenarios, calculation commands,
program Settings etc., are stored as objects inside a hierarchical set of folders. The folders are arranged
in order to facilitate the definition of the studies and optimise the use of the tools provided by the
program.

The objects are grouped according to the kind of element that they represent. These groups are
known as “Classes” within the PowerFactory environment. For example, an object that represents a
synchronous generator in a power system is of a Class called ElmSym, and an object storing the settings
for a load flow calculation is of a Class called ComLdf. Object Classes are analogous to computer file
extensions: each Class has a specific set of parameters that defines the objects it represents. As
explained in Section 4.7 (User Interface), the edit dialogs are the interfaces between the user and an
object; the parameters defining the object are accessed through this dialog. This means that there is
an edit dialog for each class of object.

The main classes that the PowerFactory user is likely to come across fall into these categories:

• *.Elm* Network elements

• *.Typ* Type objects, assigned to network element in order to configure parameters often supplied
by manufacturers.
• *.Int* Structural objects, for example *.IntFolder

• *.Set* These objects generally contain settings

• *.Com* Command objects, for example *.ComLdf for the load flow command

Note: Everything in PowerFactory is an object; an object is defined by its Class and the objects are
stored according to a hierarchical arrangement in the database tree.

4.2 PowerFactory Simulation Functions

PowerFactory incorporates a comprehensive list of simulation functions, described in detail in part

Power System Analysis Functions of the manual, including the following:

• Load Flow Analysis, allowing meshed and mixed 1-,2-, and 3-phase AC and/or DC networks
(Chapter 25)
• Short-Circuit Analysis, for meshed and mixed 1-,2-, and 3-phase AC networks (Chapter 26)

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• Load Flow Sensitivities for voltage, branch flow and transformers sensitivities.(Chapter 47)
• Low Voltage Network Analysis (Section 25.4.2: Advanced Load Options)

• Contingency Analysis (Chapter 27)

• Quasi-Dynamic simulation, which allows to perform several load flow calculations in a period of
time (Chapter 28)
• Network Reduction (Chapter 48)

• Protection Analysis (Chapter 33)

• Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis (Chapter 34)
• Cable Analysis, including cable sizing and cable ampacity calculation (Chapter 35)
• Power Quality and Harmonics Analysis (Chapter 36)

• Connection Request Assessment (Section 36.8)

• Transmission Network Tools (Chapter 40), including:
– PV curves calculation
– QV curves calculation
– Power Transfer Distribution Factors
– Transfer Capacity Analysis

• Distribution Network Tools (Chapter 41), including:

– Tie Open Point Optimisation
– Voltage Profile Optimisation
– Phase Balance Optimisation
– Optimal Capacitor Placement
– Hosting Capacity Analysis
• Outage Planning: tool for management of planned outages (Chapter 42)

• Probabilistic Analysis (Chapter 43)

• Reliability Analysis Functions:
– Reliability Assessment (Chapter 44)
– Optimal Power Restoration (Chapter 45)
– Optimal Remote Control Switch (RCS) Placement (Section 45.3)
– Optimal Manual Restoration (Section 45.4)
– Generation Adequacy Analysis (Chapter 46)
• Optimal Power Flow (Chapter 38)
• Unit Commitment (Chapter 39)
• Techno-Economical Calculation (Chapter 49)

• State Estimation (Chapter 50)

• RMS Simulation: time-domain simulation for electromechanical transients (Chapter 29)
• EMT Simulation: time-domain simulation of electromagnetic transients (Chapter 29)

• Motor Starting Functions (Chapter 51)

• Modal / Eigenvalue Analysis (Chapter 32)
• Model Parameter Identification (Chapter 31)

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4.3 General Design of PowerFactory

PowerFactory is primarily intended to be used and operated in a graphical environment. That is, data is
entered by drawing the network elements, and then editing and assigning data to these objects. Data is
accessed from the graphics page by double-clicking on an object. An input dialog is displayed and the
user may then edit the data for that object.

Figure 4.3.1 shows the PowerFactory Graphical User Interface (GUI) when a project is active. The GUI
is discussed in further detail in Section 4.7

Figure 4.3.1: PowerFactory Main Window

All data entered for objects is hierarchically structured in folders for ease of navigation. To view the data
and its organisation, a “Data Manager” is used. Figure 4.3.2 shows the Data Manager window. The
Data Manager is similar in appearance and functionality to a Windows Explorer window.

Within the Data Manager, information is grouped based on two main criterion:

1. Data that pertains directly to the system under study, that is, electrical data.

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CHAPTER 4. POWERFACTORY OVERVIEW

2. Study management data, for example, which graphics should be displayed, what options have
been chosen for a Load Flow Calculation command, which Areas of the network should be
considered for calculation, etc.

Figure 4.3.2: PowerFactory Data Manager

Note that most user-actions can be performed in both the single line graphic and the Data Manager.
For example, a new terminal can be added directly to the single line graphic, or alternatively created in
the Data Manager. In the latter case, the terminal could be shown in the single line graphic by using
the Diagram Layout Tool, by “dragging and dropping” from the Data Manager, or by creating a new
Graphical Net Object in the Data Manager (advanced).

4.4 Type and Element Data

Since power systems are constructed using standardised materials and components, it is convenient to
divide electrical data into two sets, namely “Type” data and “Element” data sets.

• Characteristic electrical parameters, such as the reactance per km of a line, or the rated voltage of
a transformer are referred to as Type data. Type objects are generally stored in the Global Library
or Project Library, and are shown in red. For instance, a Line Type object, TypLne ( ).
• Data relating to a particular instance of equipment, such as the length of a line, the derating
factor of a cable, the name of a load, the connecting node of a generator, or the tap position of a
transformer are referred to as Element data. Element objects are generally stored in the Network
Data folder, and are shown in green. For instance, a Line Element object, ElmLne ( ).

Consider the following example:

• A cable has a Type reactance of “X” Ohms/km, say 0.1 Ohms/km.
• A cable section of length “L” is used for a particular installation, say 600 m, or 0.6 km.

• This section (Element) therefore has an reactance of X * L Ohms, or 0.06 Ohms.

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Note that Element parameters can be modified using Operation Scenarios (which store sets of network
operational data), and Parameter Characteristics (which can be used to modify parameters based on
the study case Time, or other user-defined trigger).

4.5 Data Arrangement

The PowerFactory database supports multiple users (as mentioned in 4.1) and each user can manage
multiple projects. “User Account” folders with access privileges only for their owners (and other users
with shared rights) must then be used. User accounts are of course in a higher level than projects.

Figure 4.5.1 shows a snapshot from a database as seen by the user in a Data Manager window, where
there is a user account for “User”, and one project titled “Project”. The main folders used to arrange
data in PowerFactory are summarised below:

Figure 4.5.1: Structure of a PowerFactory project in the Data Manager

4.5.1 Global Library

The Global Library (called DIgSILENT Library ) is supplied with PowerFactory and should not be edited
by the customer. When a database is migrated to a new version, the Global Library will be refreshed
with all the new and updated information and if a user were to have made changes and additions, all
that information would be lost. If the user wants to include user-specific models etc, a User-defined
library can be created (see section 4.5.2)

The Global Library contains a wide range of pre-defined models, including:

• Type data for standard components such as conductors, motors, generators, and transformers.
• Standard control system frames, models, and macros (i.e. transfer functions and logic blocks,
etc).
• Standard CT, VT, fuse, and relay models.

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• Pre-defined model templates, including:

– Battery System with frequency control (10 kV, 30 MVA).
– Double Fed Induction Wind Turbine Generator (0.69 kV, 2 MW).
– Fully Rated Converter Wind Turbine Generator (0.4 kV, 2 MW).
– Variable Rotor Resistance Wind Turbine Generator (0.69 kV, 0.66 MW).
– Photovoltaic System (0.4 kV, 0.5 MVA)
• Standard DPL scripts, including scripts to:
– Minimise the Net Present Value of project (Variation) costs by varying the project service
date.
– Conduct time-sweep load flow calculations.

Documentation about the various elements and types in the Global Library can be found directly in the
description page of the elements, in the Appendix B: Standard Models in PowerFactory and in Technical
References Document (Templates).

4.5.1.1 Versioning in the Global Library

All the main objects (types, models etc.) in the Global Library are managed using versions, for example
a Type object might be at v002.1, where the main version number (002 in this example) is incremented
when a material change to the object is made, and the minor version number (.1 in this example) is
incremented when a small change that will not affect calculation results is made.

A version page shows the version number and a Change Log to show the modification history.

The distinction between the two types of change is important because when the global library is updated
due to the installation of a new version of PowerFactory by the user, all minor version changes will be
implemented automatically, whereas main version updates will not be done automatically. Instead,
users can decide whether to use the updated models, or continue using the older versions, which will
be automatically retained in subfolders.

Reporting on versions used and new versions available

A user who has updated to a new version of PowerFactory may wish to know what new versions for
models, types etc. are available.

The following actions can be taken to review the use of standard models etc. from the Global Library in
a particular project:

• Right-click on the project and Show external types.

• Types etc. from the Global Library (and other external libraries) are listed in the output window.
• The Global Library objects can be opened up from the list in the output window and the user can
then see whether later versions are available, and what has been changed in the later versions.
• In addition, for each item listed the number of objects using it is given. This acts as a hyperlink
which can be used to bring up a list of objects in the project referencing this item.

4.5.2 User Defined Global Library

Sometimes it is useful to share a library with another PowerFactory user in a Global Library. This
requires the creation of a library folder, which can be done by the Administrator as shown in Figure 4.5.2.
To do this, the Administrator must proceed as follows:

• Right-click on the “Database”

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• Click on New → Folder

• Chose a library name and select “Library” as Folder Type

• Click OK

The new Library is now created at the same level of the hierarchy as the Global Library. Every user of
this database has full read access, however the Types within this Library must be created and edited by
the Administrator.

Figure 4.5.2: Creation of a user-defined Global Library

4.5.3 Project Library

The Project Library contains the equipment types, network operational information, scripts, templates,
and user-defined models (generally) only used within a particular project. A particular project may have
references to the project library and / or global library. The Project Library folder and sub-folders are
discussed in detail in Chapter 14 (Project Library).

4.5.4 Diagrams

Single line graphics are defined in PowerFactory by means of graphic folders of class IntGrfNet ( ).
Each diagram corresponds to a IntGrfNet folder. They are stored in the Diagrams folder ( ) of the
Network Model. Single line diagrams are composed of graphical objects, which represent components
of the networks under study. Graphical components reference network components and symbol objects
(IntSym).

The relation between graphical objects and network components allows the definition and modification
of the studied networks directly from the single line graphics. Network components can be represented
by more than one graphical object (many IntGrf objects can refer to the same network component).
Therefore, one component can appear in several diagrams.

These diagrams are managed by the active study case, and specifically by an object called the Graphics

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Board. If a reference to a network diagram is stored in a study case’s Graphics Board, when the study
case is activated, the diagram is automatically opened. Diagrams can be easily added and deleted from
the Graphics Boards.

Each diagram is related to a specific Grid (ElmNet). When a grid is added to an active study case, the
user is asked to select (among the diagrams pointing to that grid) the diagrams to display. References
to the selected diagrams are then automatically created in the corresponding Graphics Board.

Chapter 9 (Network Graphics), explains how to define and work with single line graphics.

4.5.5 Network Data

The Network Data folder holds network data (Element data) in “Grid” folders, network modification
information in “Variation” folders, and object Grouping information.

Grids

In PowerFactory, electrical network information is stored in “Grid” folders (ElmNet, ). A power system
may have as many grids as defined by the user. These grids may or may not be interconnected. As long
as they are active, they are considered by the calculations. Data may be sorted according to logical,
organisational and/or geographical areas (discussed further in Section 4.6: Project Structure).

Note: A Grid (and in general any object comprising the data model) is active when it is referred to by
the current study case. Only objects referred in the current (active) study case are considered for
calculation. In the Data Manager, the icon of an active Grid is shown in red, to distinguish it from
inactive Grids.

For details of how to define grids refer to Chapter 8.Basic Project Definition, Section 8.2 (Creating New
Grids).

Variations

During the planning and assessment of a power system, it is often necessary to analyse different vari-
ations and expansion alternatives of the base network. In PowerFactory these variations are modelled
by means of “Variations”. These are objects that store and implement required changes to a network,
and can be easily activated and deactivated. The use of Variations allows the user to conduct studies
under different network configurations in an organised and simple way.

Variation objects (IntScheme, ) are stored inside the Variations folder ( ) which resides in the
Network Model folder. Variations are composed of “Expansion Stages” (IntStage), which store the
changes made to the original network(s). The application of these changes depends on the current
study time and the activation time of the Expansion Stages.

The study time is a parameter of the active study case, and is used to situate the current study within a
time frame. The activation time is a parameter given to the Expansion Stages, to determine whether or
not, according to the study time, the changes contained within the Expansion Stages are applied to the
network. If the activation time precedes the study time, the changes are applied to the original network.
The changes of a subsequent expansion stage add to the changes of its predecessors.

In order that changes to the network configuration are applied and can be viewed, a Variation must be
activated. These changes are contained in the expansion stage(s) of this active Variation. Once the
Variation is deactivated, the network returns to its original state. Changes contained in an Expansion
Stage can be classified as:

• Modifications to network components.

• Components added to the network.

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 4.6. PROJECT STRUCTURE

• Components deleted from the network.

Note: If there is no active Operation Scenario, modifications to operational data will be stored in the
active Variation.

Grouping Objects

In addition to Grid folders, the Network Data folder contains a set of objects that allow further grouping
of network components. By default, when a new project is created, new empty folders to store these
grouping objects is created inside the Network Model folder.

For details of how to define grouping objects, refer to Chapter 15: Grouping Objects.

4.5.6 Operation Scenarios

Operation Scenarios may be used to store operational settings, a subset of Element data. Operational
data includes data that relates to the operational point of a device but not to the device itself e.g. the tap
position of a transformer or the active power dispatch of a generator. Operation Scenarios are stored in
the Operation Scenarios folder.

4.5.7 Study Cases

The Study Cases folder holds study management information. Study cases are used to store information
such as command settings, active Variations and Operations Scenarios, graphics to be displayed, and
study results. See Chapter 13 (Study Cases) for details.

4.5.8 Settings

Project settings such as user-defined diagram styles for example, which differ from global settings, are
stored inside the Settings folder. See section 8.1.2 (Project Settings)

4.6 Project Structure

The structure of project data depends on the complexity of the network, use of the model, and user
preferences. The user has the flexibility to define network components directly within the Grid, or to
organise and group components in a way that simplifies management of project data.

Consider the example network data arrangement shown in Figure 4.6.1 In this case, two busbar systems
(ElmSubstat in PowerFactory ) have been defined, one at 132 kV, and one at 66 kV. The two busbar
systems are grouped within a Site, which includes the 132 kV / 66 kV transformers (not shown in
Figure 4.6.1). A Branch composed of two line sections and a node connects “132 kV Busbar” to
“HV terminal”. Grouping of components in this way simplifies the arrangement of data within the
Data Manager, facilitates the drawing overview diagrams, and facilitates storing of Substation switching
configurations.

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CHAPTER 4. POWERFACTORY OVERVIEW

Figure 4.6.1: Example Project Structure

The following subsections provide further information regarding the PowerFactory representation of key
network topological components.

4.6.1 Nodes

In PowerFactory, nodes connecting lines, generators, loads, etc. to the network are generally called
“Terminals” (ElmTerm). Depending on their usage within the power system, Terminals can be used to
represent Busbars, Junctions, or Internal Nodes (their usage is defined by a drop down menu found
in the Basic Data page of the terminal dialog). According to the selected usage, different calculation
functions are enabled; for example the short-circuit calculation can be performed only for busbars, or
for busbars and internal nodes, and so on.

4.6.2 Edge elements

The term “Edge Element” refers to an element connected to a node or to more than one node. Includes
single-port elements such as loads, and multi-port elements such as transformers.

4.6.3 Branches

Elements with multiple connections are referred to “branches” (as distinct from a Branch Element
(ElmBranch), which is a grouping of elements, discussed in Section 4.6.9). Branches include two-
connection elements such as transmission lines and transformers, and three-connection elements such
as three-winding transformers, AC/DC converters with two DC terminals, etc.

For information about how to define transmission lines (and cables) and sections refer to Chapter 11:
Building Networks. Technical information about transmission line and cable models is provided in
Technical References Document (Line (ElmLne)).

4.6.4 Cubicles

When any edge element is directly connected to a Terminal, PowerFactory uses a “Cubicle” (StaCubic)
to define the connection. Cubicles can be visualised as the panels on a switchgear board, or bays
in a high voltage yard, to which the branch elements are connected. A Cubicle is generally created
automatically when an element is connected to a node (note that Cubicles are not shown on the single
line graphic).

4.6.5 Switches

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 4.7. USER INTERFACE

To model complex busbar-substation configurations, switches (ElmCoup) can be used. Their usage
can be set to Circuit-Breaker, Disconnector, Switch Disconnector, or Load Switch. The connection of
an ElmCoup to a Terminal is carried out by means of an automatically generated Cubicle without any
additional switch (StaSwitch) object.

4.6.6 Substations

Detailed busbar configurations are represented in PowerFactory as Substations (ElmSubstat). Sep-

arate single line diagrams of individual substations can be created. Substation objects allow the use
of running arrangements to store/set station circuit breaker statuses (see Chapter 14: Project Library,
Section 14.3: Operational Library).

For information about how to define substations refer to Chapter 11: Building Networks.

4.6.7 Secondary Substations

Secondary Substations (ElmTrfstat) are smaller, simpler substations, typically used for single-transformer
connections.

4.6.8 Sites

Network components including Substations and Branches can be grouped together within a “Site”
(ElmSite). This may include Elements such as substations / busbars at different voltage levels. For
information about how to define sites refer to Chapter 11: Building Networks.

4.6.9 Branch Elements

Similar to Substations, Terminal Elements and Line Elements can be stored within an object called a
Branch Element (ElmBranch). Branches are “composite” two-port elements that may be connected to
a Terminal at each end. They may contain multiple Terminals, Line sections (possible including various
line types), and Loads etc, but be represented as a single Branch on the single line graphic. As for
Substations, separate diagrams for the detailed branch can be created with the graphical editor.

For information about how to define branches refer to Chapter 11: Building Networks, sections 11.2 and
11.5.

4.7 User Interface

An overview of the PowerFactory user interface is provided in this section, including general discussion
of the functionality available to enter and manipulate data and graphics. Aspects of the user interface
are discussed in further detail in the following chapters, in particular:

• Chapter 6 (User Accounts, User Groups, and Profiles).

• Chapter 9(Network Graphics (Single Line Diagrams)).

• Chapter 10 (Data Manager).

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4.7.1 Overview

The main PowerFactory window is shown in Figure 4.7.1

Figure 4.7.1: PowerFactory user interface

Key features of the main window are as follows:

1. The main window includes a description of the PowerFactory version, and standard icons to
Minimise, Maximise/Restore, Resize, and Close the window.
2. The main menu bar includes drop-down menu selections. The main menu is discussed further in
Section 4.7.2 (Menu Bar).
3. The Main Toolbar includes commands and other icons. The Main Toolbar is discussed in further
detail in Section 4.7.3 (Main Toolbar).
4. The Graphical Editor displays single line diagrams, block diagrams and/or simulation plots of the
active project. Studied networks and simulation models can be directly modified from the graphical
editor by placing and connecting elements.

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 4.7. USER INTERFACE

5. When an object is right clicked (in the graphical editor or in the Data Manager) a context sensitive
menu with several possible actions appears.
6. When an object is double clicked its edit dialog will be displayed. The edit dialog is the interface
between an object and the user. The parameters defining the object are accessed through this edit
dialog. Normally an edit dialog is composed of several “pages”. Each page groups parameters
that are relevant to a certain function. In Figure 4.7.1 the Load Flow page of a generator is shown,
where only generator parameters relevant to load flow calculations are shown.
7. The Data Manager is the direct interface with the database. It is similar in appearance and
functionality to a Windows Explorer window. The left pane displays a symbolic tree representation
of the complete database. The right pane is a data browser that shows the content of the currently
selected folder. The Data Manager can be accessed by pressing the Data Manager icon ( )
on the left of the main toolbar. It is always ’floating’, and more than one can be active at a
time. Depending on how the user navigates to the Database Manager, it may only show the
database tree for selecting a database folder, or it may show the full database tree. The primary
functionality of the Data Manager is to provide access to power system components/objects. The
Data Manager can be used to edit a group of selected objects within the Data Manager in tabular
format. Alternatively, objects may be individually edited by double clicking on an object (or right-
click → Edit).

8. The output window is shown at the bottom of the PowerFactory window. The output window cannot
be closed, but can be minimised. The output window is discussed in further detail in Section 4.7.4
(The Output Window).
9. The Project Overview window is displayed by default on the left side of the main application window
between the main toolbar and the output window. It displays an overview of the project allowing
the user to assess the state of the project at a glance and facilitating easy interaction with the
project data.

4.7.2 Menu Bar

The menu bar contains the main PowerFactory menus. Each menu entry has a drop down list of menu
options and each menu option performs a specific action. To open a drop down list, either click on the
menu entry with the left mouse button, or press the Alt key together with the underlined letter in the
menu. Menu options that are shown in grey are not available, and only become available as the user
activates projects or calculation modes, as required.

Figure 4.7.2: The help menu on the Menu bar

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CHAPTER 4. POWERFACTORY OVERVIEW

For example as show in Figure 4.7.2:

• To access PowerFactory tutorials: Press Alt-H to open the help menu. Use the keyboard to select
Start Tutorial. Press Execute to open the Tutorial.

• To access the User Manual: Left click the Help menu. Left-click the option User Manual to open
the electronic User Manual.

4.7.3 Main Toolbar

The main PowerFactory toolbar provides the user with quick access to the main commands available
in the program (see Figure 4.7.1). Buttons that appear in grey are only active when appropriate. All
command icons are equipped with balloon help text which are displayed when the cursor is held still
over the icon for a moment, and no key is pressed.

Note that the visibility of buttons to an individual user may depend on the User Profile. See section 6.7
for more details about this.

To use a command icon, click on it with the left mouse button. Those icons that perform a task will
automatically return to a non-depressed state when that task is finished. Some command icons will
remain depressed, such as the button to Maximise Output Window. When pressed again, the button
will return to the original (non-depressed) state.

This section provides a brief explanation of the purpose of the icons found on the upper part of the
toolbar. Icons from the lower part of the toolbar are discussed in Chapter 9 (Network Graphics (Single
Line Diagrams)). Detailed explanations for each of the functions that the icons command are provided
in the other sections of the manual.

Open Data Manager

Opens a new instance of the Data Manager. When the option “Use multiple Data Manager” is
enabled in the user settings menu (User Settings → Data/Network Model Manager ) the user
will be able to open as many instances of the Data Manager as required. If “Use multiple
Data Manager” is disabled, the first instance of the Data Manager will be re-opened. For more
information on the Data Manager refer to Chapter 10.

Open Network Model Manager

Opens the Network Model Manager, which is a browser for all calculation relevant objects. It
provides a list of all elements (coloured in green) and types (coloured in red) that are in an active
Grid: e.g. transformer types, line elements, composite models, etc. For more information, see
Chapter 12: Network Model Manager.

Date/Time of Calculation Case

Displays the date and time for the case calculation. This option is used when parameter charac-
teristics of specific elements (e.g. active and reactive power of loads) are set to change according
to the study time, or a Variation status is set to change with the study time.

Edit Trigger

Displays a list of all Triggers that are in the active study case. These Triggers can be edited in
order to change the values for which one or more characteristics are defined. These values will
be modified with reference to the new Trigger value. All Triggers for all relevant characteristics
are automatically listed. If required, new Triggers will be created in the study case. For more
information, see Chapter 18: Parameter Characteristics, Load States, and Tariffs. Section 18.2.

Network Data Assessment

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Activates the Network Data Assessment command dialog to generate selected reports on net-
work data or to perform model data verification. For more information see Section 26.6: Capaci-
tive Earth-Fault Current or Section 25.6: Troubleshooting Load Flow Calculation Problems.

Calculate Load Flow

Activates the Load Flow Calculation command dialog. For more information about the specific
settings, refer to Chapter 25: Load Flow Analysis.

Calculate Short-Circuit

Activates the short-circuit calculation command dialog. For more information, refer to Chapter 26:
Short-Circuit Analysis.

Edit Short-Circuits

Edits Short-Circuit events. Events are used when a calculation requires more than one action or
considers more than one object for the calculation. Multiple fault analysis is an example of this. If,
for instance, the user multi-selects two busbars (using the cursor) and then clicks the right mouse
button Calculate → Multiple Faults a Short-circuit event list will be created with these two busbars
in it.

Execute Scripts

Displays a list of scripts that are available. See Section 4.8.1 for a general description of DPL
scripts, and Chapter 23: Scripting for detailed information.

Output Calculation Analysis

Presents calculation results in various formats. The output is printed to the output window
and can be viewed, or copied for use in external reports. Several different reports, depending
on the calculation, can be created. For more information about the output of results refer to
Chapter 19:Reporting and Visualising Results, Section 19.4.2.

Insert Plot

Opens the Insert Plot dialog, where different types of plot can be selected. For more information
refer to Chapter 19:Reporting and Visualising Results, Section 19.7.

Documentation of Device Data

Presents a listing of device data (a device is the model of any physical object that has been
entered into the project for study). This output may be used in reports, and for checking data that
has been entered. Depending on the element chosen for the report, the user has two options;
generate a short listing, or a detailed report. For more information refer to Chapter 19: Reporting
and Visualising Results, Section 19.4.1.

Comparing of Results On/Off

Turns on/off comparing of calculation results. Used to compare results where certain settings
or designs options of a power system have been changed from one calculation to the next. For
more information refer to Chapter 19: Reporting and Visualising Results, Section 19.5.

Edit Comparing of Results

Enables the user to select the cases/ calculation results that are to be compared to one another,
or to set the colouring mode for the difference reporting. For more information refer to Chap-
ter 19:Reporting and Visualising Results, Section 19.5.

Update Database

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Utilises the current calculations results (i.e. the calculation ’output’ data) to change input param-
eters (i.e. data the user has entered). An example is the transformer tap positions, where these
have been calculated by the Load Flow command option “Automatic Tap Adjust of Tap Changers.”
For more information refer to Chapter 25: Load Flow Analysis, Section 25.5.7.

Save Operation Scenario

Saves the current operational data to an Operation Scenario (e.g. load values, switch statuses,
etc.). See Chapter 16: Operation Scenarios.

Break

Stops a transient simulation or DPL script that is running.

Reset Calculation

Resets any calculation performed previously. This icon is only enabled after a calculation has
been carried out.

Note: If Retention of results after network change is set to Show last results (User Settings, Miscella-
neous page), results will appear in grey on the single line diagram and on the Flexible Data tab
until the calculation is reset, or a new calculation performed.

User Settings

User options for many global features of PowerFactory may be set from the dialog accessed by
this icon. For more information refer to Chapter 7: User Settings.

Maximise Graphic Window

Maximises the graphic window. Pressing this icon again will return the graphic window to its
original state.

Maximise Output Window

Maximises the output window. Pressing this icon again will return the output window to its original
state.

Change Toolbox

In order to minimise the number of icons displayed on the taskbar, some icons are grouped based
on the type of analysis, and are only displayed when the relevant category is selected from the
Change Toolbox icon. In Figure 4.7.3, the user has selected Simulation RMS/EMT, and therefore
only icons relevant for RMS and EMT studies are displayed to the right of the Change Toolbox
icon. If, for example, Reliability Analysis were selected then icons to the right of the Change
Toolbox icon would change to those suitable for a reliability analysis.

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 4.7. USER INTERFACE

Figure 4.7.3: Change Toolbox selection

4.7.4 The Output Window

In addition to results presented in the single line graphics and / or Data Manager, the output window
displays other textual output, such as error messages, warnings, command messages, device docu-
mentation, results of calculations, and generated reports, etc. This section describes output window
use and functionality.

4.7.4.1 Sizing and Positioning the Output Window

The default location of the output window is “docked” (fixed) at the bottom of the main window, as shown
in Figure 4.7.1 It can be minimised, but not closed. When right-clicking the mouse button with the cursor
in the output windows area, the context sensitive menu of the output window appears. The output
window can then be undocked by deselecting the Dock Output Window. The undocked output window
is still confined to the main window, but now as a free floating window. This can occur unintentionally
when the user left clicks the tool bar for the output window and drags the mouse (keeping the mouse
button down) to somewhere outside of the output window boundaries. To rectify this simply left-click in
the title bar of the undocked window and drag it down to the bottom of the screen where it will dock once
more (if you have right-clicked and unticked “Docking View” then right click and select “Docking View”
once more).

The upper edge of the output window shows a splitter bar which is used to change the size of the output
window. The “drag” cursor appears automatically when the cursor is placed on the splitter bar. The left
mouse button can be pressed when the “drag” cursor is visible. This will turn the splitter bar to grey and
the output window can now be resized by holding down the mouse button and moving the mouse up or
down.

The output window may be moved and resized by:

• Dragging the splitter bar (grey bar at the upper edge of the output window) when the output window
is in “docking mode”.
• Double-clicking the frame of the output window to dock/undock it from the main window.

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• Pressing the Maximise Graphic Window icon ( ) on the main toolbar to enlarge the graphics
board by hiding the output window.

• Pressing the Maximise Output Window icon ( ) icons on the main toolbar to enlarge the output
window.

4.7.4.2 Output Window Options

The contents of the output window may be stored, edited, printed, etc., using the icons shown on the
right-hand pane of the output window. Some commands are also available from the context sensitive
menu by right-clicking the mouse in the output window pane.

Opens the User Settings on the Output Window page.

Saves the selected text, or the complete contents of the output window if no selection was made, to
a text, html or csv file.
Copies the selected text to the Windows Clipboard. Text may then be pasted in other programs.

The contents of the output window are displayed and immediately saved in a file.

Redirects the output window to be printed directly.

Searches the text in the output window for the occurrences of a given text.

Clears the output window by deleting all messages. Note that when the user scrolls back and clicks
on previous messages in the output window, the output window will no longer automatically scroll
with new output messages. The Clear All icon will “reset” scrolling of the output window. Ctrl\End
can also be used to “reset” scrolling.

4.7.4.3 Using the Output Window

The output window facilitates preparation of data for calculations, and identification of network data
errors. Objects which appear blue in the output window generally have a hyperlink so that they can be
double-clicked with the left mouse button to open an edit dialog for the object. Alternatively, the object
can be right-clicked and then Edit, Edit and Browse Object, or Mark in Graphic selected. This simplifies
the task of locating objects in the single line graphic.

Additionally, options to jump between message types are available when selecting the option Go to →
Next/previous message

4.7.4.4 Output Window Filters

In the output window, shown in figure 4.7.4, the messages are not only coloured, but icons are also
used to indicate the category (error, warning, info, events,...); these categories can be filtered using the
predefined filtering tabs. There is also a text filter, to find specific text strings in the output messages.

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 4.7. USER INTERFACE

Figure 4.7.4: Output window

The messages in the output window are classified as following:

Error message: red.

Warning message: dark yellow.

Information messages: black.

Events messages: blue.

Output text: black.

The button Clear all filters can be used to remove all the selected filters.

4.7.4.5 Output Window Graphical Results

Reports of calculation results may contain bar graphical information. The “voltage profiles” report after a
load flow calculation, for instance, produces bar graphs of the per-unit voltages of busbars. These bars
will be coloured blue, green or red if the option Show Verification Report in the Load Flow Calculation
command has been enabled. They will be cross-hatched if the bars are too large to display.

Part of a bar graph output is shown in Figure 4.7.5 The following formatting is visible:

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Figure 4.7.5: Output window bar diagram

• Green Solid Bar: Used when the value is in the tolerated range.
• Blue Solid Bar: Used when the value is below a limit.
• Red Solid Bar: Used when the value is above a limit.
• Cross-hatched Bar: Used when the value is outside the range.

4.7.4.6 Copying from the Output Window

The contents of the output window, or parts of its contents, may be copied to the built-in editor of
PowerFactory, or to other programs. The lines that are to be copied are determined by the output
window settings; by default what is shown in the output window is copied. The filters can be used to
show only the messages of interest.

4.8 Scripting in PowerFactory

For automating tasks in PowerFactory, two scripting options are available: use of the inbuilt DIgSILENT
Programming Language DPL, or scripting using Python.

4.8.1 DIgSILENT Programming Language (DPL) Scripts

DPL offers an interface to the user for the automation of tasks in PowerFactory. By means of a
simple programming language and in-built editor, the user can define automation commands (scripts)
to perform iterative or repetitive calculations on target networks, and post-process the results.

To find the name of an object parameter to be used in a DPL script, simply hover the mouse pointer over
the relevant field in an object dialog. For example, for a general load, on the Load Flow page, hover the
mouse pointer over the Active Power field to show the parameter name plini.

User-defined DPL scripts can be used in all areas of power system analysis, for example:

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 4.8. SCRIPTING IN POWERFACTORY

• Network optimisation
• Cable-sizing
• Protection coordination
• Stability analysis
• Parametric sweep analysis
• Contingency analysis

DPL scripts may include the following:

• Program flow commands such as ’if-else’ and ’do-while’

• PowerFactory commands (i.e. load-flow or short-circuit commands: ComLdf, ComShc)
• Input and output routines
• Mathematical expressions
• PowerFactory object procedure calls
• Subroutine calls
DPL command objects provide an interface for the configuration, preparation, and use of DPL scripts.
These objects may take input parameters, variables and/or objects, pass these to functions or subrou-
tines, and then output results. DPL commands are stored inside the Scripts folder ( ) in the project
directory.

Consider the following simple example shown in Figure 4.8.1 to illustrate the DPL interface, and the
versatility of DPL scripts to take a user-selection from the single line graphic. The example DPL script
takes a load selection from the single line graphic, and implements a while loop to output the Load
name(s) to the output window. Note that there is also a check to see if any loads have been selected by
the user.

Figure 4.8.1: Example DPL Script

For further information about DPL commands and how to write and execute DPL scripts refer to Chap-
ter 23 (Scripting), and the DPL Reference.

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4.8.2 Python Scripts

In addition to DPL it is also possible to use the Python language to write scripts to be executed in
PowerFactory.

This can be done in one of two ways:

• The script can be written directly in a Python object (ComPython) in PowerFactory, or

• For more complex scripts, a Python script can written in an external editor and linked to the Python
command (ComPython) inside PowerFactory.

For further information about the Python command and how to write and execute Python scripts refer to
Chapter 23 (Scripting), and the Python Reference.

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 Part II

Administration
Chapter 5

Program Administration

This chapter provides information on how to configure PowerFactory, and how to log on. More de-
tailed descriptions of the installation, database settings and additional information can be found in the
Advanced Installation and Configuration Manual.

5.1 Program Installation and Configuration

In general there are 3 primary questions to consider before installing PowerFactory software, which will
determine the installation settings:

• Licence: Where should the licence key(s) reside?

• Installation: Where should PowerFactory be installed?
• Database: Where should the database reside?

Once PowerFactory has been installed, it can be started by clicking either on the Desktop or by selecting
PowerFactory in the Windows Start menu. PowerFactory will then start and create a user account upon
the initial user log-in. If the user is working in a single-user-database environment, PowerFactory will
take the username from Windows by default. In the case that several user accounts have been created,
a log-on dialog will pop up allowing the user to select their username. The user will be asked to enter a
password if one has been defined for that particular account.

In a multi-user-database installation (see Chapter 6: User Accounts, User Groups, and Profiles) new
accounts and passwords are created by the administrator. The ’Administrator’ account is created when
installing PowerFactory and is used to create and manage users’ accounts in a multi-user environment
(see Chapter 6: User Accounts, User Groups, and Profiles). To log on as Administrator, the shortcut
from the Windows Start Menu can be used. When already running a PowerFactory session, the user
can select Tools → Switch User in the main menu to log-on as Administrator.

For further information about the role of the database administrator refer to Section 6.2: The Database
Administrator. Many of the activities carried out by the Administrator are easily accessed using the
Administration menu; this is found on the main toolbar but is only visible if the user is logged on as
Administrator. See Section 6.3 for further details.

Changes to the application settings can be made using the PowerFactory Configuration dialog. Once
PowerFactory is started, the Configuration dialog can be accessed via Tools → Configuration in Pow-
erFactory ś main menu. Administrator rights are necessary to perform changes to these settings.

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5.2 PowerFactory Configuration

The configuration of the application is stored in an “ini” file located with the executable.These settings
can be changed within PowerFactory via the Configuration (SetConfig) dialog, which is available via
Tools → Configuration. Depending on where the file is stored, Windows administrator rights might be
required to change these settings.

5.2.1 General Page

On this page the user can select the application language for the session.

5.2.2 Database Page

This page allows the user to specify what kind of database will be used. The options are:

• A single-user database which resides locally on each computer

• A multi-user database (used in conjunction with the appropriate licence) which resides on a remote
server. Here all users have access to the same data simultaneously. In this case, user accounts
are created and administrated exclusively by the Administrator.

DIgSILENT PowerFactory provides drivers for the following multi-user database systems:

• Oracle
• Microsoft SQL Server

For further information regarding the database configuration refer to the Advanced Installation and
Configuration Manual.

5.2.3 Workspace Page

The Workspace page allows the user to set the workspace directory and the workspace backup direc-
tory. The workspace is used to store the local database, results files and log files. For further information
regarding options for configuring and using the workspace, refer to Chapter 5.4.

5.2.4 External Applications Page

The External Applications page is used to configure the external programs.

Python

• Interpreter: The Python Interpreter to be used can either be selected by version or bv directory.

• Interpreter: A number of Python versions are supported

• Used Editor: There are three options to set the Python editor:
– internal: uses the internal editor provided by PowerFactory. This editor is the same used
when writing DPL scripts. More information about this editor can be found in section 23.1.3.
– system default: uses the system’s default editor for Python files (*.py); if no editor is defined
as default for Python files, then the default editor for text files (*.txt) is used. This is the default
option.
– custom: here the user can customise which editor should be used to open Python files.

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 5.2. POWERFACTORY CONFIGURATION

Visual Studio

Here the Version and Shell Extension of Visual Studio can be set. Visual Studio is used for the
compilation of DSL models.

PDF Viewer

Here the User can select which program should be used to open “.pdf” files. The are three options to
set the PDF viewer:
• system viewer: uses the system’s default editor for pdf files (*.pdf). This is the default option.
• Sumatra PDF: uses “Sumatra PDF” which is included in the PowerFactory installation.
• custom: here the user can customise which viewer should be used to open pdf files (*.pdf).

5.2.5 Network Page

The Network page is used to specify an HTTP proxy in the case where the user’s computer connects
to the internet via a proxy server.

Proxy configuration

Three options are available for specifying the proxy configuration, including options to change the proxy
settings externally to PowerFactory if required.
• Use the system proxy settings.
• Configure the proxy manually, supplying the host name and port number.
• Provide a path to a proxy auto-configuration file (PAC).
Proxy authentication

If it is necessary to provide authentication details to the proxy, this option is also checked, and the
relevant protocol selected from the drop-down list. Unless the username and password are to be taken
from the Windows user authentication details, they are entered here.

There is also a “Check internet Connection” button to check whether the configuration has been set up
successfully.

5.2.6 Geographic Maps Page

On the Geographic Maps page, the default settings for background maps can be changed. The following
parameters can be set:

• Map Tile Cache

– Directory: Map cache directory where downloaded map tiles are stored (default: workspace
directory). A custom directory can be specified if the cache should be shared across different
PowerFactory installations.
– RAM cache limit: This setting can be used to limit the amount of application memory that
should be used.
• Network Settings
– Preferred tile size [pixels]: Pixel dimensions of map tiles.
– Max server connections: Maximum number of map tiles that are downloaded simultane-
ously.
– Download time-out: Timespan after which a non-finished tile download is cancelled. This
value may need to be increased for slow/unstable internet connections.

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• Google Maps for Business account

If Google Maps is to be used as the map provider, the “Google Maps for Business account” data
must be set on this page as well. To acquire a licence, please contact Google sales: (http:
//www.google.com/enterprise/mapsearth).

Similiarly, the licence keys for other map providers can be entered.

5.2.7 Advanced Page

General tab

• Paths in the Additional Directories in PATH field are used to extend the Windows path search.
Typically this is required for the Oracle client.
• Directories for external digex* libraries (DLL): The digex* libraries contain the compiled dy-
namic models.

Advanced tab

Settings on the Advanced tab should only be changed under the guidance of the DIgSILENT Power-
Factory support (see Chapter 2 Contact).

5.3 Licence

5.3.1 Select Licence

In order to run PowerFactory, the user is required to define licence settings in theDIgSILENT Power-
Factory Licence Manager, its dialog can be accessed via Tools → Licence→ Select Licence. . .

Note: TheDIgSILENT PowerFactory Licence Manager can be started externally using the correspond-
ing shortcut in the main installation folder of PowerFactory or in the Windows start menu.

The Licence Access defines the type of licence, which can be a local licence (either a licence file or a
USB dongle) or a network licence.

Automatic search

This option searches automatically local and network licences via a broadcast and chooses the first one
found without further input.

Local Softkey / USB dongle

If local softkey / USB dongle is chosen, the Local Licence Settings require the selection of a Licence
Container. The locally found containers are available in the drop-down-list.

Network licence

If network licence is chosen, the server name has to be selected from the drop-down-list or entered
manually in the Network Licence Settings. Pressing will refresh the list of available licence servers
in the network. For the specified server the Licence container can be chosen from a drop-down-list or
entered manually.

Selected Licence:

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 5.4. WORKSPACE OPTIONS

The field on the right side of the dialog shows various details relating to the selected licence. This
includes the order ID (useful for any contact with the sales department), the customer ID (useful for
contact with technical support), the maximum number of concurrent users for a multi user environment
and a list of the licensed additional modules. Note that the expiry date of the maintenance period for
the licence is also shown.

If problems with the licence occur, the button Create Licence Support Package creates a zipped file with
the needed information for the support to identify the cause of the problems.

5.3.2 Activate / Update / Deactivate / Move Licence

These options are relevant for local licences, where the user has to manage the licence. In a network
licence environment, this is done by the network administrator.

For the activation, the update and the deactivation process the licence related Activation Key has to be
entered into the upcoming dialog.

A PowerFactory software licence softkey can be moved between computers a limited number of times
per year. The licence move is a two-stage process:
1. An activated licence needs to be transferred back to the DIgSILENT server via the Deactivate
Licence feature of the Licence Manager.

2. The deactivated licence can be activated again on any computer.

More information regarding licence types and their management is available in the Advanced Installation
and Configuration Manual.

5.4 Workspace Options

By selecting Tools → Workspace from the main menu, the options described below are available.

5.4.1 Show Workspace Directory

The workspace directory can be seen by clicking Tools → Workspace→ Show workspace directory.

5.4.2 Import and Export Workspace

The ability to export and import the workspace can be a convenient way of transferring settings and
local databases from one installation to another. The location of the directory can be configured via the
PowerFactory Configuration menu.

To import the workspace, select Tools → Workspace→ Import Workspace. . . . This is a convenient way
to import the entire workspace after a new installation.

To export the workspace, select Tools → Workspace→ Export Workspace. . . . The package will be
saved as a .zip file.

5.4.3 Show Default Export Directory

The selection Tools → Workspace→ Show Default Export Directory from the main menu shows the user
the directory that is used for the export. In particular, this directory is used for automated backups, e.g.

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CHAPTER 5. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

before migration. The location of the directory can be configured via the PowerFactory Configuration
menu.

5.4.4 Import Workspace from 14.X or 15.0. . .

This option allows the migration of the database from an older PowerFactory version (e.g 14.X, 15.0. . . )
to the newest version.

This can be selected from the main menu, under Tools → Workspace→ Import Workspace from 14.x
or 15.0. . . . After “Import Workspace from 14.x or 15.0. . . ” has been selected, the user can choose the
working directory. The database that is saved in selected working directory will be migrated.

Depending on the database size, a migration may take several hours. Figure 5.4.1 shows the two
different migration types available.

Figure 5.4.1: Database migration settings

5.4.4.1 Migration Types

Complete: the database structure and all projects will be altered and migrated immediately upon
pressing the OK button.

Minimal: the database structure will be altered immediately, but the project migration will occur upon
activation.

Minimal migration is recommended for the migration of large databases.

5.5 Offline Mode User Guide

This section describes working in offline mode. Installation of the offline mode is described in the
Advanced Installation and Configuration Manual.

The Offline Mode concept was introduced with users of multi-user databases in mind. Users who have
a Team Edition licence make use of a multi-user database because of the benefits it brings in terms
of sharing data. Sometimes, however, users wish to work detatched from the main database. The
following terms are used in this section:

• Online: Connected to, and working in, the multi-user database

• Offline: Disconnected from the multi-user database and working in a local database cache.

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 5.5. OFFLINE MODE USER GUIDE

5.5.1 Functionality in Offline Mode

5.5.1.1 Start Offline Session

Preconditions:
• A PowerFactory user account must already exist in the online database. The PowerFactory
“Administrator” user is able to create user accounts.

• The user must not be logged-on to an online session. In the example in Figure 5.5.1, User 2 and
User 3 are able to start an offline session, but User 1 is not, as s/he is already logged-on to an
online session.

Figure 5.5.1: Offline and online sessions

Note: the Administrator user is only allowed to work in online mode (not in offline mode).

To create an offline session, follow these steps:

• Start PowerFactory. In the Log-on dialog enter the user name and password.
• On the Database page, enter the Offline Proxy Server settings (see Figure 5.5.2)

Figure 5.5.2: Log-on dialog, Database page

Note: Using a floating licence with the offline mode allows working with PowerFactory without
connection to the licence server. Please note, that the usage of floating licences has to be
included in the network licence and activated in the user settings.

• Press OK
• If the usage of a floating licence is configured, PowerFactory will generate the floating licence and
adapt the licence settings. PowerFactory has to be started again afterwards.

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CHAPTER 5. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

• An info message is shown. (fig. 5.5.3)

Figure 5.5.3: Info message

• Press OK
• Following initialisation, the usual PowerFactory application window is shown.

5.5.1.2 Release Offline Session

• From the main menu, select File → Offline→ Terminate Offline session
• A warning message is shown to confirm the synchronisation
• Press Yes
• All unsynchronised local changes will then be transferred to the server and the local offline
database is removed.
• If a floating licence has been used in offline mode, this licence will be returned to the licence
server.

5.5.1.3 Synchronise All

Synchronises global data (new users, projects added, projects removed, projects moved) and all sub-
scribed projects.

• Open the main menu File → Offline→ Synchronise all

5.5.1.4 Subscribe Project for Reading Only

• Open the Data Manager and navigate to the project.

• Right-click on the project stub. A context menu is shown.
• Select Subscribe project in offline mode for reading only.

The project will then be retrieved from the Offline Proxy Server and stored in the local Offline DB cache.

5.5.1.5 Subscribe Project for Reading and Writing

Write access to the project is required.

• Open the Data Manager and navigate to the project.

• Right-click on the project stub. A context menu is shown.
• Select Subscribe project in Offline mode for reading and writing.

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 5.5. OFFLINE MODE USER GUIDE

5.5.1.6 Unsubscribe Project

• Open the Data Manager and navigate to the project.

• Right-click on the project. A context menu is shown.

• Select Unsubscribe project in Offline mode.

5.5.1.7 Add a New Project

A new project is created in offline mode. It is available only in this offline session. Later this project
should be published to other users and synchronised to the online database.

• Create a new project or import a PFD project file.

• Open the Data Manager and navigate to the project.

• Right-click on the project stub. A context menu is shown.
• Select Subscribe project in Offline mode for reading and writing.

5.5.1.8 Synchronise Project

Synchronises a subscribed project. If the project is subscribed for reading only, the local project will be
updated from the online database. If the project is subscribed for reading and writing, the changes from
the local offline database will be transferred to the online database.

• Open the Data Manager and navigate to the project

• Right-click on the project stub. A context menu is shown.

• Select Synchronise

5.5.2 Functionality in Online Mode

5.5.2.1 Show Current Online/Offline Sessions

The session status for each user is shown in the Data Manager.

Figure 5.5.4: Online and offline users

In Figure 5.5.4:

• User 1 and Administrator are logged on to an online session. They are indicated by the
green ONLINE icon.

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CHAPTER 5. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

• User 2 has started an offline session. It is indicated by the red OFFLINE icon.
• Public, Demo, and User 3 are not logged on.

5.5.3 Terminate Offline Session

There may occasionally be cases which require that an offline session be terminated by the Adminis-
trator; e.g. if the computer on which the offline session was initialised has been damaged and can no
longer be used, and the user wants to start a new offline session on a different computer.

The Administrator is able terminate a session as follows:

• Right-click on the user; the context menu is shown.
• Select Terminate session (see Figure 5.5.5)

Figure 5.5.5: Terminate offline session

• A warning message is shown to confirm the synchronisation.

• Press Yes
As shown in Figure 5.5.6, User 2 no longer has an active session:

Figure 5.5.6: Online users

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 5.6. HOUSEKEEPING

5.6 Housekeeping

5.6.1 Introduction

Housekeeping automates the administration of certain aspects of the database; in particular purging
projects, emptying user recycle bins and the deletion of old projects. Housekeeping is triggered by the
execution of a Windows Scheduled Task; this can be set up to run at night, thus improving performance
during the day by moving regular data processing to off-peak times. An additional benefit to housekeep-
ing is that users will need to spend less time purging projects and emptying recycle bins, something that
can slow down the process of exiting PowerFactory.

Housekeeping is only available for multi-user databases (e.g. Oracle, SQL Server). For details on
scheduling housekeeping, see the PowerFactory Advanced Installation and Configuration Manual.

5.6.2 Configuring Permanently Logged-On Users

Normally, housekeeping will not process data belonging to logged-on users; however, some user
accounts (e.g. those for a control room) may be connected to PowerFactory permanently. These
users can be configured to allow housekeeping to process their data while they are logged-on. This is
done from the User Settings dialog (see Figure 5.6.1). Regardless of this setting, housekeeping will not
operate on a user’s active project.

Figure 5.6.1: The User Settings dialog: housekeeping for connected users

5.6.3 Configuring Housekeeping Tasks

The Housekeeping command (SetHousekeeping) is used to control which housekeeping tasks are
enabled (see Figure 5.6.2). It is recommended that the user move this object from Database \Sys-
tem\Configuration\Housekeeping to Database∖Configuration∖Housekeeping, in order to preserve the
user’s configuration throughout database upgrades.

The following sections discuss the different housekeeping tasks available in the Housekeeping dialog.

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Figure 5.6.2: Housekeeping dialog

5.6.4 Project Archiving

Project archiving provides the following options:

• Disable: Archiving is not used.
• Immediate archiving by the user: by selecting “Archive” from the context menu, the project will
be immediately archived and placed in the vault directory.
• Deferred archiving by Housekeeping job: by selecting “Archive” from the context menu, the
project will be immediately archived, but not placed in the vault directory. This will happen
automatically depending on the Housekeeping settings.
Important: The vault directory can be defined under “Tools\Configuration\Database \Vault Directory”

A project cannot be archived unless it is deactivated. By right-clicking on the project a context menu
will appear. By selecting “Archive”, the project will be moved to the Archived Projects folder of the user
(IntUser ). If specified in the Housekeeping archiving options, the project will be immediately placed in
the vault directory.

Conversely, archived projects may also be restored. To restore an archived project, the user must select
“Restore” from the context menu which appears after right-clicking on a deactivated project.

5.6.5 Configuring Deletion of Old Projects

If the option Remove projects based on last activation date has been selected in the Housekeeping
dialog, when the Housekeeping is executed, for each user, each project will be handled according to
the selected Action.

The Action options are:

• Delete project: deletes the project

• Archive project: archives the project

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The project properties determine whether a project can be automatically deleted or archived, as shown
in Figure 5.6.3. The default setting for “Housekeeping project deletion” is disabled. When enabled, the
default retention period is 60 days. These defaults can be changed for new projects by using a template
project (under Configuration/Default in the Data Manager tree).

Figure 5.6.3: Project properties

The settings for multiple projects may be selected using the tabular pane of the Data Manager window
(select the relevant column, right-click and select Modify Values). A value of ’1’ is equivalent to the
Housekeeping option Delete project being selected (see Figure 5.6.4). Many projects can be changed
via the tabular window which appears following a Find operation, though it should be noted that execut-
ing a Find is potentially a lengthy operation.

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Figure 5.6.4: Setting parameters for multiple projects

A project will be deleted/archived by the housekeeping task if it meets the following criteria:

1. The project is configured for automatic deletion/archiving on the Storage page of the project
properties.
2. The last activation of the project is older than the retention setting on the project.
3. It is not a base project with existing derived projects.

4. It is not a special project (e.g. User Settings, or anything under the System or Configuration trees).
5. The project is not locked (e.g. active).
6. The owner of the project is not connected, unless that user is configured to allow concurrent
housekeeping (see Section 5.6.2).

5.6.6 Configuring Purging of Projects

A PowerFactory project contains records of changes to data, which makes it possible to roll back the
project to an earlier state using versions (see section 21.2). However, as the user works with the project
and makes changes to it, the number of records increases and it is useful to remove older, unwanted
records in a process known as “purging”.

If Purge projects has been ticked in the Housekeeping dialog, when the Housekeeping is executed,
each project will be considered for purging. A project that is already locked (e.g. an active project) will
not be purged.

The criteria used by Housekeeping to purge a project are:

• If the project has been activated since its last purge.

• If it is now more than a day past the object retention period since last activation, and the project
has not been purged since then.

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• If the project is considered to have invalid metadata (e.g. is a pre-14.0 legacy project, or a PFD
import without undo information).
Once housekeeping has been configured to purge projects, the automatic purging of projects on acti-
vation may be disabled by the user, thus preventing the confirmation dialog popping up. To do this, the
option Automatic Purging should be to Off on the Storage page in the Project Properties dialog. This
parameter can also be set to Off for multiple projects (see Section 5.6.5 for details).

5.6.7 Configuring Emptying of Recycle Bins

If Delete recycle bin objects is set in the Housekeeping dialog, when Housekeeping is executed, each
user’s recycle bin will be examined. Entries older than the number of days specified in the Housekeeping
dialog (as shown in Figure 5.6.2) will be deleted.

5.6.8 Monitoring Housekeeping

In order to ensure that housekeeping is working correctly, it should be regularly verified by an adminis-
trator. This is done by inspecting the HOUSEKEEPING_LOG table via SQL or the data browsing tools of
the multi-user database. For each run, housekeeping will insert a new row to this table showing the start
and end date/time and the completion status (success or failure). Other statistics such as the number
of deleted projects are kept. Note that absence of a row in this table for a given scheduled day indicates
that the task failed before it could connect to the database. In addition to the HOUSEKEEPING_LOG
table, a detailed log of each housekeeping run is stored in the log file of the housekeeping user.

5.6.9 Summary of Housekeeping Deployment

The basic steps to implement housekeeping are:

1. Set up a Windows Scheduled Task, as described in the PowerFactory Advanced Installation and
Configuration Manual.

2. Configure those users expected to be active during housekeeping, as described in Section 5.6.2.
3. Configure the Housekeeping dialog as described in Section 5.6.3.
4. If using the project deletion/archiving task, configure automatic deletion/archiving properties for
new projects, as described in Section 5.6.5.

5. If using the project deletion/archiving task, configure automatic deletion/archiving properties for
existing projects, as described in Section 5.6.5.
6. Regularly monitor the HOUSEKEEPING_LOG table to verify the status of housekeeping runs, as
described in Section 5.6.8.

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Chapter 6

User Accounts, User Groups, and

Profiles

This chapter provides details of how to create and manage user accounts, user groups, and profiles.
The information in this chapter is particularly relevant for a multi-user database (i.e. Team Edition), and
will not generally be of so much interest to a user with a single-use installation.

Key objectives of the user account managing system are to:

• Protect the ’system’ parts of the database from changes by normal (non-administrator) users.
• Configure and manage access to the database, via options for the authentication mode to be used
and options for password management.
• Manage settings relating to data security and privacy.
• Facilitate both the sharing of user data and the restriction of data visibility between one user group
and another.

The user account managing system provides each user with their own “private” database space. The
user is nevertheless able to use shared data, either from the common system database or from other
users, and may enable other users to use data from their private database.

The user account managing system manages this whilst using only one single database in the back-
ground, which allows for simple backup and management of the overall database.

The default name for a PowerFactory user (unless using Team Edition) is the Windows user name,
which is automatically created when PowerFactory is started for the first time.

6.1 PowerFactory Database Overview

A brief introduction to the top level structure of the PowerFactory database is convenient before pre-
senting the user accounts and their functionality.

The data in PowerFactory is stored inside a set of hierarchical directories. The top level structure is
constituted by the following folders:

• Configuration: contains company specific customising for user groups, user default settings,
project templates and class templates for objects. The configuration folder can only be edited by
the administrator and is read only for normal users.
• System: contains all objects that are used internally by PowerFactory. The system folder contains

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default settings provided by DIgSILENT and these should not be changed. They are automatically
updated upon migration to a new PowerFactory version.
• DIgSILENT Library: contains all standard types and models provided with PowerFactory. The
main library folder is read only for normal users.
• User accounts: contain user project folders and associated objects and settings.

The structure described above is illustrated in Figure 6.1.1

Figure 6.1.1: Basic database structure

6.2 The Database Administrator

A database administrator account is created with the PowerFactory installation. The main functions of
the administrator are:

• Creation and management of user accounts.

• System database maintenance under the guidance of the DIgSILENT customer support.

Under a multiuser database environment, the administrator is the only user with permissions to:

• Add and delete users.

• Define users groups.

• Set individual user rights.
• Restrict or allow calculation functions.
• Set/reset user passwords.

• Create and edit Profiles (see Section 6.6 for details).

• Configure various settings such as housekeeping processes, parallel processing configuration,
password security options etc.

The administrator is also the only user that can modify the main library and the system folders. Although
the administrator has access to all the projects of all the users, it does not have the right to perform any
calculations.

To log on as administrator, there are two options:

• Select the Shortcut in the Windows Start Menu PowerFactory 20nn (Administrator).

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• Log into PowerFactory as a normal User and select via the Main menu Tools → Switch User.
Select Administrator and enter the corresponding password.

For further information about the administrator role, refer to the Advanced Installation and Configuration
Manual.

6.3 Administration Menu

To assist the administrator, an Administration menu is provided to give easy access to the more impor-
tant settings; this is found on the main toolbar but is only visible if the user is logged on as Administrator.
These are the options available from this menu:

6.3.1 User Management

The options available here are:

• Show Users...
• Show Groups...
• User Manager...

These are used to manage User accounts and User Groups as described in Sections 6.5 and 6.6.

6.3.2 Security and Privacy

The options available here are:

• Audit Log...
• Login Policy...

• Idle Session Timeout...

• External Data Access...
• Privacy...

These are described in Section 6.4 below.

6.3.3 Calculation Settings

The options available here are:

• Parallelisation...This allows the administrator to configure the Parallel Computing Manager.
• Linear Programming...This brings up a dialog which enables the administrator to configure which
internal and external linear programming solvers should be made available to users who are using
the Unit Commitment and Dispatch Optimisation module. See Section 39.7.1.

6.3.4 Housekeeping

This gives access to the dialog for setting up Housekeeping tasks. Details can be found in Section 5.6.

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6.4 Security and Privacy

This section gives an overview of the security and privacy features which can be managed by the
administrator. Note that more detail is provided in the Advanced Installation and Configuration Manual.

6.4.1 Audit Log

The Audit Log is a log of key activities on the database, and is useful for the administrator of a multi-user
database.

6.4.1.1 Enabling the Audit Log

The log can be enabled by the administrator via the Administration Menu (Administration → Security
and Privacy → Audit Log...), where a retention period is also set. By default the log is not enabled, and
it should be noted that if the log is enabled then later disabled, all records will be lost. The information
in the Audit log is securely held in the database itself.

6.4.1.2 Using the Audit Log

An Audit Log comand ComAuditlog can be created by the Administrator user and used to access the
information in the log. The command options are:

• Report, to generate a high-level report to the Output Window

• Export, to export a detailed report
• Check Integrity As an additional assurance, it is possible to carry out a data integrity check on
the Audit Log data to detect any data manipulation.

A more detailed description of the Audit Log and what it contains can be found in the Advanced
Installation and Configuration Manual.

6.4.2 Login Policy Options

6.4.2.1 Authentication Mode

Here the administrator determines what authentication (username and password) mode will be used.
The options are:
• PowerFactory authentication provides built-in user management, where the users must enter
their PowerFactory usernames and passwords
• Active Directory authentication uses the external Windows Active Directory for user authenti-
cation
• No authentication
If the Active Directory authentication is selected, then the user can click on the “...” to the right of each
group to select the Active Directory group, then give it an appropriate name within PowerFactory. All
groups must be within the same domain. It should be noted that only one user in the second group
(Administrators) may be logged in at any one time.

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6.4.2.2 Password Policy

If the authentication mode Powerfactory authentication is selected, further options appear, allowing
the administrator to impose rules to enforce regular password changes and/or put in place rules on
password quality, such as length and character diversity.

6.4.3 Idle Session Timeout

In this option, the administrator can set a time-limit after which any idle PowerFactory session will be
terminated. Such a session will be closed down in an ordered way, but it should be noted that unsaved
scenario changes will be lost. A session will only be considered as idle if there has been no activity for
the prescribed time, where “activity” includes mouse-clicks, keyboard actions or scripts or calculations
running. As well as being a useful security measure, setting an Idle Session Timeout is useful in a
multi-user environment because the licences are released back to the licence server.

6.4.4 External Data Access

The External Data Access dialog allows the administrator to specify permitted addresses in order to
manage access to data outside PowerFactory. This control is related to IntUrl and IntDocument objects
which are being used to access external data.

6.4.5 Privacy

This feature is available to allow database administrators to manage the visibility of user names. There
are two options, which by default are not enabled:
• Enable recording of modifying user in object, which if checked will mean that the “Object last
modified by” information will include the PowerFactory user name.
• Display system account in user object, which if checked will mean that the Windows username
will appear in the IntUser object when the user has an active session.

6.5 Creating and Managing User Accounts

In the case of an installation with a local database, the default name for a PowerFactory user is the
Windows user name, which is automatically created when PowerFactory is started for the first time. (see
Chapter 5: Program Administration). In this case the program will automatically create and activate the
new account, without administrator intervention. In order to create other PowerFactory users if required,
the ’User Manager’ object can be used as described below:

In multi-user database installations, the administrator creates new user accounts by means of a tool
called the ’User Manager’, which is found in the Configuration folder.

To create a new user:

• Log on as Administrator. You can do so by starting the PowerFactory Administrator shortcut in the
Windows Start menu or by switching the user via Tools → Switch User in the main tool bar.
• The User Manager can be accessed from the Administration menu on the main toolbar: Adminis-
tration → User Management→ User Manager...
• Press the Add User. . . button.

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The User edit dialog will be displayed. The settings are the following:

• General page
– User Name: user Name that will be used for login to PowerFactory at startup
– Full Name: full Name of the appropriate user. In case, that the parameter User Name is set
to be an abbreviation.
– Change Password: the administrator can change the user password here, without knowing
the previous password. If this button is clicked by the user itself, the current password has to
be entered as well.
– Force password change: can be selected by the administrator.
– User sharing: by adding different users into the list of permitted users, access for these users
can be granted to login to the appropriate user account. If User A is in the list of permitted
user, User A can access the user account without entering the user password.
• Account page:
– Publishing user: by setting this flag, the user can be defined to be a publishing user. This
means, that the user is visible to other users within the database and marked with a different
symbol within the data manager. This option can be used to provide an user within the
multiuser database, who publishes projects.
– User account enabled: this setting can be used to enable/disable the user Account
– User account is time-limited: this option will set the account to be time limited and therefore
can be used for temporary users within the database.
– Force Authentication server usage: setting this option also requires the definition of an
authentication server within the PowerFactory configuration as explained in the manual.

• Password Policy page: On this page, the default Password policy (see section 6.4.2) can be
customised by the administrator for the user.
• Licence page: if a licensed version with a restricted number of functions is used (i.e. you may
have 4 licences with basic functionality, but only 2 stability licences), the Licence tab may be used
to define the functions that a user can access. The Multi-User Database option should be checked
for all users that will access the multi user database.
As an alternative to allocating access to certain licence functions to individual users, it is possible
to allocate access via User Groups instead. See section 6.6 below.
• Parallel Computing: here it can be defined whether the user is allowed to use parallel processing
possibilities within PowerFactory. The “User defined” setting allows the individual user to cus-
tomise the globally-defined allowed processes number to a lower number if required, for example
to free up resources for other applications.
• Optimisation: the Unit Commitment module (see Chapter 39) offers the possibility to use in-built
or external linear problem solvers, the latter requiring an additional licence module. Here, the
administrator enables access to the preferred solver(s).

Existing users can be viewed via the Administration menu on the main toolbar: Administration → User
Management→ Show Users.... The administrator can edit any user account to change the user name,
set new calculation rights or change the password. To edit an existing user account:

• Right-click on the desired user and select Edit from the context sensitive menu. The User edit
dialog will be displayed.

Any user can edit her/his own account by means of the User edit dialog. In this case only the full name
and the password can be changed.

Note: The administrator is the only one who may delete a user account. Although users can delete
all projects inside their account folder, they cannot delete the account folder itself or the standard
folders that belong to it (i.e. the Recycle Bin or the Settings folder).

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6.6 Creating User Groups

User groups are a useful way for managing various access rights and permisions within a multi-user
database environment. For example, any project or folder in a user account may be shared, either with
everybody or with specific user groups. User groups can also be used in conjunction with Profiles (see
section 6.7) and for controlling access to licence modules.

User groups are created by the administrator via the User Manager. To create a new user group:

• Log on as Administrator.
• The User Manager can be accessed from the Administration menu on the main toolbar: Adminis-
tration → User Management→ User Manager...
• Press the Add Group. . . button.

• Enter the name of the new group, optionally a description and press Ok.
• The new group is automatically created in the User Groups directory of the Configuration folder.

Existing groups can be viewed via the Administration menu on the main toolbar: Administration → User
Management→ Show Groups.... The administrator can change the name of an existing group by means
of the corresponding edit dialog (right clicking on it and selecting Edit from the context sensitive menu).
Via the context sensitive menu, groups can also be deleted.

The administrator can add users to a group by:

• Copying the user in the Data Manager (right click on the user and select Copy from the context
sensitive menu).

• Selecting a user group in the left pane of the Data Manager.

• Pasting a shortcut of the copied user inside the group (right-click the user group and select Paste
Shortcut from the context sensitive menu).

Users are taken out of a group by deleting their shortcut from the corresponding group.

The administrator can also set the Groups Available Profiles on the Profile tab of the Group dialog.

In addition, the Licence page of the User Group can be used to configure which licence modules
members of the group will have access to. For any individual user, the licence modules available to
that user will be all those selected in that individual user’s account set-up, plus any additional licence
modules made available to the group(s) to which the user belongs.

For information about sharing projects, refer to Section 21.6 (Sharing Projects).

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6.7 User Interface Customisation (Profiles)

Profiles can be used to configure aspects of the Graphical User Interface, such as toolbars, menus, di-
alog pages, and dialog parameters. By default, PowerFactory includes “Base Package” and “Standard”
profiles, selectable from the main menu under Tools → Profiles. Selecting the “Base Package” profile
limits icons shown on the Main Toolbar to those that are used with the Base Package of the software.
The “Standard” profile includes all available PowerFactory icons.

Profiles are created in the Configuration → Profiles folder by selecting the New Object icon and then
Others → Settings→ Profile. An administrator can create and customise profiles, and control User/User
Group selection of profiles from the Profile tab of each group.

Figure 6.7.1 shows the Profile dialog for a new profile, CustomProfile, and Figure 6.7.2 illustrates
aspects of the GUI that may be customised using this profile. This section describes the customisation
procedure.

Figure 6.7.1: Profile dialog

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Figure 6.7.2: GUI Customisation using Profiles

6.7.1 Tool Configuration

Definition of Icons

Icons can be defined in the Configuration → Icons folder by selecting the New Object icon and then
Others → Other Elements→ Icon (IntIcon). From the Icon dialog, icon images can be imported and
exported. Icons should be 24 pixels by 24 pixels in Bitmap format (recommended to be 24-bit format).

Command Configuration

The User-defined Tools toolbar can be used to make commonly-used tools such as scripts and Add
On Modules available to users. Changes and additions to the User-defined Tools toolbar can only be
made by the administrator; from the top menu, Tools → Tool Configuration. . . is selected and the fields
described below can be edited.
• Command: in this field, the relevant command or script is selected from the location where it has
been stored.
– Scripts: scripts may be stored within the Tool Configuration itself or in the Configuration,
Scripts folder
– Com* objects: generally, commands Com* are stored within the Tool Configuration itself.
– Add On Modules: add on module commands can be stored in the Configuration, Add On
folder.
• Edit: if selected, the DPL command dialog will appear when a Command is executed. If de-
selected, the DPL command dialog will not appear when a Command is executed.
• Icon: previously created icons can be selected, which will be shown on the menu where the
command is placed. If no icon is selected, a default icon will appear (a Hammer, DPL symbol, or
default Com* icon, depending on the Class type).

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Template Configuration

• Template: the name of the template. The name may be for a unique template, or include
wildcards (such as *.ElmLne) for selection of a group of templates. Templates should be in
’System/Library/Busbar Systems’ folder, or in the ’Templates’ folder of the active project.
• Drawing mode: the drawing mode can be set where there are multiple diagrammatic representa-
tions for a template (such as for a substation). Three options are available:
– Blank will place the default (detailed) graphic of the template.
– Simplified will place the simplified graphic of the template.
– Composite will place a composite representation of the template.

• Symbol name: sets the representation of templates with a composite drawing mode (e.g. Gen-
eralCompCirc or GeneralCompRect).
• Icon: previously created icons can be selected, which will be shown on the menu where the
template is placed. If no icon is selected, a default icon will appear (a Template symbol or custom
icon).

• Description: this description will be displayed when a user hovers the mouse pointer over the
icon. If left blank, the template name will be displayed.

6.7.2 Configuration of Toolbars

The Main Toolbar and Drawing Toolbars can be customised using the Toolbar Configuration. The field
Toolboxes may either refer to a Toolbox Configuration (SetTboxconfig) or a Toolbox Group Configuration
(SetTboxgrconfig), which may in-turn refer to one or more Toolbox Configurations.

Figure 6.7.3 shows an example where there is a main toolbox, and a toolbox group. The toolbox group
adds a Change Toolbox icon to the menu, which allows selection of Basic Commands and Custom
Commands groups of commands.

Figure 6.7.3: Toolbar Configuration

Each toolbox can be customised to display the desired icons, such as illustrated in Figure 6.7.4

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Figure 6.7.4: Toolbox Configuration

Prior to customising the displayed buttons and menu items etc, the user should first define any required
custom Commands and Templates. A Tool Configuration object can be created in the Configuration →
Profiles folder, or within a user-defined Profile, by selecting the New Object icon and then Others →
Settings→ Tool Configuration. If created in the Profiles folder, the commands will be available from the
“Standard” profile. Conversely, if the Tool Configuration object is created within a profile (SetProfile) the
commands and templates will only be available for use in this profile. If there is a Tool Configuration
within a user-defined profile, as well as in the Profiles folder, the Tool Configuration in the user-defined
profile will take precedence. Optionally, customised icons can be associated with the Commands and
Templates.

6.7.3 Configuration of Menus

The Main Menu, Data Manager, Graphic, Plots, and Output Window menus can be customised from
the Menu Configuration dialog. The Change to Configuration View button of the Profile dialog is used
to display description identifiers for configurable items, such as illustrated in the context-sensitive menu
shown in Figure 6.7.5. The Menu Configuration includes a list of entries to be removed from the specified
menu. Note that a Profile may include multiple menu configurations (e.g. one for each type of menu to
be customised).

Figure 6.7.5: Menu Configuration

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6.7.4 Configuration of Dialog Pages

The Dialog Page Configuration may be used to specify the Available and Unavailable dialog pages
shown when editing elements, such as illustrated in Figure 6.7.6. Note that Users can further customise
the displayed dialog pages from the Functions tab of their User Settings.

Figure 6.7.6: Dialog Page Configuration

6.7.5 Configuration of Dialog Parameters

The Dialog Configuration may be used to customise element dialog pages, such as illustrated for a
Synchronous Machine element in Figure 6.7.7. “Hidden Parameters” are removed from the element
dialog page, whereas “Disabled Parameters” are shown but cannot be modified by the user. A Profile
may include multiple dialog configurations (e.g. one for each class to be customised).

Note that if a there is a Dialog Configuration for say, Elm* (or similarly for ElmLne,ElmLod), as well as
a dialog Configuration for ElmLne (for example), the configuration settings will be merged.

Figure 6.7.7: Dialog Configuration

Note: Configuration of Dialog parameters is an advanced feature of PowerFactory, and the user should
be cautious not to hide or disable dependent parameters. Seek assistance from DIgSILENT
support if required.

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6.7.6 References

Profiles can also contain references to configurations. This allows several profiles to use the same
configurations. These referenced configurations can either be stored in another profile or in a subfolder
of the “Profiles” folder (e.g. a user-defined profile can use configurations from a pre-defined profile).

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Chapter 7

User Settings

The User Settings dialog offers general settings which can be configured by the user individually. The
dialog may be opened either by clicking the User Settings button ( ) on the main tool bar, or by
selecting the Tools → User Settings. . . menu item from the main menu.

7.1 Data/Network Model Manager Settings

The Data/Network Model Manager settings include:

Browser

• Save Data Automatically. The Data Manager and the Network Model Manager will not ask for
confirmation every time a value is changed in the data browser when this option is selected.
• Confirm Delete Activity. Pops up a confirmation dialog whenever something is about to be
deleted.

Data Manager

• Sort Automatically. Specifies that objects are automatically sorted (by name) in the data browser.
• Remember last selected object. The last selected object will be remember when a new Data
Manager window is opened.
• Use multiple Data Manager. When enabled, more than one Data Manager dialog can be opened
at a time. When disabled only one Data Manager may be opened at a time and pressing the New
Data Manager button will pop up the minimised Data Manager.
• Use custom font. When enabled, a customised font can be defined.

Operation Scenario

If Save active Operation Scenario automatically is enabled, the period for automatic saving must
be defined.

Export/Import Data (DZ/DZS)

Configures the export and import as follows:

- Binary Data. Saves binary data, such as results in the result folders, to the ’DZ’ export
files according to selection.
- Export References to Deleted Objects. Will also export references to objects which
reside in the recycle bin. Normally, connections to these objects are deleted on export.

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- Export ’Modified by’. Enables the export of information about who last changed an
object (attribute ’modified by’). This information could conflict with data privacy rules and
is therefore configurable.

Folders for Global Library

The default global type folder is the Database/Library/Types folder. This default folder contains
many predefined object types, but objects within this folder may not be changed by the user (read-
only access). This option allows the user to specify a different “Global Type Folder”, possibly a
company specific and defined type library.

For information about the PowerFactory Data Manager refer to Chapter 10.

7.2 Graphic Windows Settings

7.2.1 General tab

Open graphic automatically

Causes the graphics windows to re-appear automatically when a project is activated. When not
checked, the graphics window must be opened manually via Window → Graphic Board.

Mark in Graphic

• The colour and opacity used when the objects are marked in the graphics can be defined.
• Highlight small elements using additional markers. Sometimes small objects such as termi-
nals are hard to spot even when highlighted. If this option is selected, the position of such objects
will be indicated using a marker.
• Zoom in on marked elements. If this is selected, the graphic where the object is to be shown will
be zoomed in so that the object can be more easily seen. The level of zoom for both schematic
and geographic diagrams can be configured by the user.

Drawing Toolbar

• No. of Columns in Drawing Tools Floater. Specifies the width of the graphics toolbar when this
is a floating window.

• No. of Columns in Drawing Tools Docker. Specifies the width of the graphics toolbar when it is
docked on the right side of the drawing space.

General Options

• Show Grid only if step size will be least. Grid points smaller than the selected size will not be
shown.
• Show Text only if height will be least. Text smaller than the selected size will not be shown.
• Line Width Factor when Printing. The width of all lines in the graphics will be multiplied by the
specified percentage when printing.

Use own background colour for single line graphics

If the option is enabled, the user can define the background colour of the single line graphics by
using the pop up menu.

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7.2.2 Advanced tab

Cursor

Defines the cursor shape:

- Arrow. A normal, arrow shaped cursor.

- Tracking Cross. A small cross.

Default Font for New Graphic

When the Use custom font. is enabled, a customised font can be defined.

Acceleration of Zooming

The higher the Acceleration factor, the more zoom there will be for a given mouse operation.

Update Graphic while Simulation is running

The graphic will be updated during the simulation.

Allow resizing of branch objects

If the option is enabled, the user can left click an edge element within the single line graphic and
then resize it.

Show “Edit Graphic Object” in context sensitive menu

If the option is enabled, when the user right-clicks on an element within the single line graphic,
the option “Edit Graphic Object” will be offered.

Snap Textboxes

By default, this option is not enabled, allowing the user to position text-boxes precisely. However,
selecting the option makes it easier to align text boxes with each other.

7.3 Output Window Settings

Enable Message filter

When un-checking this box, the filter buttons are removed from the output window.

Displayed Messages

This is where the filters used in the output window are defined. This, however, can be directly done in
the output window.

Message format

• No date and time: the messages in the output window will be printed without a time stamp.

• Date and time to the second: the date and time of the system up to the second will be shown in
every line of the output window.
• Date and time to the milisecond: the date and time of the system up to the milisecond will be
shown in every line of the output window.

• Full object names: when an object is printed, the complete name (including the location path) is
printed.

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Font

The font used in the output window is set by clicking the button Font...

Page Setup

If the user wishes to print out the contents of the output window, the button Page Setup... offers a range
of settings which can be used to configure the output.

Show confirmation dialog before clearing messages

This option is normally checked, to avoid users accidentally losing messages that they need, but
deselecting it allows users to clear the output more quickly.

7.4 Profile Settings

PowerFactory provides standard profiles which define the configurations of the toolbars seen by the
users. It is also possible for the Administrator to set up additional profiles, in order to provide customi-
sation for different users (see Section 6.7) for details.

Here, the user can select the required profile and see the configuration details.

7.5 Functions Settings

The functions settings page provides check boxes for the function modules that are accessible from the
Data Manager or from the object edit dialogs. The user may choose to see only certain modules in
order to “unclutter” dialogs.

This may also be used to protect data by allowing only certain calculation functionality to be seen by
certain users. This is particularly useful in a multi-user environment or when inexperienced users utilise
PowerFactory.

7.6 Editor Settings

The editor used for DPL scripts, DSL equations and, if selected, Python scripts, can be configured on
this page.

Options

• Enable Font Antialiasing. When this option is selected, the editor will display a smoother (less
pixelated) version of the used font.

• Enable Virtual Space. Allows the cursor to move into empty areas.
• Enable Auto Indent. Automatically indents the next line.
• Enable Backspace at Start of Line. Will not stop the backspace at the left-most position, but will
continue at the end of the previous line.

• View blanks and Tabs. Shows these spaces.

• Show Selection Margin. Provides a column on the left side where bookmarks and other markings
are shown.
• Show line Numbers. Shows line numbers.

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• Tab Size. Defines the width of a single tab.

• Enable Autocomplete. A list of possible functions will be shown when writing a word inside the
editor.

Tabs

Toggles between the use of standard tabs, or to insert spaces when the tab-key is used.

Language colouring

Defines the syntax-highlighting used when the type of text is not known.

ShortCuts

Opens the short-cut definition dialog.

Font

The font type and size used inside the editor is set.

7.7 Colours Settings

To make it easier for users to identify the different sources of data easily, background colouring of the
data fields is used, both in the network model manager and in the element dialogs.

As can be seen in Figure 7.7.1, the user can select different colours. In addition, because data
might belong to more than one category (e.g. operation scenario data which also has associated
characteristics), the user can set priorities according to which information is considered more important.

Figure 7.7.1: Data colouring options

7.8 StationWare Settings

When working with DIgSILENT ś StationWare connection options are stored in the user settings.The
connection options are as follows:

Service Endpoint

Denotes the StationWare server name. This name resembles a web page URL and must have
the form:

• http://the.server.name/psmsws/psmsws.asmx or

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• http://192.168.1.53/psmsws/psmsws.asmx

http denotes the protocol, the.server.name is the computer name (or DNS) of the server
computer and psmsws/psmsws.asmx is the name of the StationWare application.

Username/Password

Username and Password have to be valid user account in StationWare. A StationWare user
account has nothing to do with the StationFactory user account. The very same StationWare
account can be used by two different PowerFactory users.The privileges of the StationWare
account actually restrict the functionality. For device import the user requires read-access rights.
For exporting additionally write-access rights are required.

7.9 Offline Settings

These settings are only relevant if the installation has been configured to enable Offline mode to be
used (see Section 5.5). Users will normally leave these settings at their default values.

• Id contingent size. It is necessary, when starting an Offline session, to reserve object ids in the
main database so as to avoid any conflicts. This parameter specifies the number of ids to be
reserved, and therefore the number of objects that could be created.

• Id contingent warning threshold. Once the user reaches this percentage of the above number
of ids, a warning is issued. This can act as a prompt for timely resynchronisation of the user’s
changes.

7.10 Parallel Computing

The settings for parallel computing are centrally defined by the Administrator, as described in Sec-
tion 22.4.

However, an individual user may wish to modify the settings and it is possible to do so on this page. A
typical reason for this would be that the user wishes to make use of parallel computation but does not
want to use the maximum allowed number of cores, because of a need to work on other applications
outside PowerFactory at the same time. Here the user can opt to use fewer (but not more) cores than
the maximum set by the Administrator.

7.11 Miscellaneous Settings

Localisation

• Decimal Symbol. Selects the symbol selected to be used for the decimal point.

• Use operating system Format for Date and Time. The operating system date and time settings
are used when this is checked.

Retention of results after network change

When the option Show last results is selected, modifications to network data or switch status etc.
will retained the results, these will be shown on the single line diagram and on flexible data pages
in grey until the user reset the results (e.g. by selecting Reset Calculation, or conducting a new
calculation).

Check for application updates

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PowerFactory will remind the User if there are new updates available for the software. In this field
is defined how often PowerFactory shall check for available updates. By default there will be a
reminder every 14 days. The possible options are:

• Manually: the User will check for updates manually, no reminder will be shown.
• On each application start: a reminder will be shown every time PowerFactory is started.
• According to interval: a reminder will be shown according to the time defined in this field.

System Stage Profile

This setting relates to the old system stage system used before the current Variations were introduced.
The options define the extent to which the user can create or modify the “old” stages.

Edit Filter before Execute

If this is selected, when the user uses a filter, a dialog box appears and the user may first change
something or immediately press Apply; if this option is not checked then filters are just applied
straightaway.

Allow housekeeping task to operate when user is connected

This option is only active if housekeeping is enabled.

Show ’Remove Contingencies’ confirmation dialog in Contingency Analysis

When existing contingencies will be removed because they will be overwritten by new ones (e.g.
when using the Contingency Definition tool), the default behaviour is to ask the user to confirm,
in case of error. If the user prefers not to be asked, this option should be deselected.

Show ’Reset Calculation’ confirmation dialog

This option can be deselected if the user does not want to be asked for confirmation when using
the “Reset Calculation” button.

Show ’Example’ dialog at startup

This option can be deselected if the user does not want to see the Example dialog at each log-on.
It can also be deselected directly from the dialog itself.

Show ’Exit’ dialog

When the user closes PowerFactory a confirmation dialog normally appears. In addition to
confirming that the user wishes to exit, it offers options relating to project purging and recycle
bin emptying. There is also a “Don’t ask again” option which can be checked. This user setting
is another way of disabling the confirmation dialog, or of coure re-enabling it.

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 Part III

Handling
Chapter 8

Basic Project Definition

The basic database structure in PowerFactory and the data model used to define and study a power
system is explained in Chapter 4 (PowerFactory Overview). It is recommended that users become
familiar with this chapter before commencing project definition and analysis in PowerFactory. This
chapter describes how to define and configure projects, and how to create grids.

8.1 Defining and Configuring a Project

There are three methods to create a new project. Two of them employ the Data Manager window and
the third employs the main menu. Whichever method is used the end result will be the same: a new
project in the database.

Method 1: Using the main menu:

• On the main menu choose File → New→ Project.

• Enter the name of the project. Make sure that the Target Folder is set to the folder in which the
project should be created. By default it is set to the active user account folder.
• Press Execute.

Method 2: Using the element selection dialog from the Data Manager:

• In the Data Manager click on the New Object button ( )

• In the field at the bottom of the Element Selection window (IntPrj) (after selecting option Others in
the Elements field). Note that names in PowerFactory are case-sensitive.
• Press Ok. The project folder dialog will then open. Press Ok.

Method 3: Directly via the Data Manager:

• Locate the active user in the left-hand pane of the Data Manager.
• Place the cursor on the active user’s icon or a folder within the active user account and right-click.
• From the context-sensitive menu choose New → Project. Press Ok. The project folder dialog will
then open. Press Ok.

Note: The ComNew command is used to create objects of several classes. To create a new project it
must be ensured that the Project option is selected.

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In order to define and analyse a power system, a project must contain at least one grid and one
study case. After the new project is created (by any of the methods described), a new study case
is automatically created and activated. A dialog used to specify the name and nominal frequency of a
new, automatically-created grid pops up. When the button OK is pressed in the grid dialog:

• The new grid folder is created in the newly-created project folder.

• An empty single line diagram associated with the grid is opened.

The newly-created project has the default folder structure shown in Figure 8.1.1. Although a grid folder
and a study case are enough to define a system and perform calculations, the new project may be
expanded by creating library folders, extra grids, Variations, Operation Scenarios, Operational Data
objects, extra study cases, graphic windows, etc.

Projects can be deleted by right-clicking on the project name in the Data Manager and selecting Delete
from the context-sensitive menu. Only inactive projects can be deleted.

Note: The default structure of the project folder is arranged to take advantage of the data model
structure and the user is therefore advised to adhere to it. Experienced users may prefer to
create, within certain limits, their own project structure for specific advanced studies.
If the user wishes to change the default structure of the project, it can be modified from the
Administrator account. The default structure is defined in a project held the folder: System,
Configuration, Default.

Figure 8.1.1: Default project structure

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8.1.1 Project Dialog

The project (IntPrj) dialog can be accessed by selecting Edit → Project Data→ Project. . . on the main
menu or by right-clicking the project folder in the Data Manager and selecting Edit from the context-
sensitive menu.

The Basic Data page contains basic project settings and allows the creation of new study cases and
grids:

• Pressing the button in the Project Settings field opens the Project Settings dialog (SetProj).
See section 8.1.2 for more information regarding the settings of the project.

• Pressing the New Grid button will create a new grid and will open the grid edit dialog. A second
dialog will ask for the study case to which the new grid folder should be added. For additional
information about creating a new grid refer to Section 8.2(Creating New Grids)
• The New Study Case button will create a new study case and will open its dialog. The new study
case will not be activated automatically. For further information about creating study cases refer
to Chapter 13: Study Cases, Section 13.2 (Creating and Using Study Cases).
• When a project is created, its settings (i.e. result box definitions, report definitions, flexible page
selectors, etc.) are defined by the default settings from the system library. If these settings are
changed, the changes are stored in the folder “Settings” of the project. The settings from another
project or the original (default) ones can be taken by using the buttons Take from existing project
or Set to default in the Changed Settings field of the dialog. The settings can only be changed
when a project is inactive.
• The button Calculate in the Licence Relevant Nodes field, calculates the number of nodes relevant
to the PowerFactory licence, this number is the number of equipotential nodes on the network.

• The name of the active study case is shown in the lower part of the dialog window under Active
Study Case. Its dialog can be opened by pressing the button.

• Pressing the Contents button on the dialog will open a new data browser displaying all the folders
included in the current project directory.

The Sharing page of the dialog allows the definition of the project sharing rules. These rules are
particularly useful when working in a multi-user database environment. Further information is given in
Chapter 21 (Data Management).

The Derived Project page provides information if the project is derived from a master project.

The Combined Project panel enables the user to combine additional projects with the current project if
it is active. See section 21.7.1.3 for more details.

The Storage page provides information about the records stored in the project. A PowerFactory project
contains records of changes to data, which makes it possible to roll back the project to an earlier state
using versions (see section 21.2). However, as the user works with the project and makes changes to it,
the number of records increases and it is useful to remove older, unwanted records in a process known
as “purging”. By default all changes within the last 7 days will be retained.

The Migration page provides information about the migration status of the project. The migration priority
of the project is also set in this page, this priority is used when using the Minimal migration option
described in section 5.4.4.1.

The Description page is used to add user comments and the approval status.

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8.1.2 Project Settings

The project settings dialog (SetPrj)can be accessed by selecting Edit → Project Data→ Project set-
tings. . . on the main menu or by pressing the button in the Project Settings field of the project’s
dialog.

8.1.2.1 Validity Period

PowerFactory projects may span a period of months or even years, taking into account network expan-
sions, planned outages and other system events. The period of validity of a project specifies the time
span the network model is valid for.

The validity period is defined by the Start Time and End Time of the project. The study case has study
time, which must fall inside the validity period of the project.

Start Time: Start of validity period.

End Time: End of validity period.

Status: This flag enables the user to label a project as Draft or Issued. It does not have any effect on
functionality.

8.1.2.2 Input

On this page, units for the data entry and display of variables can be selected.

Units: this parameter is used to change the system of measurement used when displaying element
parameters. By default, results are entered and displayed in metric (SI) units. British Imperial units
can be used instead, by selecting one of the options English-Transmission or English-Industry. The
Transmission option uses larger units where appropriate (i.e. miles rather than feet for line length).

Lines/Cables Length unit, m: for metric length units, this parameter allows the user to select the
preferred prefix (such as k to use kilometers rather than meters).

Loads/Asyn. Machines P,Q, S unit VA, W, var: this parameter allows the user to select the preferred
prefix (such as M to use megawatts rather than watts).

Currency Unit: for displaying values relevant for cost-related calculations, this parameter allows selec-
tion from a range of currency units (abbreviated in accordance with ISO 4217).

8.1.2.3 Advanced Calculation Parameters

On the Advanced Calculation Parameters page, additional parameters used during the calculation are
defined.

Base Apparent Power: this is the value used during the calculation; the base power of each element
is defined by its nominal value.

Minimum Resistance, Minimum Conductance: the minimum resistance and conductance that will be
assigned to the elements if none is defined.

Threshold Impedance for Z-model: this parameter is used to control the modelling of currents (Y- and
Z-models are used internally and this parameter controls the small-impedance threshold for swopping
from one to the other). This control is designed to enhance the robustness of the algorithm and the user
is recommended to leave the parameter at its default setting.

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Settings for slack assignment: this option only influences the automatic slack assignment (e.g. if no
machine, or more than one machine, is marked as “Reference Machine”)
• Auto slack assignment:
– Method 1: all synchronous machines can be selected as slack (reference machine);
– Method 2: a synchronous machine is not automatically selected as slack if, for that machine,
the option on its Load Flow page: Spinning if circuit-breaker is open is disabled.
– Off: auto slack assignment is switched off; the grid will be considered as de-energised if no
reference machine is defined.
• Priority for Reference Machine: The criteria used for automatic selection of a reference machine
are described under the Load Flow options, in section 25.3.2. However, the way in which the
machines are prioritised for selection can be influenced using this setting. The options are:
– Rated Power: Snom is used as the criterion, as in the table above
– Active Power Capability: Pmax-Pmin is used instead of Snom
– Active Power Reserve: Pmax-Pgini is used instead of Snom
• Auto slack assignment for areas without connection to fictitious border grid: For large
network models covering multiples systems connected by so-called “fictitious border grids”, this
option can be used in conjunction with a Fictitious border grid flag on the ElmNet object, to have
more control over which areas will be considered in the calculation, so that remote parts of the
network that are not of interest for a particular study can be excluded. The default is for this option
to be selected.
Calculation of symmetrical components for untransposed lines: the selection of one of these
methods defines how the sequence components of lines in PowerFactory will be calculated:

• Method 1: apply the 012-transformation (irrespective of line transposition). This is the standard
method used;
• Method 2: first calculate a symmetrical transposition for untransposed lines, and then apply the
012-transformation.
Earth wire reduction of towers: when overhead lines are modelled using towers, the earth-wires are
reduced before matrix transposition is carried out. In older versions the matrix was transposed first, so
this setting allows users to use the older method if this is required for compatibility reasons.

Automatic Out of Service Detection: when calculations are executed, if the Automatic Out of Service
Detection parameter is selected, the calculation will treat de-energised elements as though they have
been made Out of Service (using the Out of Service flag). This means that they will not be considered
in the calculations and no results will be displayed for them. It should be noted that this parameter does
not affect elements which are isolated only by open circuit breakers (as opposed to other switch types).
These are retained in the calculation because they could be energised via switch close actions at some
point.

Determination of supplying transformers: for a distribution network, this flag alters the way in which
calculations determine which elements are supplied by which substations. If only voltage control
transformers are considered, step-up transformers will not be considered as supplying transformers.
This affects some calculations such as reliability analysis and the colouring mode Topology, Supplied
by Substation.

8.1.2.4 Single Line Graphics

Geographic data
• Coordinate system: the geographic coordinate system setting determines in which coordinate
space the geographic coordinates of net elements in the project are stored/interpreted. The user
can select from a range of coordinate systems (identified by their EPSG codes).

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• WGS-84 bounds: these fields show the bounds of the selected system in WGS-84 coordinates.
When connecting component to busbar

• Create Circuit-Breakers: when a component is connected to a busbar in a single line graphic, a

switch (class StaSwitch) is automatically created. By default this switch will be a circuit breaker.
• Create Load-Break-Switch or Circuit-Breaker dep. on nominal voltage: if this option is
selected instead, there is the option to have Load-Break switches for lower voltages, with the
threshold customised by the user.

Variations
• Show inactive elements from other variations: by default, inactive elements (for example
elements created in a variation stage which is not yet active) are shown on graphics which are
not in freeze mode. They are shown in the colour selected on the first option of the colouring
scheme, Energising Status, even if that option is deselected. If the Show inactive elements from
other variations project setting is deselected, inactive elements will not be visible.
Insertion of new substations

• Insert substations with bays: when new substations are created, it is possible to include
Bay elements (ElmBay ). These group together the network elements that normally constitute
a standard bay connection of a circuit to a busbar within the substation. This grouping is useful
for visualisation but is also used by the Load Flow Calculation option Calculate max. current at
busbars: see section 48.4.3.

8.1.2.5 Miscellaneous

Switching Actions
• Isolate with earthing: if this option is selected, when a planned outage is applied, the equipment
will not only be isolated but earths will be applied, for example on the terminals at either end of a
line. Similarly, when using the “right-click, isolate” option, earths will be applied.
• Isolate opens circuit breakers only: when equipment is isolated using a planned outage or
“right-click, isolate”, this option determines whether it is switched out using just circuit breakers or
whether isolators adjacent to the breakers are also opened.
Planned Outages

• Consider Automatically upon study case activation: if this option is selected, relevant Int-
Plannedout outages are automatically applied when a study case is activated.
• Creation of Planned Outages: outages can be represented using IntPlannedout objects (see
chapter 42), and the default is that any new planned outage created will be of this class. If the
user wishes instead to create the older IntOutage objects, this project setting should be changed
to “Create IntOutage (obsolete)”.

8.1.2.6 External Data

External Data Directory: this is a folder on the user’s hard disk, in which data files related to the
PowerFactory project, such as images or Python scripts, are stored. The filepath has to be absolute,
but can contain the placeholders shown below on the dialog box:

• “$(InstallationDir)” for the installation directory of PowerFactory ;

• “$(WorkspaceDir)” for the workspace directory.

Check existence of referenced files: if this button is clicked, PowerFactory checks to see that all
external files referenced in the project exist, and reports those not found.

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Display reminder after file selection: for certain file reference parameters, it is expected that the file
will be in the External Data area and, if this check box is enabled, a dialog box will come up if a different
location is specified. Note that it is permitted to select files outside the External Data directory; the
dialog is just a reminder that the External Data directory is recommended.

8.1.2.7 Plots

Names in plot legends: for element names shown in plot legends, the user has the option to include
additional information to show where the element is located, e.g. site or substation (short name).

8.1.2.8 Data Verification

Nominal Voltage Check

Max. allowed differences over Lines/Switches: these are the maximum permitted percentage
differences between the nominal voltages at the two ends of a line or the two sides of a switch (as
a percentage of the higher voltage). With differences above these thresholds, a load flow will fail with
an error message; for smaller differences (but >0.5%) a warning is given.

Max. allowed deviation from Terminal Voltage, for transformers and for other elements: there is
a check when running a load flow that the nominal voltage of a transformer or other element is not too
low compared with the terminal to which it is attached. With differences above these thresholds, a load
flow will fail with an error message; for smaller differences (but >10%) a warning is given.

8.1.2.9 Substation Types

This list of substation types, configurable by the user, can be used in geographic diagrams to distinguish
graphically between different types of substation by assigning different symbols to each type in the list.
In a substation itself, the Substation Type is selected from the same list, in the Description page.

8.1.3 Activating and Deactivating Projects

To activate a project use the option File → Activate Project from the main menu. This shows a tree with
all the projects in the current user’s account. Select the project that should be activated. Alternatively,
a project may be activated by right-clicking on it in the Data Manager and using the context-sensitive
menu.

The last 5 active projects are listed under File in the main menu. The currently active project is the first
entry in this list. To deactivate the currently active project, select it in the list. Alternatively, you may
choose the option File → Deactivate Project from the main menu. To activate another project, select it
in the list of the 5 last active projects.

Upon project activation, the user may see a message about project purging. The purge function is
described above in section 8.1.1, Storage page.

Note: Only one project can be activated at a time.

8.1.4 Exporting and Importing Projects

Projects (or any folder in the database) can be exported using the *.pfd (PowerFactory Data) file format,
or by exception for older applications by using the *.dz format. It is recommended to use the PFD

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format (*.pfd) whenever possible when exporting projects: the consumption of memory resources is
significantly lower than with the old file format (*.dz) and functions such as historic data, time stamps
and former versions are not supported by the old *.dz format.

A new project export method, the Snapshot Export, has been made available from Version 2017. This
method, described in section 8.1.4.2, creates a file in a *.dzs format.

8.1.4.1 Exporting a Project

To export a project, select File → Export. . . → Data. . . from the main menu or click on the icon of the
Data Manager. Alternatively projects can be exported by selecting the option Export. . . on the project
context-sensitive menu (only available for inactive projects). The dialog is shown in Figure 8.1.2.

• Objects to export: this table shows all top-level objects that will be exported within the *.pfd file.
• Export current state: this option is visible if the project (or, object in the Objects to export
table) has Versions defined. If enabled (default), the current state of the project will be exported.
Otherwise, only the state of the selected Version/s will be exported.

• Versions to export: this table shows all Versions of the Objects to export, if any are available. By
disabling the checkbox for specific Versions, the user can define which Version should or should
not be exported. For master projects, the corresponding Version for the derived project must be
selected. See Section 21.3.1 for further details.

• Export data in retention period: if enabled, data changes from within the retention period will
be exported. See Section 8.1.1 for further details.
• Export ’Modified by’: if enabled, the information who last changed an object is exported (attribute
’modified by’). This information could conflict with data privacy rules and is therefore configurable.
• Export external data files (e.g. results files): if enabled, calculation results (i.e. results files,
plot data, etc.) will be exported. Otherwise, the calculation must be repeated after importing.
• Export derived project as regular project: this option is only available for derived projects, see
Section 21.3.1. If enabled, a derived project will be exported as an ’adequate’ project. In this case
no master project is required. It should be noted that this project can no longer be reused as a
derived project.

• Export to former PowerFactory version: if the project is intended to be imported into a former
PowerFactory version, this flag must be activated and the version specified.
• PFD file: the path where the *.pfd file will be saved.

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Figure 8.1.2: Export dialog

8.1.4.2 Snapshot Export

The Snapshot Export function enables the currently active status of a project to be exported, such that
only the relevant objects are included. A project exported in this way is potentially a much smaller file,
which nevertheless when reimported into PowerFactory can be used to reproduce analysis carried out
in the original project study case.

Unlike the existing Project Export, where the project must first be deactivated, the Snapshot Export is
performed on an active project. This way, PowerFactory can determine exactly which objects are active
and which data are applicable as a result of an active scenario or active variations.

To carry out a snapshot export from a project, the required study case and scenario (if used) should be
activated. Then File → Export→ Project Snapshot (*.dzs). . . from the main menu is selected.

When the Snapshot Export is executed, the resulting file outside PowerFactory has the file extension
.dzs. It can be imported just like a .pfd or .dz file and when activated can be used to perform the usual
calculations such as load flow or simulations. Furthermore, it is possible for merge processes to be
carried out between it and the source project, for example if there is a need to include additional data
from the source project.

The Snapshot Export captures only the data required to reproduce the results of the active study case.
Therefore the following objects, for example, will not appear in the resultant project:

• Variations: changes in active variation stages are consolidated. The exported project will contain
therefore no variations.

• Inactive study cases, scenarios and grids: inactive study cases, scenarios and grids are not
exported. The exported project will have one study case, and no scenarios; if a scenario had been
active in the source project, the data will be represented in the network data.
• Unused library objects: only objects which are in use are exported, so unused information such
as type data which are not referenced will not be exported.

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• Characteristics: the parameters which are modified by Characteristics will be set at the values
determined by the Characteristics, but the Characteristics themselves will not be exported.
• Operational Library: operational data such as Thermal Ratings, which may contain variations,
will be reduced to just the currently active values.

8.1.4.3 Importing a Project

Projects can be imported by selecting File → Import. . . → Data. . . from the main menu or by clicking
on the icon in the Data Manager. The user can select the type of file to import from the Files of type
field in the Open dialog which pops up. Alternatively, projects can be imported by selecting Import. . .
on the project context-sensitive menu (only available for inactive projects).

The import and export of information in other data formats is described in Chapter 24.

8.1.5 External References

In order to avoid problems when exporting/importing projects, it is recommended to check for external
references before exporting the project. This can be done by selecting the option Check for external
References via the project context-sensitive menu.

If external references are found, these can be packed before exporting by selecting the option Pack
external References in the project context-sensitive menu.

The user can define the source of the External References (i.e. Global Library, Configuration folder,
etc). A new folder, called “External” containing all external references will be created inside the project.

8.2 Creating New Grids

When defining a new project a grid is automatically created. In case additional grids are required,
various methods may be employed to add a grid folder to the current network model:

1. Open the edit dialog of the project and press the New Grid button.
2. Select Insert → Grid. . . on the main menu.
3. Right-click the Network Data folder (in the active project) in a Data Manager window and select
New → Grid from the context-sensitive menu.

The dialog to create a new grid will then pop up. There the grid name, the nominal frequency and a grid
owner (optional) may be specified. A second dialog will appear after the Ok button has been pressed.
In this dialog the study case that the grid will be linked to must be selected. Three options are given:

1. add this Grid/System Stage to active Study Case: only available when a study case is active.
2. activate a new Study Case and add this Grid/System Stage: creates and activates a new study
case for the new grid.
3. activate an existing Study Case and add this Grid/System Stage: add the new grid folder to
an existing, but not yet active study case.

After the Ok button in the second dialog has been pressed, the new grid is created in the Network Data
folder and a reference in the Summary Grid object of the selected study case is created. Normally,
the second option (from the list above) is preferred because this creates a new study case which is
dedicated to the new grid only. This means that the new grid may be tested separately using a load flow
or other calculation. To analyse the combination of two or more grids, new study cases may be created
later, or the existing ones may be altered.

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As indicated in Chapter 13(Study Cases), grids can be later added or removed from the active study
case by right-clicking and selecting Activate/Deactivate.

8.3 Project Overview

The Project Overview is illustrated in Figure 8.3.1. It is a dockable window, displayed by default on the
left side of the main application window between the main toolbar and the output window. It displays
an overview of the project allowing the user to assess the state of the project at a glance and facilitates
easy interaction with the project data. The window is docked by default, but can be undocked by the user
and displayed as a floating window that can be placed both inside and outside of the main application
window.

To dock an undocked Project Overview window, it should be moved all the way to the left border of the
main window, until the mouse reaches the border.

If required, the window can be closed by the user. To close or reopen the window, toggle the option
Window → Project Overview from the main menu.

Figure 8.3.1: Project overview

The following objects and information can be accessed via the Project Overview.

• Study Cases
– Active Study Case

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– Inactive Study Cases

– Current Study Time

• Operation Scenarios
– Active Scenario Schedulers
– Active Scenarios
– Inactive Scenarios
• Variations
– Recording Expansion Stage
– List of active Variations with active and inactive Expansion Stages as children
– List of inactive Variations with inactive Expansion Stages as children
• Grid/System Stages
– List of active Grids or System Stages
– List of inactive Grids or System Stages

• Trigger
– Active triggers

Entries for active objects are displayed with bold text, entries for inactive objects are displayed as
disabled/grey.

A context-sensitive menu can be accessed by right-clicking on each of the tree entries. The following
actions are available for each of the entries:
• Change active item(s): Activate, Deactivate, change active
• Show all available items

• Edit (open dialog)

• Edit and Browse
• Delete

• Save (for Operation Scenario only)

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Network Graphics

9.1 Introduction

PowerFactory works with three different classes of graphics which constitute the main tools used to
design new power systems, controller block diagrams and displays of results:

• Single Line Diagrams (described in this chapter)

• Block Diagrams (described in Section 30.2: Dynamic Models)

• Plots (described in Section 19.7: Plots)

Diagrams are organised in Graphic Boards for visualisation (see Section 9.2.2 for more information).

9.2 Graphic Windows and Database Objects

In the PowerFactory graphic windows, graphic objects associated with the active study case are dis-
played. Those graphics include single line diagrams, station diagrams, block diagrams and plots. Many
commands and tools are available to edit and manipulate symbols in the graphics. The underlying data
objects may also be accessed and edited from the graphics, and calculation results may be displayed
and configured.

Many of the tools and commands are found in the drop down menus or as buttons in the toolbars, but by
far the most convenient manner of accessing them is to use the right mouse button to display a “context
menu”. The menu presented is determined from primarily from the cursor position.

9.2.1 Network Diagrams and other graphics

Four types of graphical pages are used in PowerFactory :

1. Single Line Diagrams (schematic and geographical network diagrams) for entering power grid
definitions and for showing calculation results.
2. Detailed graphics of sites, substations or branches (similar to network diagrams) for showing
busbar (nodes) topologies and calculation results.
3. Block Diagrams for designing logic (controller) circuits and relays.
4. Plot Pages for designing graphs, e.g. for the results of a time domain simulation.

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The icon Diagrams ( ) can be found inside the Data Manager. Grids, substations, branches, sites and
controller types (common and composite types in PowerFactory terminology) each have a graphical
page. In order to see the graphic on the screen, open a Data Manager and locate the graphic page
object you want to show, click on the icon next to it, right-click and select Show Graphic. The Show
Graphic option is also available directly by right-clicking on the object. The graphic pages of grids and
substations are to be found in the subfolder Diagrams ( ) under the Network Model folder.

Note that it is also possible to store Diagrams within the Grid, although this is generally not recom-
mended.

Figure 9.2.1: The Diagrams folder inside the Data Manager

9.2.2 Active Graphics, Graphics Board and Study Cases

The graphics that are displayed in an active project are determined by the active study case. The
study case folder contains a folder called the Graphics Board folder (SetDesktop) in which references
to the graphics to be displayed are contained. The Graphics Board folder is automatically created and
maintained and should generally not be edited by the user.

Consider the project shown in figure 9.2.2. There are several diagrams in the Diagrams folder, but
the graphics board folder in the study case has a reference to only some of them and thus only these
graphics will be shown when the study case is activated.

Graphics may be removed from the active study case by right-clicking the tab at the bottom of the
corresponding graphic page and selecting Remove Page(s).

The study case and graphics board folder will also contain references to any other graphics that have
been created when the study case is active, such as plot pages.

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Figure 9.2.2: Relationship between the study case, graphics board and single line diagrams

9.2.3 Single Line Graphics and Data Objects

When building a new network, it is usually recommended that this is done from a single-line diagram.
As each objects is created, the associated graphical representation is created too. For more information
about building a network, see Chapter 11.

In a simple network there may be a 1:1 relationship between data objects and their graphical repre-
sentations, i.e. every load, generator, terminal and line is represented once in the graphics. However,
PowerFactory provides additional flexibility in this regard. Data objects may be represented graphically
on more than one graphic, but only once per graphic. Thus a data object for one terminal can be
represented graphically on more than one graphic. All graphical representations contain the link to the
same data object.

Furthermore, graphical symbols may be moved without losing the link to the data object they represent.
Likewise, data objects may be moved without affecting the graphic.

The graphics themselves are saved in the database tree, by default in the Diagrams folder of the Network
Model. This simplifies finding the correct Single Line graphic representation of a particular grid, even in
the case where there are several graphic representations for one grid.

When the drawing tools are used to place a new component (i.e. a line, transformer, etc.) a new data
object is also created in the database tree. A Single Line Graphic object therefore has a reference
to a grid folder. The new data objects are stored into the ’target’ folders that the graphics page are
associated with. This information may be determined by right-clicking the graphic → Graphic Options
or using the Graphic Options button ( ).

Since data objects may have more than one graphic representation the deletion of a graphic object
should not mean that the data object will also be deleted. Hence the user may choose to delete only the
graphical object (right-click menu → Delete Graphical Object only ). In this case the user is warned that
the data object will not be deleted. This suggests that a user may delete all graphical objects related to
a data object, with the data object still residing in the database and being considered for calculations.

When an element is deleted completely (right menu option → Delete Element) a warning message will
confirm the action. This warning may be switched off in the User Settings dialog, General page, Always
confirm deletion of Grid Data.

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9.2.4 Creating New Graphic Windows

A new graphic window can be created by using Insert on the main menu. Four options relating to
graphics are offered:

• Single Line Diagram: Creates a Single Line Diagram graphic in the target folder. Before the
graphic is inserted, the user is prompted to select the relevant grid.
• Geographic Diagram: Creates a Geographic Diagram of the network.

• Block / Frame Diagram: Creates a new (empty) Block Diagram Graphic object, which is then
displayed.
• Plot: Presents a dialog box where the user selects the required plot type. Another dialog box
enables parameters to be entered. Once these are confirmed, the plot is then displayed.

Graphic pages can only be shown as a pages in a so-called graphics board, so this will automatically
be created if required. Creating a new page while in a graphics board can be done by clicking on the
icon on the graphics board toolbar.

9.2.5 Page Tab

The page tab of the graphic window displays the name of the graphics in the graphics board. The
sequence of the graphics in the graphics board may be changed by the user. A page tab is clicked and
moved by dragging and dropping. An arrow marks the insert position during drag and drop. Another way
to change the order of the graphics is to select the option Move/Copy Page(s) of the context sensitive
menu. In addition plot pages can be copied very easily by pressing the Ctrl key during drag and drop.
The icon copies a plot pages and inserts the copy alongside the original panel.

The page tab menu is accessed by a right-click on the page tab of the graphic windows. The following
commands are found:
• Insert Page → Create New Page creates a new page (the icon in the toolbar will do the same).
• Insert Page → Open Existing Page opens a page or graphic that has already been created but
which is not yet displayed.

• Rename Page presents a dialog to change the name of the graphic.

• Move/Copy Page(s) displays a dialog to move or copy the selected page. Copy is only available
for plots.

9.2.6 Drawing Toolboxes

Each graphics window has a specific Drawing Tool Box. This toolbox has buttons for new network
symbols and for non-network symbols. See figure 9.2.3 for two examples.

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(a) Single Line and Geo- (b) Block Diagrams

graphic Diagrams

Figure 9.2.3: Drawing Toolbox examples

The toolboxes have:

• Network or block diagram symbols, which are linked to a database object: terminals, busbars,
lines, transformers, switches, adders, multipliers, etc.
• Graphical add-on symbols: text, polygons, rectangles, circles, etc.

The toolboxes are only visible when the graphics freeze mode is off. The graphics freeze mode is turned
on and off with the icon (found at the main icon bar of the graphical window).

9.2.7 Active Grid Folder (Target Folder)

On the status bar of PowerFactory (figure 9.2.4), the active grid folder is displayed on the left-most field,
indicating the target folder (grid) that will be modified when changes are made in the network diagram.
The active target folder can be changed double-clicking this field and then selecting the desired target
folder. This can be useful if the user intends to place new elements on a single line diagram, but have
the element stored in a different grid folder in the Data Manager.

Figure 9.2.4: The Status Bar

9.3 Graphic Commands, Options, and Settings

In this section the commands, options and settings that are available in PowerFactory to configure and
use the graphic windows are introduced. The sub-sections of this chapter are divided as illustrated in

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figure 9.3.1. These commands are also available from the main menu under View.

Further commands available from the context-sensitive menus of elements are also listed towards the
end of this section (9.3.13).

Figure 9.3.1: Categories of graphic commands, options, and settings

9.3.1 Freeze Mode

locks the diagram from graphical changes, no network elements can be added or deleted. Note that
the status of switches can still be modified when freeze mode is on.

9.3.2 Rebuild

The drawing may not be updated correctly under some circumstances. The rebuild function updates
the currently visible page by updating the drawing from the database.

9.3.3 View commands

9.3.3.1 Zoom In

Press the Zoom In to change the cursor to a magnifying glass. The mouse can then be clicked and
dragged to select a rectangular area to be zoomed. When the frame encompasses the area you wish
to zoom into release the mouse button.

Alternatively, by pressing Ctrl and using the mouse scroll wheel it can be zoomed in and out with the
mouse cursor as reference point. Using the Ctrl+- and Ctrl++ keys, zooming is also possible referenced
to the centre of the visible area. If in addition Shift is pressed, the reference changes to the mouse
cursor.

Note: The Acceleration Factor for zooming and panning can be changed on the Advanced tab of the
Graphic Window page in the User Settings dialog.

9.3.3.2 Zoom Back

To return to the previous zoom scale, press the Zoom Back button .

9.3.3.3 Zoom All

zooms to the page extends.

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9.3.3.4 Zoom Level

Zooms to a custom or pre-defined level.

9.3.3.5 Hand Tool

Use the hand tool to pan the single line diagram (when not at the page extends). The hand tool is
activated with pressed middle mouse button, too. Alternatively, the mouse scroll wheel can be used to
scroll vertically, and Ctrl+→ / ↑ / ← / ↓ used to scroll vertically and horizontally.

9.3.3.6 View Bookmarks

The View Bookmarks allow to save the current view and restore that view at a later date. The
bookmarks may be used with different network diagrams (single line, geographic, detailed substation
graphic) of the same or different grids. In big networks this feature allows to switch very fast between
diagram details to check e.g. the impact of operational changes in loads/feed-in at different places in
the network.

By clicking View Bookmarks → Add Bookmark... the name will be asked, under which the current view
is stored and displayed in the list of the View Bookmarks. To edit, delete already existing or even create
manually new bookmarks, click on View Bookmarks → Manage Bookmarks.... An object browser with all
existing bookmarks appears. They can directly be changed using the object browser or by opening the
Edit-dialog for single bookmarks. The IntViewBookmark -objects contain the reference to the diagram,
the position and size of the View Area. To further accelerate the workflow Hotkeys are set automatically
for the bookmarks, which can be changed, too. If the current view should be assigned to the opened
bookmark, the button « From View may be pressed.

9.3.3.7 Search in Diagram

The icon is used to search for elements in the graphic, as described in section 9.9 below.

9.3.3.8 Navigation Pane

The icon is used to open or close the navigation pane, described in section 9.8 below.

9.3.4 Select commands

9.3.4.1 Rectangular Selection

is used to select a rectangular section of the diagram. This icon is by default pressed, however the
Hand Tool or Free-form Selection may also be used.

9.3.4.2 Free-form Selection

is used to select a custom area of the diagram.

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9.3.4.3 Mark All Elements

marks (selects) all objects in the current diagram. This is helpful for moving the whole drawing to
another place or copying the whole drawing into the clipboard. In block diagrams the surrounding block
will not be marked. The keyboard short cut Ctrl+A may also be used to perform this action.

Note: To select and/or move network and annotation elements at once, select first the network ele-
ments, unlock then the annotation layers with and with pressed Ctrl-key mark the annotation
objects. The whole selection can then be moved together.

9.3.5 Graphic Options

Each graphic window has its own settings, which may be changed using the Graphic Options button
. The available settings of the dialog are described in the following sections.

9.3.5.1 Basic Attributes page

The General-tab offers the following settings:

• Name: the name of the graphic

• Target folder for network elements: the reference to the database folder in which new power
system elements created in this graphic will be stored.

• Default view area: when the user has zoomed into part of the graphic, the icon can be used
to zoom out again. By default, this will be to the full area of the graphic, but by selecting a book-
marked area here, as the default view area, this “zoom all” can be customised. This is useful for
users of large networks who are only interested in a specific region. (See section 9.3.3.6 for more
information about bookmarks.)
• Write protected: if enabled, the single line graphic can not be modified. The drawing toolboxes
are not displayed and the freeze icon becomes inactive.
• Line style for cables: is used to select a line style for all cables.
• Line style for overhead lines: is used to select a line style for all overhead lines.
• Node width factor: the width of points and lines for nodes and busbars.
• Offset factor when drawing one-port devices: defines the length of a connection when a one
port device (e.g. load, shunt) is drawn by clicking on the busbar/terminal. This is the default
distance from the busbar in grid points.
• Allow individual line style: permits the line style to be set for individual lines. The individual style
may be set for any line in the graphic by right-clicking the line → Set Individual Line Style. This
may also be performed for a group of selected lines/cables in one action, by first multi selecting
the elements.
• Allow individual line width: as for the individual line style, but may be used in combination with
the “Line Style for Cables/Overhead Lines” option. The individual width is defined by selecting
the corresponding option in the right mouse menu (may also be performed for a group of selected
lines/cables in one action).
• Diagram colouring: by default, changes of the active Colouring Scheme take effect on every
diagram (Default). By setting the option to Colouring scheme, the scheme of the current diagram
can be configured separately. Press Manage... to open an object browser with a list of the
available colouring scheme settings. Copy the existing or create a new one and alter it to the
wished scheme. Close the object browser and choose the new colouring scheme out of the drop
down list.

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The Advanced-tab offers the following settings:

• Allow navigation pane to be shown: if checked, the Navigation Pane can be activated by
Window → Navigation Pane or the context sensitive menu in the diagram Navigation Pane.
• Show tooltip on network elements: if this is selected, information about network elements will
be shown if the user hovers the mouse over the element.

The Additional Attributes and Coordinates Space pages should generally only be configured with the
assistance of DIgSILENT support staff. Note that if Use Scaling Factor for Computation of Distances is
selected on the Coordinates Space page, it is possible to calculate the length of lines on the Single Line
Graphic by right-clicking and selecting Measure Length of Lines. In geographic diagrams, this option is
activated by default.

9.3.5.2 Schematic Diagram page

When a schematic diagram (overview, single line or detailed) is active, the Schematic Diagram page
will be available with the following options:

Drawing Tools
• Snap: snaps the mouse onto the drawing raster.
• Grid: shows the drawing raster using small points.
• Ortho-Type: defines if and how non-orthogonal lines are permitted:
– Ortho Off: connections will be drawn exactly as their line points were set.
– Ortho: allows only right-angle connections between objects.
– Semi Ortho: the first segment of a connection that leads away from a busbar or terminal will
always be drawn orthogonally.

Size Factors for

Defines the size of the symbols in the diagram for sites, substations, edge elements and line end sym-
bols. The connection circles on simplified substations is a width factor used in single line diagrams: In
single line diagrams multiple busbar substations are only represented by their main busbars. Connected
elements may be connected to each of the busbars by changing the state of the internal switches. The
currently active connection is shown in the diagram by a filled circle, the not connected ones by hollow
circles. The width of the circles is defined in this field.

Note: The settings for the cursor type for the graphic windows (arrow or tracking cross) may be set in
the User Settings dialog, see section 7.2 (Graphic Windows Settings). This is because the cursor
shape is a global setting, valid for all graphic windows, while all graphic settings described above
are specific for each graphic window.

9.3.5.3 Text Boxes page

• Object names
– Show frame for nodes/branches: the text boxes of the according elements will show a
frame.
– Background: specifies the transparency of object names boxes:
* Opaque: means that objects behind the result box cannot be seen through the result
box.
* Transparent: means that objects behind the result box can be seen through the result
box.
• Results

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– Show frame for nodes/branches: the result boxes of the according elements will show a
frame.
– Background: specifies the transparency of result boxes (as object names)
– Always show result boxes of detailed couplers: self-explanatory.
– Space saving representation of result boxes on connection lines: self-explanatory.
• Show line from general text boxes to referenced objects: may be disabled to unclutter the
graphic.

• Reset text boxes completely: textboxes and result boxes have reference points (the point on the
box at which the box will ’attach’ to its element) that may be changed by the user. If this option is:
– Enabled: the default reference will be used.
– Disabled: the user defined reference will be used.
• Show tooltip on network elements: enables or disables the balloon help dialogs.

9.3.5.4 Switches page

• Switch state symbol at connection end: selects the switch representation (see figure 9.3.2):
– Permanent box: shows a solid black square for a closed and an frame line for an open
switch (left picture).
– Old style switch: shows the switches as the more conventional switch symbol (right picture).

Figure 9.3.2: Cubicle representations

• Display frame around switches: draws a frame around the switch itself (breakers, disconnectors,
etc.). This only applies to user-drawn breakers and disconnectors.
• Create switches when connecting to busbar: self-explanatory.
• Show connected busbars as small dots in simplified substation representation: defines how
the connection points on busbars are represented in busbar systems.

9.3.5.5 Geographic Diagram page

The settings on this page define the appearance of the graphical representation of network elements in
the geographic diagrams. This page is only visible when a geographic diagram is active.

• Size factors for: defines the size of the symbols in the diagram for sites, substations, terminals,
edge elements, text, line loads and section transitions and line end symbols.

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• Scale level threshold for visibility of: in extensive networks with a high scale level, edge
elements (except lines), switch state boxes at line ends, text labels and annotation objects are
hidden at a specified scale level to improve the clarity of the diagram.

• Line width: sets the width of all the lines in the geographic diagram.
• Distance factor for one-port devices: defines the distance of all drawn one-port-devices (e.g.
load, shunt) to their connected nodes. This is the default distance from the busbar in grid points.
• Margin at full zoom: since in geographic diagrams there is no border, this value defines the
margin shown if Zoom All is pressed.
• Show coordinates in latitude/longitude: shows the coordinates of the current cursor position
in latitude and longitude in the Status Bar. Otherwise the position is displayed as X/Y values
representing UTM-coordinates. The border values of the area represented by the diagram are
listed in the tab Coordinate Space of the Basic Attributes page (9.3.5.1).
• Prefer branch coordinates: this option affects elements which are grouped to branches (Elm-
Branch). If the branch itself has geographic coordinates, they will be used in the geographic
diagram, otherwise the coordinates of the elements contained in the branch are taken into account.

• Show Scale: shows or hides the scale in the diagram.

• GPS projection: defines the projection used in the geographic diagram. This is only active when
local maps are selected.

Substation Types tab

The settings in this tab are related to the graphical representation of substations in geographic diagrams.
The dialog offers the possibility to distinguish graphically different types of substations and improve the
clearness of the diagram by adding additional data through the substation symbol. A possible use of
this feature can be seen in the geographic diagram ’Overview Diagram’ of the Application Example ’MV
Distribution Network’ (File → Examples).

The column ’Substation Type’ of the Assignment Table is the list, of which one element may be chosen
in the drop down list Type in the Description-page of the Substation-dialog, opened by right-clicking on
a graphical substation element and choosing Edit Substation. The list contains the Substation Types
defined in the according page of the Project Settings dialog.

The column ’Symbol’ is storing the name of the symbol, which is searched by default in the subfolder
Database/System/Library/Graphic/Symbols/SGL/Composites. As additional source, the project’s sub-
folder Settings/Additional Symbols is taken into account.

9.3.6 Layers

The single line, geographic and block diagrams use transparent layers of drawing sheets on which the
graphical symbols are placed. Each of these layers may be set to be visible or not, and layer depth
functionality is built in, meaning that the user can select the order in which layers sit on top of one
another.

Which layers are visible and exactly what is shown on a layer is defined in the Graphical Layers dialog,
accessed through the graphic toolbar ( ), by right-clicking on an empty spot of the graphic area →
Layers, or selecting View → Layers from the main menu.

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Figure 9.3.3: Graphical layers dialog (SetLevelvis)

As shown in Figure 9.3.3, the Graphic Layers dialog has three pages:
• Diagram Layers, where default and user-defined layers are created, modified, selected and
ordered
• Element Details, where symbols related to specific elements are selected to be visible or not

• Switch Markers, where layers specifically to switch annotation are selected visible or not
These are described in more detail in the following subsections.

Note: Prior to PowerFactory 2019, all annotation graphical objects were held in a dedicated Annotation
Layer. Now, it is possible to mix annotation graphical objects with other graphical objects in any
user-defined layer. Nevertheless, there is still an "Annotation Layer" where such objects will by
default be placed when created. See Section 9.6 for more details.

9.3.6.1 Diagram Layers

On this page, the default and user-defined layers are listed. The visibility of any one layer is determined
by the check-box. New layers can be created using the Add layer button and deleted using the
Delete layer button. The detailed configuration of any layer can be changed using the Edit layer button,
or by double-clicking on the layer name. The order of the layers can be changed using the up and down
arrows to the right of the list (see Figure 9.3.3 above). Depending upon the type of graphic, the following
layers are available as a default:

Diagram Type:
Configuration SL Single Line,
Layer Content
Options GEO Geographic,
B Block
Title Graphic title Text/Box Format SL/GEO/B
Results boxes legend and colour
Legends Text/Box Format SL/GEO
legend
Symbols for the elements of the
Net elements Text/Box Format SL/GEO/B
grid

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Diagram Type:
Configuration SL Single Line,
Layer Content
Options GEO Geographic,
B Block
Boxes with names and addi-
Labels tional data description, if config- Text/Box Format SL/GEO/B
ured
Boxes with calculation results.
Results Text/Box Format SL/GEO/B
See Note below
Bay representation and Site Line colour, width
Bays and Sites SL
frames and style
Additional Text explanation
Device data Text/Box Format SL/GEO/B
given in the device symbol
Graphic used as the back-
Name of file with
ground (“wallpaper”) to allow
Background graphics (WMF,
easier drawing of the diagram SL/B
image DXF, BMP, JPEG,
or to show additional information
PNG, GIF, TIF)
(map information)
Map Provider (see
Geographical map used as
section 9.10), map
Geographic map the background to allow easier GEO
type and graphic
drawing of the diagram
settings
Load/generation Shows circles for load and gen- Selection of S, P or
GEO
distribution eration around substations Q, colour-settings
Additional text labels for ele-
Additional text Text/Box Format SL/GEO
ments
Relays Graphically represented relays Text/Box Format SL/GEO
Contains the drawn current and
CTs and VTs Text/Box Format SL/GEO
voltage transformers
Plots Plots placed in the diagrams Text/Box Format SL/GEO/B
Commands Commands buttons used mostly
None SL/GEO
buttons for DPL scripts
Definition each block is based
Block Definition Text/Box Format B
on
Connection Index of each possible block
Text/Box Format B
numbers connection point
Connection Name of each unused connec-
Text/Box Format B
names tion of a block
Signals Name of the signal transmitted Text/Box Format B
Table 9.3.1: Predefined diagram layers in the layers dialog

Note: The Results layer can be easily toggled on and off without going into the Layers command by
using the icon on the graphics toolbar.

9.3.6.2 Element Details

For some elements shown on diagrams, additional details can optionally be shown, such as the vector
groups for transformers or symbols to indicate the number of phases of a line. On the Element Details
page, such details are turned on or off, with additional configuration for the Power flow direction arrows
option.

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Diagram Type:
Configuration SL Single Line,
Layer Content
Options GEO Geographic,
B Block
Dots at the connections be-
Connection tween edges and buses/termi-
Text/Box Format SL/GEO/B
points nals and signal connections to
blocks
Double-Arrow at connections
Connection
where the end point is not rep- Text/Box Format SL/GEO
Arrows
resented in the current diagram.
Number of phases of a line/ca-
Phases Text/Box Format SL/GEO
ble, shown as parallel lines
Symbols at lines consisting of
Sections and Line
sections and/or where line loads Text/Box Format SL/GEO
Loads
are connected
Vector group for rotating ma-
Vector groups Text/Box Format SL/GEO
chines and transformers
Positions of taps for shunts and
Tap positions Text/Box Format SL/GEO
transformers
Active/Reactive
Arrows that can be configured
Power Flow Power for direct/
for active and reactive power SL/GEO
direction arrows inverse/ homopolar
flow representation
system
Table 9.3.2: Element Details in the Layers dialog

9.3.6.3 Switch Markers

On the Switch Markers page, markers specific to switch operation or status can be selected and
configured:

Remotely
controlled Remote Controlled Substations Colour SL/GEO
substations
Tie open points Tie open points in the network Colour/Size/Width SL/GEO
Normally open Normally open switches (Relia-
Colour/Size/Width SL/GEO
switches bility Analysis)
Open standby Indicating lines energised but
Colour/Size/Width SL/GEO
switches open at one end
Table 9.3.3: Switch Markers in the Layers dialog

9.3.6.4 Working with Layers

Each graphic symbol in a single line, geographic or block diagram is assigned by default to the cor-
responding layer at first. All busbar symbols, for example, are drawn on the Net elements layer by
default, their name boxes on the layer Labels. Graphic symbols may be shifted onto other layers by
right-clicking them in the single line graphic and selecting the option Shift to Layer from the context
sensitive menu, then selecting the layer from the list presented. Should an object disappear when it has
been re-assigned to a layer, the visibility of the target layer should be checked. Moving symbols from

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one layer to another is normally needed when only a few symbols from a certain group should be made
visible (for instance the result boxes of one or two specific junction nodes), or when user defined layers
are used. This allows to hide some elements or text boxes to improve the clarity of the diagram, or to
show additional information for e.g. printing purposes.

Note: Certain names and result boxes are, by default, not visible. An example is the names and result
boxes for point busbars. This is done to reduce clutter on the graphic. To display such labels,
simply right-click on the object and select text boxes → Show labels.

The default layer for annotations is called Annotations Layer, which is empty until the first annotation
object is inserted. If the user creates new layers, annotation objects can easily be shifted from one to
another by right clicking on them, selecting Shift to layer and select the destination layer from the list.
More information about annotations can be found in section 9.6.

For some layers, for example Text Boxes or Results, when the layer is edited to change the configuration,
a target may be set; this target will be the focus of the performed configuration command. Various
actions or settings may be performed, such as e.g. changing the font using the Change Font button.
The configuration page may also be used to mark (select/highlight) the target objects in the graphic
using the Mark button.

The options available to configure a layer depend on the type of Layer. Table 9.3.1 shows for each layer
in which way its content can be changed in format.

As an example, suppose that a part of the single line graphics is to be changed, for instance, to allow
longer busbar names. To change the settings, the correct graphical layer is first selected. In this
example, it will be the Labels layer. In this layer, only the busbar names are to be changed, and
the target must therefore be set to All Nodes. When the layer and the target has been selected, the
width for object names may be set in the Settings area. The number of columns may be set using the
Visibility/Width button. Alternatively, the Adapt Width will adapt all of the object name placeholders
to the length of the name for each object. Changing a setting for all nodes or all branches at once will
overwrite the present settings.

9.3.7 Colouring Options

9.3.7.1 Diagram Colouring

The single line and geographic diagrams have an automatic colour representation mode. The Diagram
Colouring icon on the diagrams toolbar will open the diagram colouring representation dialog (alter-
natively, select View → Diagram Colouring on the main menu). This dialog is used to select different
colouring modes and is dependent if a calculation has been performed or not. If a specific calculation
is valid, then the selected colouring for that calculation is displayed.

The Diagram Colouring has a 3-priority level colouring scheme implemented, allowing colouring ele-
ments according to the following criteria: 1𝑠𝑡 Energising status, 2𝑛𝑑 Alarm and 3𝑟𝑑 “Normal” (Other)
colouring.

Energising Status: if this check box is enabled “De-energised” or “Out of Calculation” elements
are coloured according to the settings in the “Project Colour Settings”. The settings of the “De-
energised” or “Out of Calculation” mode can be edited by clicking on the Colour Settings button.

Alarm: if this check box is enabled a drop down list containing alarm modes will be available. It
is important to note here that only alarm modes available for the current calculation page will be
listed. If an alarm mode is selected, elements “exceeding” the corresponding limit are coloured.
Limits and colours can be defined by clicking on the Colour Settings button.

“Normal” (Other) Colouring: here, two lists are displayed. The first list contains all available

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colouring modes. The second list contains all sub modes of the selected colouring mode. The
settings of the different colouring modes can be edited by clicking on the Colour Settings button.

Every element can be coloured by one of the three previous criteria. Also, every criterion is optional
and will be skipped if disabled. Regarding the priority, if the user enables all three criteria, the hierarchy
taken into account will be the following:

• “Energising Status” overrules the “Alarm” and “Normal Colouring” mode. The “Alarm” mode
overrules the “Normal Colouring” mode.
The graphic can be coloured according to the following list. Availability of some options will depend on
the function that is selected (e.g. ’Voltage Violations’ does not appear when the ’Basic Data’ page is
selected, but does when the ’Load Flow’ page is selected) and on the licence (e.g. Connection Request
is only available if the advanced function Connection Request Assessment is part of the licence).

Energising Status:

• De-energised
• Out of Calculation
• De-energised, Planned Outage

Alarm:
• Feeder Radiality Check (Only if “Feeder is supposed to be operated radially” is selected).
• Outages
• Overloading of Thermal/Peak Short Circuit Current

• Voltage Violations/Overloadings
“Normal” (Other) Colouring:
• Results
– Fault Clearing Times
– Voltage Angle (colouring according to absolute or relative voltage angles and angle dif-
ferences along branch elements; relative voltage angles do not reflect transformer vector
groups, while absolute voltage angles include the angle shift caused by transformer vector
groups)
– Voltages / Loading
– Loading of Thermal / Peak Short-Circuit Current
– Incident Energy
– PPE-Category
– Connection Request: Approval Status
– Contribution to EIC
– Contribution to ENS
– Contribution to SAIDI
– Contribution to SAIFI
– Loads: Average Interruption Duration
– Loads: Load Point Energy Not Supplied
– Loads: Yearly interruption frequency
– Loads: Yearly interruption time
– Optimal Manual Restoration
– Probabilistic Analysis
– State Estimation

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• Topology
– Boundaries (Definition)
– Boundaries (Interior Region)
– Connected Components
– Connected Components, Voltage Level
– Connected Grid Components
– Energising Status
– Feeders
– Missing graphical connections
– Outage Check
– Station Connectivity
– Station Connectivity (Beach Balls only)
– Supplied by Secondary Substation
– Supplied by Substation
– System Type AC/DC and Phases
– Voltage Levels
• Primary Equipment
– Cross Section
– Year of Construction
– Forced Outage Duration
– Forced Outage Rate
• Secondary Equipment
– Measurement Locations
– Power Restoration
– Relays, Fuses, Current and Voltage Transformers
– Switches, Type of Usage
• Groupings (Grids, Zones, Areas...)
– Areas
– Grids
– Meteo Stations
– Operators
– Owners
– Paths
– Routes
– Zones
• Variations / System Stages
– Modifications in Recording Expansion Stage
– Modifications in Variations / System Stages
– Original Locations
• User-defined
– Individual
The list User-defined may be used to define own colouring schemes. Pressing Manage Filters... opens
an object browser with the list of all available user-defined filters, found in the subfolder Settings/Colour-
ing/Colouring Scheme. New filter sets (IntFiltset) can be created, containing several General Filter
objects (SetFilt) with an assigned colour and the conditions, under which an element is coloured. This
allows to implement very specific filters to identify graphically elements in the diagram with certain
properties or results.

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9.3.7.2 Heatmaps

In PowerFactory, heatmaps can be used to illustrate the state of a grid by colouring the area around
network elements. The colour definition is carried out as described in section 9.3.7.1.

To use the colour definition for heatmaps, click on the Heatmap button . On the General page of the
dialog, the basic settings for the creation of the heatmap can be selected. The colour settings dialog
(explained in section 9.3.7.1) is accessible from this page. The Mode shows which type of colouring is
used.

The resolution of the Heatmap can be:

• Low
• Medium

• High
• User-defined (in pixels)

Note: The amount of time required to generate each heatmap increases with the specified resolution.
Since the optimal settings for heatmaps vary for each grid, the process of finding this optimum
might take a few iterations. Therefore it is advised to start with a small or medium resolution.

A background colour for the heatmap may additionally be set.

The General page defines the general settings for the Heatmap and the Advanced page defines
specifics regarding the colouring. Five different parameters can be set; the first two being:

• Number of closest influence points: defines the number of reference points taken into account
when colouring a certain point of the Heatmap.
• Contour sharpness: defines the smoothness of the transition between differently coloured areas.

The other three parameters define the Fading Area, i.e. the orthogonal transition from the element
colouring to the background colour:

• Begin: defines how far away from the centre of the element on the lateral axis the colouring
begins to fade to the background colour.

• Extent: defines how far away from the centre of the element on the lateral axis the colouring ends
to fade to the background colour.
• Fading exponent: defines how fast the colour between Begin and Extent will fade to the back-
ground colour.

Figure 9.3.4 shows an example of a Heatmap, which is coloured according to loading, over- and under-
voltage.

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Figure 9.3.4: Example of a heatmap coloured according to loading, over- and under-voltage

9.3.8 Graphic Legends

9.3.8.1 Show Title Block

The title block can be turned on and off from the Layers dialog (see 9.3.6). The title block is placed in
the lower right corner of the drawing area by default.

The contents and size of the title mask can be changed by right-clicking the title block and selecting the
Edit Data option from the context sensitive menu. The Select Title dialog that pops up is used to scale
the size of the title block by setting the size of the block in percent of the default size. The font used will
be scaled accordingly. To edit the text in the title block press the edit button ( ) for the ’Title Text’ field.

All text fields have a fixed format in the title block. The data and time fields may be chosen as automatic
or user defined. Most text fields are limited to a certain number of characters. When opening a new
graphic the title will appear by default.

9.3.8.2 Show Legend Blocks

The legend blocks can be turned on and off from the Layers dialog (see 9.3.6), or from the single line
diagram toolbar ( ).

The results legend block describes the contents of result boxes (for information about result boxes
see 9.5).

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Because more than one type of result box is normally used in the Single line graphic, for instance, one
for node results and another one for branch results, the legend box normally shows more than one
column of legends. After changing the result box definitions, it may be necessary to manually resize the
legend box in order to show all result box legends.

The Legend Box definition dialog is opened by right-clicking the legend block and selecting Edit Data
from the context menu. The font and format shown may be configured. When opening a new graphic
the legend will appear by default.

The other block is the colour legend block, which updates automatically based on the colouring options
selected.

9.3.9 Node Default Options

Figure 9.3.5 shows the commands available for setting node default options. These are discussed in
further detail in this section.

Figure 9.3.5: Node default options

Default Voltage Levels for Terminals and Busbars:

The default voltage level for terminals can be set in this field. New terminals placed on the single line
diagram will have this voltage (e.g. 110 kV, 0.4 kV).

Default Phase Technologies for Terminals:

The default phase technology for terminals can be set in this field. New terminals placed on the single
line diagram will be of this type (e.g. three-phase ABC, single-phase, DC, etc.).

9.3.10 Page and Print Options

9.3.10.1 Print

This function is accessed via the button, the menu File → Print or via the hotkey Ctrl+P. It opens
the Print Preview, showing the first page of the diagram, which will be printed after pressing the Print
button. If the drawing size of the diagram doesn’t fit the printers paper size, the diagram is split up into
more pages, its previews can be browsed using the buttons , , and . To edit the Print Setup,
press the button . By default, the whole active diagram will be selected. If only the current view
should be printed, the option Selection in the Print range of the Print Setup has to be selected. The
button in the Print Preview opens the Page Setup dialog, where the margins can be customised.

9.3.10.2 Define Print Area

The Print Area enhances the print functionality by predefining a selected area of the diagram to print.
By pressing the Define Print Area button , a red bounded rectangle, the Print Area, will be shown,
which covers by default the whole active view. Its proportion fits the one of the printer settings. The size
and position of the Print Area can be scaled and moved to cover only the desired part of the diagram.

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With the Print Area still active, the Print command opens the Print Preview with exactly the area of the
network covered by the Print Area.
Once defined, the Print Area can be shown and hidden using the -button. For every network diagram
a separate Print Area can be defined, which is saved over the whole session (no more available after
de- and reactivating the project or using the rebuild command for the according diagram).

9.3.10.3 Drawing Format

The drawing area for single line diagrams, block diagrams and plots is modified in the Drawing Format
dialog, accessed using the button. A predefined paper format can be selected as-is, edited, or a new
format can be defined. The selected paper format has ’Landscape’ orientation by default and can be
rotated by 90 degrees by selecting ’Portrait’. The format definitions, which are shown when an existing
format is edited or when a new format is defined, also show the landscape dimensions for the paper
format.

It is not possible to draw outside the selected drawing area. If a drawing no longer fits to the selected
drawing size, then a larger format should be selected. The existing graphs or diagrams are repositioned
on the new format (use Ctrl+A to mark all objects and then grab and move the entire graphic by left
clicking and holding the mouse key down on one of the marked objects; drag the graphic to a new
position if desired).

If no ’Subsize for Printing’ format has been selected, then, at printing time, the drawing area will be
scaled to fit the paper size of the printer. If, for instance, the drawing area is A3 and the selected paper
in the printer is A4, then the graphs/diagrams will be printed at 70 % of their original size.

By selecting a subsize for printing, the scaling of the drawing at printing time can be controlled. The
dimensions of the sub-sized printing pages are shown in the graphic page. If, for instance, the drawing
size has been selected as A3 landscape, and the printing size as A4 portrait, then a vertical grey line
will divide the drawing area in two halves. The drawing area will be accordingly partitioned at printing
time and will be printed across two A4 pages.

Make sure that the selected subsize used for printing is available at the printer. The printed pages are
scaled to the available physical paper if this is not the case.

For instance:
• The drawing area has been selected as A2 landscape.
• The subsize for printing has been selected as A3 portrait. The A2 drawing is thus to be printed
across two pages.
• Suppose that the selected printer only has A4 paper. The original A2 drawing is then scaled down
to 70 % and printed on two A4 sheets of paper.
Also accessed through:
Main Menu:File → Page Setup

9.3.11 Diagram Layout Tool

The Diagram Layout Tool is a powerful feature to create graphical representations of network
topologies. The tool offers a manual, semi- and fully automatic creation of nodes and branch elements,
which are not yet graphically represented in the current Network Diagram. The options and the dialog
are described in detail in section 11.6.

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9.3.12 Insert New Graphic

Pressing the button opens the New command dialog decribed in section 9.2.4.

Note: The Page Tab menu is opened by right-clicking a page tab, shown just below the single line
diagram. Existing graphics can be opened by selecting Show Graphic of the context sensitive
menu of the graphic object in the subfolder Network Model/Diagrams or by choosing it from the
list, which opens after selecting Insert Page → Open Existing Page from the context sensitive
menu of the page tab.

9.3.12.1 Other Page Commands

Other page commands accessed through the page tab are as follows:

Remove Page: this function will remove the selected graphic from the Graphics Board. The graphic
itself will not be deleted and can be re-inserted to the current or any other Graphics Board at any time.

Rename Page: this function can be used to change the name of the selected graphic.

Move/Copy Page(s): this function can be used to move a page/s to modify the order of graphics. Also
accessed through:

• Mouse Click: Left-click and select a single page (optionally press control and select multiple
pages) and drag the page/s to change the order graphics are displayed.

• Data Manager: (Advanced) Modify the order field of Graphics Pages listed within the Study
Case Graphics Board. To reflect the changes, the study case should be deactivated and then
re-activated.

9.3.13 Element Options

In addition to the options available from the graphics toolbar, there are many edit options which are
available for elements in the graphic, using the context-sensitive menu (i.e. right-click).

Edit and Browse Data: this option lets the user edit the data of the selected object. The object will be
selected in its project folder within the list of the other objects and can be double-clicked to open its edit
dialog. See chapter 10 (Data Manager) for more information.

Delete: this function deletes both the database and graphical objects for the selected element(s). A
warning message will appear first - this may be switched off in the “User Settings” dialog; see section 7.2
(Graphic Windows Settings)). Also accessed through the keyboard: Del key.

Note: To delete graphical objects only, right click the selected element/s and select Delete Graphical
Object only.

Cut: this function cuts the selected objects. Objects can then later be pasted as discussed below. Also
accessed through the keyboard:Ctrl+X key.

Copy: copies the selected objects to the clipboard. Also accessed through the keyboard: Ctrl+C key.

Paste: pastes all objects from the clipboard into the current drawing. The objects are pasted at the
current graphical mouse position. Objects that are copied and pasted create completely new graphic
and data objects in the graphic that they are pasted into. Also accessed through the keyboard: Ctrl+V
key.

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Note: To copy and paste just the graphic, Paste Graphic Only should be chosen from the right-click
menu. Similar results are obtained when using the “Draw Existing Net Elements” tool (see
Section 11.6: Drawing Diagrams with Existing Network Elements).

Note: The undo command undoes the last graphic action and restores deleted elements, or deletes
created elements. The undo command is accessed through the undo icon ( ), by right-clicking
and selecting ’Undo’, or by pressing Ctrl+Z.

Rotate: rotates symbols clockwise, counter-clockwise, or 180 degrees. It is generally preferable to

disconnect an element before rotating it.

Disconnect: disconnects the selected element/s. When right-clicking at the end of a connection ele-
ment a different/reduced menu is shown which allows disconnecting just the selected side (Disconnect
Side)

Connect: right-click and select Connect Element to connect an element.

Reconnect: used to disconnect a selected element and then re-connect it. The branch to be connected
will be ’glued’ to the cursor. Left clicking a bar or terminal will connect the element. When right-clicking
at the end of a connection element a different/reduced menu is shown which allows reconnecting just
the selected side (Reconnect Side)

Redraw: right-click and select Redraw Element to redraw a selected element.

Move: marked objects can be moved by left clicking them and holding down the mouse button. The
objects can be moved when the cursor changes to an arrowed cross ( ). Hold down the mouse button
and drag the marked objects to their new position. Connections from the moved part of the drawing to
other objects will be adjusted.

Edit Line Points: right-click and select Edit Line Points will show the black squares (’line points’) that
define the shape of the connection. Each of these squares can be moved by left clicking and dragging
them to a new position (see figure 9.3.6). New squares can be inserted by left clicking the connection in
between squares. Line points are deleted by right-clicking them and selecting the Delete Vertex option
from the case sensitive menu. This menu also presents the option to stop (end) the line point editing,
which can also be done by left clicking somewhere outside the selected lines.

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Figure 9.3.6: Editing line points

9.4 Editing and Changing Symbols of Elements

You can edit or change the symbols, which are used to represent the elements in the single line graphic.
Right click with on a symbol of an element in the single line graphic, and select Change Symbol from
the context sensitive menu in order to use a different symbol for the element.

PowerFactory supports user-defined symbols as Windows-Metafile (* .wmf) and Bitmap (* .bmp) files.

For additional information refer to Appendix E (Element Symbol Definition).

9.5 Result Boxes, Text Boxes and Labels

PowerFactory uses result boxes, text boxes, and labels in the single sine diagram to display calculation
results and other useful information. Figure 9.5.1 illustrates an example of this.

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Figure 9.5.1: Results boxes, text boxes, and labels available in PowerFactory

9.5.1 Result Boxes

General

Result boxes are generally set up so that there are a series of different formats for each calculation
function, with variables appropriate to that function. In addition, the format differs for the objects class
and/or for individual objects. For example, following a load flow calculation, branch and edge elements
will have different formats compared to nodes, and an external grid will have an individual, different,
format as compared to the branch and edge elements.

Although the result boxes in the single line graphic are a very versatile and powerful way for displaying
calculation results, it is often not possible to display a large (part of a) power system without making
the result boxes too small to be read. PowerFactory solves this problem by offering balloon help on
the result boxes. Positioning the mouse over a result box will pop up a yellow text balloon with the text
displayed in a fixed size font. This is depicted in figure 9.5.1. The result box balloon always states the
name of the variable, and may thus also be used as a legend.

Reference points

A result box is connected to the graphical object for which it displays the results by a “reference point”.
Figure 9.5.1 shows the default reference points for the result box of a terminal. A reference point is a
connection between a point on the result box (which has 9 optional points), and one of the “docking”
points of the graphical object. The terminal has three docking points: on the left, in the middle and on
the right. The reference point can be changed by:
• Right-clicking the result box with the graphics cursor (freeze mode off), and selecting Change
Reference Points.

• The reference points are shown: docking points in green, reference points in red. Select one of
the reference points by left-clicking it.
• Left-click the selected reference point, and drag it to a red docking point and drop it.
• An error message will result if you drop a reference point somewhere else than on a docking point.

Result boxes can be freely moved around the diagram. They will remain attached to the docking point,
and will move along with the docking point. A result box can be positioned back to its docking point by
right-clicking it and selecting Reset Settings from the menu.

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If the option “Reset textboxes completely” is set in the graphical settings, then the default reference
and docking points will be selected again, and the result box is moved back to the default position
accordingly.

Editing Result Boxes

PowerFactory uses separate result boxes for different groups of power system objects, such as node
objects (i.e. busbars, terminals) or edge objects (i.e. lines, loads). For each type of result box, a different
result box definition is used.

A number of these predefined formats are available for display; they may be selected by right-clicking a
result box to get the Format for Edge Elements (in this example) option, which then presents a number
of formats that may be selected. The active format is ticked ( ) and applies for all the visualised edge
elements.

It is also possible to select predefined formats for a specific element class. If the edge element is for
example an asynchronous machine, in the context sensitive menu it will be also possible to get the
option Format for Asynchronous Machine, which shows the predefined formats for the element class
Asynchronous Machine (ElmAsm). The selected format will in this case apply only to the visualised
asynchronous machines.

If the user wants to create a specific format that is different from the pre-defined ones, the Edit Format
for Edge Elements (or Node Elements) option should be used. Note that the new format will be applied
to the entire group of objects (edge or node objects).

If a created format is expected to be used for just one specific element, then the Create Textbox option
should be used. An additional result box/ textbox will be created, using the current format for the object.
This may then be edited. Information about text boxes is given in 9.5.2.

When the Edit Format option has been selected, the user can modify the variables and how are they
showed as described Chapter 19: Reporting and Visualising Results, Section 19.2.1: Editing Result
Boxes.

Formatting Result Boxes

Result boxes can be formatted by means of the context sensitive menu (right-clicking the desired result
box). The available options include:

• Shift to layer (see 9.3.6).

• Rotate
• Hide
• Change the font type and size of the text
• Change the width
• Change colour
• Set the text alignment
• Adapt width
• Change reference points
• Reset Settings, only available after changes have been made).
Resetting Calculation Results

When pressed, the Reset Calculation icon ( ) will clear the results shown on the Single Line Diagram.
By default, PowerFactory will also clear the calculation results when there is a change to network data
or network configuration (such as opening a switch). However, if Retention of results after network
change is set to Show last results in the User Settings (see Section 7.1: General Settings), results will

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appear in grey on the Single Line Diagram and on the Flexible Data page until the calculation is reset, or
a new calculation performed. Reset Calculation can also be accessed from the main Calculation menu
or using F12.

9.5.2 Text Boxes

As mentioned before, text boxes are used to display user defined variables from a specific referenced
object within the single line graphic. To create a text box, right-click on the desired object (one end of
the object when it is a branch element) and select Create Textbox. By default a text box with the same
format of the corresponding result box will be generated.

The created text box can be edited, to display the desired variables, following the same procedure
described in 9.5.1. In this case after right-clicking the text box, the option Edit Format should be
selected. By default the text boxes are graphically connected to the referred object by means of a
line. This “connection line” can be made invisible if the option show line from General Textboxes.... from
the Result Boxes page of the Graphic Option dialog (9.3.5) is disabled.

9.5.3 Labels

In the general case, a label showing the name of an element within the single line graphic is automat-
ically created with the graphical objects (see figure 9.5.1). The label can be visualised as a text box
showing only the variable corresponding to the name of the object. As for text boxes, the format of
labels can be set using the context sensitive menu.

9.5.4 Free Text Labels

Free Text Labels (see figure 9.5.1) can be anchored to an element on the single line diagram, and used
to display custom text. The are created by right-click and selecting ’Create Free Text Label’.

9.6 Annotation Layer

The Annotation Layer function offers the user the opportunity to include additional graphical information
in one or more configurable layers in the single line, geographic or block diagrams. Examples include:

• Built in graphical annotation elements

• Text
• Icons (bitmap files)
• Plots

Note: The Annotation Layer is the default layers for new annotation objects, but users can choose
to move such objects into their own user-defined layers, which can also contain other graphical
objects.

To draw the elements in the single line diagram the user has to deactivate the Freeze Annotation Layer
mode in the upper right corner (marked in figure 9.6.1).

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Figure 9.6.1: Annotation Layer

The activation of the annotation layer deactivates the selection of power system elements and activates
the selection of annotation elements. By selecting an annotation element, the user can place it in the
diagram. The annotation elements are as follows:

• Graphical annotation
– Line:
– Polyline:
– Arrow:
– Polyline with arrow:
– Polygon:
– Rectangle:
– Circle:
– Pie:
– Arc:

• Text:

• Icons (bitmap files):

• Plots:
Except the icons and plots, all the annotation elements can be drawn directly in the diagram. Before
placing an icon in the diagram, an available icon-object has to be selected or if not yet existing, created.
To insert a plot into the diagram, an already existing plot can be selected from the list in the object
browser, which opens after pressing the button.

It is possible have multiple layers that contain annotations. To do this, the user should click on the
button and then use the Add layer button to make a user-defined layer, selecting Net elements,
annotations, text boxes from the drop-down menu for Layer Type.

Export graphical layer

To export a graphical layer the user should press the Edit layer button, then go to the Annotations page
of the dialog. Using the Export button, the user can export the layer as an *.svg file.

Import graphical layer

To import a graphical layer, the user should first create the new layer as described above, then use the
Import button on the Annotations page.

9.7 Annotation of Protection Device

Adding a protection device into the single line diagram is described in section 33.2.2.

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9.8 Navigation Pane

The navigation pane provides the user an overview of the whole network in a small window. It is
available for all graphics but plots. When zooming-in on a part of the grid, the navigation pane provides
an overview of the whole network and highlights the part of the network that is currently being shown in
the diagram. This is illustrated in figure 9.8.1.

The navigation pane can be turned on or off using the icon in the graphics toolbar. The frame within
the navigation pane can be moved around in order to see different parts of the network.

Figure 9.8.1: Navigation pane

The navigation pane is enabled for every diagram by default, but can be disabled for specific diagrams.
This is done by first clicking on the Graphic Options icon ( ), then the dialog, go to the Advanced tab
within the Basic Attributes and disable the option “Allow Navigation Pane”.

9.9 Graphic search facility

It is possible to search for network elements within a graphic, using the icon in the graphic toolbar.
This is illustrated in figure 9.8.1 above: the search facility automatically lists possible objects as the user
types.

On geographic diagrams (see section 9.10 below), it is also possible to search for places such as towns
or streets. If the user wishes to restrict the search to geographic places rather than network elements,
the prefix “geo:” can be used.

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9.10 Geographic Diagrams

In PowerFactory it is possible to specify terminal GPS coordinates, and automatically generate geo-
graphic diagrams. GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) are entered on the Description page of
terminals and lines, on the Geographical Coordinates tab. One geographic diagram can be created per
project by either:

• Opening the Data Manager, right-clicking on the active project or active grid and selecting Show
Graphic → Geographic Diagram.
• On the main menu, under Insert → Geographic Diagram.
The geographic diagram provides a visual representation of the network and includes all terminals and
lines for which GPS coordinates have been entered.

One port elements (e.g. loads, shunts, generators) can also be represented in the geographic diagram.
The Diagram Layout Tool can be used to automatically draw all the edge elements in the diagram (see
section 11.6.1.2).

The settings for the geographic diagram are defined in the Graphic Options, Geographic Diagram page
(see section 9.3.5.5).

An additional layer called Load/Generation Distribution is available for GPS coordinates to illustrate the
magnitude of network load and generation (apparent power), as illustrated in figure 9.10.1. Note that
the displayed size of circles does not change as the user zooms in and out of the diagram. Colour
and Scaling Factor settings can be modified on the Configuration page of Layers ( ), as described in
section 9.3.6 (Layers).

Figure 9.10.1: Load/Generation Distribution example

Maps can be used as background images and can be specified on the Configuration page of Layers
( ). Maps from the following providers are pre-configured:

• OpenStreetMap (OSM), featuring free-of-charge mapnik-style maps

• Esri ArcGIS©, including road maps, satellite, and hybrid maps
• Google Maps©1 , including road maps, satellite/aerial, hybrid, and topographic maps

1 requires Google Maps for Business account: http://www.google.com/enterprise/mapsearth

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• Bing Maps, including road and satellite maps

• IGN Géoportail, including road maps, satellite and special maps

• Local map files, stored in plain text-files

To use the map data of some providers, special licence keys are necessary, which can be stored in the
Geographic Maps page of the configuration dialog accessed via Tools → Configuration.

9.10.1 Using an External Map Provider

If an external map provider from the internet is used, the Map layer can be chosen from (depending on
which map layers the provider offers):

• Roadmap
• Satellite/Aerial
• Hybrid

• Topographic

The following parameters are available:

• Saturation adjustment
• Brightness adjustment

These parameters are valid in the range -100 % and +100 % and can be used to highlight either the
map or the network elements.

Figures 9.10.2 and 9.10.3 illustrate small distribution grids where OpenStreetMap, and Esri ArcGIS©
satellite maps, respectively, are used as the background image providers.

Figure 9.10.2: Network example with OpenStreetMap data

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Figure 9.10.3: Network example with satellite background map (ESRI ArcGIS©)

Besides usage of pre-configured built-in map services, PowerFactory supports the use of user-configured
map services based on the standardised WMS/WMTS protocol. The WMS are defined by the Adminis-
trator in the Configuration folder as shown in figure 9.10.4

Figure 9.10.4: Web Map Services folder location

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If the “Web Map Services” folder doesn’t exist, it can be created by right clicking on the Configuration
folder and selecting New → Folder. The folder should be a System (DIgSILENT) folder with the key
“MapServices” as shown in figure 9.10.5.

Figure 9.10.5: Web Map Services folder

A new Web Map Service can be created by clicking on the button New ( ) in the Data Manager and
selecting Others → Other Elements (Int*) → Hyperlink (IntUrl). In the edit dialog of the hyperlink, the
field Resource type must be set to Map Service.

Once Address, Map server protocol and the rest of the fields of the edit dialog are set, it is possible to
verify the connection to the Map Service by clicking on View.

Once a Web Map Service is defined by the Administrator, the user can select the desired map by
configuring the Background layer of the geographic diagram, as shown in figure 9.10.6

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Figure 9.10.6: Background layer configuration

9.10.2 Using Local Maps

To display background images (e.g. maps) on the geographic diagram, the map provider must be
selected as Local map files (on the Layers dialog, Configuration page). A File for reading background
images must be selected. This facilitates ’tiling’ of multiple images in the background of the GPS graphic
if required.

The File is simply a text file with semicolon delimited entries, as follows:

Image_filename; X1; Y1; X2; Y2

Where:
• Image_filename is the name of the image file. If it is not in the same directory as the File, it should
include the file path.
• X is the latitude and Y is the longitude.

• (X1,Y1) are the bottom-left coordinates of the image.

• (X2,Y2) are the top-right coordinates of the image.
• The # symbol can be used to comment-out entries.

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Chapter 10

Data Manager

10.1 Introduction

To manage/ browse the data in PowerFactory, a Data Manager is provided. The objective of this chapter
is to provide detailed information on how this Data Management tool. Before starting, users should
ensure that they are familiar with Chapter 4 (PowerFactory Overview).

10.2 Using the Data Manager

The Data Manager provides the user with all the features required to manage and maintain all the data
from the projects. It gives both an overview over the complete data base as well as detailed information
about the parameters of single power system elements or other objects. New case studies can be
defined, new elements can be added, system stages can be created, activated or deleted, parameters
can be changed, copied, etc. All of these actions can be instituted and controlled from a single data
base window.

The Data Manager uses a tree representation of the whole database, in combination with a versatile
data browser.To initially open a Data Manager window press the icon from the main toolbar. The
settings of this window can be edited using the ’User Settings’ dialog (Section 10.2.5: Data Manager
Settings).

The Data Manager window has the following parts (see Figure 10.2.1):
• The title bar, which shows the name and path of the of the folder currently selected in the database
[1].
• The Data Manager local tool bar [2].
• In the left upper area the database window, which shows a symbolic tree representation of the
complete database [3].
• In the left lower area the input window. It may be used by more experienced users to enter
commands directly, instead of using the interactive command buttons/dialogs. By default it is not
shown. For further information see Section 10.7 (The Input Window in the Data Manager) [4].
The input window is opened and closed by the clicking on the Input Window button ( ).
• On the right side is the database browser that shows the contents of the currently selected folder
[5].
• Below the database browser and the input window is the status bar, which shows the current
status and settings of the Data Manager (for further information see Section 10.2.5).

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There are some special features of the database browser which can be accessed at any time when the
content of a folder is shown:
• Balloon text: this is not only available for the buttons in the tool bar and the active parts of the
status bar or the browser window, but also for the data fields [a].
• Active Title buttons of each column; click on any title button to sort the items in the column; first
click- items are sorted in ascending order; second click - items are sorted in descending order [b].
• Object buttons showing the object standard icon in the first column of the database browser: each
object is represented by a button (here a line object is shown). One click selects the object and a
double-click presents the edit dialog for the object [c].

Figure 10.2.1: The Data Manager window

PowerFactory makes extensive use of the right mouse button. Each object or folder may be ’right-
clicked’ to pop up a context sensitive menu. For the same object the menu presented will differ
depending on whether the object is selected in the left or right hand side of the Data Manager (this
is known as a ’context sensitive’ menu). Generally, the left hand side of the Data Manager will show
object folders only. That is, objects that contain other objects inside them. The right hand side of the
Data Manager shows object folders as well as individual objects.

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Figure 10.2.2: Context sensitive menus in the Data Manager

Using the right mouse button to access menus is usually the most effective means of accessing features
or commands. Figure 10.2.2 shows an Illustration of a context-sensitive right mouse button menu.

The symbolic tree representation of the complete database shown in the database window may not
show all parts of the database. The user settings offer options for displaying hidden folders, or for
displaying parts that represent complete stations. Set these options as required (Section 10.2.5: Data
Manager Settings).

Note: It is useful to keep in mind that object folders, such as the grid ( ) folder are merely common
folders , that have been designated to contain particular classes of objects.

10.2.1 Navigating the Database Tree

There are several ways to “walk” up and down the database tree:

• Use the mouse: all folders that have a “+” sign next to them may be expanded by double-clicking
on the folder, or by single clicking the “+” sign.
• Use the keyboard: the arrow keys are used to walk up and down the tree and to open or close
folders (left and right arrows). The Page Up and Page Down keys jump up and down the tree in
big steps and the “-” and “+” keys may also be used to open or close folders.

• Use the toolbar in combination with the browser window. Double-click objects (see “c” in Fig-
ure 10.2.1) in the browser to open the corresponding object. This could result in opening a folder,
in the case of a common or case folder, or editing the object dialog for an object. Once again, the
action resulting from your input depends on where the input has occurred (left or right side of the
Data Manager).

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• The buttons Up Level ( ) and Down Level ( ) on the Data Manager tool bar can be used to
move up and down the database tree.

10.2.2 Adding New Items

Generally, new network components are added to the database via the graphical user interface (see
Section 11.2: Defining Network Models with the Graphical Editor), such as when a line is drawn between
two nodes creating, not only the graphical object on the graphics board, but also the corresponding
element data in the relevant grid folder. However, users may also create new objects “manually” in the
database, from the Data Manager.

Certain new folders and objects may be created by right-clicking on folders in the Data Manager. A
context sensitive menu is presented, offering a choice of objects to be created that will “fit” the selected
folder. For example, right-clicking a grid folder will allow the creation (under the New menu) of a Graphic,
a Branch, a Substation, a Site or a Folder object. The new object will be created in the folder that was
selected prior to the new object button being pressed. This folder is said to have the ’focus’ for the
commanded action. This means that some objects may not be possible to create since the focused
folder may not be suited to hold that object.

For instance: A synchronous machine should not go into a line folder. A line folder should contain
only line routes, line sections and cubicles. The cubicles in their turn should contain only switches or
protection elements.

To access the whole range of objects that may be created, the icon must be pressed (new object
icon). This is found the Data Manager toolbar and presents the dialog shown in Figure 10.2.3.

To simplify the selection of the new objects, a filter is used to sort the object list. This filter determines
what sort of list will appear in the drop-down list of the ’Element’ field. If “Branch Net Elements” is first
selected, the selection of, for instance, a 2-winding transformer is accomplished by then scrolling down
the element list.

The Element field is a normal edit field. It is therefore possible to type the identity name of the new
element, like ElmTr3 for a three-winding transformer, or TypLne for a line type directly into the field.

The possible list of new objects is therefore context sensitive and depends on the type or class of the
originally selected folder.

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Figure 10.2.3: The element selection dialog

After the selection for a new object has been confirmed, the “Element Selection” dialog will close, the
new object will be inserted into the database and the edit dialog for the new object will pop up. If this
dialog is closed by pressing the Cancel button, the whole action of inserting the new object will be
cancelled: the newly created object will be deleted from the active folder. The dialog for the new object
may now be edited and the OK button pressed to save the object to the database.

As any other object, folders can be created either by using the context sensitive menu or by using the
icon. Common folders (IntFolder objects) may have an owner name entered, for documentation or
organisational purposes. In this way it should be clear who has created the data. Descriptions may also
be added. An existing folder may be edited by using the Edit icon on the toolbar or by using the right
mouse button.

Each folder may be set to be read-only, or to be a PowerFactory system folder. The folder may be a
“Common” or “Library” folder. These attributes can be changed in the edit-folder dialog. These settings
have the following meaning:

• Common folders are used for storing non-type objects: electric elements, command objects,
settings, projects, etc.
• Type folders are used as ’libraries’ for type objects.
• System folders, which are read only folders

The use of read-only folders is clear: they protect the data. In addition, folders containing data that is
not normally accessed may be hidden. Selecting the kind of folders that the user/administrator wants to

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be hidden is done in the user settings dialog see Chapter 7 (User Settings).

10.2.3 Deleting an Item

A folder or object which is selected may be deleted by pressing the Delete key on the keyboard, or by
clicking the icon on the toolbar of the Data Manager.

When deleting an object on the Data Manager or in the Single Line diagram, this object will be deleted
immediately from the database. Only the Undo button or Crlt-Z can restore the element and its
references to the original location.

Because most power system objects that are stored in the database are interconnected through a
network topology or through type-element relationships, deleting objects often causes anomalies in the
database consistency. Of course, PowerFactory knows at any moment which objects are used by which
others and could prevent the user from creating an inconsistency by refusing to delete an object that is
used by others.

10.2.4 Cut, Copy, Paste and Move Objects

Cut, Copy and Paste

Cutting, copying and pasting may be achieved in four different manners:

1. By using the Data Manager tool bar buttons.

2. By using the normal ’MS Windows’ shortcuts:
• Ctrl-X will cut a selection,
• Ctrl-C will copy it,
• Ctrl-V will paste the selection to the active folder.
Cutting a selection will colour the item-icons gray. The cut objects will remain in their current folder
until they are pasted. A cut-and-paste is exactly the same as moving the object, using the context
sensitive menu. All references to objects that are being moved will be updated. Cancelling a
cut-and-paste operation is performed by pressing the Ctrl-C key after the Ctrl-X key has been
pressed.

3. By using the context sensitive menu. This menu offers a Cut, a Copy and a Move item. The move
item will pop up a small second database tree in which the target folder can be selected. When
the selected objects have been Cut or Copied, the context sensitive menu will then show a Paste,
Paste Shortcut and a Paste Data item.
• Paste will paste the selection to the focused folder.
• Paste Shortcut will not paste the copied objects, but will create shortcuts to these objects. A
shortcut object acts like a normal object. Changes made to the shortcut object will change the
original object. All other shortcuts to this original object will reflect these changes immediately
• Paste Data is only be available when just one object is copied, and when the selected target
object is the same kind of object as the copied one. In that case, Paste Data will paste all
data from the copied object into the target object. This will make the two objects identical,
except for the name and the connections.
4. By dragging selected objects to another folder. The ’Drag & Drop’ option must be enabled first by
double-clicking the ’Drag & Drop: off’ message on the Data Manager’s status bar. When the Drag
& Drop option is on, it is possible to copy or move single objects by selecting them and dragging
them to another folder. Dragging is done by holding down the left mouse button after an object
has been selected and keeping it down while moving the cursor to the target/destination folder,
either in the database tree or in the database browser window.

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Note: When dragging and dropping a COPY of the object will be made (instead of moving it) if the Ctrl
key is held down when releasing the mouse button at the destination folder. To enable the ’Drag &
Drop’ option double click the ’Drag & Drop’ message at the bottom of the Data Manager window.

10.2.5 The Data Manager Status Bar

The status bar shows the current status and settings of the Data Manager. Some of the messages are
in fact buttons which may be clicked to change the settings.

The status bar contains the following messages.

• “Pause: on/off” (visible only in case of an opened input window) shows the status of the message
queue in the input window. With pause on, the command interpreter is waiting which makes it
possible to create a command queue. The message is a button: double-clicking it will toggle the
setting.

• “N object(s) of M” shows the number of elements shown in the browser window and the total
number of elements in the current folder.
• “N object(s) Selected:” shows the number of currently selected objects.
• “Drag & Drop: on/off” shows the current drag & drop mode. Double clicking this message will
toggle the setting.

10.2.6 Additional Features

Most of the Data Manager functionality is available through the context sensitive menus (right mouse
button).

The following items can also be found in the context sensitive menus:

Show Reference List (Output. . . → Reference List) Produces the list of objects that have links, or
references (plus the location of the linked object), to the selected object. The list is printed to the
output window. In this manner for example, a list of elements that all use the same type can be
produced. The listed object names can be double- or right-clicked in the output window to open
their edit dialog.
Select All Selects all objects in the database browser.
Mark in Graphic Marks the highlighted object(s) in the single line graphic. This feature can be used to
identify an object.

Show → Station Opens a detailed graphic (displaying all the connections and switches) of the terminal
to which the selected component is connected. If the component, is connected to more than one
terminal, as might be in the case of lines or other objects, a list of possible terminals is shown first.
Goto Busbar Opens the folder in the database browser that holds the busbar to which the currently
selected element is connected. If the element is connected to more than one busbar, a list of
possible busbars is shown first.
Goto Connected Element Opens the folder in the database browser that holds the element that is
connected to the currently selected element. In the case of more than one connected element,
which is normally the case for busbars, a list of connected elements is shown first.

Calculate Opens a second menu with several calculations which can be started, based on the currently
selected objects. A short-circuit calculation, for example, will be performed with faults positioned
at the selected objects, if possible. If more than one possible fault location exists for the currently

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selected object, which is normally the case for station folders, a short-circuit calculation for all
possible fault locations is made.

Other useful features:

• Relevant objects for calculations are tagged with a check-mark sign (this will only be shown
following a calculation). Editing one of these objects will reset the calculation results.

10.3 Searching for Objects in the Data Manager

There are three main methods of searching for objects in the data base: Sorting, searching by name
and filtering.

10.3.1 Sorting Objects

Objects can be sorted according to various criteria, such as object class, name, rated voltage,..., etc.
Sorting according to object class is done using the Open Network Model Manager. . . icon on the toolbar
( ). A browser window will open, in which the user may select a particular class of calculation-relevant
object (e.g. synchronous machine, terminal, general load, but not graphics, user settings etc.).

Further sorting can be done according to the data listed in a table- either in the Data Manager or in a
browser obtained using the procedure described above. This is done by clicking on the column title. For
example, clicking on the column title ’Name’ in a data browser sorts the data alphanumerically (A-Z and
1-9). Pressing it again sorts the data Z-A, and 9-1.

Tabulated data can be sorted by multiple criteria. This is done by clicking on various column titles in a
sequence. For example, terminals can be sorted alphanumerically first by name, then by rated voltage
and finally by actual voltage by pressing on the titles corresponding to these properties in reverse-
sequence (actual voltage. . . rated voltage. . . name). A more detailed example follows:

Suppose that you have executed a load flow calculation and that, for each rated voltage level in the
network, you want to find the terminal with the highest voltage. These terminals could be identified
easily in a table of terminals, sorted first by rated voltage and then by calculated voltage. Proceed as
follows:
• Perform the load flow calculation.
• Select the ElmTerm class in the Network Model Manager .
• Include, in the Flexible Data page tab, the terminal voltage and nominal voltage (see 10.6).
• In the table (Flexible Data page tab), click on the title ’u, Magnitude p.u’ to sort all terminals from
highest to lowest calculated voltage.
• Then click on the title ’Nom.L-L Volt kV’ to sort by nominal voltage level.
• Now you will have all terminals first sorted by voltage level and then by rated terminal voltage.

10.3.2 Searching by Name

Searching for an object by name is done either in the right-hand pane of the Data Manager or in a data
browser. To understand the procedure below, notice that the first column contains the symbols of the
objects in the table. Clicking on such a symbol selects all columns of that row, i.e. for that object. The
procedure is as follows:

• Select an object in the table by clicking on any object symbol in the table (if one object was already
selected then select a different one).

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• Now start typing the object name, which is case sensitive. Notice how the selection jumps as you
type, For example, typing ’T’ moves the selection to the first object whose name starts with T, etc.
• Continue typing until the selection matches the object that you are looking for

10.3.3 Using Filters for Search

Advanced filtering capability is provided with the Find function . A filter is normally defined to find a
group of objects, rather than individual objects (although the latter is also possible). Advanced search
criteria can be defined, e.g. transmission lines with a length in the range 1 km to 2.2 km, or synchronous
machines with a rating greater than 500 MW etc.

The function is available in both the Data Manager and a data browser. Clicking on the Find ( ) in the
Data Manager allows the user to apply a predefined filter or to define a new filter, called ’General filter’.
If a new filter is defined, the database folder that will be searched can be defined.

General Filters defined by the user are objects stored in the Changed Settings ∖ Filters folder.

The options in the General Filter dialog window are now explained:

Name: Name of filter.

Object filter: This field defines either the complete or a part of the search criteria, and is optional.
Examples are as follows:
• *.ElmSym: Include element objects of the class synchronous machines.
• *.TypSym: Include type objects of the class synchronous machines.
• Lahney.*: Include all objects with the name Lahney.
• Lahney.Elm*: Include all element objects with the name Lahney.
• D*.ElmLod: Include all load element objects whose names start with D.
• A drop down list providing various object classes can be accessed with .
Look in: This field is available if a filter id defined within the Data Manager. It allows the user to specify
the folder in the database that will be searched.
Check boxes:

• Include Subfolders will search the root folder specified as well as the subfolders in the root
folder. The search can be stopped at the matching folder.
• Relevant Objects for Calculation will include only those objects considered by the active
study case (if no study case is active the search is meaningless and no search results will be
returned).
• Area Interconnecting Branches will search for branch elements that interconnect grids.

The OK button will close the search dialog, but save the filter object to the Changed Settings∖Filters
folder. This makes it available for further use. The Cancel button will close the dialog without saving
the changes. This button is useful if a search criterion (filter) will only be used once.The Apply button
starts the actual search. It will scan the relevant folders and will build a list of all objects that match the
search criteria.

Once the search is complete a list of results is returned in the form of a new data browser window. From
this browser, the returned objects can be marked, changed, deleted, copied, moved, etc. . . .

Advanced search options allow more sophisticated expressions as search criteria. These are specified
in the Advanced page of the General Filter dialog (Figure 10.3.1). The filter criterion is defined in terms
of a logical expression, making use of parameter names. Objects will be included in the data browser if,
for their parameters, the logical expression is determined to be true. An example of a logical expression
is 𝑑𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 > 0.7. The variable dline refers to the length of a transmission line, and the effect of such a

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filter criterion is to limit the data in the browser to transmission lines having a length exceeding 0.7 km.
The logical expressions can be expanded to include other relations (e.g. >=), standard functions (e.g.
sin()), and logical operators (e.g. .and.).

Note: Parameter names can be object properties or results. The parameter names for object properties
are found, for example, by letting the mouse pointer hover over an input field in an object’s dialog
window. Parameter names for result variables are found from variable sets, which are described
in Section 19.3 Variable Selection.

Figure 10.3.1: Filter dialog - Advanced page

Search Literally is used to search for user defined strings ’inside’ parameter fields. The user can
specify if the search is done in a specific parameter, if the field in Parameter is left blank, all parameter
fields will be searched for this string.

As stated before, the objects matching the filter criteria are displayed in a data browser. They may also
be highlighted in the graphic using the ’Colour representation’ function described in Chapter 9: Network
Graphics (Single Line Diagrams). The colour to be used in this case can be specified under the page
Graphic of the General Filter dialog.

Note: New filters are saved to the Project∖Changed Settings∖Filters folder in the project and are
available for use directly, using the right mouse menu. If a search is to be performed in a particular
grid simply proceed as follows: right-click the grid folder → Find→ Local Filters→ Filter Name
(e.g. Lines longer than 700 m). Remember to press the Apply button to perform the search. If
you unchecked the Show Filter Settings before Application box under User Settings → General
then the filter will be applied as soon as it is selected from the menu. This is useful when you have
already defined several filters for regular use.

10.4 Auto-Filter functions in Data Manager and browser windows

Columns within the Data Manager, browser windows or the Network Model Manager can be filtered. To
add a filter for a column proceed as follows:

• Click on the down arrow in the column header of the table. A window will open.
• A list of all entries that differ from each other within that column, will be shown.
• Option: Selection
– Select/deselect desired/undesired entries from that list. Only objects, which contain marked
entries will later be shown in the table. All other ones will be hidden.

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– Sometimes the list of entries can be very long. To reduce this list, the user may enter a text
into the search field. The list will be filtered with every typed character.
• Option: Custom...
– In addition to the possibility of selecting existing entries, also custom filters can be used by
choosing the radio button Custom... and confirming with OK.
– A new window will open, in which up to two filter can be combined via an AND or an OR
relation. For each of both filters one of the following criterions has to be chosen:
* None
* Equals
* Is not equal to
* Contains
* Does not contain
* Starts with
* Does not start with
* Ends with
* Does not end with
* Special
– After one criterion has been selected (except: None), a drop-down box will appear, from
which one of the entries may be chosen or an own text may be entered.

Filtered columns are indicated by a blue column heading and a filter symbol in the lower right corner of
the column header. By holding the mouse cursor still over the heading of a filtered column, a balloon
help appears and shows the applied filter settings.

The auto filters in the Data Manager and browser windows are temporary. They will be lost, if for
example another path is chosen.

10.5 Editing Data Objects in the Data Manager

The Data Manager offers several ways to edit power system components and other objects stored in
the database, regardless they appear graphically or not.

The basic method is to double-click the object icons in the database browser. This will open the same
edit dialog window obtained, when double clicking the graphical representation of an element in the
graphic window.

An open edit dialog will disable the Data Manager window from which it was opened. The edit dialog
has to be closed first in order to open another edit dialog.

However, it is possible to activate more than one Data Manager (by pressing the icon on the main
toolbar) and to open an edit dialog from each of these Data Managers. This can be useful for comparing
objects and parameters.

Using the edit dialogs has one major drawback: it separates the edited object from the rest of the
database, making it impossible to copy data from one object to the other, or to look at other object
parameter values while editing.

PowerFactory brings the big picture back in sight by offering full scale editing capabilities in the Data
Managers browser window itself. The browser window in fact acts like a spreadsheet, where the user
can edit and browse the data at the same time. The browser window has two modes in which objects
can be edited,
• Object mode
• Detail Mode
which are described in the following sections.

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10.5.1 Editing in Object Mode

In the general case the icon, the name, the type and the modification date (with its author) of the objects
are shown in the ’object’ mode. Certain objects, for example network components, show additional
fields like the “Out of Service” field.

The title buttons are used to sort the entries in the browser. The visible data fields can be double-clicked
to edit their contents, or the F2 button can be pressed. The object will show a triangle in its icon when
it is being edited.

After the data field has been changed, move to the other fields of the same object using the arrow-keys
or by clicking on these data fields, and alter them too.

The new contents of a data field are confirmed by pressing the Return key, or by moving to another
field within the same object. The triangle in the icon will change to a small star to show that the object
has been altered. The object itself however has not been updated. Updating the changes is done by
pressing Return again, or by moving to another object in the browser. By default, PowerFactory will
ask to confirm the changes. See Section 10.2.5 (Data Manager Settings) to disable these conformation
messages.

10.5.2 Editing in “Detail” Mode

If the icon on the browse window of the Data Manager is pressed, the browser changes to ’detail’
mode. It will display only the objects from the same class as the one which was selected when the
button was pressed.

In ’detail’ mode, the browser shows all data fields for the selected calculation function data set, which
can be selected by clicking on a tab shown at the bottom of the table view.If a page tab is out of reach,
then the page tab scrollers will bring it within the browser window again.

The list of objects may be sorted by any column by pressing the title field button. The widths of the
data fields can be adjusted by pointing the mouse on the separation line between two title fields and
dragging the field border by holding a mouse button down.

As with the browser in ’object’ mode, the data fields can be edited by double-clicking them. In the
example the active power settings are being edited, but from the star in the object icon it is clear
that another field of the same object has been edited too, but not confirmed, because this star would
otherwise be a triangle.

It is possible to change a parameter field for more than one object simultaneously. This is, for instance,
useful to raise a certain limit for a range of objects, in order to get a better load-flow result i.e. by
alleviating line overloads. An example is shown in Figure 10.5.1 where the derating factor for a range of
lines is changed at once.

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Figure 10.5.1: Modify values dialog

Figure 10.5.2: Modify values dialog

The parameter fields which have to be changed have to be multi-selected first. Right-clicking the
selection will pop up a case sensitive menu from which the Modify Value(s) option opens the SetValue
dialog, see Figure 10.5.2.

This dialog can be used to:

• increase or decrease them by multiplication with a scale factor (“Relative”).
• increase or decrease them by multiplication with a scale factor with respect to the sum of values
selected (“Relative to Sum”).
• Set all the selected parameter fields to a new fixed (“absolute”) value.
It is not possible to simultaneously alter parameter fields from more than one column, i.e. to change
nominal currents and nominal frequencies simultaneous, even if they would happen to take the same
value or would have to be raised with the same percentage.

10.5.3 Copy and Paste while Editing

One of the great advantages of editing data fields in the Data Manager’s browser window is the possi-
bility to copy data from one object to another. This is done by selecting one or more objects or object
fields, copying this selection to the clipboard, and pasting the data back in another place.

To copy one or more objects,

1. Open the Data Manager and select the grid folder where you find the objects to be copied.

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2. Select the objects.

3. Press Ctrl-C to copy or use the icon on the Data Manager toolbox.

4. Press Ctrl-V to paste or use the icon on the Data Manager toolbox. The objects will be copied
with all the data. Their names will automatically be altered to unique names.
Copying data fields from one object to another is done just like for any spreadsheet software you may
be familiar with. To copy one or more data fields,
1. Select them by clicking them once. Select more data fields by holding down the Ctrl key.

2. Copy the fields to the clipboard by pressing Ctrl-C or the icon.

3. Select one or more target objects data fields. If more than one field was copied, make sure that
the target field is the same as the first copied data field.

4. Press Ctrl-V or the icon. The contents of the data fields will be copied to the target objects.

10.6 The Flexible Data Page Tab in the Data Manager

The data browser (this will be seen in the Data Manager when the ’Detail Mode’ has been engaged)
has page tabs for all calculation functions. These tabs are used to view or edit object parameters which
are categorised according to a calculation function and have a fixed format.

The ’Flexible Data’ tab, normally used to display calculation results, allows the user to define a custom
set of data to be displayed.

The default format for the calculation results displayed in the flexible page depends on the calculation
performed: Following a load-flow calculation, the default variables for terminals are line-to-line voltage,
per unit voltage and voltage angle. Following a short-circuit calculation the default variables are initial
short-circuit current, initial short-circuit power, peak current etc. Figure 10.6.1 shows an example of the
flexible data page tab.

Figure 10.6.1: The Flexible Data page tab

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10.6.1 Customising the Flexible Data Page

The displayed variables are organised in ’Variables Sets’ that are, in turn, organised according to the
calculation functions. For example, an object class ElmTr2 (two-winding transformer) has a variable set
for symmetrical load flow calculation, a variable set for short-circuit calculation etc. There may also be
more than one variable set for any calculation function. For example, the object ElmTr2 may have two
variable sets for symmetrical load flow calculation.

The Flexible Page Selector allows the user to specify the variable set to use, or to define new variable
sets. Furthermore, the Flexible Page Selector allows the user to access and edit the variable sets, i.e.
to specify which variables to display in the Flexible Data page.

The ’Flexible Page Selector’ dialog is shown in Figure 10.6.2. This dialog is opened by pressing the
( ) icon on the Data Manager toolbar. The Flexible Page Selector has a menu with all the different
calculation functions. It opens in the page corresponding to the most recent calculation.

The selection of variables within Variable Sets is presented in detail in Section 19.3 Variable Selection.

Figure 10.6.2: The Flexible Page Selector

The Format/Header tab (Figure 10.6.3) allows the user to customise the header of the Flexible Data
page.

Figure 10.6.3: The Flexible Page Selector

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Note: Variable Sets are objects of class IntMon, within PowerFactory they have multiple uses. This
section only presents their use in conjunction with Flexible Data. For further information refer to
Section 19.3 Variable Selection.

The number format per column in the Flexible Data Page can also be modified by right clicking on the
column header of the variable and selecting Edit Number Format . . . . A new window will appear and
the user may define the number representation.

The order of the columns (except: Name, In Folder and Grid) on the Flexible Data page can be changed.
Therefor, the header of a column has to be clicked and while holding the left mouse button pressed, the
column can be moved to the desired position. To illustrate, where the column will be placed, when the
mouse button is released, an arrow between the actual and the possible new position of the column is
shown during this process.

10.7 The Input Window in the Data Manager

The input window is for the more experienced users of DIgSILENT PowerFactory. It is closed by default.
Almost all commands that are available in PowerFactory through the menu bars, pop-up menus, icons,
buttons, etc., may also be entered directly into the input window, using the PowerFactory commands.

The contents of the input window can be saved to file, and commands can be read back into the window
for execution.

PowerFactory also has special command objects which carry one single command line and which are
normally used to execute commands. In this way, complex commands can be saved in the same folder
as the power system for which they were configured.

10.7.1 Input Window Commands

In principle, everything that can be done in DIgSILENT PowerFactory can be done from the command
line in the input window. This includes creating objects, setting parameters, performing load-flow or
short-circuit calculations.

Some commands that are available are typically meant for command line use or for batch commands.
These commands are rarely used in another context and are therefore listed here as “command line
commands”, although they do not principally differ from any other command.

Cd Command Moves around in the database tree by opening another folder at a relative position
from the currently open folder.
Example:
cd...∖gridB∖Load1

Cls Command Clears the output or input window.

cls/outclears output window

cls/inpclears input window completely
cls/inp/doneclears only previously executed commands
.../y asks for confirmation

Dir Command Displays the contents of a folder.

Example:
dir Study Case

Ed Command Pops up the dialog of a default command, i.e. “ldf”, “shc”, etc.

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Example:
ed ldf

Exit Command Queries or sets a variable.

Example:
man/set obj=Load_1.elmlod variable=plini value=0.2

Pause Command Interrupts the execution of the command pipe until a next pause command is
executed.

Pr Command Prints either the contents of the output window or the currently active graphics
window.

Rd Command Opens and reads a file.

Stop Command Stops the running calculation.

Wr Command Writes to a file.

10.8 Save and Restore Parts of the Database

A selected part of the database can be written to a “.pfd” file with the button Export Data. . . . This
will bring a ’File Save’ dialog where a filename must be specified.

Alternatively, the folder or object that is to be exported can be right-clicked in the database tree, after
which the option Export. . . is selected.

The exported part of the database may be a complete project, a library, or a specific object in the
browser window. Exporting a folder (i.e a project, grid, library, etc.) will export the complete content of
that folder, inclusive subfolders, models, settings, single line graphics, etc.

It is even possible to export a complete user account. However, only the administrator is able to import
an user-account. Exporting the user-account on a regular basis is a practical way to backup your data.

It is even possible to export data from another user account, or even to export another user-account
completely. However, only the shared, visible, data will be exported.

The exported data file can be imported into the database again in any desired folder by pressing the
Import Data. . . button. This will bring a ’File Open’ dialog where the “.pfd” data-file can be selected.

The “.pfd”-file will be analysed and error messages will be displayed when the file is not a genuine
PowerFactory data file, or if it is corrupted. If the file format has been found to be correct, a dialog will
appear which shows the data and version of the file. The default target folder is shown also, which is the
original folder of the saved data. If this is not desired, another target folder can be selected by pressing
the Drop Down button. This button will bring a small version of the database tree. A new target folder
can be selected from this tree.

10.8.1 Notes

By exporting a folder from the database, only the information in that folder and all its subfolders will be
stored. If the exported objects use information (e.g. power system types like line or transformer types)
that is saved somewhere else, then that information will not be stored. Make sure that the used power
system types and all other referenced information is exported too.

When importing a file that contains objects which use data outside the import-file, a search for that data
is started.

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For instance, assume a project is exported. One of the line-models uses a type from a library outside
the project. When exporting, the path and name of this type is written in the export-file, but the type
itself is not exported, as is does not reside in the exported project.

At importing, the stored path and name of the ’external’ type is used to find the type again and to
restore the link. However, if the ’external’ type is not found, then it will be created, using the stored
path and name. Of course, the created object has default data, as the original data was not exported.
Additionally, an error message is written to the output window.

Suppose that you are working with a large library, which is stored in a special user-account to make it
read-only. The library is made accessible by sharing it to all users.

When export the projects, the objects from the external library are not exported. However, a colleague
which has access to the same library may still import your projects without problems. The external
objects used in your projects will be found in the same location, and the links to these objects will be
correctly restored.

10.9 Spreadsheet Format Data Import/Export

The PowerFactory data browser in the Data Manager’s window looks and acts like a spreadsheet
program as far as creating and editing power system objects is concerned. To enable and simplify the
use of power system element data which is stored in spreadsheet programs such as the Microsoft Excel
or the Lotus 123 programs, the data browser offers ’Spreadsheet Format’ import and export facilities.

10.9.1 Export to Spreadsheet Programs (e. g. MS EXCEL)

All data visible in the data browser may be exported as it is. The export format is such that most
common spreadsheet programs can read in the data directly (space separated ASCII). Exporting data
is performed as follows.

• Select a range of data in the data browser. Such a range may contain more than one column and
more than one row.
• Right-click the selected range.
• Now you have different options:
– If you want to copy the content of the marked cells only, simply select Copy from the context-
sensitive menu.
– If you want to copy the content of the marked cells together with a description header, select
the Spread Sheet Format option. This opens a second menu which offers the choice between
writing the Spreadsheet export to a file (Write to File), or to put it on the Windows Clipboard
(Copy (with column headers)). See Figure 10.9.1.
• The exported data can now be imported into a Spreadsheet program. When the Clipboard was
used, using the Paste option of the spreadsheet program or pressing Ctrl-V will Paste the data
into the spreadsheet.
• The imported data may now be edited, or additional calculations may be made. The PowerFactory
data is imported as numbers and descriptions. The example in Figure 10.9.2 calculates a mean
value from a range of line loading percentages.

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Figure 10.9.1: Exporting a range of data

Figure 10.9.2: Imported data in a spreadsheet program

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10.9.2 Import from Spreadsheet Programs (e. g. MS EXCEL)

There are two methods available for importing data from a spreadsheet program. The first method uses
a direct import of ’anonymous’ numerical data, i. e. of the values stored in the cells of the table. This
method is used to change parameter of existing objects by importing columns of parameter values.

The second method can be used to create new objects (or replace whole objects) by importing all the
data from a spreadsheet.

Any range of parameter values can be copied from a spreadsheet program and imported into the Data
Manager. The import is performed by overwriting existing parameter values by ’anonymous’ values.
The term ’anonymous’ expresses the fact that the imported data has no parameter description. The
size of the imported value range and the required data are tested. Importing invalid values (i.e. a power
factor of 1.56) will result in an error message.

Spreadsheet Import of Values

The import of values (anonymous variables), i. e. cells of a table, is explained by the following example.

In Figure 10.9.3, a range of active and reactive power values is copied in a spreadsheet program. In
Figure 10.9.4, this range is pasted to the corresponding fields of 6 load objects by right-clicking the
upper left most field which is to be overwritten. The result of this action is shown in Figure 10.9.5.

In contrast to the import of whole objects, the anonymous import of data does not need a parameter
description. This would complicate the import of complete objects, as the user would have to enter all
parameters in the correct order.

Figure 10.9.3: Copying a range of spreadsheet data

Figure 10.9.4: Pasting spreadsheet data from clipboard

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Figure 10.9.5: Database browser with imported data

Spreadsheet Import of Objects and Parameters

With this kind of import, it is possible to import whole objects (in contrast to the import of pure values,
which is described above). The object import uses a header line with the parameter names (which is
necessary in addition to the cells with the pure values). This header must have the following structure:

• The first header must be the class name of the listed objects.
• The following headers must state a correct parameter name.

This is shown in Figure 10.9.6.

Figure 10.9.6: Excel required format

Figure 10.9.7 shows an example of valid spreadsheet data of some line types and some 2-winding
transformer types.

Figure 10.9.7: Example of valid spreadsheet data

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The import of the spreadsheet data into PowerFactory is performed as follows.

• Select the header line and one or more objects lines.

• Copy the selection. See Figure 10.9.8 for example.

• Right-click the folder browser in the Data Manager to which the objects are to be imported. Select
Spread Sheet Format → Import Objects from Clipboard. See Figure 10.9.9 for example.

Figure 10.9.8: Selecting object data in spreadsheet

Figure 10.9.9: Importing objects from clipboard

The result of the object import depend on whether or not objects of the imported class and with the
imported names already exist or not in the database folder. In the example of Figure 10.9.10, none of

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the imported objects existed in the database an all were created new therefore. The example shows
the database in detail mode.

Figure 10.9.10: Result of spreadsheet object import

Note: New objects are created in the PowerFactory database folder only when no object of the imported
class and with the imported name is found in that folder. If such an object is found then its data
will be overwritten by the imported data

Because new objects are only created when they do not exist already, and only the imported parameters
are overwritten when the object did exists already, the import is always a save action.

Remarks
Object Names
Object names may not contain any of the characters
*
?=",∖∼|

Default Data
When an imported object is created newly, the imported data is used to overwrite the correspond-
ing default data. All parameters that are not imported will keep their default value.

Units
The spreadsheet values are imported without units. No conversion from MW to kW, for example,
will be possible. All spreadsheet values therefore have to be in the same units as used by
PowerFactory.

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Chapter 11

Building Networks

11.1 Introduction

This Chapter describes basic processes for setting up a network model in PowerFactory. Network
models are usually constructed via a network graphic, or the Data Manager of the project. Therefore it
is useful to have some understanding of these two concepts before starting. See Chapters 9 and 10.

11.2 Defining Network Models using the Graphical Editor

This section explains how the tools of the Graphical Editor are used to define and work with network
models. Some basic terms to understand are:

• Node: a node is another name for a terminal, which is an object of class ElmTerm. Other objects
such as loads and lines are connected to the nodes.
• Edge element: any element connected to a terminal (e.g. load, shunt, line, switch, transformer).
It can be a single-port element or have more than one port.
• Branch element: an edge element that is connected between two or more nodes (e.g. switch, line,
transformer). It has more than one port.
• Cubicle: the cubicle is not an element represented on the diagram; it is internal to a terminal and
can be thought of as the point where an object is connected to the terminal.

11.2.1 Adding New Power System Elements

When new elements are created via a diagram graphic, they will by default be stored in the folder of the
grid associated with that graphic (“Target folder for network elements”).

PowerFactory provides a Drawing Toolbox from which elements can be selected. This toolbar is only
visible to the user when a project and study case is active and the open graphic is made editable by
deselecting the Freeze Mode button ( ). The Drawing Toolbox will then be seen on the right-hand
side of the GUI. The process is that elements are first created and then their parameters subsequently
edited through the element and type dialogs. Information about the element and type parameters are
given in theTechnical References Document.

To create a new power system element, left-click once on the corresponding icon in the toolbox. Then
the cursor will have this symbol “attached” to it. Then a left-click on the graphic will create a new element
of the selected class. The Esc key, or right mouse-click, can be used to stop this process.

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Power system elements are placed and connected in the single line graphic by left clicking on empty
places on the drawing surface (places a symbol), and by left clicking on nodes (makes a connection).
It is therefore recommended to start by creating at least some of the nodes (terminals) in the network
first.

The connection between edge elements and terminals is carried out by means of cubicles. When work-
ing with the graphical editor, the cubicles are automatically generated in the corresponding terminal.

Note: When connections to terminals are defined with switch elements of the class ElmCoup (circuit
breakers), cubicles without any additional switches (StaSwitch) are generated.

11.2.2 Nodes

When starting to build a network, it is usual to first place the required terminals (ElmTerm) on the
graphic. There are several representations of terminals available in the Drawing Toolbox. Note that
terminals have a parameter e:iUsage, which is set to Busbar, Internal Node or Junction Node; by
default this will be set to Busbar unless the “point” representation is selected.

Busbar. This is the most common representation of a node.

Busbar (Short). Looks the same as a Busbar but is shorter and the results box and name is placed
on the Invisible Objects layer by default. Typically used to save space or reduce clutter on the graphic.

Junction / Internal Node. Typically used to represent a junction point, say between an overhead line
and cable. The results box and name is placed on the Invisible Objects layer by default.

Busbar (rectangular). Typically used for reticulation and / or distribution networks.

Busbar (circular). Typically used for reticulation and / or distribution networks.

Busbar (polygonal). Typically used for reticulation and / or distribution networks.

Busbars (terminals) should be placed in position and then, once the cursor is reset, dragged, rotated
and sized as required. Re-positioning is performed by first left clicking on the terminal to mark it, then
clicking once more so that the cursor changes to , and then holding the mouse button down and
dragging the terminal to a new position. Re-sizing is performed by first left clicking on the terminal to
mark it. Sizing handles appear at the ends.

11.2.3 Edge Elements

Edge elements are elements which connect to nodes.

Single port elements (loads, machines, etc.) can be positioned in two ways. The simplest method is
to select the symbol from the toolbar and then left click the busbar where the element is to be placed.
This will draw the element at a default distance under the busbar. In case of multi busbar systems, only
one of the busbars need be left-clicked. The switch-over connections to the other busbars will be made
automatically.

The “free-hand” method first places the element symbol wherever desired, that is, first click wherever
you wish to place the symbol. The cursor now has a “rubber band” connected to the element (i.e. a
dashed line), left-clicking on another node will connect it to that node. To create corners in the joining
line left click on the graphic. The line will snap to grid, be drawn orthogonally, as determined by the
“Graphic Options” that have been set.

If a single port element is connected to a terminal using the first method (single left click on busbar), but

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a cubicle already exists at that position on the busbar, the load or machine symbol will be automatically
positioned on the other side of the terminal, if possible.

Note: By default all power system elements are positioned “bottom down”. If the element has already
been placed and one wishes to flip it to the other side of the terminal, it can be done by selecting
the element and the right-click → Flip At Node.

Once drawn, an element can be rotated by right-click and selecting from the Rotate commands.

Double port elements (lines, transformers, etc.) are positioned in a similar manner to single port
symbols. By left-clicking the first busbar, the first connection is made. The second connection line
is now held by the cursor. Again, left-clicking the drawing area will create corners. Double-clicking the
drawing area will position the symbol (if not a line or cable - e.g. a transformer). The second connection
is made when a node is left clicked.

Triple port elements (e.g. three-winding transformers) are positioned in the same manner as two port
symbols. Clicking the first, and directly thereafter the second node, will place the symbol centred
between the two nodes, which may be inconvenient. Better positioning will result from left clicking
the first busbar, double-clicking the drawing space to position the element, and then making the second
and third connection.

The ’free-hand’ method for two and triple port elements works the same as for one port elements.

Note: Pressing the Tab key after connecting one side will leave the second leg unconnected, or jump to
the third leg in the case of three port elements (press Tab again to leave the third leg unconnected).
Pressing Esc or right-click will stop the drawing and remove all connections. If the element being
drawn seems as if it will be positioned incorrectly or untidily there is no need to escape the drawing
process; make the required connections and then right-click the element and Redraw the element
whilst retaining the data connectivity.

It is recommended that the connections for a transformer are always made in order of voltage, starting
with the highest voltage connection.

It is possible to insert a terminal into an existing line in the single line diagram by placing the terminal on
the line itself. This splits the line into two, defaulting at 50 %. If the terminal is then moved, the adjacent
line sections will automatically be redrawn. If the terminal needs to be moved (graphically) along the
line, this can be done by holding the Ctrl+Alt keys whilst moving the terminal. Note that both these
adjustments are just graphical and do not change the actual lengths of the two lines.

Annotations are created by clicking one of the annotation drawing tools. Tools are available for drawing
lines, squares, circles, pies, polygons, etc. To draw these symbols left click at on an empty space on
the single line diagram and release the mouse at another location (e.g. circles, lines, rectangles). Other
symbols require that you first set the vertices by clicking at different positions and finishing the input
mode by double-clicking at the last position.

For further information on defining lines, see Section 11.3 (Lines and Cables).

11.2.4 Cubicles

A cubicle (StaCubic) in PowerFactory is an object which stores information about the connection
between an edge element and a node element. Whenever an edge element is connected to a node
element it must be connected via a cubicle. However, the cubicle is created automatically when an edge
element and a node are connected and the user does not generally need to take special measures to
facilitate the creation of the cubicle.

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In the data manager cubicles are stored within node elements. A node element can contain cubicles
which do not have an edge element associated with them. This can happen if for example an edge
element is connected to a node and then disconnected. A cubicle is automatically created during the
connection but is not automatically deleted upon disconnection and therefore remains in the node. If
alternatively the edge element was deleted instead of disconnected, in this case, the cubicle would also
be deleted. If an attempt is made to connect an edge element to a node containing such unassigned
cubicles then PowerFactory will give the user a choice of unassigned cubicles to which they can
connect.

In addition to storing information about the associated connection, a cubicle is also used as a storage
location for certain objects. For example, relays, switches, circuit breakers and measurement devices
can all be stored inside cubicles. Only one switching device (StaSwitch) can be stored inside a cubicle
and this device can be used to toggle the connection between the edge element and the node element.
By default a switching device is always created in a cubicle, but the user can also choose to remove the
switching device if required.

11.2.5 Marking and Editing Power System Elements

A left-click on an element selects it and it then becomes the “focus” of the next action or command.
For branch elements, the parts near their connection to nodes are treated differently and show specific
context sensitive menu options regarding the marked side of the element (e.g. to insert a new device at
the line end or to disconnect the line). To get all the menu options anyway, hold down the Ctrl-key while
clicking the right mouse button.

The element can be un-marked or de-selected by clicking on another element, by clicking onto some
free space in the graphic or just by pressing the Esc key.

There are different ways to select several objects at once:

• Pressing the Mark All Elements button ( ), or using Ctrl+A to mark all graphical elements.

• If the Rectangular Selection button ( ) is pressed (default condition), a set of elements can be
selected by clicking on a free spot in the drawing area, holding down the left mouse button, moving
the cursor to another place, and release it. All elements in the so defined rectangle will now be
marked.
• One or more objects can be marked holding down the Ctrl key whilst marking the objects.
• Holding down the Alt-key while clicking on the same object again marks all the adjacent objects.
Doing this several times marks more and more connected objects.

• If the area to be selected cannot be covered with a rectangular form, the Free-form Selection
button ( ) can be used to select a custom area of the diagram.
The data of any element (its edit dialog) may be viewed and edited by either double-clicking the graphic
symbol, or by right-clicking it and selecting Edit Data. If multiple objects are selected, right-click → Edit
Data will bring up a data browser.

The option Edit and Browse Data will show the element in a Data Manager environment. The object
itself will be selected (highlighted) in the Data Manager and can be double-clicked to open the edit
dialog. A new Data Manager will be opened if no Data Manager is presently active. The edit dialogs for
each element may be opened from this data browser one by one, or the selected objects can be edited
in the data browser directly.

Note: The position of an object in the database tree can be found by:
• Opening the edit dialog. The full path is shown in the header of the dialog.
• Using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+E, which opens the Data Manager with the element marked
in the folder hierarchy.

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• Right-clicking the object and selecting Edit and Browse. This will open a new database
browser when required, and will focus on the selected object.

11.2.6 Interconnecting Power Subsystems

Interconnections between two different graphics can be done in one of two ways:

1. Representing a node in another diagram by copying (right-click → Copy ) the node in the first
graphic and pasting just the graphic object (right-click → Paste Graphic Only ) into the second
diagram. Both graphical objects are then associated with the same element; no new element is
created.
2. Ensure that there is a node to connect to in the graphics that are to be interconnected. Then
connect an edge element between the two graphics.

Example

In this example a line will be used to interconnect two regions using the second method. See fig-
ure 11.2.1.
1. Select a line drawing tool from the toolbar and create the first connection as normal by left clicking
a node (see figure 11.2.1a).

2. Double-click to place the symbol. Your cursor is now attached to the line by a “rubber band”.
Move the cursor to the bottom of the drawing page and click on the tab of the graphic that the
interconnection is to be made to (see figure 11.2.1b).
3. Once in the second graphic left click to place the line symbol (see figure 11.2.1c) and then left
click on the second node.

The interconnected leg is shown by an symbol.

(a) First step (b) Second step

(c) Third step

Figure 11.2.1: Interconnecting Power Subsystems

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Note: The first method of interconnection, that of representing a node in two, or more, different graphics,
may lead to confusion at a later point as the ’inflow’ and ’outflow’ to the node will not appear correct
when just one graphic is viewed - especially if a user is not familiar with the system. The node may
be right-clicked to show all connections in what is known as the “detailed diagram” (menu option
Show Detailed Graphic of Substation). Thus, the second method may be preferred. To check for
nodes that have connections on other graphics the Topology → Missing graphical connections
diagram colouring may be employed.

11.2.7 Substations

Substations and Secondary Substations from existing templates are created using the network dia-
grams. The substations are represented in these diagrams by means of composite node symbols.

11.2.7.1 Creating a New Substation in an Overview Diagram

Before starting to create new substations, the user may wish to consider whether it would be useful
to have Bays (ElmBay ) created within the substation. If so, these can be automatically created if the
necessary project setting is selected. See section 8.1.2.3. More information about Bays is given in
Section 11.2.7.3.

Overview diagrams are diagrams without detailed graphical information of the substations. Substations
and Secondary Substations are illustrated as “Composite Nodes”, which can be coloured to show
the connectivity of the connected elements (“Beach Ball”). Substations and Secondary Substations
from pre-defined templates (or templates previously defined by the user) are created using the network
diagrams. The substations are represented in these diagrams by means of composite node symbols.

To draw a substation from an existing template in an overview diagram:

• In the Drawing Toolbox, click on the symbol of the composite node ( or for substations or
for secondary substations).

• Select the required substation template from the list.

• Click on the overview diagram to place the symbol. The substation is automatically created in the
active grid folder.
• Right click on the substation, select Edit Substation and rename the substation appropriately.

• Close the window with the templates.

• Press Esc or right click on the mouse to get the cursor back.
• Resize the substation symbol as required, by clicking on it and dragging the corners or sides.
For further information on templates refer to Chapter 14: Project Library, Section 14.4 (Templates
Library).

To show the connectivity inside a composite node:

Press the button to open the colouring dialog. Select the ’Function’ for which the colouring mode is
relevant (for example, select the Basic Data page). Select Other → Topology → Station Connectivity.

There are two ways to open the graphic page of a substation. The first is to double-click on the
corresponding composite node in the overview diagram. The second is to go to the graphic object
of the substation in the Data Manager, right-click and select Show Graphic.

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11.2.7.2 Creating a New Substation in a Simplified Diagram

Before starting to create new substations, the user may wish to consider whether it would be useful
to have Bays (ElmBay ) created within the substation. If so, these can be automatically created if the
necessary project setting is selected. See section 8.1.2.3. More information about Bays is given in
Section 11.2.7.3.

Simplified diagrams are substation graphics which are more detailed than in the overview diagram
but less detailed than the detailed substation diagram. Figure 11.2.2 shows the different possible
representations of a substation.

(a) Overview Diagram (b) Simplified Diagram

(c) Detailed Diagram

Figure 11.2.2: Substation examples

To create a substation from an existing template in a simplified diagram:

• Click on the General Templates symbol ( ).

• Click on the Library Busbar Systems folder and select the desired substation template from the
list.
• Click on the single line diagram to place the symbol. The substation is automatically created in
the active grid folder.
• Right click the substation, select Edit Substation, and rename the substation appropriately.
• Close the window with the templates.
• Press Esc or right click on the mouse to get the cursor back.

• Resize the substation symbol as required.

A detailed diagram of the newly created substation can be opened by selecting the option Show Detailed
Graphic of Substation from the context sensitive menu.

For further information on templates refer to Chapter 14: Project Library, Section 14.4 (Templates
Library).

The connectivity can be shown as explained is section 11.2.7.1.

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11.2.7.3 Substation Bays

The Bay object ElmBay is used to group together the network elements that normally constitute a
standard bay connection of a circuit to a busbar within a substation. This grouping is useful for visu-
alisation but is also used by the Load Flow Calculation option Calculate max. current at busbars: see
section 48.4.3.

If the detailed diagram of the substation is viewed, the bays are highlighted by rectangular blocks (by
default pale grey). These blocks are not just annotation - users can move additional elements into the
area and they will also be moved into the Bay object in the project hierarchy. The Bay representation
can be manually resized but will also expand automatically to encompass all objects that form part of
the bay.

Additional bays may be added using the Bay icon in the toolbox.

Note that the bay representation on the graphic is held within a layer called “Bays and Sites”, so may be
made visible or invisible as required. The colour can also be configured.

11.2.7.4 Substation Switching Rules

Switching Rules ( ) (IntSwitching) store switching actions for a selected group of switches that are
defined inside a substation. The different switching actions (no change, open or close) are defined by
the user considering different fault locations that can occur inside a substation. By default, the number
of fault locations depends on the number of busbars and bay-ends contained inside the substation;
although the user is allowed to add (and remove) specific fault locations and switches belonging to the
substation. The switch actions will always be relative to the current switch positions of the breakers.

The selection of a Switching Rule for a substation is independent of the selection of a Running Arrange-
ment and if required, the reference to the switching rule in a substation can be stated to be operational
data; provided the user uses the Scenario Configuration object. For more information on the scenario
configuration refer to Chapter 16 (Operation Scenarios).

The typical application of Switching Rules is in contingency analysis studies or reliability analysis
studies, where the predefined switching rules could be immediately applied after a fault. For example,
a busbar fault in a double-busbar system could be followed by switching the connections to the other
heathy bus bar. The Switching Rules are composed of a matrix, which defines the required switch
actions for several fault locations in the substation. Please refer to 27.4.8.1 for the application in
contingency analysis.

Switching Rules are also considered during Reliability Analysis (see Chapter 44)

To create a switching rule

• Edit a Substation, either by right-clicking on the substation busbar from the single line graphic,
and from the context-sensitive menu choosing Edit a Substation, or by clicking on an empty place
in the substation graphic, and from the context-sensitive menu choosing Edit Substation. This will
open the substation dialog.

• Press the Select button ( ) in the Switching Rule section and select New. . .
• The new Switching Rule dialog pops up, where a name and the switching actions can be specified.
The switching actions are arranged in a matrix where the rows represent the switches and the
columns the fault locations. By default the fault locations (columns) correspond to the number of
busbars and bay-ends contained inside the substation, while the switches correspond only to the
circuit breakers. The user can nevertheless add/remove fault locations and/or switches from the
Configuration page. The switch action of every defined breaker in the matrix can be changed by
double clicking on the corresponding cell, as illustrated in figure 11.2.3. Press afterwards OK.

• The new switching rule is automatically stored inside the substation element.

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Figure 11.2.3: Switching Rule Dialog

To select a Switching Rule

A Switching Rule can be selected in the Basic Data page of a substation dialog (ElmSubstat) by:
• Opening the substation dialog.

• Pressing the Select button ( ) in the Switching Rule section. A list of all Switching Rules for the
current substation is displayed.
• Selecting the desired Switching Action.
To apply a Switching Rule

A Switching Rule can be applied to the corresponding substation by pressing the Apply button from
within the switching rule dialog. This will prompt the user to select the corresponding fault locations
(busbars) in order to copy the statuses stored in the switching rule directly in the substation switches.
Here, the user has the option to select either a single fault location, a group or all of them.

The following functional aspects must be regarded when working with switching rules:
• A switching rule can be selected for each substation. By default the selection of a switching rule
in a substation is not recorded in the operation scenario. However, this information can defined
as part of an operational scenario by using the Scenario Configuration object (see Chapter 16:
Operation Scenarios).

• If a variation is active the selection of the Switching Rule is stored in the recording expansion
stage; that is considering that the Scenario Configuration object hasn’t been properly set.
To assign a Switching Rule

The Assign button contained in the switching rule dialog allows to set it as the one currently selected
for the corresponding substation. This action is also available in the context-sensitive menu in the Data
Manager (when right-clicking on a switching rule inside the Data Manager).

To preview a Switching Rule

The Preview button contained in the switching rule dialog allows to display in a separate window the
different switch actions for the different fault locations of the corresponding substation.

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11.2.8 Sites

As noted in section 4.6.8, a site is normally used to group network components, for example, substations
of different voltage levels at the same location. Due to this particular characteristic, site elements do not
have predefined templates inside the software.

The site element can be represented in overview and/or geographic diagrams; a detailed representation
can also be defined.

11.2.8.1 Creating a New Site in Overview and Geographic Diagrams

Site elements can be represented by a square or a circle using the buttons and from the Drawing
Toolbar. For geographic diagrams, only the circular representation is available.

To draw a new site:

• Click on one of the site symbols ( )
• Click on the overview diagram to place the symbol. The site is automatically created in the active
grid folder.
• Press Esc or right click on the mouse to get the cursor back.
• Resize the site symbol as required.
• Right click on the site and select Edit Site to open the edit dialog of the element.

Once the site is defined, a detailed diagram is automatically created. It is possible then to draw all the
elements directly inside the Site diagram, using detailed substation diagram templates as explained in
section 11.2.7.2.

If the site already exists it is possible to use the Diagram Layout Tool to generate its detailed represen-
tation automatically. See section 11.6 for more information about the Diagram Layout Tool.

The resizing and colouring according to connectivity of the site can be done as explained in sec-
tion 11.2.7.1.

11.2.8.2 Site Frames

In some overview diagrams, it may not be sufficient to use site objects for all sites; and users may want
to see more detail at certain sites. This can be done by using a representation of the site as a frame
within which the substations can also be seen.

Figure 11.2.4: Substations within a site frame in an overview graphic

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The site can be introduced into the graphic using the graphic object , which draws the site as a rect-
angular frame. The user can then create new substations within this frame and they will become part of
the ElmSite. The Site frame will automatically resize to accomodate the new substation representations.

This new graphical option gives the user the flexibility to show sites as single symbols or in more detail,
as required, and the site frame representation is held within a graphical layer called “Bays and Sites”,
so may be made visible or invisible as required.

11.2.9 Composite Branches

New composite branches (ElmBranch) can be created in the Data Manager using the procedure de-
scribed in Chapter 10, Section 11.5.4 (Defining Composite Branches in the Data Manager). The
definition and connection of the branch components can then be done in the single line diagram that is
automatically generated upon creation of a new branch.

Branches are created in single line diagrams using previously defined templates. To create a new
branch from a template:

• Click on the Composite Branch symbol ( ) in the Drawing Toolbox. If there is more than one
branch template (in the Templates library), a list will appear, so that the correct one can be
selected.
• If the branch is to be connected to two terminals of the same single line graphic, simply click once
on each terminal.
• If the branch is to be connected to a terminal from another single line diagram, you have to ’Paste
graphically’ one of the terminals on the diagram where you want to represent the branch, or
connect across pages as discussed in Section 11.2.6 (Interconnecting Power Subsystems).
• If the branch is to be connected to terminals from a substation, click once on each composite
node to which the branch is to be connected. You will be automatically taken inside each of those
composite nodes to make the connections. In the substation graphic click once on an empty spot
near the terminal where you want to connect the branch end, and then on the terminal itself.
A diagram of the newly created branch can be opened by double clicking on its symbol. In the new
diagram it is possible to rearrange the branch configuration and to change the branch connections.

Details of how to define templates can be found in Chapter 14 (Project Library).

11.2.10 Single and Two Phase Elements

It is possible to define the phase technology of elements such as terminals, lines, and loads. In instances
where the number of phases of a connecting element (e.g. a circuit breaker or line) is equal to the
number of phases of the terminal to which it connects, PowerFactory will automatically assign the
connections. However, when connecting single-phase elements to a terminal with greater than one
phase, or two-phase elements to terminals with greater than three phases, it is sometimes necessary to
adjust the phase connectivity of the element to achieve the desired connections. The phase connectivity
can be modified as follows:
• Open the dialog window of the element (by double-clicking on the element).
• Press the Figure >> button to display a figure of the elements with its connections on the bottom
of the dialog window.
• Double-click on the dark-red names for the connections inside this figure.
• Specify the desired phase connection/s.

Alternatively, click the right arrow ( ) next to the terminal entry and specify the desired phase connec-
tion/s.

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Note: It is possible to colour the grid according to the phases (System Type AC/DC and Phases). For
more information about the colouring refer to Section 9.3.7.1 (Diagram Colouring).

11.3 Lines and Cables

This section describes specific features and aspects of line and cable data models used in PowerFac-
tory. Detailed technical descriptions of the models are provided in Technical References Document.

In PowerFactory, lines and cables are treated alike, they are both instances of the generalised line
element ElmLne. A line may be modelled simply as a point-to-point connection between two nodes
and will refer to a line (TypLne), tower (TypTow), a tower geometry (TypGeo), a line coupling (ElmTow),
or a cable system coupling (TypCabsys, TypCabmult) type. Alternatively, lines may be subdivided into
sections referring to different types.

Note: Anywhere that ’line’ is written in this section, ’lines and/or cables’ may be read, unless otherwise
specified.

The three basic line configurations are shown in figure 11.3.1:

1. Top line: The simplest line is a single line object (ElmLne) connected between two terminal objects
via two cubicle objects.
2. Middle Line: Line (ElmLne) objects can also be cascaded or subdivided. Again, with each ElmLne
connected between two terminal objects via two cubicle objects.
3. Bottom line: Line (ElmLne) objects can also be subdivided into line section objects (ElmLnesec).
The ElmLne object is again connected via cubicle objects between two terminal objects, but here
the line section (ElmLnesec) objects constituting the line are not specifically connected between
terminals themselves meaning the number of cubicles and terminals associated with such a
configuration could be substantially reduced.

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Figure 11.3.1: Basic line configurations

Cascading line objects together can be useful where it is necessary to explicitly represent the transpo-
sition of conductors. It is also possible to give each separate cascaded line a different conductor/cable
type or tower geometry. Further, it is possible to branch off towards loads, generators and other
substations (for example) at the intermediate terminals and include additional switching devices in the
line. It may also be a useful representation to approximate the behaviour of a distributed parameter
model using lumped parameter models.

An arrangement of ElmLnesec objects is generally used to represent circuits or parts of circuits con-
sisting of multiple conductor/cable types. Such arrangements being typical of low voltage and medium
voltage distribution networks.

In addition to the configurations described above, objects known as branch (ElmBranch) objects can be
defined to organise and simplify the handling of complex composite arrangements of lines. Handling of
these objects is described in sections 11.2.9 and 11.5.4.

11.3.1 Defining a Line (ElmLne)

The simplest line model is a point-to-point connection between two nodes. This is normally done in the
single line graphic by selecting the ( ) icon and by left clicking the first terminal, possibly clicking on
the drawing surface to draw a corner in the line and ending the line at the second terminal by left clicking
it. This will create an ElmLne object in the database. When this object is edited, the following dialog will
appear.

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Figure 11.3.2: Editing a transmission line

The dialog shows the two cubicles to which the transmission line is connected (terminal i and terminal
j). The line edit dialog shows the name of the node (in brown) in addition to the name of the cubicle (in
blue). The actual connection point to the node is the cubicle and this may be edited by pressing the edit
button ( ). The cubicle may be edited to change the name of the cubicle, add/remove the breaker, or
change phase connectivity as discussed in Section 11.2.10 (Single and Two Phase Elements).

The type of the line is selected by pressing the ( ) next to the type field. Line types for a line are:
• The TypLne object type, where electrical parameters are directly written (the user can select if the
type is defined for an overhead line or a cable).
• Tower types (TypTow and TypGeo), where geometrical coordinates and conductor parameters are
specified, and the electrical parameters are calculated from this data. Selection of the tower type
will depend on the user’s requirement to link conductor type data to the line element as in TypGeo
(for re-use of the one tower geometry with different conductors), or to link conductor type data to
the tower type as in TypTow (for re-use of one tower geometry with the same conductors).
• Cable definition types (TypCabsys), used to complete the definition of a cable system. It defines
the coupling between phases, i.e. the coupling between the single core cables in a multiphase/multi-
circuit cable system.
Once the lines (or cables) have been created it is possible to define couplings between the circuits that
they are representing by means of line coupling elements ElmTow (for overhead lines) and cable system
coupling elements ElmCabsys (for cables).

Details of how to create Line Sections, Cable Systems, and Line Couplings are provided in the follow-
ing sections, and further information about line/cable modelling is given in the Technical References
Document.

11.3.2 Defining Line Sections

To divide a line into sections:

• Press the Sections/Line Loads button in the line dialog. This will open a data browser showing
the existing line sections (if any).

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• Click on the new object icon ( ) and select the element Line Sub-Section (ElmLnesec).
• The edit dialog of the new line section will appear, and the type and length of the new section can
be entered.

11.3.3 Defining Line Couplings

The Line Couplings element (ElmTow) is used to represent electromagnetic coupling between trans-
mission lines. In order to define a line coupling, a tower type (TypTow or TypGeo) determining the
geometrical characteristics is required, along with the conductor type (TypCon) of the circuits.

Since line coupling occurs between lines on the same tower or between lines running approximately
parallel to each other, the lines should be the same length; if they are not, a warning message will be
displayed when calculations are executed and the shorter length will be considered for the coupling. To
facilitate this Line objects can divided into two objects with one of the divided parts assigned a length
as well as a coupling to other line objects of the same length. The other divided part can be assigned
the remainder of the length of the circuit and no coupling.

The line coupling can be directly defined in the Data Manager; however it is easier to do it from the
single line diagram as follows:

1. Select the lines drawn in the single line diagram, right-clicking and select Define → Line Couplings
from the context sensitive menu.
2. A dialog pointing to the Equipment Type Library will open. At this point you have to select the
tower type, either a TypTow or a TypGeo. If none of them are yet available, the button New Object
( ) can be used to define a new tower type. In this example a TypTow will be used.
3. On the edit dialog of the tower type, shown in figure 11.3.3, the number of circuits and earth wires
should be defined. Then the conductor types should be selected, by double clicking on the TypCon
field.

Figure 11.3.3: Tower Type (TypTow)

4. Once again, a dialog pointing to the Equipment Type Library will open to select the conductor type.
If no type is yet available, the button New Object ( ) can be used to define a new conductor type
(TypCon).

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5. On the edit dialog of the conductor type, shown in figure 11.3.4, the nominal voltage, number of
subconductors, model and measurements should be defined.

Figure 11.3.4: Conductor Type (TypCon)

6. Separate conductor types can be used for each circuit and earth wires. Note that earth wires are
only to be entered if the Input Mode is set to Geometrical Parameters.
7. Once the conductors are defined, the rest of the parameters of the tower type should be entered.
The transposition can be selected as:
• None
• Circuit-wise
• Symmetrical
• Perfect
More information about these options can be found in the Technical References Document (Over-
head Line Constants).

8. On the Geometry page of the tower type edit dialog, the disposition of the conductor can be
defined by inserting the coordinates in metres, on the right side of the dialog, an image of
the location of the phases is shown. The button Calculate can be used to get the matrix of
impedances; more information about the calculation and values obtained is also available in the
technical reference for the Overhead Line Constants.

Figure 11.3.5: Geometry of the Tower Type (TypTow)

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9. Once the tower type is defined, click on the OK button. A new dialog will open, where the lines
(ElmLne) are assigned to the circuits. Select the line for each circuit and click OK. Now the line
coupling element (ElmTow) is complete. Note that once a line coupling has been assigned to a
line element, the type of the line changes to line coupling.

The example above uses a TypTow tower type, but line couplings can also be defined using the tower
geometry type TypGeo. The main difference is that within the tower type (TypTow) the geometry of
the tower is associated with the corresponding conductor types of each circuit and therefore the tower
type contains all data of the overhead line transmission system as required for the calculation of the
electrical parameters. The tower geometry type (TypGeo), however, does not contain a reference to
the conductor type, so that the definition is not complete and the conductor types are added later on in
the line (ElmLne) or coupling (ElmTow) elements. This makes the tower geometry type (TypGeo) more
flexible, and it is therefore the preferred option when combining the same tower geometry with different
conductor types.

The following figure presents a comparison of line couplings using different tower types.

(a) Using Tower Type (b) Using Tower Geometry Type

Figure 11.3.6: Line Couplings Element

11.3.4 Defining Cable Systems

A cable system can be used to calculate and represent the impedance of a cable or group of cables
including the calculation of mutual impedances developed between all conductors comprising the sys-
tem. Unlike the simple TypLne representation of a cable the input data does not include sequence
impedance data but rather includes geometrical data e.g. the relative positions of individual cables and
individual cores as well as data about the construction of the cables for example the core material, the
core cross section, the insulation type, or the presence of a sheath and armour. It is from this data
that PowerFactory calculates the impedances and admittance matrices of the arrangement, which are
subsequently used to represent the system in the various calculations.

Figure 11.3.7 illustrates that there are essentially two different kinds of cable system that can be
constructed in PowerFactory.

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(a) Cable system with coupling between ElmLne objects (b) Cable system based on a single ElmLne object

Figure 11.3.7: Cable System Overview

The cable system shown on figure 11.3.7a illustrates two line objects (ElmLne) which are coupled
together using a Cable System Element object (ElmCabsys). Although only two line objects are illus-
trated it is important to realise that practically there is no limit to the number of ElmLne objects which
can be coupled. Further, the ElmLne objects being coupled can have 1,2 or 3 phases and they can
represent many different types of conductor for example a phase conductor, a neutral, a sheath or an
armour with the type of conductor they represent likely to correspond with the designation of the node
on which they are terminated. They can also be connected at different voltage levels. Each ElmLne
representing one or more phase conductor is referred to as a circuit in the ElmCabsys and TypCabsys
objects. Each circuit must be assigned a Single Core Cable type (TypCab) or a Multicore/Pipe Cable
type (TypCabmult). If sheaths or armours of the cables are to be considered then this is specified in the
TypCabor TypCabmult objects.

Since coupling generally occurs between cables sharing a route over the part of the route where the
cables run approximately parallel to each other, the cables coupled in this cable system arrangement
should be specified to have the same length; if they are not, a warning message will be displayed when
calculations are executed and the shorter length will be considered for the coupling. To facilitate this
Line objects can divided into two objects with one of the divided parts assigned a length as well as a
coupling to other line objects of the same length. The other divided part can be assigned the remainder
of the length of the circuit and no coupling.

The line coupling can be directly defined in the Data Manager; however it is easier to do it from the
single line diagram as follows:

1. Multi-select the cables to be coupled which are drawn in the single line diagram. Right-click and
select Define → Cable System from the context sensitive menu.
2. A dialog pointing to the Equipment Type Library will open. At this point you are asked to select a
TypCabsys object. If no appropriate existing types are available, the button New Object ( ) can
be used to define a new Cable System Type.
3. On the basic data page of the dialog of the tower type, shown in figure 11.3.8, the number of

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circuits should be defined. Then the cable types should be selected, by double clicking on the
TypCab, TypCabmult field.

Figure 11.3.8: Cable Definition Type (TypCabsys)

4. Once again, a dialog pointing to the Equipment Type Library will open for selection of a Single
Core or Multicore/Pipe Cable Type. If no appropriate type is yet defined, the button New Object
( ) can be used to define a new type.
5. On the Basic Data page of the dialog of the Single Core Cable type, shown in figure 11.3.9, the
nominal voltage, and details of the core construction should be defined along with the charac-
teristics of the various conducting, insulating and semi-conducting layers from which the cable
is constructed. If a sheath or armour is to be considered then the relevant checkbox should be
selected to confirm that it exists.

Figure 11.3.9: Single Core Cable Type (TypCab)

6. On the Basic Data page of the dialog of the Multicore/Pipe Cable Type, shown in figure 11.3.10,
just as for the Single Core Cable type the nominal voltage, and details of the core construction
should be defined along with the characteristics of the various conducting, insulating and semi-
conducting layers from which the cable is constructed. Again, if a sheath or armour is to be

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considered then the relevant checkbox should be selected to confirm that it exists. Note that
additionally here it is possible to select whether the Pipe Type model or the Multicore model is to
be used. Note also that depending on which model is selected, different data may be entered in the
additional tabs defining either the multicore common outer layers or the pipe. Finally the geometry
of the conductors within the arrangement should be defined using the Conductor coordinates tab.

Figure 11.3.10: Multicore/Pipe Cable Type (TypCabmult)

7. Separate Single Core Multicore/Pipe Cable types can be used for each circuit.

8. Once the types are defined, the rest of the parameters of the Cable Definition should be entered.
9. On the Circuit Position tab of the Cable Definition Basic Data dialog, the positions of the circuits
can be defined by inserting the coordinates, on the right side of the dialog, an image of the location
of the phases is shown. The button Calculate can be used to get the matrix of impedances; more
information about the calculation and values obtained is also available in the technical reference
for Cable Systems.

Figure 11.3.11: Geometry of the Cable Definition (TypCabsys)

10. Once the Cable Definition is defined, click on the OK button. A new dialog will open, where the
lines (ElmLne) are assigned to the circuits. Select the line for each circuit and click OK. Now
the Cable System element (ElmCabsys) is complete. Note that once a line coupling has been
assigned to a line element, the type of the line changes to line coupling.

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The cable system on figure 11.3.7b illustrates a more simple cable system configuration where coupling
between ElmLne objects is not to be considered. In this case a Cable definition (TypCabsys) is assigned
directly to an individual line object. This line object can also represent 1,2 or 3 phases and can also
represent many different types of conductor for example a phase conductor, a neutral, a sheath or an
armour with the type of conductor they represent again likely to correspond with the designation of the
node on which they are terminated.

The ElmLne objects associated with this configuration can actually be used to represent multiple circuits
and for considering the coupling between them. However, there is one limitation in that each circuit
must be identical. Each circuit must be assigned the same Single Core Cable type (TypCab) or a
Multicore/Pipe Cable type (TypCabmult). If sheaths or armours of the cables are to be considered then
this is specified in the TypCab or TypCabmult objects. However, in this case these cannot be considered
explicitly by representation with their own ElmLne object as they could be with the coupled cable system.

For this configuration it is easiest to define the cable system via the associated ElmLne dialog. In this
case the type parameter of the line should be selected or defined with selection of the class TypCabsys.
The TypCabsys itself is defined exactly as described for the coupled cable system.

11.4 Neutral Winding Connection in Network Diagrams

PowerFactory offers the user the option to explicitly represent the neutral connections and interconnec-
tions of the following commonly used elements:

• Power transformers (ElmTr2, ElmTr3 and ElmTr4)

• Shunt elements (ElmShunt)
• External grids (ElmXnet)

• Synchronous (ElmSym) and asynchronous machines (ElmAsm)

• Static generators (ElmGenstat)
• PV systems (ElmPvsys)
• Neutral earthing elements (ElmNec)

• Harmonic Filter (ElmFilter )

• Step-Voltage Regulator (ElmVoltreg)
The interconnection of separate neutral wires is illustrated with the help of the Synchronous Generator.

A separate neutral connection can be activated by choosing the option N-Connection on the Zero
Sequence/Neutral Conductor tab on the basic data page of the element as shown in figure 11.4.1,
the graphical symbol of the object will change. An illustration for the Synchronous Generator element is
shown in figure 11.4.2. Please note, once the N-Connection via a separate terminal option is selected,
the Vector Groups layer can no longer be hidden in the single line diagram.

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Figure 11.4.1: Zero Sequence/Neutral Connection Tab

Figure 11.4.2: Generator with N-Connection via separate terminal

To connect the neutral of the Element to a neutral busbar, right click on the element and select Connect
Element. An example of a single line diagram with the interconnection of neutral wires is shown in figure
11.4.3. A Neutral terminal is configured by ensuring that the Phase Technology of the terminal is set to
N as shown in figure 11.4.4.

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Figure 11.4.3: Grid with neutral winding connection

Figure 11.4.4: Set neutral Terminal

11.5 Defining Network Models using the Data Manager

In this section it is explained how the tools of Data Manager are used to define network models.

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11.5.1 Defining New Network Components in the Data Manager

This section deals with defining and connecting network components using the Data Mananger. General
information about editing data objects in the Data Manager can be found in section 10.5.

New network components can be directly created in the Data Manager. This is done by clicking on the
target grid/expansion stage (left pane) to display its contents in the browser (right pane). Then the New
Object icon is used; the required object class is selected or the class name typed in directly.

11.5.2 Connecting Network Components in the Data Manager

To connect newly created branch elements to a node, a free cubicle must exist in the target terminal. In
the ’Terminal’ field (Terminal i and Terminal j for two port elements, etc.) of the edge element you have
to click on the ( ) arrow to select (in the data browser that appears) the cubicle where the connection
is going to take place.

To create a new cubicle in a terminal you have to open its edit dialog (double click) and press the
Cubicles button (located at the right of the dialog). A new browser with the existing cubicles will
appear, press the New Object icon and in the ’Element’ field select Cubicle (StaCubic). The edit
dialog of the new cubicle will appear; by default no internal switches will be generated. If you want a
connection between the edge element and the terminal through a circuit breaker, you have to press the
Add Breaker button. After pressing OK the new cubicle will be available for connecting new elements.

Note: New users are recommended to create and connect elements directly from the single line graph-
ics. The procedures described above are intended for advanced users.

11.5.3 Defining Substations in the Data Manager

The concept and the application context of substations is presented in Section 4.6 (Project Structure). A
description of the procedure used to define new substations with the Data Manager is given as follows.
For information about working with substations in the graphical editor refer to Section 11.2 (Defining
Network Models using the Graphical Editor).

To define a new substation from the Data Manager:

• Display the content of the grid where you want to create the new substation.
• Right click on the right pane of the Data Manager and select New → Substation from the context
sensitive menu.
• The new substation edit dialog will appear. There you can change the name, assign running
arrangements and visualise/edit the content of the substation (directly after creation it is empty).
• After pressing OK the new substation and an associated diagram (with the same name of the
substation) will be created.
The components of the new substation can be created and connected using the associated single
line diagram or using the Data Manager; the first option is recommended. For the second option, the
Contents button is used to bring up a browser, where the new components can be created using the
New Object icon.

Components of a substation can of course be connected with components of the corresponding grid or
even with components of other networks. The connection in the Data Manager is carried out following
the same procedure discussed in the previous section.

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For information about working with substations in the graphical editor refer to Section 11.2 (Defining Net-
work Models using the Graphical Editor). For information about the definition of Running Arrangements
refer to Section 14.3.7 (Running Arrangements).

11.5.4 Defining Composite Branches in the Data Manager

The concept and the application context of composite branches (ElmBranch) is discussed in Section 4.6
(Project Structure), and a description of how to define branches from within the diagram is provided in
Section 11.2 (Defining Network Models using the Graphical Editor). This section explains how to define
new branches from within the Data Manager.

Branches can be defined in the Data Manager as follows:

1. To create a Branch template, navigate to the Library → Templates folder in the Data Manager.
2. Right-click on the right pane of the Data Manager and select New → Branch from the context
sensitive menu.
3. In the branch edit dialog, define the name of the branch and press OK.
4. Now navigate back to the branch edit dialog (right-click and ’edit’, or double click), and select
Contents to add terminal and line elements etc. to the template as required. The internal
elements can be connected as discussed in Section 11.5.2.

5. Use the fields ’Connection 1’ and ’Connection 2’ to define how the branch is to be connected to
external elements.
6. To create an instance of the Branch from the created Branch template, either:
• Select the Composite Branch icon and connect the branch to existing terminals on the
Single Line Diagram.
• Select the Composite Branch icon and place the branch on the single line diagram, press
Tab twice to place the branch without making any connections. Then connect the branch to
external elements by right-clicking and selecting ’Connect’, or double-clicking the branch and
selecting external connections for the relevant internal elements (e.g. lines). Select Update
on in the Branch dialog to update the external connections.

Alternatively, for a single Branch (i.e. not using Templates) the branch can be defined in the grid folder.

11.5.5 Defining Sites in the Data Manager

The concept and the application context of sites are presented in the Section 4.6 (Project Structure).

To define a new site from the Data Manager do the following:

• Display the content of the grid where you want to create the new site.
• Right click on the right pane of the Data Manager and select New → Site from the context sensitive
menu.

• The new Site edit dialog will appear.

• After pressing OK the new site will be created.

Note: It is possible to move objects from a grid to a Substation, Branch, Site, etc. and vice versa.

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11.6 Drawing Diagrams with Existing Network Elements

This section provides information about how to draw network components from existing objects. Power-
Factory separates strictly the electrical (and therefore for calculations relevant) data of network elements
from their graphical representation in the diagrams. Calculations of networks without any graphical
representation is possible.

Designing new (extensions to) power system grids, is preferably done graphically. This means that the
new power system objects may be created in a graphical environment. After the new components are
added to the design, they can be edited, either from the graphical environment itself (by double-clicking
the objects), or by opening a Data Manager and using its editing facilities.

It is however possible, to first create objects in the Data Manager (either manually, or via data import
using e.g. the DGS format), and subsequently draw these objects in one or more single line diagrams.
If the imported data contains geographical coordinates, a geographic diagram can be created auto-
matically by right clicking on the Grid in the Project Overview window and choosing Show Graphic →
Geographic Diagram.

If no geographic coordinates are given or if a single line diagram should be created, PowerFactory
provides the Diagram Layout Tool to do that.

The following sections describe the options and possibilities of the Diagram Layout Tool , located in
the graphic icon bar. It replaces the Draw Existing Net Elements tool of previous versions and enhances
its functionality by a semi- and fully automated creation of network diagrams.

11.6.1 Action

11.6.1.1 Generate new diagram

When this option is selected from the Action mode part of the Diagram Layout Tool dialog, it is possible
to create graphical representations of grids and network elements. It’s a quick way to get a graphical
overview of a network, offering visualisation of, for example, results or topology (colouring schemes for
feeders, zones, etc.). The options in the Generate new diagram for part of the dialog are:

• Entire grid: with this option a complete new diagram of the selected grid is automatically drawn.
It is possible to select more than one grid; in this case one diagram showing all the selected grids
will be created.
Additional settings when using the option Generate new diagram → Entire grid are set in pages
Node Layout (section 11.6.2), Edge Elements (section 11.6.3) and Protection Devices (sec-
tion 11.6.4)
• Detailed representation of: this option can be used for substations, branches and sites. It cre-
ates a detailed diagram with all the elements contained inside the original element. No additional
settings are needed.
• Feeder: with this option a complete new schematic feeder diagram is created. It is possible to
select more than one feeder; in this case a separate diagram will be created for each feeder.
This option replaces the previous option Show → Schematic visualisation by Distance or Bus
Index of the feeder. See Section 15.5 (Feeders) for further information on how to define feeders.
Additional settings when using the option Generate new diagram → Feeder are set in pages Node
Layout (section 11.6.2) and Edge Elements (section 11.6.3).

11.6.1.2 Auto-insert element into current diagram

When this option is selected from the Action mode part of the Diagram Layout Tool dialog, it is possible
to insert additional elements into an existing diagram. This option is only available if the diagram is not

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in “freeze” mode.

The options in the Insert elements into current diagram part of the dialog are:

• K-neighbourhood expansion: this action creates graphical elements starting from a selection
of elements already graphically represented in the diagram. A selection of elements is therefore
necessary. If some or all graphic elements are selected before opening the Diagram Layout Tool,
these elements are automatically inserted into the Start elements selection. Alternatively the Start
elements can be selected directly from the dialog using Select... or in the Neighbourhood
Expansion settings.
Starting from every selected element, the connected and not yet graphically represented neigh-
bours are created and subsequently also their neighbours. The depth of this recursive algorithm
is defined by the K-factor, which can be configured in the Neighbourhood Expansion settings.
This approach offers a step-by-step creation of a diagram, where an intervention after each step
is possible to adapt the final appearance of the network diagram.
Additional settings when using the option Auto-insert element into current diagram → K-neighbourhood
expansion are set in pages Node Layout (section 11.6.2), Edge Elements (section 11.6.3) and
Protection Devices (section 11.6.4)

• Edge elements: this action automatically completes the current diagram with the branch elements
which are not yet graphically represented. It is only available for diagrams which already contain
some existing graphical node elements. Additional settings when using the option Auto-insert
element into current diagram → Edge elements are set in pages Edge Elements (section 11.6.3)
and Protection Devices (section 11.6.4)

• Protection devices: when this option is selected, protection devices are included into the current
diagram according to the options set in the Protection Devices page described in section 11.6.4.

11.6.1.3 Assisted manual drawing

This action replaces the earlier Drawing existing Net Elements tool. Upon execution, a window will
appear, listing all the elements which are not yet graphically represented in the diagram. This option is
only available if the diagram is not in “freeze” mode.

Drawing Existing Busbars

Click on the symbol for busbars ( ) in the drawing toolbox. The symbol of the busbar (terminal) is now
attached to the cursor.

If the list is very large, press the button Adjacent Element Mode ( ). This activates the selecting of
distance (number of elements) from elements in the selection of the Neighbourhood Expansion. Select
the Distance of 1 in order to reduce the number of busbars (terminals) shown.

If the button Use drawn nodes as starting objects ( ) is also selected, the list will be filtered based on
all drawn nodes (not just a single starting node).

If Show elements part of drawn composite nodes ( ) is selected, elements internal to already drawn
composite nodes will be shown in the list. However, since they are already drawn as part of the
composite node, they should not be re-drawn.

The marked or selected element can now be visualised or drawn by clicking somewhere in the active
diagram. This element is drawn and disappears from the list.

Note that the number of elements in the list can increase or decreases depending on how many
elements are a distance away from the element lastly drawn. Scroll down the list, in case only certain
elements have to be visualised.

Close the window and press Esc to return the cursor to normal. The drawn terminals (busbars) can be
moved, rotated or manipulated in various ways.

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Drawing Existing Lines, Switches, and Transformers

Similar to the busbars, elements like lines and transformers connecting the terminals in the substation
can be drawn.

Execute the Assisted manual drawing action of the Diagram Layout Tool. For lines select the line symbol
( ) from the drawing toolbox, for transformers select the transformer symbol ( ), and so on.

Similar to terminals, a list of all the lines (or transformers, or elements which have been chosen) in the
network, that are not in the active diagram, is shown.

For each selected line (or transformers...) a pair of terminals, to which the line is connected, are marked
in the diagram. Click on the first terminal and then on the second. The selected line is drawn and
removed from the list of lines.

Continue drawing all lines (or transformers...), until the list of lines is empty or all the lines to be drawn
have been drawn. If a branch cannot be completely drawn (for example, when the terminal at only one
end of a line is shown on the diagram), it is possible to draw a first line section, then press Tab or double
click on the diagram and arrows will appear to indicate that the line connects to a terminal that is not
shown.

Note: Before placing elements onto the graphic users may find it useful to configure and display a
background layer. This will be an image of an existing single line diagram of the system. It may be
used to ’trace’ over so that the PowerFactory network looks the same as current paper depictions;
see Section 9.3.6 for more information on layers.

11.6.2 Node Layout

The settings regarding the Node Layout take effect on the following actions:

• Generate complete diagram

– Entire grid
– Feeder
• Auto-insert element into current diagram
– K-neighbourhood expansion

The following options are available for node insertion:

• Node spacing: this option defines the distance between the newly created nodes in the diagram
and can be set to low, medium or high.

• Draw each composite as single node: this check box only has an impact if the corresponding
grid contains composite elements (e.g. ElmSubstat, ElmTrfstat, ElmBranch) which graphically
combine internal nodes, switches, transformers, lines, etc. If checked, the graphical representation
of the composite elements are created, otherwise each of the internal elements of the composite
elements is created separately in the diagram.

• Consider physical line length: with this option checked, the length of the graphical representa-
tion is based on the corresponding line length. The graphic object length is not strictly proportional
to the actual line length, but nevertheless gives a good view in the diagram of the relative line
lengths.
• Adjust diagram size: The size of the diagram defined in the Drawing Format is ignored and
overwritten by the algorithm, which uses as much space as is needed. To get clearer outputs, this
option should be selected. The new drawing size is saved and can be reused in other diagrams.
To print the diagram, the new drawing size can be scaled to other sizes (Subsize for Printing in
the Drawing Format dialog ).

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If the option Generate complete diagram → Feeder is selected, the options of the Node Layout page
include:

• Layout Style: this option defines the layout of the feeder; the options are Rectangular and Tree.
Rectangular is usually recommended, since it provides the best overview of the topology of the
feeder. For very large feeders, however, the rectangular layout may become too large. In this case
the tree-like layout may be better, since it produces a narrower layout.
• Horizontal/Vertical node spacing: this option defines the distance between the feeder nodes,
can be set to low, medium or high.
• Draw each composite as single node: as explained in the options for node insertion.
• Consider backbones: if selected, backbones (if available) are emphasised by laying them out
strictly vertically (straight line from top to bottom). Otherwise, the longest path within the feeder
will be laid out vertically.

11.6.3 Edge Elements

The settings on the Edge Elements page take effect on the following actions:
• Generate complete diagram
– Entire grid
– Feeder
• Auto-insert element into current diagram
– K-neighbourhood expansion
– Edge elements
The following options are available in the Edge Elements page:
• Insert edge elements: if this is not checked, the Diagram Layout Tool only creates graphical
representations of nodes (or composite elements, if the Draw each composite as single node
option is selected in the Node Layout page). If the option Auto-insert element into current diagram
→ Edge elements is selected, the edge elements are always inserted and so the setting of this
option is ignored in that case.
• Ortho Type: if set to Ortho, all inserted branch elements will consist of only vertical or horizontal
sections. The opposite option is Ortho Off, where the branch elements show a direct point-to-point
connection between the according start and end nodes. With the option set to Semi-Ortho, the
branches have a orthogonal part near the start and end node and in between a direct connection.
• Insertion of one-port devices connected to substations: this option should be checked if the
option Draw each composite as single node is selected from the Node Layout page, but the user
still wishes to show the one port elements (e.g. loads, shunts) connected to the composite node
of the substation in the diagram.

11.6.4 Protection Devices

The settings on the Protection Devices page take effect on the following actions:

• Generate complete diagram

– Entire grid
• Auto-insert element into current diagram
– K-neighbourhood expansion
– Edge elements
– Protection devices

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The following options are available in the Protection Devices page:

• Insert protection devices: if checked, the Diagram Layout Tool inserts graphical representations
of the protection devices. If the option Auto-insert element into current diagram → Protection
devices is selected, the protection devices are inserted anyway.
• Relays: to insert graphical representations of relays (ElmRelay ).
• CTs and VTs: to insert graphical representations of current transformers (StaCt) and voltage
transformers (StaVt) .

An example of automatically inserted protection devices is shown in figure 11.6.1

Figure 11.6.1: Protection devices in the single line diagram

11.6.5 Draw existing elements using Drag & Drop

An additional possibility to create graphical objects of existing data elements is offered by the Drag &
Drop functionality of PowerFactory, following these steps:

1. Enable the Drag & Drop feature in a Data Manager window by double-clicking the Drag & Drop
message in the status bar.
2. Select the data object in the Data Manager by left clicking on its icon.
3. Hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse to the graphic drawing area (drag it).

4. Position the graphical symbol and release the mouse button to drop the object.
5. A new graphical symbol is created, which is representing the selected element in the diagram. No
new data object is created.
This approach may lead to problems and should therefore be used carefully.

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Chapter 12

Network Model Manager

12.1 Introduction

The Network Model Manager is a browser for all calculation relevant objects. The objective of this
chapter is to provide detailed information about this data management tool. Before starting, users
should ensure that they are familiar with Chapter 4 (PowerFactory Overview).

12.2 Using the Network Model Manager

The Network Model Manager shows all objects relevant for the calculation. It can be accessed by
clicking the button Open Network Model Manager. . . in the main icon bar.

On the left hand side of the Network Model Manager window the classes of all calculation relevant
objects are displayed with their names and symbols. To give a good overview, they are sorted into
groups, such as Substations/Terminals/Switches or Network Components. By double-clicking on the
group’s name, its contents can be hidden or shown. If one of the classes is selected, all calculation
relevant objects will be listed on the right side of the browser window and Detail Mode automatically
activated. This makes it easy to edit the parameters of an object, without using the object dialog.

Figure 12.2.1 shows the Network Model Manager window, where some of the groups are collapsed and
the class Busbar is selected.

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Figure 12.2.1: The Network Model Manager window

Figure 12.2.2: Icon bar of the Network Model Manager

The functions of the buttons of the icon bar of the Network Model Manager shown in Figure 12.2.2 are:

1. The Refresh button can be used to update the Network Model Manager. This is necessary,
for example, when objects are deleted in the Data Manager or the Single line diagram while the
Network Model Manager is open. The deleted objects will still be displayed in the Network Model
Manager until the refresh button is pressed.

2. A mouse click on the Edit Object button will open the dialog window of the object selected on
the right hand side. A selected object is indicated by a marked row and an arrowhead next to the
object symbol. Another possibility to open the edit dialog of an object is to double click on the
corresponding symbol of the object.
3. One or more objects can be deleted by marking the objects to be removed and then pressing
the Delete Object button. A query window will appear to request confirmation of the deletion
(unless this has been suppressed via the relevant user setting).

4. The button Copy (with column headers) copies the data of a selection with the corresponding
column header(s) into the Windows Clipboard. The content can then, for example, be pasted into
a spreadsheet.

5. The Detail Mode can be activated and deactivated. If it is activated (button is pressed), the
table on the right will display all the object parameters of the class (e.g. Busbars, as shown

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in Figure 12.2.1). The tabs at the bottom of the table give access to the same pages that are
available via the object dialog window.
If the Detail Mode is deactivated, a table will appear, in which columns with predefined parameters
are shown. This table and the Flexible Data page (available in Detail Mode) can be extended, by
pressing the Variable Selection button.

6. By clicking on Variable Selection , variables/parameters to be displayed in the table can be

chosen. For more information about how to handle the selection dialog, refer to Section 19.3
(Variable Selection).
7. Objects which are Out-of-Service or non-relevant for the calculation can be hidden by clicking the
button Hide Out-of-Service-Objects and Objects non-relevant for Calculation .

8. The Network Model Manager provides the following filter functions, which are available when at
least one column is filtered. How to filter columns is described in section 10.4 (Auto-Filter functions
in Data Manager and browser windows).
• If one or more columns are filtered, the button Edit Filter will become accessible. After
the button has been pressed, an edit dialog will open, in which a filter name can be entered.
Furthermore the filters for each parameter can be modified by double clicking the relevant
cell in the Filter column.
• The Current Working Filter is temporary. That means, if the Network Model Manager window
is closed, the applied filters will all be discarded. However, one or more column filters can be
consolidated to one common filter, which can then be saved under any name to reuse it, by
clicking the Save Filter button. A window will appear, to enable the user to name the filter.
• Unwanted filters can also be deleted from the list of saved filters, by selecting a Filter from
the drop-down list in the icon bar and clicking on the Delete Filter button.

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Chapter 13

Study Cases

13.1 Introduction

The concept of study cases was introduced in Chapter 4 (PowerFactory Overview). Study cases
(IntCase, ) define the studies to be performed on the system being modelled. They store everything
created by the user to perform calculations, allowing the easy reproduction of results even after deacti-
vation/reactivation of the project. By means of the objects stored inside them, the program recognises:

• Parts of the network model (grids and expansion stages) to be considered for calculation;
• Calculations (and their settings) to be performed on selected parts of the network;
• Study time;

• Active variations;
• Active operation scenario;
• Calculation results to be stored for reporting;

• Graphics to be displayed during the study.

A study case with a reference to at least one grid or expansion stage has to be activated in order to
enable calculations. A project that contains more than one grid, which has several expansion stages for
design alternatives, or which uses different Operation Scenarios to model the various conditions under
which the system should operate, requires multiple study cases. All of the study cases in a project are
stored inside the study cases folder ( ) in the project directory.

Note: Only one study case can be active at a given time. When activating a study case, all the grids,
Variations and Operation Scenarios that it refers to will also become active.

Without study cases, it would be necessary to manually activate the relevant grid and/or expansion
stage multiple times in order to analyse the resulting power system configuration. Similarly, it would
be necessary to define over and over again the same calculation command setup used to analyse the
behaviour of the selected network.

In addition to storing the objects that define a network study, study cases set the units used for the
output of calculation results, and allow the definition of specific options for the calculation algorithms.

The following sections describe the main objects stored inside study cases.

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13.2 Creating and Using Study Cases

When a new project is created, an empty study case is automatically created and activated. This new
study case has default settings. The user can later modify these settings using the study case dialog.

The user may define several study cases to facilitate the analysis of projects containing more than one
grid, several Expansion Stages, different Operation Scenarios or simply different calculation options. To
create a new study case:
• Open the Data Manager and go to the study cases folder. Right-click on the folder and select
New → Study Case from the context-sensitive menu. Enter the name of the new study case in
the dialog that pops up and (if desired) modify the default settings.
Only one study case can be active at any given time. To activate or deactivate a study case:
• Open the Data Manager. The active study case and the folder(s) where it is stored are highlighted.
Right-click on the active study case and choose Deactivate from the context-sensitive menu. To
activate an inactive study case place the cursor on its name, right-click and choose Activate. Study
cases may also be activated via the Project Overview Window (see Figure 13.2.1).

Figure 13.2.1: Activating a study case from the Project Overview window

A study case can have more than one grid. Only the objects in the active grids will be considered by the
calculations. To add an existing grid to the active study case:
• Open the Data Manager and go to the Network Data folder. Right-click the desired grid and select
Activate from the context-sensitive menu. The grid will be activated and any relevant graphics will
be opened (following a user selection). To remove an active grid, select Deactivate.
Variations are considered by a study case when they are activated. The Expansion Stages are applied
according to the study case time, which is set by the time trigger stored inside the study case folder.
More than one variation can be active for a given study case. However there can be only one recording
stage. For further information, refer to Chapter 17 (Network Variations and Expansion Stages). To add
(activate) a Variation to the active study case:
• Right-click on the Variation and select Activate from the context-sensitive menu. The Variation will
be activated and stages will be highlighted depending on the study time.
An Operation Scenario can be activated or deactivated via the context-sensitive menu, or by using
the option File → Activate Operation Scenario/Deactivate Operation Scenario from the main menu.
Upon activation, a completeness check is performed (i.e. a check that operational data is available
for all components). This is reported in the PowerFactory output window. If an Operation Scenario
is active, all operational data attributes in property sheets or in the Data Manager are highlighted in
blue. This indicates that changes to these values will not modify the base component (or Variation)
but are recorded by the active Operation Scenario. Upon deactivation, previous operational data is
restored. If the Operation Scenario was modified, user confirmation is requested regarding the saving
of changes. For further information about working with Operation Scenarios, refer to Chapter 16
(Operation Scenarios).

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Note: Only one study case can be activated at a time. Although network components and diagrams
can be edited without an active study case, calculations cannot be performed. Variations and
Operation Scenarios used by a study case are automatically activated upon activation of the
corresponding study case.

13.2.1 The Study Case Overview

The Study Case Overview is an enhancement of the Project Overview described in Chapter 8: Basic
Project Definition, Section 8.3, and simplifies the management of study cases. It provides an overview
of all existing study cases with all active Operation scenarios, Variations, Grids and Triggers. In
this representation, study cases are arranged in the columns of the chart, and their components are
visualised row-wise. The Study Case Overview can be accessed by clicking on the arrow symbol
(“Open Study Case Overview”) in the upper right corner of the Project overview window, as shown in
Figure 13.2.2 or from Window → Study Case Overview in the main menu. Upon opening the Study
Case Manager the active study case will be deactivated. This study case will be reactivated when
closing the Study Case Overview. By clicking on the arrow symbol “Close Study Case Overview” in the
upper-right corner of the Study Case Overview, it is possible to return to the Project Overview.

This overview can be used to manage the setup of individual study cases, as it allows the activation/de-
activation of:
• Operation Scenarios

• Variations
• Grids
• Triggers

simply by double-clicking on the cell entries - without the need to activate the study cases themselves.
Since the time of the active study case defines which Expansion Stage is active, it is only possible to
activate or deactivate Variations, but not Expansion Stages. Depending on the study time, the recording
Expansion Stage will be marked in bold.

Note: When folders are used to store study cases, only the study cases within the selected folder will
be shown.

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Figure 13.2.2: Study Case Overview

13.3 Summary Grid

The primary task of a study case is to activate and deactivate a calculation target, which is a combination
of grids and optionally expansion stages from the network model. The Summary Grid object holds
references to the grids which are considered in the calculation (i.e. the active grids). Grids may be added
to or removed from the currently active study case by right-clicking on them in the database tree or the
project overview window and Activate or Deactivate them. A reference to the activated/deactivated grid
is automatically generated in or deleted from the Summary Grid.

A grid cannot be activated without an active study case. With no study case active, the Activate action
from the context-sensitive menu of a grid will show a dialog, where a new study case can be created or
an existing one can be chosen in order to activate the grid.

13.4 Study Time

Study cases have a study time which defines the point in time to analyse.

The study time must be inside the Validity Period of the project, which specifies the time span for
which the project is valid (see Chapter 8: Basic Project Definition, Section 8.1.2 (Project Settings)).
PowerFactory will use the study time in conjunction with time-dependent network expansions (see
Chapter 17: Network Variations and Expansion Stages) to determine which network data is applicable
at that point in time. The study time may be changed in order to analyse a different point in time. The
Expansion Stages will be activated/deactivated in accordance with the study time.

The status bar at the bottom of the PowerFactory program window shows the currently-set study time.

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The simplest way to change the study time is:

• Double-click on the Study Time shown in the status bar of PowerFactory.

• Enter the date and time or press the Date and Time buttons in order to set the study time to the
current time of the computer on which PowerFactory is being run.
• Press OK and close the window.
There are several alternative ways to edit the study time.

Alternative 1: Edit the study time like a trigger:

• Press the button Date/Time of Calculation Case in the main toolbar of PowerFactory.

• Enter the date and time or press the Date and Time buttons in order to set the study time to the
current time of the computer on which PowerFactory is being run.
• Press OK to accept the changes and close the window.
Alternative 2: Edit the study case from within the study case dialog:

• Activate the project and browse for the study case in the Data Manager.
• Right-click on the study case and select Edit from the context-sensitive menu.
• On the Basic Data page press the button with the three dots beneath the entry for the study time.

• Set the study time.

• Press OK and close the window.

13.5 The Study Case Dialog

To edit the settings of a study case, select Edit → Study Case from the main menu, or right-click the
study case in the Data Manager and select Edit from the context-sensitive menu. A dialog will appear.
On the Basic Data page, the user can define the name and an owner of the study case. The output
units of the calculated variables are defined in the Output Variables field. The grids that are linked to a
study case may be viewed by pressing the Grids/System Stages button. The study time can be edited
by pressing the button; this will open the dialog of the study case time trigger (see Section 17.4:
Study Time). Please note that the study time can also change if the recording expansion stage is set
explicitly (see Chapter 17: Network Variations and Expansion Stages).

The Calculation Options page is used to configure the basic algorithm for the study case calculations.
The following options are available:

• The Breaker reduction mode determines the internal calculation topology of the grid. In particular,
electrically equivalent areas of a detailed substation are identified and merged for an efficient
internal treatment. If the check box Calculate results for all breakers is ticked, results of reduced
elements may then be post-calculated.
• The solution of linear equation systems is an intrinsic part of most calculations in PowerFactory,
such as load flow, short-circuit or the RMS/EMT simulation. Since version 15.2, these equation
systems can either be solved by a direct factorisation method or an iterative method. The latter
method has been developed to meet the increasing demands of modern applications where
interconnected, large-scale networks must be analysed. In contrast to traditional direct methods,
the implemented iterative solver is able to solve even very large systems with controlled precision.
• The tabs Calculation matrices and Advanced offer access to additional calculation options which
tune performance and robustness of the linear system solver.

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• The button Set all calculation options to default will restore all default options on the Calcula-
tion Options tab.

Please note that alteration of default options is only recommended under the supervision of the DIgSI-
LENT support experts.

The Description page is used for user comments.

Note: To edit the study time one can alternatively press on the “Date/Time of Calculation Case” button
. This will open the study case time trigger window. In addition, the time of the simulation case
is displayed in the lower-right corner of the program window. Double-clicking on this field provides
access to the same window.

13.6 Variation Configuration

Similar to the Summary Grid, the Variation Configuration object (IntAcscheme ) contains references
to the active variations.

13.7 Operation Scenarios

A reference to the active Operation Scenario (if any) is always stored in the study case. Similar to
Variation Configurations and Summary Grids, when a study case is activated, the Operation Scenario (if
any) whose reference is contained, will be automatically activated. The reference to the active Operation
Scenario will be automatically updated by the program.

13.8 Commands

In PowerFactory a calculation (i.e load flow , short-circuit , initial conditions of a time-domain

simulation , etc.) is performed via ’Calculation Commands’, which are the objects that store the
calculation settings defined by the user. Each study case stores its own calculation commands, holding
the most recent settings. This ensures consistency between results and calculation commands and
enables the user to easily reproduce the same results at a later date. When a calculation is performed
in a study case for the first time, a calculation command is automatically created inside the active study
case. Different calculation commands of the same class (i.e different load flow calculation commands:
objects of the class ComLdf or different short-circuit calculation commands: objects of the class
ComShc ) can be stored in the same study case. This allows the user to repeat any calculation with
identical settings (such as fault location, type, fault impedance, etc.) as last performed in the study case.
The calculations are only performed on active grids (expansion stages).

Figure 13.8.1 shows a study case, ’Study 1’ which contains two load flow calculation commands ( ,
’Ldf 1’ and ’Ldf 2’), one command for an OPF calculation , one command for the calculation of
initial conditions , and one transient simulation . The dialog of each of calculation command in
PowerFactory is described in the chapter corresponding to that calculation function.

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Figure 13.8.1: Calculation commands in a study case

Actions such as generating a report of the actual calculation results or the state of the defined network
components are carried out via commands (in this case ComSh and ComDocu, respectively). For
information about reporting commands refer to Chapter 19 (Reporting and Visualising Results).

Note: As with any other object, calculation commands can be copied, pasted, renamed and edited.

13.9 Events

Simulation Event objects are used to define simulation events. For time-domain simulations, events are
stored within the Study Case → Simulation Events/Fault folder (see Chapter 29: RMS/EMT Simulations,
Section 29.5 for a general description). For short-circuit studies, they are stored in the Study Case →
Short Circuits folder. For other steady-state calculations that utilise Simulation Events, they are stored
within the Operational Library → Faults folder. PowerFactory offers several kinds of events:

• Dispatch Event (EvtGen)

• External Measurement Event (EvtExtmea)

• Intercircuit Fault Events (EvtShcll)

• Events of Loads (EvtLod)
• Message Event (EvtMessage)
• Outage of Element (EvtOutage)

• Parameter Events (EvtParam)

• Save Results (EvtTrigger )
• Save Snapshot (EvtSave)
• Short-Circuit Events (EvtShc)

• Stop Events (EvtStop)

• Switch Events (EvtSwitch)

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• Synchronous Machine Event (EvtSym)

• Tap Event (EvtTap)
• Power Transfer Event (EvtTransfer )

13.9.1 Dispatch Event

The user specifies the point in time in the simulation for the event to occur, and a generation element
(ElmSym, ElmXnet or ElmGenstat). The incremental change of the generator can then be altered using
the dispatch event.

13.9.2 External Measurement Event

External measurement events can be used to set and reset values and statuses of external measure-
ments.

13.9.3 Inter-Circuit Fault Events

This type of event is similar to the short-circuit event described in Section 13.9.10 (Short-Circuit Events
(EvtShc)). Two different elements and their respective phases are chosen, between which the fault
occurs. As for the short-circuit event, four different elements can be chosen:
• Busbar (StaBar )
• Terminal (ElmTerm)
• Overhead line or cable (ElmLne)

13.9.4 Events of Loads

The user specifies the point in time in the simulation for the event to occur, and a load or set of load
element(s) (ElmLod, ElmLodlv, ElmLodmv or ElmLodlvp). Optionally a set of loads SetSelect can be
also selected. The value of the load (s) can then be altered using the load event. The power of the
selected load(s) can be changed as follows:

• Step Changes the current value of the power (positive or negative) by the given value (in % of the
nominal power of the load) at the time of the event.
• Ramp Changes the current value of the power by the given value (in % of the nominal power of
the load), over the time specified by the Ramp Duration (in seconds). The load ramping starts at
the time of the event.

13.9.5 Message Event

A message will be printed to the output window at the specified time in the simulation.

13.9.6 Outage of Element (EvtOutage)

The Outage of Element event can be used to take an element out of service at a specified point in
time. It is intended for use in steady-state calculations (e.g. short-circuit calculations and reliability
assessment) and dynamic simulation.

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Out of service: check/uncheck this flag in order to enable/disable this event.

Execution Time: defines the simulation/calculation time when this event is to be executed.

Element: the target element of this event is to be assigned here.

Type of Outage Event:

• Take element out of service - the Element is set to out of service at the defined Execution Time;
• Bring element back into service - the Element is put back in service at the defined Execution Time
(this option is not supported in dynamic simulation);
• Reinsert all outaged elements - all elements outaged by previously executed outage events are
put back in service (this option is not supported in dynamic simulation);
• Take element and its controls out of service - the Element is set to out of service at the defined
Execution Time along with all associated controls. Associated controls are all DSL elements
(and only those ones) which are referenced into a slot of a composite model whose Main slot is
occupied by the target Element.

Note: The event can be used to take elements out of service in time-domain simulations, however it
is not possible to bring an outaged element back into service using this event during a transient
simulation. This is only possible in steady-state calculations. The following message will be
displayed if the user attempts to bring a previously-outaged element back into service using
Outage of Element:
t=000:000 ms - Outage Event in Simulation not available.
Use Switch-Event instead!

13.9.7 Parameter Events

With this type of event, an input parameter of any element or DSL model can be set or changed. First,
a time specifying when the event will occur is specified. An element or set of elements SetSelect must
then be specified/selected using the down-arrow button .Choose Select. . . from the context-sensitive
menu, and insert the name and the new value of the element parameter. In case a selection is used all
elements within the selection have to share the same element parameter.

13.9.8 Save Results

This event is only used for PowerFactory Monitor applications. It cannot be used during time-domain
simulations.

13.9.9 Save Snapshot event

This event is used in a time-domain simulation whenever the current simulation state (a simulation
snapshot) is to be saved. Further information on how to configure, save and load a simulation snapshot
can be found in Section 29.9.

Event options:

• Out of service - Check this flag in order to disable its execution. Un-check this flag in order to
activate it.
• Execution time - define the Absolute/Relative execution time of this event. The Absolute time
reference is 0 seconds. The relative time reference is the current simulation time (if the simulation
is reset/initialised) then the relative time fields are not available).

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13.9.10 Short-Circuit Events

This event applies a short-circuit on a busbar, terminal or specified point on a line. The fault type (three-
phase, two-phase or single-phase fault) can be specified, as can the fault resistance and reactance and
the phases which are affected. The duration of the fault cannot be defined. Instead, to clear the fault,
another short-circuit event has to be defined, which will clear the fault at the same location.

13.9.11 Stop Events

Stops the simulation at the specified time within the simulation time frame.

13.9.12 Switch Events

Switch events are only used in transient simulations. To create a new switch event, press the icon
on the main menu (if this icon is available), which will open a browser containing all defined simulation
events. Click on the icon in the browser, which will show the Element Selection dialog (IntNewobj as
shown in Figure 13.9.1). This dialog can be used to create a new switching event.

Figure 13.9.1: Creation of a new switch event (IntNewobj)

After pressing OK, the reference to the switch (labelled Breaker or Element) must be manually set. Any
switch in the power system may be selected, thus enabling the switching of lines, generators, motors,
loads, etc. The user is free to select the switches/breakers for all phases or only those for one or two
phases.

It should be noted that more than one switching event must be created if, for instance, a line has to be
opened at both ends. These switch events should then have the same execution times.

13.9.13 Synchronous Machine Event

The Synchronous Machine Event is used to change the mechanical torque of a synchronous machine
(ElmSym) in a simple manner. The user specifies the point in time in the simulation for the event to
occur, and an active synchronous machine. The user can then define the additional mechanical torque
supplied to the generator. The torque can be positive or negative and is entered in per-unit values.

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13.9.14 Tap Event

The user specifies the point in time in the simulation for the tap event to occur, and a shunt or transformer
element (ElmShnt, ElmTr2, etc). The Tap Action can then be specified.

13.9.15 Power Transfer Event

The Power Transfer event (EvtTransfer ) is used to transfer demand from a load object, or output from
static generator, to other load objects or static generators respectively. The user specifies the source
object (ElmLod or ElmGenstat) and the destination object or objects, which must be of the same class.
Then separate percentage figures are input for active and reactive power. If more than one Power
Transfer event is to be used, it is important to consider the order in which they will be executed, as
this could affect the final outcome. Power Transfer events may be used in RMS simulations, Outage
Planning and Faults Cases for contingency analysis.

13.10 Simulation Scan

For details of Simulation Scan modules, refer to Chapter 29: RMS/EMT Simulations, Section 29.8.

13.11 Results Objects

The results object (ElmRes ) is used to store tables with the results obtained after the execution of a
command in PowerFactory. Results Files are described in chapter ch:ReportingResults: Reporting and
Visualising Results, section 19.6.

For Contingency Analysis, the results object can optionally contain a filter (SetFilt), to restrict the
recording of results to a specified part of the network. The use of such a filter is described in the
Contingency Analysis chapter, in section 27.10.1.

13.12 Triggers

As described in Chapter 18 (Parameter Characteristics, Load States, and Tariffs), parameter charac-
teristics are used to define parameters as ranges of values instead of fixed amounts. The parameter
characteristics are set over user defined scales. The current value of the parameter is at the end
determined by a trigger object (SetTrigger, ), which sets a current value on the corresponding
scale. For example if the value of a certain parameter depends on the temperature, a characteristic
over a temperature scale is set. The current value of the temperature is defined by the trigger. The
current value of the temperature determines the current value of the parameter, according to the defined
characteristic.

Once a parameter characteristic and its corresponding scale are set, a trigger pointing to the scale is
automatically created in the active study case. The user can access the trigger and change its value as
required.

PowerFactory offers different types of characteristics and scales, and each scale points to a trigger from
the active study case. By default, scales are stored in the Scales folder within the Characteristics folder
in the Operational Library. Information regarding the use and definition of characteristics, scales and
triggers is given in Chapter 18 (Parameter Characteristics, Load States, and Tariffs).

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13.13 Graphic Board

The study case folder contains a folder called the Graphics Board folder (SetDesktop, ). This folder
contains references to the graphics which are to be displayed. This folder, similar to the Summary Grid
folder, is automatically created and maintained and should generally not be edited by the user.

The references in the graphics board folder are created when the user adds a grid to a study case.
PowerFactory will ask the user which graphics pertaining to the grid should be displayed. At any time,
the user may display other graphics in the grid by right-clicking the grid and selecting Show Graphic.
Graphics may be removed by right-clicking the tab at the bottom of the page and selecting Remove
Page(s).

The study case and graphics board folder also contain references to any other graphics that were
created when the study case was active.

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Project Library

14.1 Introduction

The project library stores the following categories of data:

• Equipment Types (Section 14.2: Equipment Type Library)
• Operational Data (Section 14.3: Operational Library)
• Scripts (See Chapter 23: Scripting)
• Table Reports (See section Table Report Methods of the DPL Reference)
• Templates (Section 14.4: Templates Library).
• User Defined Models (See Section 30.3: User Defined (DSL) Models)
This chapter is describes the Equipment Type Library, Operational Library, and Templates library. Note
that in addition to the project Library, the global Library includes a range of pre-defined types, models,
templates, and scripts (refer to Chapter 4: PowerFactory Overview, Section 4.5: Data Arrangement for
details).

14.2 Equipment Type Library

The Equipment Type Library is used to store and organise Type data for each class of network com-
ponent. Once a new project is created, an Equipment Type Library is automatically set by the program
within the Library folder.

To create or edit a folder in the Equipment Type Library :

1. On the Equipment Type Library folder in the left pane of the Data Manager right-click and select
New → Project Folder from the context sensitive menu (or to edit an existing folder, right-click the
folder and select Edit). The project folder edit dialog is displayed.
2. In the Name field, enter the name of the new folder.
3. In the Folder Type field, select Generic.
4. In the Class Filter field, write the name of the type class(es) to be allowed in the folder (case
sensitive). If more than one class is to be allowed, write the class names separated by commas.
An asterisk character (* ) can be used to allow all classes.
5. In the Icon field, select Library.

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To create new type objects in these folders select the New Object icon and select the appropriate
type class. Alternatively, types can be copied from other projects or the global library. If the type class
does not match the folder filter, an error message is displayed.

Note: By default new block definitions (used by dynamic models) created from block diagrams are also
stored in the Equipment Types Library. Chapter 30 (Models for Dynamic Simulations) provides
details related to dynamic modelling and block definitions.

Figure 14.2.1 shows the equipment library of a project containing generator, load, and transformer
types, sorted using library sub-folders.

Figure 14.2.1: The Equipment Library

Unlike the “Global Library”, which is accessible to all users, the local Equipment Type Library is used
to define types that are to be used in the specific project. It can only be used by the project owner, and
users with which the project is shared.

There are three options available for defining Type data for network components, as illustrated in
(Figure 14.2.2):

1. Select Global Type from the Global Library. The Data Manager is launched in the “Global Library”.
2. Select Project Type. The Data Manager is launched in the local Equipment Type Library.
3. New Project Type. A new type will be defined and automatically stored in the local Equipment
Type Library.

Note that Global Types and Project Types buttons can be used to quickly switch between the global
and local libraries (Figure 14.2.2).

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Figure 14.2.2: Selecting a Synchronous Machine Type

14.3 Operational Library

The Operational Library is used to store and organise operational data for application to a number of
elements, without the need to duplicate operational information.

To illustrate, consider an example where there are two generators, “G1” and “G2”. The units have slightly
different Type data, and thus unique Type models, “G 190M-18kV Ver-1” and “G 190M-18kV Ver-2”. The
Capability Curves for these units are identical, and so the user wishes to create only a single instance
of the capability curve. By defining a Capability Curve in the Operational Library, a single Capability
Curve can be linked to both generators.

Similarly, various circuit breakers may refer to the same short-circuit current ratings. A Circuit Breaker
Rating object can be defined in the Operational Library and linked to relevant circuit breakers

Within the Characteristics folder in the Operational Library, the Scale folder is used to store the scales
used by the parameter characteristics. Refer to Chapter 18 (Parameter Characteristics, Load States,
and Tariffs) for details.

This section describes the definition and application of operational data objects.

14.3.1 Circuit Breaker Ratings

Circuit Breaker Ratings objects (IntCbrating) contain information that define the rated short-circuit
currents of circuit breakers (objects of class ElmCoup). They are stored inside the CB-Rating folder
in the Operational Library. Any circuit breaker (ElmCoup) defined in the Network Model can use a
reference to a Circuit Breaker Rating object in order to change its current ratings.

The parameters defined by a circuit breaker rating are:

• Three phase initial peak short circuit current.

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• Single phase initial peak short circuit current.

• Three phase peak break short circuit current.

• Single phase peak break short circuit current.

• Three phase RMS break short circuit current.
• Single phase RMS break short circuit current.
• DC time constant.

To create a new circuit breaker rating in the operational library:

• In the Data Manager open the CB Ratings folder.

• Click on the New Object icon .

• In the Element Selection dialog select Circuit Breaker Rating (IntCbrating) and press Ok.
• The new circuit breaker rating dialog will then be displayed. Set the corresponding parameters
and press Ok.
To assign a circuit breaker rating to a circuit breaker (ElmCoup object) from the network model:

1. Go to the Complete Short-Circuit page of the element’s dialog.

2. In the Ratings field click on the button to select the desired rating from the CB Ratings folder.
The parameters defined in the circuit breaker ratings can be made to be time-dependant by means of
variations and expansion stages stored inside the CB Ratings folder.

For information regarding short-circuit calculations, refer to Chapter 26 (Short-Circuit Analysis). For
further information about variations and expansion stages, refer to Chapter 17(Network Variations and
Expansion Stages).

Note: Variations in the CB Ratings folder act ’locally’, they will only affect the circuit breaker ratings
stored within the folder. Similarly, the variations of the Network Model will only affect the network
components from the grids.

Note: Circuit breaker elements (ElmCoup) must be distinguished from Switch objects (StaSwitch); the
latter are automatically created inside cubicles when connecting an edge element (which differs
to a circuit breaker) to a terminal. Ratings can also be entered in the StaSwitch Type object.

Example Time-Dependent Circuit Breaker Rating

Consider an example where a substation circuit breaker “CB” operates with different ratings depending
on the time of the year. From 1st January to 1st June it operates according to the ratings defined in a
set of parameters called “CBR1”. From 1st June to 31st December it operates with the ratings defined
in a set of parameters called “CBR2”.

This operational procedure can be modelled by defining a circuit breaker rating “CBR” in the CB Ratings
folder, and a variation “CB_Sem_Ratings” containing two expansion stages. The first expansion stage
should activate on the 1st January and the second on the 1st June. The first task is the definition of the
time-dependant circuit breaker rating “CBR”. To set the parameters of “CBR” for the first period:

1. Set a study time before the 1st June to activate the first expansion stage (the Variation “CB_Sem_-
Ratings” must be active).
2. Edit the parameters of “CBR” (previously defined) according to the values defined in “CBR1”. The
new parameters will be stored in the active expansion stage.

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3. To set the parameters of “CBR” for the second period:

4. Set a study time after the 1st June to activate the second expansion stage;
5. Edit “CBR” according to the values of “CBR2”. The new parameters will be stored in the active
expansion stage.

Once the ratings for the two expansion stages have been set, and the circuit breaker rating “CBR” has
been assigned to the circuit breaker “CB”, the study time can be changed from one period to the other
to apply the relevant ratings for “CB” (note that the variation must be active).

14.3.2 Demand Transfers

Note that Demand Transfers make use of the IntOutage object, which has now been superseded by
the new IntPlannedout object described in section 14.3.6. Therefore, users wishing to create IntOutage
objects will need to enable a project setting: on the Project Settings, Miscellaneous page select Create
IntOutage (obsolete).

The active and reactive power demand defined for loads and feeders in the network model can be
transferred to another load (or feeder) within the same system by means of a Demand Transfer (objects
class IntOutage). This transfer only takes place if it is applied during a validity period defined by the
user (i.e. if the current study time lies within the validity period).

To create a new load demand transfer:

1. In the Data Manager, open the Demand Transfer folder.

2. Click on the New Object icon .

3. In the Element Selection dialog select Planned Outage (IntOutage) and press Ok.
4. Set the validity time, the source and target loads/feeders and the power transfer.

Note: If there is a demand transfer, which transfers load between two loads (ElmLod) belonging to
different feeders (ElmFeeder ), then the same MW and Mvar value is transferred from one feeder
to the other.

A demand transfer is only possible if an active operation scenario (to record the changes) is available.
The Apply all button will automatically apply all transfers that are stored in the current folder and which
fit into the current study time. Before execution, the user is asked if the current network state should
be saved in a new operation scenario. The same demand transfers can be applied as many times as
desired during the validity period.

If a non-zero power transfer has been executed and the source’s power is less than zero, a warning is
printed to the output window indicating that the power limit has been exceeded. The applied transfers
can be reverted by using the Reset all button.

When the current operation scenario is deactivated, all load transfers executed while the operation
scenario was active will be reverted.

For information about operation scenarios refer to Chapter 16 (Operation Scenarios).

14.3.3 Fault Cases and Fault Groups

This section discusses the data structure of the Faults folder, and the objects contained within it. The
functionality of Event objects is described in Section 29.5: Events (IntEvt).

The Faults folder stores two types of subfolders:

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1. Fault Cases folders which in turn store objects that represent Simulation Events . Simulation
Events may contain a number of individual Events (Evt* ), e.g. short-circuits events, switching
events.

2. Fault Groups folders store Fault Groups (IntFaultgrp) objects, which in-turn reference fault
Cases (Simulation Events or individual Events).

Note: The use of IntEvt objects extends beyond PowerFactory ’s reliability analysis functions. Time
domain simulations (EMT/RMS) make reference to IntEvt objects, in order to include simulation
events which take place during a time-domain simulation. In this case the execution time sequence
of the events must be defined. In the case of fault representations in the Operational Library by
means of fault cases, only short-circuit and switching events are relevant.

Note that the calculation commands provided by the reliability assessment function of PowerFactory use
Contingencies objects (ComContingency and ComOutage) to simulate the outage (and subsequent
recovery) of one or more system elements. To avoid duplication of data, these objects can refer to
previously defined Simulation Events (IntEvt). For information regarding the functionality of fault cases
and fault groups in contingency analysis tools refer to Chapter 27 (Contingency Analysis). For the
use of fault cases to create outages for the contingency analysis tools refer to Chapter 44 (Reliability
Assessment).

The following sections provide a details of how to define Fault Cases and Fault Groups.

Fault Cases

A fault case can represent a fault in more than one component, with more than one event defined. There
are two types of Fault Cases:

1. Fault cases without switch events (Type 1): Independent of the current topology and only
stores the fault locations. The corresponding switch events are automatically generated by the
contingency analysis tools. For further information refer to Chapter 44 (Reliability Assessment).
2. Fault Case with at least one switch event (Type 2): A Fault Case of Type 2 predefines the
switch events that will be used to clear the fault. No automatic generation of switch events will
take place. For further information refer to Chapter 44 (Reliability Assessment).
To create new Fault Cases or new Fault Groups folders, open the Faults project folder from the Oper-
ational Library and use the New Object icon (select Fault Cases(IntFltcases) or Fault Groups (IntFlt-
groups) respectively).

To create new fault case (object of class IntEvt):

1. Multi-select the target components on a single line diagram.

2. Right-click and select Define → Fault Cases from the context-sensitive menu.
3. Select from the following options:
• Single Fault Case: This creates a single simultaneous fault case including all selected
elements. A dialog box containing the created fault case is opened to allow the user to
specify a name for the fault case. Press Ok to close the dialog and saves the new fault case.
• Multi fault Cases, n-1: This creates an n-1 fault case for each selected component. There-
fore the number of fault cases created is equal to the number of components selected.
This menu entry is only active if more than one component is selected. The fault case is
automatically created in the database after selection.
• Multi fault Cases, n-2: This creates an n-2 fault case for each unique pair among the
selected components. Therefore the number of fault cases is (𝑏 · (𝑏 − 1)/2) where ”b” is
equal to the number of selected components. This menu entry is only active if more than one
component is selected. If only one component is selected, then no fault case will be created.
The fault case is automatically created in the database after selection.

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• Mutually Coupled Lines/Cables, n-k : This creates fault cases considering the simultane-
ous outage of each coupled line in the selection.
The fault cases created will consist of short-circuit events applied to the selected components. All
breakers (except for circuit breakers, which are used to model a circuit breaker failure) will be ignored.
• If only breakers are included in the selection, an error message will be issued.
• If a simple switch (not a circuit breaker) is included in the selection, a warning message will be
issued that this switch will be ignored.
• If a circuit breaker is contained in the selection, then an Info message will be issued, that the CB
will be used for modelling a CB failure and will not be handled as a fault location.

Note: In the case that a branch is selected, the short-circuit event is generated for a (non-switch device
with more than one connection) component of the branch. The component used in the event
is: “Connection 1” if suitable, otherwise “Connection 2” if suitable, otherwise a suitable random
component of the branch (line, transformer . . . ).

Fault Groups

New Fault Groups are created in the Data Manager as follows:

1. Open the target Fault Groups folder and select the New Object icon .
2. In the edit dialog, specify the name of the Fault Group, and Add Cases (IntEvt) to the Fault Group.

14.3.4 Capability Curves (Mvar Limit Curves) for Generators

Reactive Power operating limits can be specified in PowerFactory through definition of Capability Curves
(IntQlim). They are stored in Operational Library, within the Mvar Limit Curves folder . Syn-
chronous generators (ElmSym) and static generators (ElmGenstat) defined in the Network Model can
use a pointer to a Capability Curve object from the Load Flow page of their edit dialog. When executing
a Load Flow (with Consider Reactive Power Limits selected on the Basic Options page) generator
Reactive Power dispatch will be limited to within the extends of the defined capability curve. For
information about the dispatch of synchronous generators, refer to the synchronous machine technical
reference in the Technical References Document. For information about Load Flow calculations and
reactive power limits, refer to Chapter 25 (Load Flow Analysis).

Note: If Consider active power limits is selected on the Basic Options page of the Load Flow Calculation
command, active power is limited to the lesser of the Max. Operational Limit and the Max. Active
Power Rating specified on the Synchronous Machine Load Flow page.

Defining Capability Curves

To define a new generator Capability Curve:

1. Open the folder Mvar Limit Curves from the Operational Library.

2. Click on the New Object icon and select Capability Curve. The new capability curve dialog will
be displayed.
3. Enter data points to define the generation limits, and Append Rows to add the required number of
rows to the table.
4. To apply a Capability Curve to a generator:
• Locate the Reactive Power Limit section on the Load Flow page of the synchronous ma-
chine’s or static generator’s dialog.

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• Press next to Capability Curve.

• Choose Select and then select the required curve in the Mvar Limit Curves folder of the
Operational Library (the required curve can also be created at this step by selecting the New
Object icon .
5. Select a capability curve and press OK.

Capability curves are included in operation scenario subsets; meaning that if a capability curve is
selected/reset from a generator when an operation scenario is active, the change will be stored in
the operation scenario. Once the operation scenario is deactivated, the assignment/reset of the curve
is reverted. For information on working with operation scenarios, refer to Chapter 16 (Operation Sce-
narios).

To enter a capability curve for information purposes only (i.e. a capability curve which is not to be
considered by the calculation), enter it on the Advanced tab of the Load Flow page. Then select User
defined Capability Curve and enter the curve as a series of points in the table. Right-click on the rows
to append, delete or insert new rows.

Defining a Variation of a Capability Curve

Similar to circuit breaker ratings (see Section 14.3.1 (Circuit Breaker Ratings), Capability Curves can
become time-dependant by means of variations and expansion stages stored inside the Mvar Limit
Curves folder.

To create a time-dependent variation for a Capability Curve, navigate to theMvar Limit Curves folder in
the left pane of a Data Manager window. Right-click on the folder and select New → Variation. Name
the variation, press OK, name the Expansion Stage, and press OK. Changes to Capability Curves are
recorded in the active expansion stage.

To activate a variation of a Capability Curve, open the Data Manager. Right-click the Variation object
in the Mvar Limit Curves folder and select Activate.

For general information about variations and expansion stages refer to Chapter 17(Network Variations
and Expansion Stages).

14.3.5 Planned Outages

Planned Outage objects (IntPlannedout) are normally stored in the Outage folder of the Operational
Library. They can be applied to an active study case to model expected outages of network elements
for maintenance, network expansion etc. Figure 14.3.1 shows the dialog box of a Planned Outage
object, illustrating the following features:

• Start and End date of the period for which the Planned Outage is valid.
• Outaged components.
• Buttons to apply and reset the outage, view the events and record additional events.

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Figure 14.3.1: Planned Outage object dialog

Changes to switch positions and other parameters resulting from the application of Planned Outages
will be taken into account for all calculations but are only effective as long as the study case is active. A
new toolbar has been provided for the handling of Planned Outages. Please see chapter 42 for how to
create Planned Outage objects and handle them via the toolbar.

14.3.6 Planned Outages IntOutage

Note that this subsection refers to the original IntOutage object, which is now superseded by the
IntPlannedout object described in section 14.3.5. Users wishing to create IntOutage objects will need
to enable a project setting: on the Project Settings, Miscellaneous page select Create IntOutage
(obsolete).

A Planned Outage is an object used to check and/or apply an Outage of Element or Generator Derating
over a specified time period. Planned Outages are stored within the Operational Library in the Outages
folder.

• For the Outage of Element type, PowerFactory automatically isolates the referenced components.
The switches connecting the target elements with the other network components are open and the
terminals connected to the elements are earthed (if the Earthed option in the terminal (ElmTerm)
dialog is checked). Note that the target element can only be earthed if it is directly connected
(without switches in the cubicle) to terminals, which are then connected through switches to the
network terminals.
• For a Generator Derating, a reference to the generator which is to be derated and the magnitude
of the MW reductions is specified. For the Generator Derating, the maximum active power that
can be dispatched (defined on the Load Flow page of the generator element dialog, in the section
Operational Limits) is recalculated as the difference between the maximum active power (section
Active Power: Ratings) and the MW reductions.

Note: If a Planned Outage object is defined in the Outages folder of the Operational Library, only the
outage types Outage of Element and Generator Derating are enabled. Similarly if outage objects
are defined in the Demand transfer folder, only the outage type Demand Transfer is enabled.

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Defining Outages and Deratings

To create a new Element Outage or Generator Derating:

1. In the Data Manager, open the Outages folder.

2. Click on the New Object icon , select Planned Outage and press Ok.
3. The Planned Outage dialog will be displayed. In the Outage Type frame of the dialog, the options
Outage of an Element and Generator Derating will be enabled. Set the desired Outage Type,
Start Time and End Time.

4. The definition of a Planned Outage requires reference(s) to relevant network components. To

create a reference:
• Press the Contents button of the outage object.
• In the data browser that is displayed, create a reference to the target element by selecting
the New Object icon (IntRef ).
• Press the button in the Reference field to select the target element.
• Press Ok to add the reference.
5. (Generator Derating only) Specify the MW Reduction (see previous section for details) for the
generator derating.
6. To apply the Planned Outage, press the Apply button (the Apply button is only available if the
study time lies within the outage period, and an Operation Scenario is active).
Applied outages and generator deratings can be reset using the Reset button.

Checking Outages and Deratings

The Check All button in the Planned Outage dialog is used to verify if the actions defined for the
target element(s) have been performed (right-click a Planned Outage and select Check to perform an
individual check). Only the outages within a valid period are considered. Outages marked as Out of
Service are not regarded (even if the study time lies within the outage period).

For an Outage of Element, the energising state is always determined by a connectivity analysis. Any
component that is connected to an External Grid or a reference Generator is considered to be energised.
All other components are considered to be deenergised (if circuit breakers are open). A deenergised
component is earthed if a topological connection to a grounding switch or an earthed terminal exists
(terminal with the Earthed option checked).

Note: If the outaged element is a Branch Element (ElmBranch), all contained elements are checked.
If any of these elements is not correctly outaged, the whole branch is reported as not correctly
outaged.

The fulfilment of programmed outages can also be checked via the use of the colour representation
function available within the single line graphic by setting the Colouring option to Outage Check from
the colour representation dialog . The following states are coloured, according to user preferences:

• Components that are energised, but should be outaged.

• Components that are deenergised and not earthed, but should be outaged.
• Components that are deenergised and earthed, but should NOT be outaged.
• Components that are deenergised, not earthed and should be outaged.

• Generators that are not derated, but should be outaged.

• Generators that are derated, but should NOT be outaged.

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14.3.7 Running Arrangements

Running Arrangement objects store operational data (switch status) for a single substation. As
shown in Figure 14.3.2, a Running Arrangement uses a reference to the substation object (ElmSubstat)
whose switch statuses are stored. A Start Time and End Time is used to specify the validity period of
the Running Arrangement. Running arrangements are stored in the Running Arrangements folder in
the Operational Library .

Figure 14.3.2: RA object dialog

Different configurations of the same substation can be defined by storing the corresponding switch
statuses in Running Arrangements. Different Running Arrangements can then be easily selected during
a study. If a running arrangement is selected for a substation, the status of the substation switches
cannot be modified (i.e. they become read-only). If there is no setting for a switch in a Running
Arrangement (i.e. the Running Arrangement is incomplete), the switch will remain unchanged but
its status will also be set to read-only. If the current Running Arrangement is deselected, switch status
will be reverted to the status prior to application of the Running Arrangement, and write-access will be
re-enabled. Running arrangements are defined and selected in the substation object dialog Basic Data
page.

Note: Running arrangements store only the status of switches of class ElmCoup. The status of switches
which are automatically created in a cubicle following the connection of a edge element (StaSwitch
objects) are not considered in a running arrangement.

Further details of how to create, select, apply, and assign Running Arrangements are provided in the
following sections.

Creating a Running Arrangement

To store the current status of the switches in a substation, a Running Arrangement object must be
created. To create and save a new Running Arrangement (RA):
1. Click on an empty place in the substation graphic, and from the context-sensitive menu choose
Edit Substation. Open the substation dialog.
2. Click Save as to store the switch settings of the substation as a new RA. This button is only
available if there is currently no RA selection active.

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3. In the new RA dialog is displayed, specify a name and time period, and press Ok. The new RA is
automatically stored in the Running Arrangements folder in the Operational Library.
An Overwrite button is available in the substation dialog (if no RA is selected), to store current switch
statuses to an existing RA.

Selecting a Running Arrangement

A Running Arrangement (RA) can be selected in the Basic Data page of a substation dialog:

1. Open the substation dialog.

2. In the Running Arrangement frame of the Substation dialog, select from a list of previously
defined RA’s.
3. Select the desired RA. This selection is immediately reflected in the substation graphic.
While an RA is selected, the switch statuses of a substation are determined by this RA and cannot be
changed by the user (i.e. they are read-only).

If there is no setting for a switch in an RA (i.e. the RA is incomplete), such a switch will remain
unchanged but its status is also set to read-only.

Furthermore, there is a button Select by Study Time (also available via the context-sensitive menu
when right-clicking on the Data Manager), which selects a valid RA automatically according to the study
time. If there are multiple RAs valid for the current study time, or if there is no valid one, a warning is
printed to PowerFactory ’s output window (nothing is selected in this case).

Applying and Resetting a Running Arrangement

An active Running Arrangement (RA) can be applied to a substation by pressing the Apply and Reset
button from within the substation dialog. This action copies the statuses stored in the RA directly in the
substation switches. It is only available only if an RA is selected. The RA will be deselected afterwards.
An RA can be directly set as the substation’s selected RA, using the Assign button (from within the RA
dialog).

The following functional aspects must be regarded when working with running arrangements:
• An RA can be selected for each substation. If an operation scenario is active, the selection of
an RA in a substation is recorded in the operation scenario (i.e. the RA selection is part of the
operational data included in the operation scenario subset).

• If a variation is active (and there is no active operation scenario), the selection of the RA is stored
in the recording expansion stage.
• While an RA is selected, the switch statuses of the corresponding substation are determined by
the RA and can not be modified. Any attempt to change such a switch status will be rejected
and a warning message will be printed to the output window. The switch statuses preceding the
activation of an RA remain unchanged and are restored when deselecting the RA.
• The switch statuses stored in the RA could be incomplete due to the activation of a variation or a
modification made to the network model. For example, if an RA was defined and then deactivated,
and then later new switches were added to a substation. In this case if the RA is re-activated, a
warning would be printed to the output window and the current switch statuses, which depend on
the base network, active variations and active operation scenario, remain unchanged. Missing
switch statuses will be added only when performing the Save as or Overwrite functions (available
in the substation dialog).
• Switch statuses stored in the RA, and which are currently not required (depending on expansion
stages) are ignored and remain unchanged. In this case a summary warning is printed during the
RA activation.

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• It is not possible to add a new switch to a substation while a running arrangement is selected.
Additionally, it is not possible to delete an existing switch from this substation. In both cases the
action is blocked and an error message is issued.

For information regarding operation scenarios and their application refer to Chapter 16 (Operation
Scenarios).

Assigning a Running Arrangement

The Assign button contained in the Running Arrangement (RA) dialog facilitates the selection of the
RA as the one currently selected for the corresponding substation. This action is also available in the
context-sensitive menu in the Data Manager (when right-clicking on an RA inside the Data Manager). It
should be noted that assignment is executed immediately and cannot be undone by pressing the cancel
button of the dialog.

Figure 14.3.3: Running Arrangement Dialog

Marking Running Arrangements in Graphic

A Mark related substation in graphic button is provided on the Running Arrangement object. This can
be used to display the related substation diagram or find the related substation in an overview graphic.

It is also possible to do this using the Mark in Graphic option in the context-sensitive menu displayed
when right-clicking on a Running Arrangement in a Data Manager.

14.3.8 Thermal Ratings

Thermal Ratings objects (IntThrating) allow the definition of post-fault operational ratings for certain
branch elements, depending on the fault duration and the loading prior to the fault. Thermal Ratings ob-
jects are stored in the Thermal Ratings folder in the Operational Library . They are two-dimensional
matrices, with cells that contain the “short time” post-fault ratings (in MVA), according to the pre-fault
loading (defined in the first column) and the duration of the fault/overloading (defined in the first row).

References to Thermal Ratings are defined on the Basic Data page of the dialog of the target branch
elements. Elements that can use references to Thermal Ratings are:

• Transmission lines (ElmLne).

• 2- and 3-winding transformers (ElmTr2) and (ElmTr3).
• Series reactors (ElmSind).
• Series capacitors (ElmScap).
Note that the rating table given on the Ratings page of the Thermal Rating object (when option Consider
short term ratings is enabled) is used solely for the contingency analysis command in PowerFactory. In
this calculation, the pre-fault loading conditions of the network components are determined after a base
load flow calculation. The contingency analysis is then performed using a load flow command, where
the post-contingency duration is specified.

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To create a new Thermal Ratings object:

1. Open the folder Thermal Ratings from the Operational Library.

2. Click on the New Object icon and select Thermal Ratings.

3. The new object dialog is displayed. To configure the table for the short-term ratings (only visible if
the option Consider short term ratings is checked), go to the Configuration page and:
• Introduce the increasing values for the pre-fault loading axis (Prefault %). By default, values
between 0% and 80%, with increments of 5%, up to 84% are set.
• Introduce the fault duration in minutes. Default values are: 360 min, 20 min, 10 min, 5 min,
3 min).

The pre-fault continuous rating (used as the base to calculate the loading before the fault) and the post-
fault continuous rating (assumed as the branch element post-fault rating if the fault duration is larger
than the largest duration time defined in the table) are defined on the Ratings page.

The values of a thermal rating object can be edited at any time by double-clicking on it to open the
Thermal Ratings dialog. Similar to Circuit Breaker Ratings and Capability Curves, Thermal Ratings
objects can be made to be time-dependant by means of variations and expansion stages stored inside
the Thermal Ratings folder (refer to the Circuit Breaker Ratings section for an explanation on how to
define time-dependant operational objects).

When a contingency analysis (ComSimoutage) is configured, the user can define a post-contingency
time. According to the pre-fault loading found by the load flow used to calculate the base case,
and the post-contingency time (if specified), the ratings to be used in the contingency load flow are
determined (based on the referred Thermal Ratings object). The loading of the branch elements after
the contingency load flow are calculated with respect to the new ratings.

For information about contingency analysis refer to Chapter 27 (Contingency Analysis).

14.4 Templates Library

The Templates folder is used to store and organise templates of network components (or groups of
components) for re-use in a power system model. Components from templates are created using the
graphical editor. Five kinds of templates are supported in PowerFactory :
1. Element template for single network elements: New single network elements with the same
parameters as the original element are created.
2. Group template for non-composite graphic objects: New groups of objects (including graphical
attributes) are created.
3. Substation template (composite node): New substations with the same configuration as the origi-
nal substation (including its diagram).
4. Secondary Substation template: New secondary substations.
5. Branch template (composite branch): New branches with the same configuration as the original
branch (including its diagram).
Templates are normally stored in the Templates folder , in the Library. When a template for a single
network element is defined, a copy of the original element is automatically created in the Templates
folder. New templates of substations and branches will copy the objects together with all of their
contents (including the diagram) to the Templates folder. New templates for groups of objects will copy
the corresponding objects, together with their graphical information to a subfolder for groups of class
IntTemplate within the Templates Library.

For further information about working with templates, refer to Section 11.2 (Defining Network Models
with the Graphical Editor).

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Substation (composite node) templates ( or ), secondary substation ( ), busbar templates ( ),

branch templates ( ), and general templates ( ) can be selected from the Drawing Toolbox on the
right-hand pane of the PowerFactory GUI. To apply an element template:

• Select the symbol for a substation, secondary substation, busbar, branch, or general template as
required.
• Select the required template.
• Insert the new element in the single line graphic.

Note: The use of Substation templates is recommended for diagrams of networks, where components
are grouped in branches and substations. In this case the composite nodes can be graphically
connected with the composite branch, forming an overview diagram of the complete network.

This section explains how to create and use templates.

14.4.1 General Templates

Any kind of single network component (lines, transformers, terminals, etc.) can be used to define
an “Element” template; this is done by right clicking the desired element on a single line graphic and
selecting Define Template from the context sensitive menu, a dialog where the name of the new template
is to be written pops up. After the name is given and the Ok button is pressed, a copy of the selected
element is stored in the templates folder. Similarly, a group of network components can be used to
define a “Group” template, which will create a ’template’ folder ( ) storing the objects from the group
together with their graphical information. If a group of elements containing substation and branches has
been selected the elements outside the substation will not be added to the template.

14.4.2 Substation Templates

Existing substations can be used as “models” to define templates, which may be used later to create new
substations. A new substation template is created by right clicking on one of the busbars of the detailed
substation single line diagram and selecting Define substation template from the context sensitive menu.
This action will copy the substation together with all of its contents (including its diagram even if it is not
stored within this substation) in the Templates folder.

Note: In case of creating templates which contain graphical information the default settings of the
names and result boxes defining their graphical representation (font, frame, size,...) are copied
into the template diagram so that they appear as in the source object(s).

14.4.3 Busbar Templates

Similar to creating substation templates, existing busbars can be used as a “models” to create user-
defined templates, which may be used later to create new busbars. A new busbar template is created
by right clicking on the detailed single line diagram or simplified diagram of busbar and selecting ’Define
substation template’ from the context sensitive menu. This action will copy the busbar together with all
of its contents (including detailed and simplified diagrams) in the Templates folder. If the detailed busbar
configuration has been modified, it is possible to right-click the (existing) simplified representation in the
main single line diagram and select ’Update representation’.

Busbars that have been created by the user in this way can be added to the single line diagram by
selecting the ’General Busbar System’ icon ( ). Note that for a busbar to be accessible from this icon,

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both detailed and simplified diagrams must be included within the busbar template, as in the previously
described method.

14.4.4 Composite Branch Templates

Composite Branch templates can be defined as follows:

1. To create a Branch template, navigate to the Library → Templates folder in the Data Manager.
2. Right-click on the right pane of the Data Manager and select New → Branch from the context
sensitive menu.
3. In the branch edit dialog, define the name of the branch and press Ok.

4. A new (empty) single line diagram will be displayed. Draw the required elements (for example, a
terminal with two lines connected, with each line connected at one end only).
5. To create an instance of the Branch from the newly created Branch template, navigate back to the
main grid diagram, then select the Composite Branch ( ) icon and connect the branch to existing
terminals on the Single Line Diagram.
Alternatively, composite branches can be defined in the Data Manager as described in Chapter 10:
Data Manager, Section 11.5.4 (Defining Composite Branches in the Data Manager).

14.4.5 Example Power Plant Template

Consider the following example, where there is a power station with multiple transformers, generators,
and control systems of the same type. The model can be created using templates as follows:
1. Firstly, define type data for the transformer, generator, and control system.
2. Add a single instance of the generating unit (including generator transformer) to the network
model.

3. Define a Template by selecting the generator, generator bus, and transformer, then right-click and
select Define Template. Optionally include the control system model with the template.

4. To create another instance of the newly created template, select the General Templates icon ( )
and place it on the single line graphic.

14.4.6 Wind Turbine Templates according to IEC 61400-27-1

There are predefined Templates for Wind turbine models according to IEC 61400-27-1 in the Templates
Library of PowerFactory. More information is available in section Templates of the Technical References
Document.

14.4.7 Example Busbar Template

Consider the following example where there is network with multiple instances of a Double Busbar
System. However, the Double Busbar System required for this particular model is a variant on the
standard Double Busbar System, which requires two switches. To simplify the task of developing the
model, a Template may be defined as follows:
1. Place a standard Double Busbar System on the single line graphic.
2. Right-click and select Show Detailed Graphic of Substation.

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3. Extend the busbar length, and then copy and duplicate the switches connecting “BB1” to “BB2”
(see Figure 14.4.1).

Figure 14.4.1: Detailed Busbar Layout

4. On the main Grid single line graphic, select Draw Existing Net Elements, press the Logical Switch
icon ( ) and draw the second switch connecting “BB1” to “BB2”.
5. Right-click either busbar in the overview diagram and select Define Substation Template (see
Figure 14.4.2), then name the Template.

Figure 14.4.2: Example Busbar Template

6. Use the General Busbar System icon ( ) to place additional instances of the busbar system in
the power system model.

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Chapter 15

Grouping Objects

This chapter describes the management and functionality of the objects used to group network compo-
nents.

15.1 Areas

To facilitate the visualisation and analysis of a power system, elements may be allocated into areas (El-
mArea ). The single line graphics can then be coloured according to these areas and special reports
after load flow calculations (’Area summary report’ and ’Area interchange report’) can be generated.
Area objects are stored inside the Areas folder ( ) in the Network Data directory.

To define a new area:

• Multi select the components belonging to the new area (in the Data Manager or in a single line
diagram).
• Right click on the selection and select Define → Area from the context sensitive menu.
• After the area has been defined, terminals can be added to it by selecting Add to. . . → Area. . . in
their context sensitive menu.

In the edit dialog of the new area you must select a colour to represent the area in the single line
diagrams. Using the Edit Elements button you can have access to all the element belonging to that
area in a data browser, then you can edit them. The Mark in Graphic button may be used to locate the
components of an Area in a single line diagram.

Note: Areas that are created/deleted when a recording expansion stage is active; become available/not
available only if the corresponding variation is active and the expansion stage activation time is
earlier than the current study time.

For information concerning the visualisation of areas within the single line Graphic refer to Chapter 9:
Network Graphics, section 9.3.5.1 (Basic Attributes). For information about reporting Area results refer
to Chapter 19 (Reporting and Visualising Results).

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15.2 Virtual Power Plants

Virtual Power Plants are used to group generators in the network, in such a way that the total dispatched
active power is set to a target value. The dispatch of each generator (the Active Power field available in
the Dispatch section of the Load Flow page in the generator element dialog) is scaled according to the
Virtual Power Plant rules (must run, merit of order, etc.), in order to achieve the total target value.

Virtual Power Plant objects (ElmBmu ) are stored inside the Virtual Power Plants folder ( ) within
the Network Data directory.

15.2.1 Defining and Editing a New Virtual Power Plant

A new Virtual Power Plant is created by:

• Multi selecting in a single line diagram or in a data browser an initial set of generators to be
included in the Virtual Power Plant;
• Then pressing the right mouse button and selecting Define → Virtual Power Plant from the context
sensitive menu.

Figure 15.2.1: Defining a Virtual Power Plant

Alternatively you can create a new empty Virtual Power Plant by using the Data Manager:
• Open a Data Manager.
• Find the Virtual Power Plant folder ( ) and click on it.

• Press the icon for defining new objects ( ).

• select Others.

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• Then select Virtual Power Plant (ElmBmu) in the list box.

• Assign a suitable name to the Virtual Power Plant.

• Press OK.
The rules which determine the dispatch of the selected generators are set in the Virtual Power Plant
dialog. The total active power to be dispatched is set in the field ’Active Power’. The dispatch of the
belonging generators (variable “pgini” from the Load Flow tab of the generator) is set by pressing the
Apply button. If the ’Maximal active power sum’ of the included generators (sum of the maximal active
power operational limit of the generators) is smaller than the active power to be dispatched, an error
message pops up. Otherwise the dispatch is set according the user defined ’Distribution Mode’:

According to merit order Distribution of the dispatched active power is done according to the
priorities given to each generator in the Merit Order column of the ’Machines’ table (this value can
also be set in the Optimisation tab of the generators dialog). Lower values have higher priority.
Generators with the option ’Must Run’ checked are dispatched even if they have low priority (high
value). It is assumed that the merit of order of all generators in the Virtual Power Plant is different.
If not an error message appears after the ’Apply’ button is pressed.

According to script The rules for the dispatch are set in user defined DPL scripts, which are
stored inside Virtual Power Plant object. To create new scripts or to edit the existing ones you
must open a data browser with the ’Scripts’ button.

Note: The Virtual Power Plant active power is part of the operation scenario subsets and therefore
is stored in the active operation scenario (if available). The active power is stored in the active
expansion stage (if available) if no active operation scenario is active. Virtual Power Plants that
are created/deleted when a recording expansion stage is active; become available/non available
only if the corresponding variation is active and the expansion stage activation time is earlier than
the current study time.

15.2.2 Applying a Virtual Power Plant

Check that the active power set for the Virtual Power Plant is less than or equal to the maximum power.
Press the Apply button.

15.2.3 Inserting a Generator into a Virtual Power Plant and Defining its Virtual
Power Plant Properties

Generators are added to an existing Virtual Power Plant by adding a reference in the ’Optimisation’ tab
of their edit dialog. Notice that a generator can belong to at most one Virtual Power Plant. Define the
Merit Order and must run properties as required.

You also can add a generator to a Virtual Power Plant by clicking with the right mouse button on the
element in the network graphic and choose Add to. . . → Virtual Power Plant. . . from the context
sensitive menu.

15.3 Boundaries

Boundaries are used in the definition of network reductions and to report the interchange of active and
reactive power after a load flow calculation. Boundary objects (ElmBoundary ) may define topological
regions by specifying a topological cut through the network.

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Boundaries are defined by the cubicles that determine the cut through the network, these cubicles
together with the orientations define the corresponding “Interior Region”. Topologically, the interior
region is found searching through the network starting at each selected cubicles towards the given
direction. The topological search continues until either an open switch or a cubicle that is part of the
boundary list is found. Any open switch that is found by this search is considered to be part of the
interior region.

Boundaries can be defined using the Boundary Definition Tool or directly on the branch elements by
right clicking on them and selecting Define → Boundary. . . .

The Boundaries are stored in the project folder Boundaries ( ) within the Network Data.

Note: Boundaries that are created or deleted when a recording expansion stage is active; become
available/not available only if the corresponding variation is active and the expansion stage acti-
vation time is earlier than the current study time.

15.3.1 Boundary Definition Tool

The Boundary Definition Tool ( ) is located within the Additional Tools toolbox as shown in figure 15.5.3.

Figure 15.3.1: Additional Tools toolbox

The following options are available when using the Boundary Definition Tool command:

Based on regional elements

Zones, areas, grids and even existing boundaries can be used to define a boundary. The selection
supports multiple elements of the same type.

When regional elements are used, some additional options are available for the user:

• One common boundary: single boundary containing all the interior elements of the composing
regions.

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• Separate boundary for each region: a number of boundaries corresponding to the number of
regions will be defined with corresponding interior elements.
• All boundaries between neighbouring regions: each combination between selected regions is
considered and corresponding boundary is defined.

Based of branch elements

Branch elements (e.g. lines, transformers) can be used to define a boundary, PowerFactory will perform
a topological search to define the interior elements. To finishing defining the interior region, the user
can check the Assign selected branch elements to interior region checkbox on the Basic Data page of
the command dialog.

In addition the Boundary Definition Tool offers the possibility to define the boundary only if it splits the
network into two separated regions.

15.3.2 Element Boundary

The element boundary ElmBoundary edit dialog is accessible by double clicking on the boundary
element, using either the Data Manager or the Network Model Manager.

To add cubicles to an existing Boundary:

• In the Boundary dialog, right click on the table (on the number of a row) that lists the included
cubicles.
• Select Insert rows, Append rows or Append n rows from the context sensitive menu.
• Double click on the Boundary Points cell of the new line.
• Select the target cubicle using the data browser that pops up.

After selecting the desired cubicle, the terminal and the branch element connected to it are added to
the Busbar and Branch cells on the table. By default the Orientation (direction used to determine the
interior region) is set to the branch; you can change it in order to direct the definition of the internal
region to the connected terminal.

Cubicles can be retired from a boundary by selecting Delete rows from the context sensitive menu of
the table in the element dialog.

The selected colour underneath the boundary name is used when representing the boundary in single
line diagrams ( ). Each element in the graphic is coloured according to the following criteria:

• If it uniquely belongs to one interior region of a boundary to be drawn, its colour will be assigned
to that specific boundary colour.
• If it belongs to exactly two of the interior regions of the boundaries to be drawn, its will be
represented with dashed lines in the specific boundary colours.
• If it belongs to exactly more than two of the interior regions of the boundaries to be drawn, its will
be represented with dashed lines in black and the colour selected for multiple intersections.

15.3.2.1 Boundary object buttons

The Edit Interior Elements button can be used to list in a data browser all the components included in
the internal region. The Mark Interior Region button marks all the components of the interior region in
the selected network diagram.

Topological changes in the network that affect the defined interior regions are automatically detected by
the program.

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The Check Split button can be used to check whether or not the boundary is a closed boundary which
splits the network into two parts.

Related to the Check Split is an option Topological search: stop at open breakers. Some boundaries
may only split the network because particular breakers are open, i.e. they effectively rely on these
breakers to ensure that they are “splitting” boundaries. By selecting the Topological search: stop at
open breakers option, this ensures that they are taken into account. In some cases, a boundary may be
“splitting” only if the Topological search: stop at open breakers option is selected; in such a case the user
can find out which switches are critical by using the Report open switches making boundary split
button to get a list of these switches.

The Colour graphic according to this boundary will set the colouring option of the currently active
graphic according to the Boundary Defnition of the boundary in question. This is to help users visualise
large boundaries in particular, as they create or modify them. (Note that if the original colouring scheme
needs to be restored subsequently, this will have to be done manually.)

15.4 Circuits

Circuits are objects of class ElmCircuit ( ), and are used to group branches in order to clarify which
branches are connected galvanically. Each branch (ElmBranch) can have a reference to any defined
circuit object. This feature allows branches to be sorted according to the circuit to which they belong.

To create a new Circuit:

• In the Data Manager open the Circuits folder from the Network Model.

• Click on the New Object icon.

• The edit dialog of the new Circuit pops up. Give a name to the new object and press Ok.
Branches are added to a circuit using the pointer from the ’Circuit’ field of the branch dialog. The button
Branches in the Circuit dialog opens a data browser listing the branches that refer to that circuit.

Note: Circuits that are created or deleted when a recording expansion stage is active; become avail-
able/not available only if the corresponding variation is active and the expansion stage activation
time is earlier than the current study time.

15.5 Feeders

When analysing a system it is often useful to know where the various elements are receiving their power
supply from. In PowerFactory this is achieved using Feeder Definitions (ElmFeeder ).

A feeder is defined at a line or transformer end, and then the feeder definition algorithm searches the
system from the definition point to determine the extent of the feeder. The feeder ends when:
• An open breaker is encountered; or

• The end of a line of supply is encountered; or

• ’Terminate feeder at this point’ is enabled in a cubicle (optional); or
• A higher voltage is encountered (optional).
Once a feeder has been defined it may be used to scale the loads connected along it according to a
measured current or power, to create voltage profile plots or to select particular branches and connected
objects in the network. Following load flow calculations, special reports can be created for the defined

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feeders. To distinguish the different feeder definitions, they can be coloured uniquely in the single line
graphic. All feeder objects are stored in the Feeders folder ( ) in the Network Data folder.

A new feeder is created by right-clicking on a cubicle (that is, when the cursor is held just above the
breaker in the single line diagram) and selecting Define → Feeder. . . . Once the option Feeder has been
selected, the Feeder dialog pops up. There you can define the desired options for the new object. After
pressing Ok, the new Feeder is stored in the Feeders folder of the Network Model.

Any existing Feeder can be edited using its dialog (double click the target Feeder on a data browser).
The Feeder dialog presents the following fields:

Name
Cubicle Is a reference to the cubicle where the Feeder was created. It is automatically set by the
program once the Feeder is created.
Zone Reference to the Zone (if any) to which the feeder belongs. A Feeder is assigned to the zone of
the local busbar/terminal.
Colour Sets the colour be used when the Feeder Definitions colouring mode ( ) is engaged in the
single line diagram.
Terminate feeder when. . . A feeder will, by default, terminate when a higher voltage level is encoun-
tered, however, this may not always be desirous. This may be prevented by un-checking this
option. The feeder will now continue ’past’ a higher voltage level and may be terminated at
a user defined cubicle if desired. To manually terminate a feeder right-click a branch element
above the breaker (to select the desired cubicle where the feeder is going to end) and select Edit
Cubicle. The cubicle dialog will be presented, and the ’Terminate feeder at this point’ option may
be checked.
Orientation The user may select the direction towards the feeder is defined. ’Branch’ means that
the feeder starts at the cubicle and continues in the direction of the connected branch element.
’Busbar’ means that the Feeder is defined in the direction of the connected Terminal.
Load Scaling In any system some loads values may be accurately known whilst others are estimated.
It is likely that measurement points exist for feeders in the system as well, and thus the power
that is drawn through this feeder is also known. The load scaling tool assists the user in adjusting
these estimated load values by scaling them to match a known feeder power or current that has
been measured in the real system. More information about the use of the Load Scaling Function
is given below.
Elements The Mark in Graphic button may be used to select all the elements of a Feeder in the
desired single line diagram. The Edit button is used to list all the elements belonging to a Feeder
in a data browser.

To use the Load Scaling tool first define which loads may be scaled by enabling the ’Adjusted by Load
Scaling’ option on the Load-Flow tab of the load dialog. All of the loads in a feeder may also be quickly
viewed by editing the feeder from the feeders folder. Load scaling is now performed by the load-flow
calculation function when:
• At least one feeder is defined with load scaling according to a current or power.
• The option ’Feeder Load Scaling’ is enabled in the load-flow command dialog (basic options).
• At least one load exists in the feeder area for which
– A change in operating point affects the load-flow at the feeder position
– The option ’Adjusted by Load Scaling’ has been enabled.

The load-flow calculation will then adjust the scaling of all adjustable loads in the feeder areas in such
a way that the load-flow at the feeder equals the current or power set-point.

The feeder setpoint is influenced by the zone scaling. This means that the current or power flow as
calculated by the load-flow could differ from the setpoint in the feeder dialog when the busbar where the
feeder is defined is part of a zone.

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For instance, a feeder has a set-point of 1.22 MVA. The busbar is in a zone and the zone-scale is set to
0.50. The flow at the feeder position will thus be 0.61 MVA.

For information about colouring the single line graphic according to feeder definitions refer to Chapter 9:
Network Graphics. For information about voltage profile plots, refer to Chapter 19 (Reporting and
Visualising Results).

Defining Feeders from a Terminal Element

Often it is useful to be able to quickly setup a feeder or many feeders from a ’source’ bus within the
system. There is a specific methodology within PowerFactory for this purpose. The procedure is as
follows:

1. Right-click the target terminal where the feeder/s should be defined from.
2. Choose the option Define → Feeder. . . from the context sensitive menu that appears. This step
is illustrated in Figure 15.5.1.
3. PowerFactory will automatically create Feeder objects for each of the connected two terminal
elements, for example lines and transformers. The list of created feeders is displayed in a pop-up
window. The default name for each feeder is the concatenation of the terminal name and the
connected object.
4. Adjust the feeder colours and definitions as required and remove any unwanted feeders.

Figure 15.5.1: Definition of Feeders from a terminal by right-clicking the terminal

Note: The Load Scaling options are part of the operation scenario subsets; therefore they are stored
in the active operation scenario (if available). The Load Scaling options are stored in the active
expansion stage (if available) if no active operation scenario is active. feeders that are created
or deleted when a recording expansion stage is active; become available/not available only if the
corresponding Variation is active and the expansion stage activation time is earlier than the current
study time.

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15.5.1 Feeder Tools

Feeder Tools is a set of three tools that can be used only in radial systems to change voltage, technology
from a particular point downwards.

Note: Additional functions for feeders like Backbone Calculation or Phase Balance Optimisation are
available in the module Distribution Network Tools, described in chapter 41

15.5.1.1 Voltage Change Tool

The Voltage Change Tool automatically changes type data (for transformers, lines, loads and motors)
and element data such that the primary voltage can be changed to a specified voltage value. The tool
will change the voltage from a particular point downwards but is limited to the HV side. This will enable
the voltage level of a network to be changed for planning studies, taking into account all downstream
equipment.

15.5.1.2 Technology Change Tool

The Technology Change Tool automatically changes type data (for transformers, lines, loads, motors)
and element data such that the primary number of phases or neutrals (commonly referred to as ’tech-
nology’) can be changed to a specific number of phases/neutrals. The tool will change the technology
from a particular point downwards but is limited to the HV side.

Note: If a device such as a transformer or shunt device is no longer compatible (number of phases
and/or phasing is not supported) then the device is set out of service and is reported to the user.

15.5.1.3 Feeder Tool Command

Feeder Tools is a built-in command (ComFeedertool) in PowerFactory and can be started via the right-
mouse context-sensitive menu, by clicking on an element of a feeder as shown in Figure 15.5.2. A radial
feeder must be defined prior to using the command.

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Figure 15.5.2: Feeder Tool

The voltage, technology and balancing tools are all related and are integrated in PowerFactory as
one command having different options for enabling/disabling each individual tool. Any combination
of the three tools can be used. For example, a user may want to evaluate the alternative where an
existing 19 kV SWER line is to be changed to a 22 kV three-phase line. In this case, the line type
voltage, phasing and technology will all need to change. The transformers should then be changed to
equivalent single- or dual-phase transformers (depending on their original secondary technology) with
22 kV phase-to-phase connected primary windings.

Since Voltage and Technology Tools are more intrinsically related than the Auto Balancing Tool, the
first tools are meshed into one algorithm. The Auto Balancing Tool runs independently of Voltage and
Technology Tools but requires a convergent load flow. If the user wishes to apply all tools in one run
(Voltage, Technology and Balancing), then the algorithm of Voltage and Technology Tools is performed
followed by execution of the Auto Balancing Tool.

15.5.1.4 How to use the Voltage and Technology Tool

When selecting the Voltage Change Tool, the user should specify the voltage level in kV (Previous
Voltage) that will be replaced, and the New Voltage. Both voltages should be specified as phase-phase
voltages, even if there is no phase-phase voltage available; for example when the previous or new
technology is 1 PH or 1 PH-N. When selecting the Technology Change Tool, the user should specify

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the New Technology from the drop-down list and then proceed as follows:

1. A radial feeder must be defined.

2. A Start Element (terminal or line) must be selected:

• If the Start Element is a terminal, then this is defined as the Start Terminal.
• If the Start Element is a line, then the Start Terminal is defined as:
– For the Voltage Tool: the line terminal nearest to the feeder definition point
– For the Technology Tool: the line terminal more distant from the feeder definition point.

Note: The algorithm uses a top-down approach: working from the Start Terminal downwards to
the Stop Point

3. Definition of Stop Point for Voltage/Technology Tools: The voltage/technology changes will stop
at transformers or open points. For transformers, only the primary voltage/technology is changed.
This means that the transformer secondary voltage/technology and secondary network remains
unchanged. If the transformer technology (three phase, single phase or SWER) is not compatible
with the new primary technology, then the transformer will be disconnected. This will occur when
a three-phase primary network supplies a three-phase transformer and the primary technology
is changed to a non-three-phase technology. In this case, the transformer will be disconnected.
Likewise, three-phase machines cannot be connected to a non-three-phase technology. (Note:
Out-of-service elements are not Stop Points for Voltage/Technology Tools.)

4. Setting the new type/element voltage: If Voltage Change Tool is selected, the new voltage is equal
to the New Voltage specified by the user. A voltage change can be performed independent of a
technology change. If Technology Change is disabled, the voltage change will be associated with
the existing technology.
5. Setting the new type/element technology: If Technology Change Tool is selected, the new technol-
ogy is that of the New Technology specified by the user. A technology change can be performed
independent of the voltage (the voltage will not be changed).
6. A Linking Object must be provided.
The selection of a new Type is not automated as there may be several types that could be
compatible with a particular scenario. The solution for this is a linking database object. This
linking object stores the relationships between old and new types for different new voltage and/or
technology changes. This linking object can be saved in a project or library. It should be added to
and modified each time a technology/voltage change is performed.
If for any network element a new type that should match a specific new voltage/technology is not
found, the user can choose how the program should proceed by selecting one of the following
Linking Object options:
• Prompt for new type selection: the user should manually select which type should be used.
If the selected type is still not valid (see item 7: Validation rules for types), the program
will present new options: (i) the user can select a new type again, (ii) ignore replacing this
type, or (iii) interrupt algorithm execution. Otherwise, if the selected type is valid (see item 7:
Validation rules for types), the existing record in Linking Object is updated or in the event that
it does not exist, a new one will be created.
• Automatically creates new type: a new type that matches the required voltage/technology is
automatically created and the existing record in the Linking Object is updated, or in the event
that it does not exist, a new one will be created.
• Do not change the old Type: the old type is not replaced and the corresponding element is
put out-of-service. Changes, if necessary, should be manually performed after the command
execution.
An example of a Linking Object is shown in Figure 15.5.3. The voltage tolerance (parameter vtol)
for comparison between type voltage and new voltage can be optionally specified. The default
value is 30 %. Records in Linking Object should be unique for each combination of Old Type, New
Voltage and New Technology. Validation rules (see item 7) are applied when the user presses the
OK button or/and automatically (i.e. within the algorithm).

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Figure 15.5.3: Linking Object

7. Validation rules for types:

a. The new type voltage must be equal to the new voltage (item 4) or inside its tolerance
specified by parameter vtol in the Linking Object (item 6). If this rule fails, the message
“The Type selected voltage is incompatible with the new voltage” is shown. This rule does
not apply to the load type (TypLod).
b. For the motor type (TypAsmo, TypAsm), the number of phases must be equal to or greater
than the old number of phases. If this condition is not met the message “Cannot supply a
three-phase motor from a single or bi/dual phase” is shown.
c. For the 2-winding transformer type (TypTr2), the number of phases must be equal to or
greater than the old number of phases. If this condition is not met the message “Cannot
supply a three-phase secondary network from a single or bi/dual phase primary” is shown.
d. As stated in item 3, the voltage/technology changes will stop at the primary of a transformer
so that the secondary network remains unchanged. Despite this, the algorithm does not limit
the selected 2-winding transformer type to the same secondary voltage/technology.
e. For the line type (TypLne) the number of phases and neutrals must be equal to the one
required by the new technology specified by the user. For the 2-winding transformer type
(TypTr2), motor type (TypAsmo, TypAsm) or load type (TypLod), the number of phases and
neutrals must be less than or equal to the one required by the new technology. If this
condition is not met the message “The type selected technology is incompatible with the
new technology” is shown.
f. The algorithm will change a type object when:
• The actual type voltage/technology is not compatible with the new voltage/technology;
• The actual type voltage/technology is compatible with the new voltage/technology but
the change operation is specified in the Linking Object.
If the type is incompatible with the new voltage/technology and a new type has not yet been
specified in the Linking Object for a particular old type, New Voltage and New Technology
combination, then one of the following predefined actions will occur:
• Prompt for new type selection: during this process the user can select or create a new
type, where the default parameters are the same as those for the old type. Once a new
type has been selected or created, it will be checked to ensure that it is compatible with
the new voltage/technology. If it is still incompatible, the user will be asked whether to
select again or to put this element out-of-service. The changes/additions are stored in
the Linking Object so that they are available for future reuse.
• Automatically creates a new type: a compatible type is created where the default param-
eters are the same as those for the old type. The changes/additions are stored in the
Linking Object so that they are available for future reuse.

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• Do not change the type: no new type is selected and the element is set out-of-service.

15.6 Meteo Stations

It is often the case that groups of wind generators have a wind speed characteristic that is correlated.
PowerFactory can represent such a correlation through the Meteo Station (ElmMeteostat object.
The meteorological stations are stored within the folder Network Data.

Meteorological stations can be defined either via the element that is to be part of the meteorological
station (from any of the generator elements described in Section 46.4), or via the single line diagram
by right-clicking on an appropriate element and selecting Define → Meteo Station (or Add to → Meteo
Station) from the context-sensitive menu. Note that the ability to define a Meteo Station is dependent
upon whether at least one of the ’member’ generators has the options Generator and Wind Generator
selected on its Basic Data page. If these options are not selected, the context menu entry is not visible.

Note: A graphical colouring mode exists for Meteorological Stations, so that they can be visualised in
the single line graphic.

15.7 Operators

For descriptive purposes, it is useful to sort network components according to their operators. Addition-
ally, system operators may find it advantageous to generate summary reports of the losses, generation,
load, etc. according to their designated region(s). PowerFactory allows the definition of operators, the
assignment of network components to these operators, and the identification of operators on single line
diagrams by means of Operator objects. The Operator objects (ElmOperator, ) are stored in the
Operators folder ( ) in the Network Model directory.

To create a new operator:

• In the Data Manager open the Operators folder from the Network Model.
• Click on the ’New Object’ icon.
• The edit dialog of the new operator pops up:
– Give a name to the new object.
– Select a colour to represent the operator in the corresponding colouring mode of the single
line diagram.
– Press Ok.
Network elements (class name Elm* ) such as terminals, switches, lines, generators, transformers,
relays or composite models (ElmComp), Substations (ElmSubstat) and Branches (ElmBranch) can be
assigned to an operator by means of the reference ’Operator’ from the Description tab of their dialog.

Note: Operators that are created or deleted when a recording expansion stage is active; become avail-
able/not available only if the corresponding variation is active and the expansion stage activation
time is earlier than the current study time

15.8 Owners

For descriptive purposes it is useful to sort network components according to their owners. Additionally,
for network owners it may prove advantageous to generate summary reports of the losses, generation,

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load, etc. for their region(s). Similar to Operators, PowerFactory allows the definition of network owners,
and the assignment of network components to them, by means of Owner objects.

The Owner objects (ElmOwner, ) are stored in the ’Owners’ folder ( ) in the Network Model direc-
tory. They are created following the same procedure described for operators. Network elements (class
name Elm* ) such as terminals, switches, lines, generators, transformers, relays or composite models
(ElmComp), Substations (ElmSubstat) and Branches (ElmBranch) can be assigned to an operator by
means of the reference ’Operator’ from the Description tab of their dialog.

Note: Operators that are created or deleted when a recording expansion stage is active; become avail-
able/not available only if the corresponding variation is active and the expansion stage activation
time is earlier than the current study time

15.9 Paths

A path (SetPath, ) is a set of two or more terminals and their interconnected objects. This is used
primarily by the protection module to analyse the operation of protection devices within a network.

The defined paths can be coloured in a single line graphic using the colouring function. New paths are
stored inside the Paths folder ( ) in the Network Data directory.

To create a new Path:

• In a single line diagram select a chain of two or more terminals and their inter-connecting objects.
• Right click on the selection.
• Select the option Path → New from the context sensitive menu.
• The dialog of the new path pops up, give a name and select the desired colour for the correspond-
ing colour representation mode in the single line diagram. The references to the objects defining
the Path (First/Last Busbar First/Last Branch) are automatically created by the program, according
to the selection.
• After pressing Ok the new path is stored in the Paths folder of the Network Model.
By using the Elements button of the Path dialog you can have access to all the element belonging
to the path in a data browser, there you can edit them. The Select button may be used to locate the
components of the path in a single line diagram. With the Toggle button you can invert the order of the
objects limiting the path (First/Last Busbar First/Last Branch). This order is relevant when evaluating
directional protective devises.

In cases where a path forms a closed ring the First Busbar button of the SetPath dialog can be used to
specify at which busbar the path should be considered to begin and end. This can be particularly useful
when displaying the path on a time distance diagram.

New objects can be added to a path by marking them in a single line diagram (including one end of the
target path and a busbar as the new end) right clicking and selecting Path → Add to from the context
sensitive menu. Objects can be removed from a Path (regarding that the end object of a Path must
be always a busbar) by marking them in the single line diagram, right clicking and selecting Path →
Remove Partly from the context sensitive menu. The Remove option of the Path context sensitive menu
will remove the firstly found path definition of which at least one of the selected objects is a member.

For information about the colouring function refer to Chapter 9: Network Graphics. For information about
the use of the path definitions for the analysis of the protective devices, refer to Chapter 33 (Protection).

Note: Paths that are created or deleted when a recording expansion stage is active; become avail-
able/not available only if the corresponding variation is active and the expansion stage activation
time is earlier than the current study time

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15.10 Routes

Routes are objects which are used to group line couplings (tower elements). Each coupling (ElmTow)
can have a reference to any defined route (ElmRoute, ). Each route has a colour that can be used to
identify it in single line diagrams, when the corresponding colouring function is enabled.

For information regarding line couplings refer to the technical reference for the transmission line model
(see Technical References Document).

15.11 Zones

Components of a network may be allocated to a zone object (ElmZone, ) in order to represent

geographical regions of the system. Each zone has a colour which can be used to identify the elements
belonging to it in the single line graphic if the colouring is set to Groupings → Zones. These elements
can be listed in a browser format for group editing; additionally all loads belonging to the zone can be
quickly scaled from the zone edit dialog. Using the ’Scaling Criteria’-Button, the total active or apparent
power demand can be set as absolute values in MVA or MW. The zone scaling factor is then calculated
accordingly. Another special scaling factor is provided for all generators, its plant category is set to
’Wind’ and which are not part of other controllers: The Wind Generation Scaling Factor.

Reports for the defined zones can be generated following calculations.

Upon being defined, zones are by default stored inside the Zones folder ( ) in the Network Data folder.

Zones are created by selecting a node or multi-selecting elements (at least one node-element has to
be among them), right-clicking and choosing Define → Zone. . . from the context sensitive menu. The
option Add to → Zone. . . can be selected when a zone(s) have already been defined. Single-port
elements are directly assigned to the zone, its connected node is part of. For multi-port elements (like
lines or transformers) one of the available terminals has to be chosen, from which the zone assignment
is inherited.

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Chapter 16

Operation Scenarios

16.1 Introduction

Operation Scenarios are used to store operational data such as generator dispatch, load demand, and
network line/switch status. Individual Operation Scenarios are stored within the Operations Scenarios
folder, and can be easily activated and deactivated. This Chapter describes PowerFactory operation
scenarios.

Note: Parameter Characteristics can also be used to modify network operational data - see Sec-
tion 18.2 (Parameter Characteristics) for details.

16.2 Operation Scenarios Background

Operation Scenarios are used to store network component parameters that define the operational point
of a system. Examples of operational data include generator power dispatch and a load demand.
Operational data is typically distinguished from other component data because it changes frequently.
Compare for instance, how often a generator changes its power set-point, with how often the impedance
of the generator transformer changes.

Storing recurrent operation points of a network and being able to activate or deactivate them when
needed accelerates the analyses of the network under different operating conditions. PowerFactory
can store complete operational states for a network in objects called operation scenarios (IntScenario,
).

Operation scenarios are stored inside the operation scenarios folder ( ) in the project directory.
You can define as many operation scenarios as needed; each operation scenario should represent
a different operational point. Figure 16.2.1 shows a project containing three operation scenarios (High
Load, Low Load and Transfer Capacity Analysis) the content of the ’High Load’ scenario (its subsets) is
shown in the right pane of the Data Manager.

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Figure 16.2.1: Operation Scenarios and operation scenarios’ Subsets

A new operation scenario is defined by saving the current operational data of the active network com-
ponents. Once they have been created, operation scenarios can be activated to load the corresponding
operational data. If an operation scenario is active and certain operational data is changed, these
changes are stored in the active operation scenario (if you decide to save the changes). If the current
operation scenario is deactivated, the active network components revert to the operational data that
they had before the activation of the operation scenario (this is the ’default’ operational data). Changes
made to the ’default’ operational data do not affect data within existing operation scenarios.

Operation scenario data stored within each operation scenario is separated into subsets, with one
subset of operational data created for every grid in the network model. It is possible to ’exclude’ the
operational data for individual grids. This prevents the operation scenario from saving the operational
data for any subset where this option is active. For example, you might be working with a network model
with four grids, say North, South, East and West. Perhaps you do not wish to store operational data
for the ’West’ grid because the models in this grid have fixed output regardless of the operational state.
By excluding the operational data subset for this grid, the default data can be used in all cases, even
though the operational data is different in the other three grids.

When working with active operation scenarios and active expansion stages, modifications on the op-
erational data are stored in the operation scenario whereas the expansion stage keeps the default
operational data and all other topological changes. If no operation scenarios are active and new
components are added by the current expansion stage, the operational data of the new components
will be added to the corresponding operation scenario when activated.

Note: When an operation scenario is active, the operational data can be easily identified in network
component dialogs and in a Network Model Manager because it is shown with a blue background.
The colouring is configurable by the user: see Section 7.7

16.3 How to use Operation Scenarios

This sub-section explains how to complete the common tasks you will need when working with operation
scenarios. The most common tasks are creating a new operation scenario, saving data to an operation
scenario, Activating an existing operation scenario, Deactivating an operation scenario and identifying
parameters stored within an operation scenario.

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16.3.1 How to create an Operation Scenario

There are two ways to create an operation scenario.

Method 1

Follow these steps:

1. In the Data Manager, right-click on the operation scenarios folder in the active project.
2. Select New → Operation Scenario from the context-sensitive menu as shown in Figure 16.3.1.
The dialog of the new operation scenario pops up.

Figure 16.3.1: Creating a new operation scenario object using the Data Manager.

3. Enter the name for the operation scenario in the name field.
4. Press OK. The operation scenario will appear as a new object within the operation scenarios’
folder.

Method 2

Follow these steps:

1. From the main PowerFactory menu go to the File menu and select File → Save Operation Sce-
nario as. . . . The dialog of the new operation scenario pops up.
2. Enter the name for the operation scenario in the name field.
3. Press OK. The new operation scenario is created within the operation scenarios’ project folder
and automatically activated and saved.

16.3.2 How to save an Operation Scenario

Why do you need to save Operation Scenarios?

Unlike all other PowerFactory data, changes to operational data are not automatically saved to the
database if an operation scenario is active. So, after you update an operation scenario (by changing
some operational data) you must save it. If you prefer automatic save behaviour, you can activate an
automatic save option setting - see Section 16.5.1.

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How to know if an Operation Scenario contains unsaved data

If any operational data (of a network component) is changed when an operation scenario is active, the
unsaved status of it is indicated by an asterisk (* ) next to the icon for the operation scenario as shown
in Figure 16.3.2. The other situation that causes an operation scenario icon to appear with an asterisk
is when new network components are added to the model. Any operational parameters from these
models are not incorporated in the active operation scenario until it is saved.

Figure 16.3.2: An asterisk indicates unsaved changes in operation scenarios

Options to Save an Operation Scenario

There are four ways to save a modified operation scenario to the database. They are:

• The menu entry Save Operation Scenario in PowerFactory ś main file menu.
• The button Save in the dialog window of the operation scenario.

• The button Save Operation Scenario ( ) in the main icon bar.

• The context-sensitive menu (right mouse button) entry Action -> Save of the operation scenario
(see Figure 16.3.3).

Figure 16.3.3: Saving an operation scenario using the context-sensitive menu

Note: The button Save as from the operation scenario dialog (only available for active operation sce-
narios) can be used to save the current operational data as a new operation scenario. The new
operation scenario is automatically activated upon being created.

16.3.3 How to activate an existing Operation Scenario

Switching between already available operation scenarios is a common task. There are two methods for
activating an existing operation scenario.

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 16.3. HOW TO USE OPERATION SCENARIOS

Method 1

Follow these steps:

1. Go to the operation scenarios’ folder within your project using the Data Manager.
2. Right-click the operation scenario that you wish to activate. The context sensitive menu will
appear.
3. Choose the option Activate from the menu. If a currently active operation scenario contains
unsaved data, you will be prompted to save or discard this information.
Method 2

Follow these steps:

1. From the main file menu choose the option Activate Operation Scenario. A pop-up dialog will
appear, showing you the available operation scenarios.
2. Select the operation scenario you wish to Activate and press OK. If a currently active operation
scenario contains unsaved data, you will be prompted to save or discard this information.

Note: The active operation scenario can be displayed in the status bar. To do this right-click the lower
right of the status bar and choose display options → operation scenario.

16.3.4 How to deactivate an Operation Scenario

There are two ways to deactivate an active operation scenario.

Method 1

Follow these steps:

1. Go to the ’operation scenarios’ folder within your project using the Data Manager.
2. Right-click the operation scenario that you wish to deactivate. The context sensitive menu will
appear.
3. Choose the option deactivate from the menu. If the operation scenario contains unsaved data,
you will be prompted to save or discard this information.
Method 2

From the main file menu choose the option Deactivate Operation Scenario. If the operation scenario
contains unsaved data, you will be prompted to save or discard this information.

Note: On deactivation of an operation scenario, previous operational data (the ’default’ operational
data) is restored.

16.3.5 How to identify operational data parameters

Because the operation scenario only stores a subset of the network data, it is useful to know exactly
what data is being stored by the operation scenario. This is relatively easy to see when you have
an active scenario. Data that is stored in the operation scenario is shown with a blue background.
This appears in both the object dialogs and the Data Manager browser as shown in Figures 16.3.4
and 16.3.5.

The colouring is configurable by the user: see Section 7.7.

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Figure 16.3.4: Blue highlighted operational data in an element dialog

Figure 16.3.5: Blue highlighted operational data in a browser window

16.4 Administering Operation Scenarios

In this sub-section the operation scenario administrative tasks are explained. This includes reporting
operational scenario data status, comparing operation scenarios, viewing the non-default running ar-
rangements, applying data from one operation scenario to another (copying), updating the base network
model, excluding grids from the operation scenario and creating a time based operation scenario.

16.4.1 How to view objects missing from the Operation Scenario data

When you add a component to a network, the data is not automatically captured in the active operation
scenario until you save the scenario. The operation scenario appears with an asterisk next to its name
in the Data Manager. If you want to get a list of all the objects that have operational data that is missing
from the active scenario, then you need to print the operation scenario report. To do this, follow these
steps:

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1. Open the active operation scenario dialog by finding the operation scenario in the Data Manager
right-clicking it and selecting edit from context sensitive menu.
2. Press the Reporting button. A list of objects with data missing from the operation scenario is
printed by PowerFactory to the output window.

Note: If you double click a listed object in the output window the dialog box for that object will open
directly allowing you to edit the object. You can also right click the name in the output window and
use the function ’Mark in Graphic’ to find the object.

16.4.2 How to compare the data in two operation scenarios

It is sometimes useful to compare data in two separate operation scenarios so that key differences can
be checked. To compare two operation scenarios:
1. Deactivate all operation scenarios that you wish to compare. Only inactive operation scenarios
can be compared.

2. Open the first operation scenario dialog by finding the operation scenario in the Data Manager
right-clicking it and selecting edit from context sensitive menu.
3. Press the Compare button. A data window browser will appear.
4. Choose the second operation scenario and press OK. A report of the operation scenario differ-
ences is printed by PowerFactory to the output window.

16.4.3 How to view the non-default Running Arrangements

Any running arrangements that are assigned to substations will be stored as part of the operational
data. The operation scenario has a function that allows you to view any substations with active running
arrangements that are different from the default running arrangement for that substation. The default
running arrangement is determined by the running arrangement that is applied to the substation when
no operation scenarios are active. To view all the non-default Running Arrangements follow these steps:

1. Open the active operation scenario dialog by finding the operation scenario in the Data Manager,
right-clicking it and selecting edit from context sensitive menu.
2. Press the Reporting RA button. PowerFactory prints a report of the non-default Running Ar-
rangements to the output window.

Note: Most of these actions are also available in context-sensitive menu when right-clicking on an
operation scenario (Action → . . . ).

16.4.4 How to transfer data from one Operation Scenario to another

As explained in the chapter introduction, within each operation scenario there is a subset of operation
scenario data for each grid in the network model. Therefore, there are two options when transferring
data from one operation scenario to another, either copying all the operation scenario data at once, or
only copying a subset of data for an individual grid. Both methods are explained within this section.
Furthermore, whether operational data is to be transferred for the whole scenario or one grid only, it is
also possible to be selective about which data is transferred, by setting up and using Scenario Apply
Configurations.

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16.4.4.1 Transferring operational data from one grid only

To transfer the operational data from a single grid subset to the same grid subset of another operation
scenario follow these steps:
1. Activate the target operation scenario.
2. Right-click the source operation scenario subset.
3. From the context sensitive menu select Apply. A pop-up dialog will appear asking you if you really
want to apply the selected operational data to the active operation scenario.
4. Click OK. The data is copied automatically by PowerFactory. Warning, any data saved in the
equivalent subset in the active scenario will be overwritten. However, it will not be automatically
saved.

16.4.4.2 Transferring operational data from a complete operation scenario

To transfer the operational data from a complete operation scenario to another operation scenario follow
these steps:
1. Activate the target operation scenario.
2. Right-click the source operation scenario.
3. From the context sensitive menu select Apply. A pop-up dialog will appear asking you if you really
want to apply the selected operational data to the active operation scenario.
4. Click OK. The data is copied automatically by PowerFactory. Warning, any data saved in the
active scenario will be overwritten. However, it will not be automatically saved.

16.4.4.3 Transferring selective operational data using Scenario Apply Configurations

If the user wants to be selective about which data is transferred, this can be done by setting up Scenario
Apply Configurations within the project, then using these in conjunction with the Apply command.

Creating Scenario Apply Configurations

If creating Scenario Apply Configurations for the first time in a project, first carry out this step in the
Settings folder of the project:

• Click on the Settings folder and use the new object icon to create an object Scenario Apply
Configurations (SetOpdselection).

Once this is created, one or more scenario apply configuration folders may be created within it. Each
will define a set of data items to be copied when that folder is selected in the Apply command. To create
and populate each folder, follow these steps:

• First use new object icon to create a folder within the Scenario Apply Configurations (SetOpdse-
lection). Give it a meaningful name such as “Generator MW”.
• Within the folder, use new object icon to create one or more Variable Selection (IntMon) objects.
These are used to specify an element class (e.g. ElmSym) and which variables (e.g. pgini) are to
be copied for this element class when this folder is selected.

Using Scenario Apply Configurations

Once the above configurations have been created, the folder names will appear as options when the
Apply command is used to copy data from one scenario to another, so instead of applying all the data,
the user would have option, using the example above, of just copying the generator MW set points by
selecting “Generator MW”.

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16.4.5 How to update the default data with operation scenario data

As a user, sometimes you need to update the default operational data (the operational data parameters
that exist in the network when no operation scenario is active) with operational data from an operation
scenario within the project. To do this:
1. Deactivate any active operation scenario.
2. Right-click the operation scenario that you want to apply to the base model.

3. From the context sensitive menu select Apply. A pop-up dialog will appear asking you if you really
want to apply the selected operational data to the base network data
4. Click OK. The data is copied automatically by PowerFactory. Warning, any data saved in the base
network model will be overwritten.

16.4.6 How exclude a grid from the Operation Scenario data

Background

By default, each operation scenario contains several subsets, one for each grid in the network model.
For example, you might be working with a network model with four grids, say North, South, East and
West. In such a case each operation scenario would contain four subsets. Now it might be the case
that you do not wish to store operational data for the ’West’ grid because the models in this grid have
fixed output etc. regardless of the operational state. By excluding the operational data subset for this
grid, the default data can be used in all cases, even though the operational data is different in the other
three grids.

How to exclude a Grid from the Operation Scenario

1. Select an operation scenario using the Data Manager.

2. Double-click the subset of the grid that you wish to exclude (you can only see the subsets in the
right panel of the Data Manager). A dialog for the subset should appear.
3. Check the ’Excluded’ option and the operational data from this grid will not be included within the
operation scenario the next time it is saved.

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16.4.7 How to create a time based Operation Scenario

Background

By default, operation scenarios do not consider the concept of time. Therefore, when you activate
a particular operation scenario, the operational parameters stored within this scenario are applied to
network model regardless of the existing time point of the network model. However, sometimes it is
useful to be able to assign a ’validity period’ for an operation scenario, such that if the model time is
outside of the validity period, then the changes stored within the operation scenario will be ignored and
the network model will revert to the default parameters.

The concept of validity periods can be enabled in PowerFactory by using the Scenario Scheduler. There
are two tasks required to use a ’Scenario Scheduler’. Firstly, it must be created, and secondly it must
be activated. These tasks are explained below.

How to create a Scenario Scheduler

To create a Scenario Scheduler follow these steps:

1. Go to the operation scenarios’ folder within your project using the Data Manager.

2. Click the New Object icon . A object selection window will appear.
3. From the Element drop down menu choose the ’Scenario Scheduler’ (IntScensched).
4. Press OK. The scenario scheduler object dialog will appear as shown in Figure 16.4.1. Give the
scheduler a name.

Figure 16.4.1: The Scenario Scheduler (IntScensched) dialog

5. Double-click on the first cell within the operation scenario. A scenario selection dialog will appear.

6. Choose an operation scenario to schedule.

7. Adjust the start time of the schedule by double clicking the cell within the Start Time column.
8. Adjust the end time of the schedule by double clicking the cell within the End Time column.

9. Optional: To add more scenarios to the scheduler, right-click an empty area of the scheduler and
Append Rows. Repeat steps 5-9 to create schedules for other operation scenarios.
How to Activate a Scenario Scheduler

When first created, a scenario scheduler is not automatically activated. To activate it, follow these steps:
1. Go to the operation scenarios’ folder within your project using the Data Manager.
2. Right-click the scenario scheduler object that you wish to activate and choose the option Acti-
vate from the context sensitive menu. The operation scenario validity periods defined within the
scenario scheduler will now determine whether an operation scenario is activated automatically
based on the study case time.

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Note: It is possible to create more than one scenario scheduler per project. However, only one may
be active. Also, if you have defined overlapping validity periods for operation scenarios within
the scenario scheduler, then the operation scenario listed first (lowest row index) in the scenario
scheduler will be activated and all other scenarios ignored.

16.5 Advanced Configuration of Operation Scenarios

This sub-section describes some advanced configuration options for the operation scenarios. This
includes adjusting the automatic save settings and modifying the data that is stored within the operation
scenarios. Note for new users, it is recommended to use the default settings.

16.5.1 How to change the automatic save settings for Operation Scenarios

As mentioned in Section 16.3.2, by default operation scenarios do not automatically save your modifi-
cations to the network data operational parameters at the time the changes are made. As a user, you
can enable automatic saving of operation scenario data and you can alter the automatic save interval. It
is also possible to change the save interval to 0 minutes so that all operational data changes are saved
as soon as the change is made. To change the save interval for operation scenarios, follow these steps:

1. Open the PowerFactory User Settings by clicking the ( icon on the main toolbar).
2. Select the Data Manager page.

3. In the operation scenario section of the page, enable the option Save active Operation Scenario
automatically.
4. Change the Save Interval time if you would like to alter the automatic save interval from the default
of 15 minutes. Setting this value to 0 minutes means that all operation scenarios will be saved
automatically as soon as operational data is modified.

Note: If an operation scenario is active any changes to the network model operational parameters
are stored within such an scenario. If no operation scenario is active, then the changes are
stored within the network model as usual, within a ’grid’ or within a ’recording expansion stage’. A
changed operation scenario is marked by a “* ” next to the operation scenario name in the status
bar. In the Data Manager the modified operation scenario and operation scenario subset are also
marked ( ).

16.5.2 How to modify the data stored in Operation Scenarios

Background

PowerFactory defines a default set of operational data for each object within the network model. This
is the information that is stored within the operation scenarios. However, it is possible to alter the
information that is stored to a limited extent by creating a Scenario Configuration. The procedure is
divided into two tasks. Firstly, a special Scenario Configuration folder must be created and then the
object definitions can be created within this folder.

Task 1: Creating a Scenario Configuration Folder

To create a scenario configuration folder follow these steps:

1. Go to the Settings folder within the project using the Data Manager.

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2. Click the New Object icon . A object selection window will appear.
3. Choose the Scenario Configuration (SetScenario). A scenario configuration dialog will appear.
You can rename it if you like.

4. Press OK.
Task 2: Defining the Operational Data Parameters

Once you have created the scenario configuration folder (task 1 above), then you can create the object
definitions that determine which parameters are defined as operational data. Follow these steps:
1. Deactivate any active operation scenario.
2. Open the Scenario Configuration folder object using the Data Manager.

3. Press the Default button. PowerFactory then automatically creates the object definitions accord-
ing to the defaults.
4. Open the object definition that you would like to change by double clicking it. The list of default
operational data parameters is shown in the Selected Variables panel of the dialog box that
appears.

5. You can remove an operational parameter of this object by double clicking the target parameter
from the Selected Variables panel. Likewise, a variable can be added to this list by clicking
the black triangle underneath the cancel button and then adding the variable name to the list
of parameters.

6. Once you have altered the defined parameters, click OK.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 for as many objects as you would like to change.
8. Open the scenario configuration folder object again (step 2) and press the Check button. Power-
Factory will notify you in the output window if your changes are accepted.

Note: Some variables cannot be removed from the default operational parameters due to internal
dependencies. If you need to remove a certain variable but the check function doesn’t allow
you to, it is suggested that you contact DIgSILENT support to discuss alternative options.

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Chapter 17

Network Variations and Expansion

Stages

17.1 Introduction

As introduced in Chapter 4 (PowerFactory Overview), Variations and Expansion Stages are used to
store changes to network data, such as parameter changes, object additions, and object deletions. This
Chapter describes how to define and manage Variations, and presents an example case. The term
“Variation” is used to collectively refer to Variations and Expansion Stages.

The use of Variations in PowerFactory facilitates the recording and tracking of data changes, indepen-
dent of changes made to the base Network Model. Data changes stored in Variations can easily be
activated and deactivated, and can be permanently applied to the base Network Model when required
(for example, when a project is commissioned).

The concept of having a “permanent graphic” in PowerFactory means that graphical objects related to
Variations are stored in Diagrams folders, and not within Variations. When a Variation is inactive, it’s
graphic (if applicable) is shown on the Single Line Graphic in yellow. Turning on Freeze Mode ( )
hides inactive variations graphics.

When a project uses Variations, and the user wants to make changes to the base network model
directly, Variations should be deactivated, or the Study Time set to be before the activation time of the
first Expansion Stage (so that there is no recording Expansion Stage).

In general there are two categories of data changes stored in Variations:

1. Changes that relate to a future project (e.g. a potential or committed project). The changes may
be stored in a Variation to be included with the Network Model at a particular date, or manually
activated and deactivated as required by the user.
2. Changes that relate to data corrections or additions based on the current (physical) network. The
changes may be stored in a Variation in order to assess the model with and without the changes,
to track changes made to the model, and to facilitate reversion to the original model in case the
changes are to be revised.
Notes regarding Variations and Expansion Stages:

• General:
– The user may define as many Variations and Expansion Stages as required.
– Variations and Expansion Stages cannot be deleted when active.
– Variations may also be used to record operational data changes, when there is no active
Operation Scenario.

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– Expansion Stages are by default sorted according to their activation time in ascending order.
– To quickly show the recording Expansion Stage, project name, active Operation Scenario,
and Study Case, hover the mouse pointer over the bottom right corner of the PowerFactory
window, where (by default) the project name is shown. To change this to display the recording
Expansion Stage, choose Display Options → ’Recording’ Expansion stage.
• Activating and deactivating Variations:
– Active Variations and Expansion Stages are shown with red icons in the Data Manager.
– The Activation Time of Expansion Stages can only be modified when the parent Variation is
inactive.
– To activate or deactivate single or multiple Variations in the Data Manager, navigate to
the “Variations” folder, select and right-click on the Variation(s) and choose to activate or
deactivate the selected Variation(s).
– In the active Study Case, the “Variation Configuration” object stores the status of project
Variations. It is automatically updated as Variations are activated and deactivated.
• Recording changes:
– Elements in PowerFactory generally include references to Type data. Changes to Type data
are not recorded in Expansion Stages. However, changes to Element Type references are
recorded.
– When there are multiple active Expansion Stages, only the ’Recording’ Expansion Stage
stores changes to Network Data (shown with a dark red icon and bold text). There can be
only one recording Expansion Stage per study case.
– With the exception of objects added in the active ’Recording’ Expansion Stage, objects
(e.g. Terminals in the base network model) cannot be renamed while there is a ’Recording’
Expansion Stage.
• DPL:
– Deleted objects are moved to the PowerFactory Recycle Bin, they are not completely deleted
until the Recycle Bin is emptied. If a DPL script is used to create an Expansion Stage,
and Expansion Stage objects are subsequently deleted, re-running the DPL script may first
require the deleting of the Expansion Stage objects from the Recycle Bin. This is to avoid
issues with references to objects stored in the Recycle Bin.

17.2 Variations

To define a new Variation (IntScheme):

1. First, either:
• From the Main Menu, select Insert → Variation.
• In a Data Manager, right-click on the Variations folder ( ) and from the context-sensitive
menu select New → Variation.
• In a Data Manager, select the Variations folder and click on the New Object icon . Ensure
that the Element field is set to Variation (IntScheme), and press Ok.

2. Define the Variation Name.

3. Optionally set the Variation Colour. This is used to highlight modifications introduced by the
Variation in the Single Line Graphic.
4. On the second page of the Basic Data tab, optionally select Restricted Validity Period for the
Variation. If a restricted validity period is defined, the variation will effectively be ignored outside
this time range. This option is not normally used, as the same effect can be achieved by having
an expansion stage which changes the network and a second which restores the original state.

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The “starting” and “completed” Activation Time are set automatically according to the Expansion Stages
stored inside the Variation. The “starting” time is the activation time of the earliest Expansion Stage,
and the “completed” time is the activation time of the latest Expansion Stage. If no Expansion Stages
are defined, the activation time is set by default to 01.01.1970.

To activate a previously defined Variation, in the Data Manager, right-click on the Variation and from
the context-sensitive menu select Activate. The Variation and associated Expansion Stages will be
activated based on their activation times and the current study case time.

In the Variation dialog, the Contents button can be used to list the Expansion Stages stored within the
Variation.

17.3 Expansion Stages

To define a new Expansion Stage (IntSstage):

1. First, either:
• Right-click on the target Variation and select New → Expansion Stage.
• Select the target Variation and click on the New Object button in the Data Manager’s icon
bar. Set the ’Element’ field to Expansion Stage (IntStage) and press Ok.
2. Define the Expansion Stage Name.
3. Set the Expansion Stage Activation Time.

4. Optionally select to Exclude from Activation to put the Expansion Stage out of service.
5. Optionally enter Economical Data on the Economical Data page (see Chapter 49 (Techno-Economical
Calculation) for details).
6. Press OK.

7. Select whether or not to set the current Study Time to the Activation Time of the defined Expansion
Stage. See Section 17.5 for details.
From the Expansion Stage dialog, the following buttons are available:
• Press Contents to view changes introduced by the Expansion Stage.

• Press Split to assign changes from the recording Expansion Stage to a target (see Section 17.8.3).
• Press Apply to apply the changes of an Expansion Stage (only available if the parent Variation is
inactive). Changes are applied to the Network Model, or to the recording Expansion Stage (see
Section 17.8.1).

17.4 The Study Time

The study case Study Time determines which Expansion Stages are active. If the Study Time is equal to
or exceeds the activation time of an Expansion Stage, it will be active (provided that the parent Variation
is active, and provided that “Exclude from Activation” is not selected in the Expansion Stage or an active
Variation Scheduler). The Study Time can be accessed from:

• The Date/Time of Calculation Case icon .

• Clicking on the lower right corner of the PowerFactory window, where the time of the active Study
Case is displayed.

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• The Main Menu under Edit → Project Data→ Date/Time of Study Case, or Edit → Project Data→
Study Case and then the button.
• The Data Manager in the active Study Case folder, object “Set Study Time”.

17.5 The Recording Expansion Stage

When a Variation is activated for a study case, the active Expansion Stage with the latest activation time
is automatically set to the recording Expansion Stage. If there are multiple Expansion Stages with this
same activation time, the stage that previously set to the recording stage will remain as the recording
Expansion Stage. Changes made to the network data by the user are saved to this stage.

As discussed previously, the Study Time can be changed in order to set the active Expansion Stages,
and as a consequence, set the “recording Expansion Stage”. To simplify selection of the recording
Expansion Stage, in the Data Manager it is possible right-click an Expansion Stage, and select Set
’Recording’ Expansion stage to quickly modify the Study Time to set a particular Expansion Stage as
the recording Expansion Stage.

As noted in 17.1, unless an Operation Scenario is active, changes made to operational data are stored
in the recording Expansion Stage.

17.6 The Variation Scheduler

As an alternative to setting the activation time of Expansion Stages individually, Variation Schedulers
(IntSscheduler ) may be used to manage the activation times and service status of each Expansion
Stage stored within a Variation. Multiple Variation Schedulers can be defined within a particular Varia-
tion, but only one may be active at a time. If there is no active Variation Scheduler, the Expansion Stage
activation times will revert to the times specified within each individual Expansion Stage.

To define a Variation Scheduler:

1. Open a Data Manager, and navigate to the Variation where the Scheduler is to be defined. Then,
either:
• Right-click on the Variation and select New → Variation Scheduler.
• Click on the New Object button and select Variation Scheduler (IntScheduler).
2. Press the Contents button to open a data browser listing the included stages with their activation
times and service statuses, and modify as required.
The activation time and status of Expansion Stages referred to be a Variation Scheduler can only be
changed when the Variation is active, and the Variation Scheduler is inactive. Note that Expansion
Stage references are automatically updated in the scheduler.

Note: If the parent Variation is deactivated and reactivated, the Variation Scheduler must be re-activated
by the user, if required.

17.7 Variation and Expansion Stage Example

Figure 17.7.1 shows an example project where there are two Variations, “New Connection” and “New
Line”. The study time is set such that:

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• Expansion Stage “Ld1”, shown with a light red icon and bold text, is active and is the recording
Expansion Stage.
• Expansion Stage “Ld2”, shown without any colouring, is inactive.

• Expansion Stage “Line and T2”, shown with a dark red icon, is active.

The Variation Scheduler “Scheduler1” within the “New Connection” Variation, shown with a red icon and
bold text, is active. Therefore, the activation time and service status of each Expansion Stage within the
Variation “New Connection” is determined from the activation times specified in this Variation Scheduler.
The alternative Variation Scheduler “Scheduler2” is inactive (only one Variation Scheduler can be active
at a time).

Also shown in Figure 17.7.1 on the right-side pane are the modifications associated with Expansion
Stage “Ld1”. In this stage, a load and an associated switch and cubicle has been added. Note that
since graphical objects are stored within the Diagrams folder, no graphical changes are included in the
Variation.

Figure 17.7.1: Example Variations and Expansion Stages - Data Manager

Figure 17.7.2 shows the Single Line Graphic of the associated network. Since the Expansion Stage
“Ld2” is inactive, the Load “Ld2” is shown in yellow.

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Figure 17.7.2: Example Variations and Expansion Stages - Single Line Graphic

17.8 Variation and Expansion Stage Housekeeping

17.8.1 Applying Changes from Expansion Stages

Changes stored in non-active Expansion Stages can be applied to the Network Data folder, or if there is
an active recording Expansion Stage, to the recording Expansion Stage. To apply the changes, either:

• In the Data Manager, right-click the Expansion Stage and select Apply Changes, or in the Ex-
pansion Stage dialog press Apply (only available if the Expansion Stage is within a non-active
Variation).
• In the Data Manager, select item(s) within an inactive Expansion Stage, right-click and select
Apply Changes. If required, delete the item(s) from the original Expansion Stage.

17.8.2 Consolidating Variations

Changes that are recorded in a projects active Variations can be permanently applied to the Network
Data folder by means of the Consolidation function. After the consolidation process is carried out, the
active (consolidated) Expansion Stages are deleted, as well as any empty active Variations.

To consolidate an active Variation(s):

1. Right-click on the active study case and from the context-sensitive menu select Consolidate
Network Variation.
2. A confirmation message listing the Variations to be consolidated is displayed. Press Yes to
implement the changes.
3. View the list of consolidated Variations and Expansion Stages in the Output Window

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Note: Variations stored within the Operational Library must be consolidated in separate actions. To
consolidate a Variation stored in the Operational Library, right-click and from the context-sensitive
menu select Consolidate.

17.8.3 Splitting Expansion Stages

Changes stored in the recording Expansion Stage can be split into different Expansion Stages within
the same Variation using the Merge Tool.

To split an Expansion Stage:

1. Open the dialog of the recording Expansion Stage and press Split. Alternatively, right-click and
from the context-sensitive menu select Split.

2. A data browser listing the other Expansion Stages from the parent Variation is displayed. Double-
click on the target Expansion Stage.
3. The Merge Tool window is displayed, listing all the changes from the compared Expansion Stages.
Select the changes to be moved to the “Target” stage by double-clicking on the Assigned from cell
of each row and selecting Move or Ignore. Alternatively, double-click the icon shown in the “Target”
or “Source” cell of each row.
4. Press Split. All the changes marked as Move will be moved to the target Expansion Stage, and
the changes marked as Ignore will remain in the original “Base” stage. Once completed, the
Variation is automatically deactivated.

17.8.4 Comparing Variations and Expansion Stages

Variations and Expansion Stages can be compared, as can any other kind of object in PowerFactory,
using the Merge Tool. To compare objects using the Merge Tool, a “base object” and an “object to
compare” must be selected. The comparison results are presented in a data browser window, which
facilitates the visualisation, sorting, and possible merging of the compared objects. Comparison results
symbols indicate the differences between each listed object, defined as follows:

• The object exists in the “base object” but not in the “object to compare”.

• The object exists in the “object to compare” but not in the “base object”.
• The object exists in both sets but the parameters’ values differ.
• The object exists in both sets and has identical parameter values.

To compare two Variations:

1. In an active project, right-click on a non-active Variation and from the context-sensitive menu select
Select as Base to Compare.
2. Right-click on the (inactive) Variation to compare and from the context-sensitive menu select
Compare to “Name of the base object”.
3. The Merge Tool dialog (ComMerge) is displayed. By default, all of the contained elements are
compared. The Compare fields can be configured however, to compare only the objects or
selected subfolders.

4. Once the Compare options are set, press the Execute button.
5. When prompted, select Yes to deactivate the project and perform the comparison.

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Figure 17.8.1 shows an example comparison of two Variations (based on the example presented in
Section 17.7), where the Variation “New Line” is set as the “Base” for comparison. The “Assigned from”
options are set such that all Expansion Stages from both “New Line” and “New Connection” Variations
will be merged into a single Variation, which will retain the name of the “Base” Variation “New Line”.

Figure 17.8.1: Merge Tool Window

Refer to Chapter 21: Data Management, Section 21.4 (Comparing and Merging Projects) for further
details on use of the Merge Tool.

17.8.5 Colouring Variations the Single Line Graphic

The single-line graphic colouring function offers three modes which may be used to identify changes
from Variations and Expansion Stages. To set the colouring mode, go to Diagram Colouring, and under
Other select Variations / System Stages, and the desired mode from the following:
• Modifications in Recording Expansion Stage. Colours can be defined for Modified, Added, and
Touched but not modified components.
• Modifications in Variations / System Stages. Objects are shown in the colour of the Variation in
which the object is last added or modified.
• Original Locations. Objects are shown in the colour of the grid or the Variation in which the object
is added.

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17.8.6 Variation Conflicts

Active Expansion Stages with the same activation time must be independent. This means that the
same object can not be changed (modified, deleted, or added) in active Expansion Stages with the same
activation times. If there are dependent Expansion Stages, when the Variation is activated PowerFactory
will display an error message to the Output Window and the activation process will be cancelled. Other
conflicts that may arise during the activation of a Variation:
• The same object is added by more than one Expansion Stage. In this case the latest addition is
applied and a warning message is displayed in the Output Window.
• A previously deleted object is deleted. In this case the deletion is ignored and a warning message
is displayed in the Output Window.
• An object is changed or deleted in a Expansion Stage but it does not exist. In this case the change
is ignored and a warning message is displayed in the Output Window.
• A deleted object is changed in a Expansion Stage. In this case the change is applied to the
deleted target object and a warning message is displayed in the Output Window.

17.8.7 Error Correction Mode

As well as recording the addition and removal of database objects, variations also record changes to
database objects. Human error or the emergence of new information can result in a need to update a
change. Suppose that at some time after the change has been introduced, the user wishes to update
the change. If additional variations have been created since the change was introduced, this will be
hard to achieve. The user must first remember in which Expansion Stage the change was introduced,
then they must make this Expansion Stage the Recording Stage before finally updating the change or
rectifying the error. The Error Correction mode is intended to simplify this procedure. The following
example illustrates use of the Error Correction Mode.

Suppose that a project is planned consisting of a base case and 2 Variations, namely Variation 1 and
Variation 2. Suppose that the base case network contains a line object (ElmLne) of length 1km. When
Variation 1 is recorded, the length of the line is updated from the base case value to a new value of
10km. This change is recorded in the Expansion Stage associated with Variation 1. Subsequently, the
user creates Variation 2 and records a new set of changes in the Expansion Stage of Variation 2. The
user makes no changes to the line object in Variation 2, but suddenly realises that the length of the line
is incorrect. The length should be 15km not 10km. If the user makes a change to the line length while
Variation 2 is recording this change will be recorded and applied while Variation 2 is activated. However,
as soon as Variation 2 is deactivated, providing Variation 1 is activated, the line length will return to the
10km value. This is incorrect and the error is therefore still present in the project.

Instead of recording the change in the Recording Expansion Stage of Variation 2, the user should turn
on the Error Correction Mode. This can be achieved by first ensuring that the Project Overview Window
is visible. (If not, select Window → Show Project Overview Window). Then, by Right clicking in the
Project Overview Window on the title line of the Network Variations section. A contextual menu as
illustrated in Figure 17.8.2 will appear. The option Error Correction Mode should be selected from the
contextual menu.

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Figure 17.8.2: Activating Error Correction Mode

Once the Error Correction Mode has been switched on, any changes introduced will now, not automati-
cally be stored in the Recording Expansion Stage. Instead, they will be stored in the Expansion Stage
containing the record of the last change to the object in question. For the example described, this will be
in the Expansion Stage associated with Variation 1, where the length was updated from 1km to 10km.
The 10km value will be updated to 15km. If the Error Correction Mode is now switched off, again by
right clicking in the Project Overview Window, the user can proceed knowing that the error has been
eliminated from the project.

Please note, if any change to the line had been recorded during Variation 2 prior to the application of the
Error Correction Mode, not necessarily a change to the length of the line, but a change to any ElmLne
parameter, then with Error Correction Mode active, the change would be recorded in the Recording
Expansion Stage of Variation 2. This is because the Expansion Stage containing the record of the last
change to the object in question would infact be the one in Variation 2. In this case, the error would still
be present in the project.

17.9 Compatibility with Previous PowerFactory Releases

17.9.1 General

Prior to PowerFactory v14, “System Stages” where used to analyse design alternatives as well as
different operating conditions. They recorded model changes (addition/removal of equipment, topology
changes, etc.), operational changes (switch positions, tap positions, generator dispatch, etc.), and
graphical changes. Since version 14.0, the System Stage definition has been replaced by Variations
and Operation Scenarios, which provides enhanced flexibility and transparency.

When importing (and then activating) a project that was implemented in a previous PowerFactory
version, the activation process will automatically make a copy of the project, rename it (by appending
_v14 or _v15 to the project name) and migrate the structure of the copied project.

The migration process creates new Project Folders (such as Network Data, Study Cases, Library
folders, etc.) and moves the corresponding information to these project folders. Additionally, existing
Stations and Line Routes elements are migrated to their corresponding definition in v14 and v15 (i.e.
Substations and Branches).

If the project contains System Stages, they will not be converted automatically. They will be still
be defined, and functions related to their handling will still be available. If the user wishes to take
full advantage of the Variation and Operational Scenario concepts, then the System Stages must be
converted manually. The procedure is described in the following section.

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17.9.2 Converting System Stages

The conversion process of System Stages is described with reference to an example project opened in
PowerFactory v14, with the structure shown in Figure 17.9.1. The project contains three grids “Grid 110
kV”, “Grid 220 kV” and “Grid 33 kV”. Each Grid contains a “2010 Base Case” System Stage with three
System Stages “2010 MAX”, “2010 MIN”, and “2011 Base Case”. The “2011 Base Case” stage in-turn
contains two stages, “2011 MAX” and “2011 MIN”. The Study Cases are configured so that the “2011
MAX” Study Case and the “2011 MAX” stages are active.

Figure 17.9.1: Example Project - System Stage Structure

To convert the System Stages to Variations / Operation Scenarios:

1. Activate the Study Case that uses the base grids (in this example “Base Case 2009”), so that no
System Stage is active.

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2. Create a Variations folder inside the Network Data folder by opening the Data Manager window
and from the left pane select the Network Data folder (located inside the Network Model folder),
right-click and select New → Project Folder. In the dialog window that appears, type in a name
(for example “Variations”) and select “Variations” as the folder type. Press OK.
3. Define a Variation inside the Variations folder. From the Data Manager window select the Varia-
tions folder, right-click and select New → Variation. In the dialog window that appears, type in a
name (for example “2010”). Press OK, and select Yes to activate the new Variation.
4. The Expansion Stage dialog will be displayed. Type in a name and set the activation time as
appropriate (in this case, it is set to 01.01.2010). Press OK, and select Yes to set the stage as
recording. After this step, the Variation should be active and the Expansion Stage be recording.
5. From the Data Manager, select a Study Case that uses System Stages (it should not be active),
right-click and select Reduce Revision. This will copy both network data and operational data from
the System Stages used by the study case into the recording Expansion Stage, and will delete the
System Stages (to copy operational data to an Operation Scenario, an Operation Scenario must
be active at this step). In this example, the “2010 Base Case” is reduced, followed by the “2011
Base Case” - this is because the complete System Stage branch, containing all System Stages
between the selected stage and the target folder are reduced. Figure 17.9.2 shows the result of
reducing the “2010 Base Case” and “2011 Base Case” to Variations.

Figure 17.9.2: Reduce Revision performed for the 2011 Base Case

6. After converting System Stages “2010 Base Case” and “2011 Base Case” (with Network Data
modifications) to Variations, and System Stages “2010 MAX”, “2010 MIN”, “2011 MAX”, and
“2011 MIN” (with operational modifications) to Operation Scenarios, the Variations and Operation
Scenarios are assigned to Study Cases. Figure 17.9.3 shows the resulting project structure for this
example, where all System Stages have been converted to Variations and Operation Scenarios.

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Figure 17.9.3: Resulting Project Structure

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Chapter 18

Parameter Characteristics,
Load States, and Tariffs

18.1 Introduction

This chapter provides details on how to define and use characteristics, load states, load distribution
states, and tariffs.

It is useful to be aware that when element parameters have characteristics applied to them, they appear
differently coloured in both the element dialogs and in a network model manager. By default, the
colouring for characteristics is lilac (pale purple). Note that both the colour and its priority can be
changed in the User Settings (see Section 7.7).

18.2 Parameter Characteristics

General Background

In PowerFactory any parameter may be assigned a range of values (known as a Characteristic) that is
then selectable by date and time, or by a user-defined trigger. The range of values may be in the form
of a scaling factor, a one-dimensional vector or a two-dimensional matrix, such as where:
• Load demand varies based on the minute, day, season, or year of the study case.

• Generator operating point varies based on the study being conducted.

• Line/transformer ratings, generator maximum power output, etc. vary with ambient temperature.
• Wind farm output varies with wind speed, or solar farm output varies with irradiance.

The assignment of a characteristic may be made either individually to a parameter or to a number of

parameters. New characteristics are normally defined in either:
• The Characteristics folder of the Operational Library.
• The Global Characteristics folder within Database → Library.

Studies which utilise characteristics are known as ’parametric studies’.

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Scales and Triggers

The value of the characteristic is defined by the value of the scale. New scales are normally defined in
the Scales folder within the Characteristics folder in the Operational Library.

When a scale is created, a means to ’set’ the scale, and thereby to set the parameter to the correspond-
ing value, is required. This is called a trigger (SetTrigger, ). After a new scale has been defined,
a trigger is automatically created in the active study case folder (see also Chapter 13, Section 13.12:
Triggers). When a trigger is edited and a ’current’ value is set the scale is set and the parameter value
is changed. When a different study case is activated, or a new study case is created, and a load-flow is
performed, all relevant triggers are copied into the study case folder and may be used in the new study
case. Triggers for characteristics may be created at any time in the Data Manager within the Library
→ Operational Library → Characteristics→ Scale folder, or at the time the Characteristic is created.
Triggers for characteristic can generally be accessed from either:

• The Date/Time of Study Case icon ( ).

• The Trigger of Study Case icon ( ).

Figure 18.2.1 illustrates an application of scales and triggers, where the study case time is used to set
the output of a load based on the hour of the day.

Figure 18.2.1: Illustration of Scales and Triggers

Available Characteristics

Table 18.2.1 shows a summary of the Parameter Characteristics available in PowerFactory. Note: Click
on Characteristic description to link to the relevant section.

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Characteristic Description of Application

18.2.1: Time Charac- Parameter(s) are to be modified based on
teristics the day, week, or month set in the Study
Time. Parameter states may be interpolated
between entered values.
18.2.2: Profile Char- Parameter(s) are to be modified according
acteristics to seasonal variation and the day, week and
month set in the Study Time.
18.2.4: Scalar Char- Parameter(s) are to be manually modified by
acteristics a scaling factor.
18.2.5: Vector Charac- Discrete parameter states are to be se-
teristics with Discrete lectable.
Scales
18.2.5: Vector Charac- Parameter states may be interpolated be-
teristics with Continu- tween entered values.
ous Scales
18.2.5: Vector Char- Parameter(s) are to be modified with Fre-
acteristics with Fre- quency.
quency Scales
18.2.5: Vector Char- Parameter(s) are to be modified based on
acteristics with Time a user-defined scale referencing the Study
Scales Time.
18.2.6: Matrix Param- Parameter states are based on two variables,
eter Characteristics and may be interpolated between entered
values.
18.2.7: Parameter Parameter states and the trigger (optional) is
Characteristics from to be read from a file.
Files
18.2.8: Characteristic Reference link between a parameter and a
References Characteristic

Table 18.2.1: Summary of Parameter Characteristics

Usage

With the exception of the Scalar Characteristic, the “Usage” field at the bottom of the characteristic
dialog can be used to specify how “Values” are applied to the parameter that the characteristic is
associated with:

• Relative in % will multiply the parameter by the percentage value.

• Relative will multiply the parameter by the value.
• Absolute will replace the current parameter with the absolute value entered.
Characteristic Curves

For continuous characteristics, various approximation methods are available to interpolate and extrapo-
late from the entered Values:
• Constant: holds the Y-value in between X-values.
• Linear: uses a linear interpolation.
• Polynomial: uses a polynomial function with a user defined degree.
• Spline: uses a spline function.
• Hermite: uses Hermite interpolation.

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The approximation curve will be shown in the diagram page of the Characteristic dialog. The inter-
polated Y-value may vary considerably depending on the entered data and the approximation function
applied.

Figure 18.2.2 highlights the difference between interpolation methods for an example characteristic with
a continuous scale (shown on the horizontal axis from -20 to +45). For instance, at a trigger value of
25, linear interpolation will give an output value of 60, whereas constant interpolation will give an output
value of 40.

Figure 18.2.2: Approximated characteristics

Note that Approximation methods are not available for discrete characteristics.

Creating a Characteristic

To create a Characteristic, right-click on the desired parameter (e.g. ’Active Power’), right-click and
select Add Project Characteristic or Add Global Characteristic and create the desired characteristic. It
is also possible to edit the existing characteristic by selecting the option Edit Characteristic. Details of
how to create the different types of characteristics are provided in the following sub-sections, including
an example application of characteristics.

18.2.1 Time Characteristics

General background on characteristics and their properties is provided in Section 18.2. The time
characteristic determines the value of the parameter according to the study time (SetTime). The time
characteristic (ChaTime) uses an internally defined Recurrence period that is convenient to define a pe-
riodically recurring characteristic. The user simply selects a Recurrence and enters the corresponding
values. The Recurrence values available are:

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• Daily
• Weekly

• Monthly
• Yearly
• None
There are two options for defining the data source of values used in a time characteristic, Table and
File. The Table data is stored internally within PowerFactory. The File data is stored externally to
PowerFactory in a Comma Separated Values (*.csv) file or User Defined Text File.

Time characteristic using internal table

To define a project time characteristic for a parameter using a table:

• In the edit dialog of the target network component right-click on the desired parameter.
• Select Add Project Characteristic → Time Characteristic . . .

• Click the New Object button

• The edit dialog of the Time Characteristic will be displayed. Define the parameter name and select
’Data Source’ Table.

• Select the desired ’Recurrence’ and the ’Resolution’.

• Define the ’Usage’ and ’Approximation’ and enter the characteristic values in the table.
• Press Ok.
Time characteristic using an external file

To define a project time characteristic for a parameter using an external file:

• In the edit dialog of the target network component right-click on the desired parameter.

• Select Add Project Characteristic → Time Characteristic . . .

• Click the New Object button

• The edit dialog of the Time Characteristic will be displayed. Define the parameter name and select
’Data Source’ File.
• Select the desired ’Filename’ and file ’Format’.

• Define the file configuration including the ’Unit’ of time or ’Time Stamped Data’ format, ’Time
Column’ and ’Data Column’ and ’Column separator’ and ’Decimal separator’.
• Define the ’Usage’ and ’Approximation’.
• Press Ok.

Discrete Time Characteristics

The discrete time characteristic (ChaDisctime) is provided for backward compatibility with previous
versions of PowerFactory. It is more restricted than the time characteristic and hence its use is limited
since PowerFactory version 15.1. Similar to the time characteristic, the discrete time characteristic uses
an internally defined series of time scales that are convenient to use to define the characteristic. The
user simply selects a scale (e.g. day of the week) and enters the corresponding values.

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18.2.2 Profile Characteristics

General background on characteristics and their properties is provided in Section 18.2.

The profile characteristic is used to select a time characteristic (ChaTime) corresponding to individual
days or group of days and each season. The profile characteristic can also be used to select a time
characteristic for certain holiday days.

To define a project profile characteristic for a parameter:

• In the edit dialog of the target network component right-click on the desired parameter.
• Select Add Project Characteristic → Profile Characteristic . . .
• Click the New Object button
• The edit dialog of the Profile Characteristic will be displayed.
• Select the ’Seasons’ page and define one or more seasons with a ’Description’, ’Start Day’, ’Start
Month’, ’End Day’ and ’End Month’. Note that Seasons can not overlap with each other.
• Select the ’Groups of Days’ page and define grouping for each day and holiday.
• Select the ’Holidays’ page and define one or more holidays with a ’Description’, ’Day’, ’Month’, if it
is ’Yearly’ or select a holiday ’Year’.
• Select the ’General’ page, Right Click and Select ’Select Element/Type . . . ’ or Double-Click on
each relevant cell and select or create a time characteristics for each group of days, holiday and
season.
• Press Ok.
Yearly Growth Characteristic

In addition to seasonal characteristic variation, a yearly growth characteristic can also be defined. A
yearly growth characteristic is defined using a time characteristic (ChaTime) with a recurrence value of
“None”, for the specified years.

Note: All daily and yearly characteristics must be relative. No absolute-value characteristics are per-
missive

18.2.3 Scaling Factor

General background on characteristics is provided in Section 18.2.

Scaling factors are used when a parameter should be multiplied by a certain value or percentage.
For example, a scaling factor could be used to multiply the Active Power value of one or more static
generators by 0.5. If a parameter is assigned several scaling factors, it will be multiplied by their product.

To define a project scaling factor for a parameter:

• In the edit dialog of the target network component right-click on the desired parameter (e.g. ’Active
Power’).
• Select Add Project Characteristic → Scaling Factor. . .
• Click the New Object button
• The edit dialog will be displayed. Set the value of the factor. The associated trigger is automatically
created in the current study case.
• Define the ’Usage’ “relative” or “relative in %”.
• Press Ok.

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18.2.4 Linear Functions

General background on characteristics and their properties is provided in Section 18.2.

Linear Functions are used when a parameter should vary according to a mathematical relationship,
with reference to a scale value “x”. For example, a linear function may reference a Scalar and Trigger
(TriVal) with a Unit of ’Temperature’. Then, if the temperature is set to, say, 15 deg, the parameter that
this characteristic is applied to will thus be multiplied by the value of the linear function 2 · 15 + 3 = 33.

To define a project linear function for a parameter:

• In the edit dialog of the target network component right-click on the desired parameter (e.g. ’Active
Power’).
• Select Add Project Characteristic → Linear Function. . .

• Click the New Object button

• The edit dialog will be displayed. Click ’Select’ from the drop down menu next to ’Scale’ and select
an existing scale and press Ok, or create a new scale:
– Click on the ’New Object’ button to create a Scalar and Trigger (TriVal) and set the desired
units of the scale. The associated trigger is automatically created in the current study case.
– Press Ok.
• Define the ’Usage’ and enter the parameters ’A’ and ’b’ of the linear function 𝐴 · 𝑥 + 𝑏.
• Press Ok.

18.2.5 Vector Characteristics

Vector Characteristics may be defined with reference to Discrete Scales, Continuous Scales, Frequency
Scales, and Time Scales.

Vector Characteristics with Discrete Scales (TriDisc)

General background on characteristics and their properties is provided in Section 18.2.

A discrete parameter characteristic is used to set the value of a parameter according to discrete cases
set by the trigger of a discrete scale. A discrete scale is a list of cases, each defined by a short text
description. The current value is shown in the characteristic dialog in red, according to the case that is
currently active.

To define a new project discrete parameter characteristic:

• In the edit dialog of the target network component right-click on the desired parameter.
• Select Add Project Characteristic → One Dimension Vector. . .

• Click the New Object button

• The edit dialog of the one dimension vector characteristic (generic class for one dimensional
characteristics) will be displayed. Click ’Select’ from the drop down menu next to ’Scale’ and
select an existing scale and press Ok, or create a new scale:
– Click on the New Object button and select Discrete Scale and Trigger (TriDisc).
– Write the name of the scale cases (one case per line).
– Press Ok twice.
• Define the ’Usage’ and enter the characteristic values.
• Press Ok.

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The diagram page for the discrete characteristic shows a bar graph for the available cases. The bar for
the case that is currently active (set by the trigger) is shown in black.

Vector Characteristics with Continuous Scales (TriCont)

General background on characteristics and their properties is provided in Section 18.2.

A continuous parameter characteristic is used to set the value of a parameter (’Y’ values) according to
the ’X’ values set in the continuous scale.

To define a new project continuous parameter characteristic:

• In the edit dialog of the target network component right-click on the desired parameter.
• Select Add Project Characteristic → One Dimension Vector. . .

• Click the New Object button

• The edit dialog of the one dimension vector characteristic (generic class for one dimensional
characteristics) will be displayed. Click ’Select’ from the drop down menu next to ’Scale’ and
select an existing scale and press Ok, or create a new scale:
– Click on the New Object button and select Continuous Scale and Trigger (TriCont).
– Enter the unit of the ’X’ values.
– Append the required number of rows (right-click on the first row of the Scale table and select
Append n rows) and enter the ’X’ values.
– Press Ok.
• Define the ’Usage’, enter the characteristic ’Y’ values, and define the ’Approximation’ function.
• Press Ok.

Vector Characteristics with Frequency Scales (TriFreq)

General background on characteristics and their properties is provided in Section 18.2.

A frequency characteristic is a continuous characteristic with a scale defined by frequency values in

Hz. The definition procedure is similar to that of the continuous characteristics, although the Frequency
Scale (TriFreq) is selected.

Vector Characteristics with Time Scales (TriTime)

General background on characteristics and their properties is provided in Section 18.2.

Time parameter characteristics are continuous characteristics using time scales. A time scale is a
special kind of continuous scale that uses the global time trigger of the active study case. The unit of
the time trigger is always a unit of time but may range from seconds to years. This means that changing
the unit from minutes to hours, for instance, will stretch the scale 60-fold. The units ’s’, ’m’, and ’h’ are
respectively, the second, minute and hour of normal daytime. A Time Scale may be used, for example,
to enter four equidistant hours in a year (1095, 3285, 5475, and 7665).

The definition procedure is similar to that of the continuous characteristics, although the Time Scale
(TriTime) scale is selected.

18.2.6 Matrix Parameter Characteristics

General background on characteristics and their properties is provided in Section 18.2.

When defining a matrix parameter characteristic, two scales must be defined. The first scale, that for
columns, must be a discrete scale. The scale for rows may be a discrete or continuous scale.

To define a new project matrix parameter characteristic:

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• In the edit dialog of the target network component right-click on the desired parameter.
• Select Add Project Characteristic → Two Dimension - Matrix. . .

• Click the New Object button

• The edit dialog of the matrix characteristic will be displayed. Click ’Select’ from the drop down
menu next to each ’Scale’ and select an existing scale and press Ok, or create a new scales.
Scales can be defined as discussed in previous sections.
A column calculator can be used to calculate the column values, as a function of other columns. This
is done by pressing the Calculate. . . button. Once the values have been entered and the triggers have
been set, the ’Current Value’ field will show the value to be used by the characteristic.

18.2.7 Parameter Characteristics from Files

General background on characteristics and their properties is provided in Section 18.2.

When a series of data is available in an external file, such as an Excel file, or tab or space separated
file this data may be utilised as a characteristic if the “Parameter Characteristic from File” (ChaVecfile
object) is used. The external file must have the scale column for the data series in column 1.

To define a new parameter characteristic from file:

• In the edit dialog of the target network component right-click on the desired parameter.
• Select New Characteristic → Characteristic from File. . .
• Complete the input data fields, including:
– Define (or select) a scale and trigger. Scales can be defined as discussed in previous
sections.
– Generally the ’Column’ should be set to the default of ’1’. The field is used for specialised
purposes.
– Set the ’Factor A’ and ’Factor B’ fields to adjust or convert the input data. The data contained
in column 2 of the external file will be adjusted by 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 + 𝑏 where “x” is the data in the
external file and “y” is what will be loaded into the characteristic.
– Set the ’Usage’ and ’Approximation’.
– Once the file link has been set, press the Update button to upload the data from the external
file to the characteristic.

18.2.8 Characteristic References

When a characteristic is defined for an objects parameter, PowerFactory automatically creates a char-
acteristic reference (ChaRef object). The characteristic reference is stored within the PowerFactory
database with the object. The characteristic reference acts as a pointer for the parameter to the
characteristic. The characteristic reference includes the following parameters:

Parameter the name of the object parameter assigned to the characteristic. This field cannot be
modified by the user.
Characteristic the characteristic which is to be applied to the parameter.
Inactive a check-box which can be used to disable a characteristic reference.

The ability to disable the characteristic for individual objects using the object filter and the Inactivate
option makes data manipulation using characteristics quite flexible.

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18.2.9 Edit Characteristic Dialog

Once a parameter has a characteristic defined, then an option to Edit characteristic(s) becomes visible
on the parameters context sensitive menu, i.e. select parameter and right-click → Edit characteristic(s).
Once selected, the Edit characteristics dialog appears which lists all the characteristics referenced by
the parameter. The Edit characteristics dialog provides a graphical representation of the characteris-
tic and allows characteristics to be inserted, appended and deleted. The Edit characteristics dialog
also allows modification of individual characteristics values, triggers and characteristic activation and
deactivation.

Note: By default the value of the first active characteristic is assigned to the parameter.

18.2.10 Characteristics Tab in Data Filters

When viewing elements in a Data Manager or Network Model Manager, parameter characteristics
information can be seen by selecting the Characteristics tab. For this tab to be visible, it must be enabled
in the User Settings, on the “Functions” page. An example of a Network Model Manager showing the
Characteristics tab is shown in Figure 18.2.3 (remember that the browser must be in “detail” mode to
see these tabs). Note also that the data colouring indicates that characteristics are applied.

Figure 18.2.3: Network Model Manager Characteristics tab

The Characteristics tab shows all characteristics defined for the displayed objects, together with the
original value and the current value as determined by the characteristic. In the example, various scales
are applied to modify the active power from 100 MW to the “Current Value”. The current values will
be used in all calculations. New characteristics for individual or multiple elements can be defined by
selecting the relevant fields and doing right-click → Add project characteristic...

The Characteristics tab will only show a particular characteristic column when at least one of the objects
has that characteristic defined for a parameter. It is thus necessary to define a characteristic for one
object prior to using the browser, when the user would like to assign characteristics, for the same
parameter, for a range of other objects. To define a Project “High-Low” loading characteristic for all
loads, for instance, can thus be done by performing the following steps.
• Create a discrete scale in the grid folder.
• Create a vector characteristic using this scale in the grid folder.
• Edit one of the loads, right-click the active power field and assign the vector characteristic to the
relevant parameter.
• Open a browser with all loads, activate the “detail” mode and select the Characteristics tab.

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• Select the characteristic column (right-click → Select Column) and then right-click the selected
column.
• Use the Select Project Characteristic. . . option and select the vector characteristic.

18.2.11 Example Application of Characteristics

Consider the following example, where the operating point of a generator should be easily modified by
the user to predefined values within the capability limits of the machine.

Firstly, the Active Power of the synchronous generator is set to the maximum capability of 150 MW.
Then, a vector characteristic is added to the Active Power parameter. To create a new Project Vector
Characteristic, right-click on the Active Power parameter (pgini) and select Add Profile Characteristic
→ One Dimension - Vector. . . . Click on the New Object icon and define a characteristic called “Active
Power” in the ChaVec dialog.

A new discrete scale is required. To create the scale, click on the arrow next to Scale and select
Select. . . . Click on the New Object icon and create a new Discrete Scale and Trigger (TriDisc). The
Discrete Scale and Trigger is named “Output Level”, with three cases as shown in Figure 18.2.4.

Figure 18.2.4: Active Power Discrete Scale and Trigger

Click on Ok to return to the Vector Characteristic. Define the values for the different loading scenarios.
Values are entered in %, and thus Usage is set to ’relative in %’. Figure 18.2.5 shows the resultant
vector characteristic, including a reference to the Scale “Output Level” and the current parameter value.

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Figure 18.2.5: Active Power Parameter Characteristic

Next, a matrix characteristic is added to the Reactive Power parameter of the generator in a similar
fashion to the Active Power characteristic. A new discrete scale named “Operating Region” is created
(for the Columns) and the three operating regions “Underexcited”, “Unity PF” and “Overexcited” are
defined.

The scale “Operating Region” is linked to the Scale for Columns, and the previously defined scale
“Output Level” is selected for the Scale for Rows. Absolute Mvar values are entered in the Matrix
Characteristic as shown in Figure 18.2.6.

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Figure 18.2.6: Reactive Power Matrix Characteristic

Now that the characteristics and triggers are defined, the “Operating Region” and “Output Level” triggers
can be used to quickly modify the operating point of the generator (see Figure 18.2.7).

Figure 18.2.7: Setting of Discrete Triggers

18.3 Load States

This section describes Load States, as used in Reliability and Optimal Capacitor Placement calcula-
tions.

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18.3.1 Creating Load States

Pre-requisites:

Prior to creating load states, a time-based parameter characteristics must be defined for at least one
load in the network model. See Time Characteristics (ChaTime) in Section 18.2.1 and Vector Charac-
teristics with Time Scales (TriTime) in Section 18.2.5 for more information on parameter characteristics,
as well as the example later in this section.

Follow these steps to create the load states:

1. For calculation of load states:
• (Reliability) click the ’Create Load States’ icon ( ) on the reliability toolbar and select ’Load
States’. Optionally inspect or alter the settings of the Reliability Calculation and Load Flow
commands.
• (Optimal Capacitor Placement) Click on ’Load Characteristics’ page of the Optimal Capacitor
Placement command and select ’Create Load States’.
2. Enter the time period for calculation of load states:
• (Reliability) Enter the year.
• (Optimal Capacitor Placement) Enter Start Time and End Time. The time period is inclusive
of the start time but exclusive of the end time.
3. Enter the Accuracy. The lower accuracy percentage, the more load states are generated.
4. Optional: Limit the number of load states to a user-defined value. If the total number of calculated
load states exceeds this parameter then either the time period of the sweep or the accuracy should
be reduced.
5. Optional: Change the threshold for ignoring load states with a low probability by altering the
’Minimum Probability’. If selected, states with a probability less than this parameter are excluded
from the discretisation algorithm.
6. Click Execute to generate the load states.

18.3.2 Viewing Existing Load States

After you have generated the load states as described above, or if you want to inspect previously
generated load states follow these steps:
1. Using the Data Manager, select the ’Reliability Assessment’ or ’Optimal Capacitor Placement’
command within the active Study Case.

2. Use the filter ( ) (in the Data Manager window) to select the ’load states’ object ( ). There
should now be created load states visible in the right panel of the Data Manager.
3. Locate the ’load states’ object and double-click to view the load states.

18.3.3 Load State Object Properties

The load states object properties are as follows:

Basic Data

Year The Year used to create the load states.

• Number of loads: Number of loads considered in the load cluster object.
• Number of states: This equals the number of columns in the “Clusters” table.

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• Loads: Table containing each load considered by the load states creation algorithm and their
peak demand.
• Clusters: Table containing all load clusters. The first row in the table contains the probability
of the corresponding cluster. The remaining rows contain the power values of the loads. Every
column in the table contains a complete cluster of loads with the corresponding power.
Diagram Page

Displayed Load: Use the selection control to change the load displayed on the plot.

The plot shows the cluster values (P and Q) for the selected load where the width of each bar represents
the probability of occurrence for that cluster in the given year.

18.3.4 Example Load States

The example below shows how load states can be generated for a network model with four Loads (Ld1,
Ld2, Ld3, and Ld4).

1. The Vector Characteristic shown in Figure 18.3.1 is applied to both Active Power and Reactive
Power of load Ld4 only, with the associated Time Scale shown in Figure 18.3.2 Ld4 is initially set
to 3.1 MW, 0.02 Mvar.

Figure 18.3.1: Load State Vector Characteristic

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Figure 18.3.2: Time Scale for Load State Characteristic

2. Load States are generated by clicking Create Load States (as discussed in the preceding section).
3. PowerFactory calculates the resultant Load States:
• The maximum value of each load 𝐿𝑝 is determined for the time interval considered. In the
example, Ld4 has a peak load of 4.03 MW.
• The ’load interval size’ (𝐼𝑛𝑡) is determined for each load, where 𝐼𝑛𝑡 = 𝐿𝑝 · 𝐴𝑐𝑐 and ’Acc’ is
the accuracy parameter entered by the user. For the example above using an accuracy of 10
%, the interval size for Active Power is 0.403 MW.#
• For each
(︀ 𝐿𝑖 )︀hour of the time sweep and for each load determine the Load Interval: 𝐿𝐼𝑛𝑡 =
𝐶𝑒𝑖𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑡 where 𝐿𝑖 is the load value at hour ’i’.
• Identify common intervals and group these as independent states.
• Calculate the probability of each state based on its frequency of occurrence.
The independent states and their probabilities are shown in Figure 18.3.3. Load states for Ld4 vary
according to the characteristic parameters, where the states from characteristic values of 93 % and
100 % have been combined due to the selection of 10 % accuracy in the calculation. Load states for
Ld1, Ld2, and Ld3 do not vary, since characteristics were not entered for these loads.

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Figure 18.3.3: Load States (SetCluster) dialog box

18.4 Load Distribution States

This section describes how to create load distribution states, as used by the Reliability calculation.

18.4.1 Creating Load Distribution States

Pre-requisites:

Prior to creating load distribution states a substation/s must have been defined within the model. A
distribution curve must have also been defined (accessed from the reliability page of the substation/s).

Follow these steps to create the load distribution states:

1. Click the ’Create Load States’ button ( ) on the reliability toolbar. The load states creation dialog
will appear.
2. Optional: Use the Reliability Assessment selection control to inspect or alter the settings of the
Reliability Calculation command. This selection control points to the default reliability command
within the active Study Case.
3. Optional: Use the Load Flow selection button to inspect and alter the settings of the load flow
command. This selection control points to the default load-flow command within the active Study
Case.
4. Enter the Minimum Time Step in hours (suggested to be the minimum step size on the load
distribution curve).
5. Enter the Maximum Power Step (0.05pu by default).
6. Optional: Force Load State at S = 1.0 p.u. so that a state is created at P = 1.0 pu, irrespective of
the load distribution curve data and step sizes entered.
7. Click Execute to generate the load distribution states.

18.4.2 Viewing Existing Load Distribution States

After you have generated the load states as described above, or if you want to inspect previously
generated load states follow these steps:

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1. Using the Data Manager, select the ’Reliability Assessment’ Command within the Active Study
Case.
2. Optional: Use the filter ( ) (in the Data Manager window) to select the ’load distribution states’
object ( ). There should now be created load distribution states visible in the right panel of the
Data Manager.
3. Locate the ’load distribution states’ object and double-click to view the load states.

18.4.3 Load Distribution State Object Properties

The distribution load states object properties are as follows:

Basic Data

Year The Year used to create the load states.

• Clusters: Table containing all substation clusters. The first row in the table contains the probability
of the corresponding cluster. The remaining rows contain the power values of the substations.
Every column in the table contains a complete cluster of substations with the corresponding power.

• Number of substations: Number of substations considered in the Distribution State object.

• Number of states: This equals the number of columns in the Distribution State table.
Diagram Page

Displayed Station: Use the selection control to change the load displayed on the plot
The plot shows the cluster values (Apparent power in pu with reference to the substation load) for the
selected substation where the width of each bar represents the probability of occurrence for that cluster.

18.4.4 Example Load Distribution States

In this example, a Load Distribution Curve is entered for a substation.

1. The Load Distribution Curve shown in Figure 18.4.1 is entered for the substation (Apparent power
in pu of substation load).

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Figure 18.4.1: Substation Load Distribution Curve (IntDistribution)

2. Load States are generated by clicking Create Load Distribution States (as discussed in the pre-
ceding section).

3. The resultant Load Distribution States are shown in Figure 18.4.2. ’Force Load State at S =
1.0 p.u.’ has not been selected in this instance.

Figure 18.4.2: Load Distribution States (SetDistrstate)

18.5 Tariffs

This section describes the definition of Time Tariffs (as used in Reliability calculations), and Energy Tar-
iffs (as used in Reliability calculations and Optimal RCS Placement calculations, and Techno-Economical
calculations).

18.5.1 Defining Time Tariffs

A time tariff characteristic can be defined by taking the following steps:

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1. Choose the Select option from the ’Tariff’ selection control on the reliability page of the load
element. A Data Manager browser will appear with the ’Equipment Type Library’ selected.

2. Optional: If you have previously defined a ’Tariff’ characteristic and want to re-use it, you can
select it now. Press OK to return to the load element to reliability page.

3. Create a time tariff object by pressing the New Object button from the data browser toolbar. A
type creation dialog should appear.
4. Select Time Tariff and press OK. A ’Time Tariff’ dialog box will appear.
5. Select the unit of the interruption cost function by choosing from the following options:
$/kW Cost per interrupted power in kW, OR
$/customer Cost per interrupted customer, OR
$ Absolute cost.
6. Enter values for the Time Tariff (right click and ’Append rows’ as required).

7. Press OK to return to the load element reliability page.

8. Optional: enter a scaling factor for the Tariff.
Example Time Tariff

An example Time Tariff characteristic is shown in Figure 18.5.1. In this example, ’Approximation’ is set
to ’constant’, i.e. no interpolation between data points, and ’Unit’ is set to $. An interruption to a load for
a duration of 200 minutes would lead to a cost of $20, irrespective of the active power consumption.

Figure 18.5.1: Example Time Tariff

18.5.2 Defining Energy Tariffs

An energy tariff characteristic can be defined by taking the following steps:

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1. Choose the ’Select’ option from the ’Tariff’ selection control on the reliability page of the load
element. A Data Manager browser will appear with the ’Equipment Type Library’ selected.
2. Optional: If you have previously defined a ’Tariff’ characteristic and want to re-use it, you can
select it now. Press OK to return to the load element to reliability page.

3. Create an energy tariff object by pressing the New Object button from the data browser toolbar.
A type creation dialog should appear.

4. Select ’Energy Tariff’ and press OK. An ’Energy Tariff’ dialog box will appear.
5. Enter Energy and Costs values for the Energy Tariff (right click and ’Append rows’ as required).
6. Press OK to return to the load element reliability page.
7. Optional: enter a scaling factor for the Tariff.

Example Energy Tariff

An example Energy Tariff characteristic is shown in Figure 18.5.2. In this example, ’Approximation’ is
set to ’constant’, i.e. no interpolation between data points. A fault which leads to energy not supplied of
2.50 MWh would result in a cost of

$9,20 · 2,50 · 1000 = $23000 (18.1)

Figure 18.5.2: Example Energy Tariff

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Chapter 19

Reporting and Visualising Results

19.1 Introduction

This chapter introduces the tools and options in PowerFactory for presenting the calculation results.
Key concepts in this topic are Result Boxes, Output Reports, Results Objects, Variable Selection and
Plots. The structure of this chapter is as follows:

• Section 19.2 provides the instructions for customising the result boxes displayed in the single-line,
overview and detailed diagrams. Instructions about selecting the predefined formats are given in
chapter Network Graphics, section 9.5.

• Section 19.3 describes the Variable Selection object, which is used to define the variables to be
presented, either in the Result Boxes, Flexible Data page or Results Files.
• Section 19.4 describes the predefined reports available in PowerFactory to present data in the
output window.
• Section 19.5 describes the option to compare steady state calculations results.

• Section 19.6 describes the Results File object to store results or selected variables.
• Section 19.7 lists and describes all the plot types available in PowerFactory and the tools used to
modify/customise them.

19.2 Result Boxes

Results are displayed with help of result boxes in the single line diagrams. Several predefined formats
can be selected, as described in Chapter 9, Section 9.5 (Result Boxes, Text Boxes and Labels).

The result box itself is actually a small output report, based on a form definition. This form definition is
used to display a wide range of calculated values and object parameters, and can be also be used to
specify colouring or user defined text.

19.2.1 Editing Result Boxes

To edit result boxes the so-called “Format” dialog is used. In this dialog, text reports can be defined, from
very small result boxes to more complex and comprehensive reports within DIgSILENT PowerFactory.

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The Format object (IntForm), shown in Figure 19.2.1, will be used in most cases to change the contents
of the result boxes in the single line graphic; the Format dialog is accessed by right clicking on a result
box and selecting the option Edit format for. . . .

Figure 19.2.1: The Format dialog

The format defined in this dialog can be saved for later use by clicking on the button To Library and
defining a user-specific name for it.

This Format dialog has a page to change the format by selecting variables and a page to manually
define a format. What is displayed on this page depends on the input mode; that can be changed using
the button Input Mode. Both options are described in the following sections.

19.2.1.1 Input Mode - User Selection

When using this input method it is possible to select any number of parameters out of all available
parameters for the selected object or class of objects. This includes model parameters as well as
calculated values.

Different variables can be added by appending new rows. By double clicking on the corresponding row
in the column Variable, a Variable Selection showing the list of all available variables will appear. More
information about Variable Selection is available in section 19.3.

It is also possible to define how the variable will be shown by selecting the columns Show Name,
Show “=”, Decimal Places and Show Unit. A preview of the result box is shown in the Preview field.

19.2.1.2 Input Mode - Format Editor

This is the most flexible, but also the most difficult mode. In this mode, any text and any available
variable, in any colour, can be entered in the Form. The highly flexible DIgSILENT output language
allows for complex automatic reports. The User defined button acts like the input mode User Selection
with one important difference: where the User Selection mode is used to redefine the complete form
text, the User defined button appends a line for each set of variables to the existing form text.

For example if the active and reactive power of an element have been selected using the input mode
User Selection, when switching to Format Editor the variables will be shown in the DIgSILENT output

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language code like this:

#.## $N,@:m:P:_LOCALBUS
#.## $N,@:m:Q:_LOCALBUS

This example shows the basic syntax of the DIgSILENT output language:

• The ’#’ sign is a placeholder for generated text. In the example, each line has a placeholder for
a number with two digits after the decimal point (’#.##’). The first ’#’-sign stands for any whole
number, not necessary smaller than 10.
• The ’$N’ marks the end of a line. A line normally contains one or more placeholders, separated
by non-’#’ signs, but may also contain normal text or macro commands.
• After the ’$N’, the list of variable names that are used to fill in the placeholders have to be added.
Variable names must be separated by commas. Special formatting characters, like the ’@:’-sign,
are used to select what is printed (i.e. the name of the variable or its value) and how.

The Format Editor offers options for the unit or name of the selected variable. If the Unit-show option is
enabled, a second placeholder for the unit is added:

#.## # $N,@:m:P:_LOCALBUS,@:[m:P:_LOCALBUS
#.## # $N,@:m:Q:_LOCALBUS,@:[m:Q:_LOCALBUS

The ’[’-sign encodes for the unit of the variables, instead of the value.

The same goes for the variable name, which is added as

# #.## $N,@:∼m:P:_LOCALBUS,@:m:P:_LOCALBUS
# #.## $N,@:∼m:Q:_LOCALBUS,@:m:Q:_LOCALBUS

where the “∼” -sign encodes for the variable name. With both options on, the resulting format line

# #.## # $N,@: m:P:_LOCALBUS,@:m:P:_LOCALBUS,@:[m:P:_LOCALBUS

will lead to the following text in the result box:

P -199,79 MW

Other often-used format characters are ’%’, which encodes the full variable description, and ’&’, which
encodes the short description, if available.

For a detailed technical description of the report generating language, see Appendix D (The DIgSILENT
Output Language).

19.3 Variable Selection

Variable Selection (IntMon) objects are used to select and monitor variables associated with objects in
the data model. The variable selection object can be used to select the variables to be recorded during
a calculation (e.g. RMS/EMT Simulation, Quasi-dynamic Simulation, Harmonic Analysis) and to define
the variables to be displayed in the result boxes and in the Flexible Data (see section 10.6).

The variable selection dialog is shown in Figure 19.3.1. The object for which the variables are defined
is marked in red, the calculation to which these variables belong to in green, and the selected variables
in blue.

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Figure 19.3.1: Example of a variable selection dialog

The variable selection object contains the following fields:

• Object: the object (normally a network component), whose variables are going to be monitored.
• Class Name: if no object has been selected the Class Name field becomes active. The use of
the class name instead of the object for variable definition is only valid for some calculation types
(e.g Quasi-dynamic simulation).
• Display Values during simulation in output window: this is only visible when the variable
selection is being done for a time domain simulation (RMS/EMT). By checking this box and
selecting the option Display results variables in output window in the simulation command, the
values calculated for the selected variables during a simulation will be displayed in the output
window.
• Filter for: there is a large number of variables that may be observed in PowerFactory. To be able
to find and select these they are sorted into sets. A series of filters allows the user to sort through
the sets. Further information about the selection of variable is given in the subsection 19.3.1.
• Page: the first sorting of the variables is by calculation function (e.g. Base Data, Load Flow AC,
Short-Circuit DC, etc.).
• Available Variables: all the variables available for display are listed here (as sorted by the filter).
• Selected Variables: the selected variables. Variables are placed here by double clicking on them
on the Available Variables side, by selecting their checkbox, or by selecting them and then pressing
the ( ) button. Variables can be removed from the Selected Variables area by double-clicking on
them or by selecting them and then pressing the ( ) button.
• Display All: if this box is checked then all of the selected variables are shown in the Selected
Variables area. If not checked, the filter selected in the Filter for field will also apply to the Selected
Variables area and only those selected variables in the filtered set will be shown.
The following buttons are available on the right side of the dialog:

• Balanced/Unbalanced: depending on the type of calculation to be monitored (balanced or un-

balanced), it is possible to toggle between balanced and unbalanced variable selections.

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• Print Values: the current values of all the selected variables are displayed in the output window.
• Variable List: a list of all available variables is printed in the output window.

• Variable List (Page): a list of all the available variables for the current page (e.g. Basic Data) is
displayed in the output window.

The second tab of the Variable Selection dialog goes to the Editor, where variables can be manually
input. If the variable selection dialog is used to define the Flexible Data page, an additional tab called
Format/Header is visible; more information about this tab is available is section 10.6.1: Customising the
Flexible Data Page.

19.3.1 Variable Selection Filter

The first sorting of the variables is by calculation function. Within these sets variables are sorted into
sub-sets. The desired subset can be selected using the drop down menu on the Variable Set field.
These are the available subsets:

• Currents, Voltages and Powers: almost self explanatory - these are the outputs as calculated by
a calculation function. The variable is preceded by “m:” (representing ’monitored’ or ’measured’)
as in m:P:bus1 for the active power drawn by the load.
• Bus Results: variables for the bus/es where the element is connected (usually preceded by “n:”
for ’node’). An element having only one connection to a bus, will obviously only have results for
“Bus1.” An element having two connections will have “Bus1” and “Bus2”. This means that the
results of objects connected to the object whose variable list is compiled can be accessed.
• Signals: variables that can be used as interface between user defined and/or PowerFactory
models (inputs and outputs). They are preceded by “s:”. These should be used when creating a
controller or in a DPL script. These variables are accessible whilst an iteration is being calculated,
whereas the other variables sets are calculated following an iteration.
• Calculation Parameter: variables that are derived from the primary calculations (i.e. currents,
loading, power, losses, etc.), from input data (i.e. the absolute impedance of a line, derived from
𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒/𝑘𝑚 * 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ), or that have been transformed from input data to a format useful for
calculation (actual to per unit), or that are required for such transformation (e.g. nominal power).
The parameters that actually are available depend on the object type. Calculation parameters are
preceded by a “c:”.
• Element Parameter: input parameters that belong directly to the object selected (preceded by
“e:”).
• Type Parameter: input parameters from the corresponding type object that are linked to the
element object under consideration; for example, the current rating of a line type that a line element
is using.
• Reference Parameter: these are variables from objects that are linked or connected to the object
under consideration (preceded by “r:”). For example, a line element may be part of a line coupling
and the reference parameter will allow us to display the name of the coupling element.

For general use it is sufficient to simply select the variables required and transfer them to the selected
variables column. To find a particular variable requires some knowledge of where the variables are
stored in the object under consideration.

Additional information about how the result variables are calculated is available in section Technical
References of Result Variables of the Technical References Document.

User defined variables are shown when the page Data Extensions is selected. Additional information
about Data Extensions is available in Chapter 20.

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19.4 Output Reports

PowerFactory offers two types of reports which are printed in the output window. The Documentation
of Device Data prints either all or a part of the data entered in PowerFactory the Output of Calculation
Analysis prints the results of a previously executed calculation in the output window.

19.4.1 Documentation of Device Data

The Output of Device Data command (ComDocu) can be accessed by clicking on the icon on the
main tool menu.

19.4.1.1 Documentation of Device Data - Settings

The Short Listing

The “Short Listing” reports only the most important device data, using one line for each single object,
resulting in concise output. Like the “Output of Results”, the “Short Listing” report uses a form to
generate the output. This form can be modified by the user. When the report form is changed, it is
stored in the “Settings” object of the active project, so does not influence the reports of other projects.
The output of objects without a defined short listing will produce warnings like:

Short Listing report for StoCommon is not defined.

The Detailed Report

The detailed report outputs all device data of the elements selected for output. In addition, type data can
be included (“Print Type Data in Element”). Device Data is split into the different calculation functions like
“Load-Flow” or “Short-Circuit”. The “Basic Data” is needed in all the different calculations. “Selected
Functions” shows a list of the functions whose data will be output. To report the device data for all
functions, simply move all functions from left to right. If “Selected Functions” is empty no device data
will be output.

Device Data
• Use Selection: the set of reported elements depends on the Use Selection setting. If Use
Selection is checked one element or a set object must be chosen for output. If Use Selection
is not checked, the Filter/Annex page specifies the set of elements for the report. Another way to
select object for the report is to right-click on the objects from the Data Manager or the single line
graphics and select Output Data → Documentation, this will open the Documentation of Device
Data command.
• Annex: each class uses its own annex. There is either the default annex or the individual annex.
To use the default annex check Use default Annex. Changes of the annex are stored in the
Settings of the active project. The local annex is stored in the Documentation of Device Data
command. To modify the local annex press the Change Annex button.
• Title: most reports display a title on top of each page. The reference Title defines the contents of
the header.

19.4.1.2 Documentation of Device Data - Filter/Annex

If one wants to report elements without defining a set of objects, Use Selection on the Device Data
page must not be checked. The objects in the list Selected Objects will be filtered out of the active
projects/grids and reported. Available Objects shows a list of elements which can be added to the
Selected Objects list. The list in Available Objects depends on the Elements radio button. Elements in

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the left list are moved to the right by double-clicking them. The text in the Annex input field will be set
as default annex for the selected class.

The Annex for Documentation

The Annex for Documentation stores the annex for the documentation of results. The annex number
and the page number for the first page are unique for each class.

• Objects: this column shows the different classes with their title.

• Annex: this column stores the annex number shown in the Annex field of the report.
• First Page: this column defines the start page for the class in the report. The first page number
depends on the class of the first element output in your report. The page number of its class is
the page number of the first page.

19.4.2 Output of Results

The command Output of Results (ComSh) is used to produce an output of calculation results. The
output can be used in reports or may help in interpreting the results and is accessed by clicking on the
icon from the main tool menu.

Several different reports, depending on the actual calculation, can be created. The radio button on the
upper left displays the different reports possible for the active calculation. Some reports may be inactive,
depending on the object(s) chosen for output. In the second page ( ) the Used Format displays the
format(s) used for the report. Some reports are a set of different outputs. For these reports more than
one form is shown. If the form is modified it will be stored automatically in the Settings folder of the
active project. The changed form does not influence the reports of other projects. If Use Selection is
active, a set of objects (selection) or a single object must be chosen. The report is generated only for
these elements. All relevant objects are used if Use Selection is not selected. The relevant objects
depend on the chosen report. Most reports display a title on top of each page. The reference Title
defines the contents of the header.

For some reports additional settings are required. These settings depend on the chosen report, the
selected objects for output and the calculation processed before. The calculation (left top) and the used
format(s) (right top) are always shown.

One option for Load Flow calculations is the Power Interchange report. If this option is selected, a
tabular report is generated, showing the power interchange between various parts of the network, i.e.
Grids, Areas or Zones. When reporting Power Interchange for Grids, a further feature is available:
If the several connected networks are modelled, and the connections are represented by boundary
nodes held in a dedicated boundary grid, the user may not be interested in power interchanges with the
boundary grid itself but rather in the power interchanges between the grids either side of it. Therefore
there is now an option provided for the ElmNet object, to mark it as a “Fictitious border grid”. If this is
done, then it becomes transparent from the point of view of this Power interchange report, which then
reports the interchange between the grids of interest.

19.5 Comparisons Between Calculations

At many stages in the development of a power system design, the differences between certain settings
or design options become of interest. For a single calculation, the “absolute” results are shown in the
single line graphics and in the flexible data page of the elements.

When pressing the Comparing of Results on/off button ( ), the results of the calculation are “frozen”.
Subsequent calculations results can then be shown as deviations from the first calculation made. The

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subsequent calculation results are stored together with the first result. This allows the user to re-arrange
the comparisons as desired by pressing the icon.

The differences between cases are coloured according to the severity of the deviation, making it possible
to recognise the differences between calculation cases very easily.

The set of calculated comparisons may be edited to select the cases which are to be compared to each
other or to set the colouring mode. When the icon on the main toolbar is pressed, the Compare
dialog will open.

With the Compare dialog, the two cases which are to be compared can be selected. Furthermore, a list
of colours may be set which is then used to colour the results displayed in the result boxes, according
to certain levels of percentage change.

19.6 Results Objects

The results object (ElmRes, ) is used by PowerFactory to store tables of results. The typical use of
a results object is in writing specific variables during a transient simulation, or during a data acquisition
measurement. Results objects are also used in scripts, contingency analysis, reliability calculations,
harmonic analysis, etc.

The results object edit dialog shows the following fields:

• Name: the name of the results object

• File path: is the path where the results file is saved inside the database
• Last Modification: date when the results file was changed the last time
• Default for: the default type of calculation
• Info: information about the currently stored data including:
– the time interval
– the average time step
– the number of points in time
– the number of variables
– the size of the database results file
• Trigger-Times: trigger times (in case of a Triggered default use)

The Clear Data button will clear all result data.

Note: Clearing the data will delete all calculated or measured data in the results file. It will not be
possible to restore the data.

The default type settings are used for two purposes:

1. Creating a new results object and setting the default type to Harmonics, for instance, will cause
the harmonics command dialog to use this results object by default.
2. Setting the Default type to Triggered will cause the calculation module to copy and temporarily
store signals in that copied results object, every time a Trigger Event becomes active. The
Triggered default type enables the trigger time fields.

When the Output Protocol is pressed, all events that happened during the simulation, recorded by the
results object, will be written again into the output window. So one can check which events took place
during the last simulation.

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The contents of a results object are determined by one or more monitor Variable Selection (IntMon)
objects. These monitor objects can be edited by pressing the Variables button. This will show the list
of monitor sets currently in use by the results object.

Selecting a set of result variables, using monitor objects is necessary because otherwise all available
variables would have to be stored, which is practically impossible.

By clicking on the Variables button, the list of recorded variables is displayed, if the list is empty a new
variable selection can be added by clicking on the New Object icon ( ). More information about the
definition of variable selections is available in section 19.3.

19.6.1 Exporting Results

The stored results for the monitored result variables can be exported by pressing the Export button in
the results object. This will activate and open the ASCII Result Export command, which enables the
definition of the format and the file type used to export the results.

19.6.1.1 Results Export - Basic Options

On this page the Results File and its information is displayed, and the type of export to be executed can
be defined.

Export to

The following options are available:

• Output window
• Windows clipboard
• Measurement file (ElmFile)

• ComTrade
• Textfile
• PSSPLT Version 2.0

• Comma Separated Values (*.csv)

Variable selection

By default, the option Export all variables is selected, which mean that all the results for all monitored
variables are exported. But also a selection of variables can be made by selecting the option Export
only selected variables.

19.6.1.2 Results Export - Advanced Options

On this page, additional options such as the individual step size and the columns headers of the results
file for the export can be defined.

Export
• Values: the results values will be exported
• Variable description only: the description of the recorded variables is exported. This is useful for
reviewing the stored data.

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• Object header only: also useful for reviewing the recorded data; will only export the columns
headers.
Interval

A User defined interval for the time/x-scale can be set as the minimum and maximum value of the first
recorded variable (in time domain simulations this is of course the time).

Shift time

When this box is checked, a new start time can be defined. This will “move” the results to the starting
time.

Column header

Here is possible to customise the column header to be exported not only for the element (e.g. name,
path, foreign key), but also for the variable (e.g. parameter name, short or long description)

19.7 Plots

Plots are used for displaying results graphically. The most common use of a plot is to show the results of
a time-domain simulation such an EMT or RMS simulation, but there are various other applications, for
example to graphically display voltage profiles, results of a harmonic analysis, results of modal analysis,
etc. These could be in the form of a bar graph, a plotted curve, single displayed variables, tables of
values, etc.

All signals, parameters, variables or other values from PowerFactory can be shown in a plot. The
variables are normally floating point numbers, but it is also possibile to show discrete variables and
binary numbers, for example an out of service flag or the switching operation of a circuit-breaker.

The plots are inserted using the Insert Plot icon from the main menu ( ), which will open the insert plot
dialog, shown in figure 19.7.1. There are various designs of plot available. The plots can be filtered by
the functions where they are normally used. Some plots are typically used for more that one category
(e.g. curve plots) and some are meant to be used for specific functions (e.g. correlation plot, time-
overcurrent plot). All the plots are listed under the category (All) and the recently used in category
(Recent).

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Figure 19.7.1: Insert Plot dialog

All the available plots are listed below, grouped by category, and described either in the following
sections or in the corresponding chapter (for calculation-specific plots).

1. Simulation RMS/EMT
• Binary bar plot (section 19.7.4)
• Curve plot (section 19.7.1)
• Curve plot (2 y-axis) (section 19.7.2)
• Curve plot (mult. X-axes) (section 19.7.3)
• Vector plot (section 19.7.7)
2. Quasi-Dynamic Simulation
• Curve plot (section 19.7.1)
• Curve plot (2 y-axis) (section 19.7.2)
• Curve plot (mult. X-axes) (section 19.7.3)
3. Modal/Eigenvalue Analysis Plots
• Eigenvalue Plot (section 32.3.2.1)
• Mode bar plot (section 32.3.2.2)
• Mode phasor plot (section 32.3.2.3)
4. Power Quality and Harmonic Analysis Plots
• Curve plot (section 19.7.1)
• Harmonic distortion
• Waveform Plot (section 36.5.5)
5. Probabilistic Analysis Plots
• Convergence of statistics (section 43.3.8.3)
• Correlation plot (section 43.3.8.4)
• Distribution estimation (section 43.3.8.5)
• Distribution fitting (section 43.3.8.6)

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6. Protection and Arc-Flash Analysis Plots

• Current comparison differential plot (section 33.10.1)
• Curve-input (section 19.7.8)
• Phase comparison differential plot (section 33.10.2)
• R-X plot (section 33.6)
• The relay operational limits plot (P-Q diagram) (section 33.7)
• Short-circuit sweep plot (section 33.12)
• Time-distance plot (section 33.8)
• Time-overcurrent plot (section 33.4)
7. General Plots
• Bar plot (section 19.7.6)
• Binary bar plot (section 19.7.4)
• Curve plot (section 19.7.1)
• Curve plot (2 y-axis) (section 19.7.2)
• Curve plot (mult. X-axes) (section 19.7.3)
• Vector plot (section 19.7.7)
• Curve-input (section 19.7.8)
8. Virtual Instruments (section 19.7.9)
• Digital display
• Horizontal scale
• Vertical scale
• Measurement instrument
9. Others
• Button
• Command button
• Network graphic
• Schematic path
• Text
• Voltage profile (along feeder) (section 19.7.10)
• Voltage sag plot

All the plot types can be edited either by right-clicking on the plot and selecting Edit; or by double-
clicking on it. The tools available for modifying plots, such as labels and constants, can be applied
equally to most plot types and are described in section 19.7.11.

The plots can be exported by selecting the option File → Export Graphic. . . → f rom the main menu.
The following formats are supported:
• Portable Document Format (*.pdf)
• Enhanced Windows Metafile (*.emf)
• Scalable Vector Graphics (*.svg)
• Portable Network Graphics (*.png)
• Tag Image File Format (*.tiff)
• File Interchange Format (*.jpg; *.jpeg; *.jpe; *.jfif)
• Windows Bitmap (*.bmp)
• Windows Metafile (*.wmf)

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19.7.1 Curve Plot

Curve plots are the “basic” diagrams and are typically used to display one or more plotted curves from
the results of a simulation (EMT, RMS, Quasi-dynamic).

The following figure shows an example of a curve plot.

Figure 19.7.2: Curve Plot

Y-Axis Page

In the y-axis page of the curve plot dialog, the parameters are defined in two tabs: Variables and Scale.
The Variables tab includes the following fields:

• Automatic: the colour, line style, and line width of the new curves in the plot will be set auto-
matically when the corresponding option is enabled. The Apply button will apply automatic line
formats to all existing curves again.
• Shown Results: this is a reference to the currently active results file (ElmRes). This object will
be used, if no results file is specified in the Curves table.
• Curves: the definition table for the curves is used to specify the results file (optional), element
and variable for each curve as well as its representation. The curve definition is the same for
all the plot types and therefore more information on defining curves is provided in the separate
section 19.7.5.
• User Defined Signals: allows arithmetic calculation of additional results based on PowerFactory
calculated results. The method to create a calculated result is explained later on in this section on
page 290.

The Scale tab includes the following fields:

• Axis: the y-axis options can be defined locally using the default Local option; alternatively a plot
Type can be used and assigned to all the plots. In this way several plots can be easily compared,
without the risk of misinterpreting a difference in curve amplitude. If the Type option is selected in
the Axis field, the plot type can be edited by clicking on the button.
• Minimum and Maximum: the y-axis limits can be set manually, or can be auto scaled using the
button. The scale button sets the limits automatically from the curve shape.
• Scaling: the y-axis scale can be set to linear, logarithmic or dB.
• Auto Scale: the following auto scale options are available:

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– Off: turns any auto scaling function off and displays the results in the range between the
given limits.
– On: will automatically scale the plot at the end of a simulation.
– Online: will automatically scale the plot during the simulation.
• Adapt Scale: settings to adapt the scale to a setpoint. The tick marks can be forced by setting
the Offset value. If the Show Deviations from Offset option is selected, a second axis with a zero
baseline at the offset value, will be drawn on the right side of the plot.
X-Axis Page

In the x-axis page of the curve plot dialog, the parameters are defined in two tabs: Variables and Scale.
The Variables tab has the following fields:

• Name: the name of the plot.

• x Variable: there are numerous options to choose from for this field, as shown in Figure 19.7.3.
The Default value depends on the type of simulation and the results object created during the
previous simulation. For time-domain simulations different representations of the time scale are
available.

Figure 19.7.3: The variable list available for the x-Axis

If the option User defined is selected, any variable can be selected from a results object. In this
way an x-y plot can be created. Whilst the curve plot can be used to create x-y plots, there is also
a specific plot type to create an x-y plot: the Curve plot (multiple x-axes), which is described in
section 19.7.3.

The Scale tab has the following fields:

• Axis: x-axes often needs to be synchronised for all plots or for all plots on one Plot Page, for
instance to show the same time-scale in all plots. This is why the default option of this field is
Graphics Board, which sets the x-axis of all the plots in the project. The other options are:
– Local: the x-axis scale is only valid for the local plot.
– Page: all the plots on the plot page will use the same x-axis, also described in section 19.7.11.10.
The Graphics board and Page scale options can be accessed by clicking on the button by the
Used Axis field.
• Chart: if ticked, a range and a start value can be set. This will set the x-axis to the specified
range. During the simulation, only an x-range, set in the options, is shown and will “wander” along
with the calculation time.
• Minimum and Maximum: the x-axis limits can be set manually, or can be auto scaled using the
button. The scale button sets the limits automatically from the curve shape.
• Scaling: the x-axis scale can be set to linear or logarithmic.
• Auto Scale: the following auto scale options are available:

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– Off: turns any auto scaling function off and displays the results in the range between the
given limits.
– On: will automatically scale the plot at the end of a simulation.
– Online: will automatically scale the plot during the simulation.
• Adapt Scale: settings to adapt the scale to a setpoint. The tick marks can be forced by setting
the Trigger value.
• Grid Lines: settings customise the number of grid lines on the plot.
– Automatic: will draw the grid lines according to the default setting in PowerFactory.
– User defined number of grid lines: will draw the grid lines according to the number specified
by the user.

Advanced Page

On the Advanced page of the curve plot, the following additional display options can be selected:

• Type: the layout of the plot can be modified by clicking on the button. The options include
adding additional lines to the axis (using the Help checkbox) and defining the location of the axis
ticks (none, inside, outside or both)

• Display options: three check boxes are provided to define the visibility of the axis and the plot
name on the plot.
• Legend: the position of the legend (none, bottom or right) and the description size is defined.
• Frame: this defines the frame of the plot (off, simple, 3D or 3D with user defined label)

• Presentation: the way the results are displayed on the plot can be set to the default option curves
or to bars. If the option curves, the simulation steps can be marked on the curve by selecting the
option draw steps.

Export Button

When clicking on the Export... button on the right of the plot, the ASCII Result Export command,
described in section 19.6.1, with a time interval set to the time displayed on the plot can be executed to
export the result values of the plotted variables.

Filter Button

It is possible to add additional filters to the curves presented in the plot; it should be noted that when a
filter is defined it is applied to all the curves displayed in the plot. The Curve Filter command specifies
the type of filter applied to the data read from the results object. The following filter settings are available:

• Disabled: no filtering will be performed.

• Moving Average: the filtered curve is the running average of the last n points. The first n-1 points
are omitted.

• Moving Balanced Average: the filtered curve is the running average of the last (n-1)/2 points,
the current point and the next (n-1)/2 points. This filter thus looks ahead of time. The first and last
(n-1)/2 values are omitted; n must be an odd number.
• Average: the filtered curve contains the averages of each block of n values; every n-th value is
shown.

• Subsampling: the filtered curve only contains every n-th value. All other values are omitted.

Note: A curve filter can only be applied at the end of the simulation or measurement. Points added
during a simulation or measurement are not filtered.

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Define Results Button

Using this button, additional calculated results can be added to the curve. Once the button is clicked a
dialog opens and a new calculated result can be added by clicking on the New icon. The calculated
results are also known as User Defined Variables and are described below.

User Defined Signals

The curve plots have the option to define a user defined signal. This option allows calculation of addi-
tional results based on the arithmetic manipulation of one or more results calculated by PowerFactory
and recorded in a results object (ElmRes ).

A new user defined signal, can be defined by clicking on the New button on the edit dialog of the curve
plot or by using the Define Results button on the right of the curve plots dialog. An example of the
calculated result dialog is shown in Figure 19.7.4.

Figure 19.7.4: The calculated results object

The calculated results object dialog includes the following fields:

• Name: the name of the calculated results object

• Input Parameters
– Results: defines the results object in which the arithmetic operands are located.
– Operands: defines the elements and variable names of the operands within the results object.
Additional operands can be inserted or appended by Right-Click → Insert Row(s) or Append
(n) Row(s).
• Result
– Name: defines the name of the user defined curve
– Description: a free text field for description of the curve
– Unit: user defined variable unit

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– Formula: DSL expression for arithmetic calculation; operands are defined in accordance with
the naming convention in the Input Parameters field i.e. in1, in2, in3 etc.

More information about the DSL syntax is available in section 30.4.

19.7.2 Curve Plot (2 y-axes)

A curve plot with two y-axes is typically used for displaying together signals which have very different
scales. The pages on the edit dialog of the plot are the same of the curve plot described in sec-
tion 19.7.1, the main difference is the additional page for the Y2-Axis.

The following figure shows an example of a curve plot with 2 y-axes.

Figure 19.7.5: Curve Plot (2 y-axes)

The following options available for the curve plots are not available for 2 y-axes plots:
• dB scale for the y axis

• Option to present the curves as bars

• Option to hide the axes

19.7.3 Curve Plot (multiple x-axes)

This plot, also known as XY plot, shows one variable plotted against a second variable. The two
variables can be completely independent from each other and do not have to belong to one element.

The following figure shows an example of a xy curve plot.

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Figure 19.7.6: Curve Plot (multiple x-axes)

Variables Page

On this page, the variables for the x- and y-axis are specified. Both variables have to be stored in one
results file of a simulation. The Variables page has the following fields:

• Automatic: the colour, line style, and line width of the new curves in the plot will be set auto-
matically when the corresponding option is enabled. The Set now button will apply automatic line
formats to all existing curves again.
• Results: this is a reference to the currently active results file (ElmRes). This object will be used if
no results file is specified in the Variables table.
• Variables: the definition table for the curves is used to specify the results file (optional), element
and variable for each curve as well as its representation. To select variables of two different
elements, the option Show x-Element in Table has to be activated. The curve definition is the
same for all the plot types and therefore more information on defining curves is provided in the
separate section 19.7.5.
• Show direction arrows for curves: when ticked, additional arrows indicating the “growing direc-
tion” are drawn on the curves.

Scales Page

On this page, the scales of the two axes can be set locally or alternatively global definitions can be used
depending on the Use local scales check box. The Scale page has the following fields:

• Scaling: the axis scaled can be set to linear or logarithmic.

• Adapt Scale: settings to adapt the scale to a setpoint. The tick marks can be forced by setting
the Offset value; the offset for each axis is defined on the scales table.

• Auto Scale: the following auto scale options are available:

– Off: turns any auto scaling function off and displays the results in the range between the
given limits.
– On: will automatically scale the plot at the end of a simulation.
– Online: will automatically scale the plot during the simulation.
• Scales table: the minimum, maximum and offset value for each axis (used if the auto scale is on)
are defined in this table.

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Time Range Page

The time range can be set to the whole simulation time or alternatively select a specified range to show
the results pertaining to a specific time range only.

Advanced Page

On the Advanced page of the curve plot, the following additional display options can be selected:

• Type: the layout of the plot can be modified by clicking on the button. The options include
adding additional lines to the axis (using the Help checkbox) and defining the location of the axis
ticks (none, inside, outside or both)

• Legend: the visibility and the description size (long or short description) of the legend is defined
in this field.
• Frame: this defines the frame of the plot (off, simple, 3D or 3D with user defined label)

The plots buttons Export. . . , Filter. . . and Define Results. . . are the same for all the curve plots and
are described on page 289.

19.7.4 Binary Bar Plot

The Binary Bar Plot can be used to illustrate digital signals. If a digital signal is true (i.e. the absolute
value of a signal is greater than 0.5), the plot displays it in form of a bar. In contrast to this, false values
are represented as lines. An example is shown at the bottom of figure 19.7.7

The pages on the edit dialog of the binary plot are the same as the curve plot described in section 19.7.1.
The only difference is that the Presentation field is not available in the Advanced page since it is by
default set to Bars.

Figure 19.7.7: Binary Bar Plot

19.7.5 Specifying Curves for Plots

For the plots mentioned so far, the values of the curves are read from a results object (ElmRes) or a
calculated results object (IntCalcres). Results objects were described in section 19.6 and user defined
variables or calculated results on page 290.

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Each line in the Curves table is used to define a variable to plot and the visual representation of the
curve.

• The first column states the results object from which the data to plot the curve will be read. If it is
empty, the standard results file will be used, as defined in the reference to Shown Results in the
same dialog.
• The second column states the power system element, which is selected from the available ele-
ments in the results object.

• The third column states the actual variable for the curve, selected from the variables in the results
object, belonging to the selected element.
• The next columns specify the style of the individual curve.
• With the last two columns the values of the variable can be normalised (Norm.) to a nominal value
(Nom. Value).

Only the elements and variables stored in the results file can be plotted. Additional curves can be
added by right clicking and selecting Insert Rows or Append (n) Rows. Similarly, to delete a marked
curve definition from the list, Delete Rows should be selected.

Several elements can be selected and PowerFactory will automatically insert the corresponding number
of rows. In the same way, several variables of the same element can be added in one step by selecting
them together.

Note: Different results files can be used in the same plot. This is useful for comparing curves of different
simulations.

19.7.6 Bar Plot

The bar plot is used to visualise steady state values such as voltages, currents and power. A bar plot
can be inserted after a calculation has been executed using the Insert Plot dialog or directly by right
clicking on an element(s) and selecting the option Show → Bar Plot→ “variable”. An example of the bar
plot is shown in the following figure.

Figure 19.7.8: Bar Plot

Y-Axis Page

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On the y-axis page of the bar plot dialog, the parameters are defined in two tabs: Variables and Scale.
The Variables tab has the following fields:

• Automatic: the colour and brush style of the new variables will be set automatically when the
corresponding option is enabled. The Apply button will automatically apply the selected format to
the existing variables.
• Bars table: used to specify the variables for all the selected elements as well as their repre-
sentation. If the plot is inserted by right clicking on the element, the variables are automatically
defined on this table. Otherwise it is necessary to define first the element on the x-axis and then
the variables can be selected by double clicking on the variable field. Once a variable is defined,
additional variables can be added using the Append variables button.

The Scale tab has the following fields:

• Axis: the y-axis options can be defined locally using the default Local option; alternatively a plot
Type can be used and assigned to all the plots. The plot type can be edited by clicking on the
button.
• Minimum and Maximum: the y-axis limits can be set manually, or can be auto scaled using the
button.
• Scaling: the y-axis scale can be set to linear, logarithmic or dB.
• Auto Scale: the following auto scale options are available:
– Off: turns any auto scaling function off and displays the results in the range between the
given limits.
– On: will automatically scale the plot at the end of a calculation.
– Online: will automatically scale the plot during the calculation.
• Adapt Scale: settings to adapt the scale to a setpoint. The tick marks can be forced by setting
the Offset value. If the Show Deviations from Offset option is selected, a second axis with a zero
baseline at the offset value, will be drawn on the right side of the plot.

X-Axis Page

The x-axis of the bar plot consists of the elements whose variables are shown in the plot. If the plot is
inserted by right clicking on the element, the elements are automatically defined on the Net Elements
table. Otherwise the element can be selected by double clicking on the corresponding field.

Advanced Page

On the Advanced page of the curve plot, the following additional display options can be selected:

• Type: the layout of the plot can be modified by clicking on the button. The options include
adding additional lines to the axis (using the Help checkbox) and defining the location of the axis
ticks (none, inside, outside or both)
• Display options: three check boxes are provided to define the visibility of the axis and the plot
name on the plot.
• Legend: the position of the legend (none, bottom or right) and the description size is defined.
• Frame: this defines the frame of the plot (off, simple, 3D or 3D with user defined label)

19.7.7 Vector Plot

A vector plot is used to visualise complex values such as voltages, currents and apparent power as
vectors. A complex variable can be defined and shown in one of two different representations:
• Polar coordinates, e.g. magnitude and phase of the current

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• Cartesian coordinates, e.g. active-and reactive power

Figure 19.7.9 shows an example of a vector plot.

Figure 19.7.9: Vector Plot

Note: A vector plot can be shown after a load flow calculation or before and after a transient simulation.

A vector plot can be inserted using the Insert Plot dialog or directly by right clicking on the element and
selecting the option Show → Vector Plot→ “variable”

Variables Page

• Variables table: if the plot is inserted by right clicking on the element, the element and complex
variable are automatically defined on the Variables table. Otherwise the element and complex
variable can be selected by double clicking on the corresponding fields.
• Automatic: the colour of the new curves in the plot will be set automatically when the option is
enabled. The Set now button will assign the colour to all the existing curves again.
• Show all phases in plot: if checked, all the phases of the selected variable will be shown (for
unbalanced calculations)
• Scales table: in most plots, the x and y scales are given by the minimum and maximum value of
each scale. A vector plot can’t be defined using minimum and maximum for each scale because
the x- and the y-ratio must be equal. The ratio for each unit is therefore set as the parameter units
per axis tick. In addition the location of the origin can be defined. If all shown variables have the
same unit, the axis are labelled with values and unit. If there is more than one unit, the labels
show ticks. A legend showing the ratio of the units is added in the bottom-right corner of the plot.
• Min. values: the minimum values for the x and y axes can be defined. This will modify the centre
on the plot.

• Auto Scale: if turned on, the scales are adapted whenever a new calculation is ready; otherwise
the defined scale limits will be used.

Advanced Page
• Label of Vectors: the label of the vector can be displayed in the different coordinate representa-
tions. The different coordinate systems allow display with either the real and imaginary values or
the magnitude and phase angles of the vectors.

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• Frame: this defines the frame of the plot (off, simple, 3D or 3D with user defined label)
• Representation of Coordinates: the coordinates can be displayed as polar or cartesian repre-
sentation. For this to be visible at least the main grid should be visible, the visibility of the grid is
defined on the context sensitive menu of the plot (i.e. Right click on plot → Grid).
Apart for all the options already described, which are also accesible via the context sensitive menu of
the plot, the following additional options are available for the vector plot (only available by right click):

• Edit Element: opens the edit dialog of the element whose variables are displayed in the plot.
• Jump to Element: shows a list of all connected elements from which one can be selected. Here
the side of a branch element is automatically checked. The Jump To option is not available if there
is more than one element shown in the same plot or if there are no calculation results available.
• Set Origin: moves the origin to the right-clicked position.

• Centre Origin: sets the origin to the centre of the plot.

19.7.8 Curve-Input Plot

The curve input command is used for measuring printed curves. The original curves must be available
in one of the supported formats and are displayed as a background in the curve input plot as shown in
figure 19.7.10. This plot then allows plot points to be defined by successive mouse clicks.

Figure 19.7.10: Curve-Input Plot

The curve input plot allows the measurement and editing of single curves or group of curves at once.
The measured curve points will be stored in a Matrix object, which is why, before inserting this plot, it is
necessary to define or select the corresponding matrix.

The matrix object should be created inside the project, for example in the Study Case folder, by opening
the Data Manager and once inside the Study Case folder (or selected folder), clicking on the New icon
( ). From the elements list, the Matrix (IntMat) should be selected as shown in figure 19.7.11. The
matrix should have at least two columns and one point (inside the curve) has to be manually defined.

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Figure 19.7.11: Defining new matrix

The fields of the curve-input plot edit dialog are:

• Background: by clicking on the button the location of the graphic file to be used as background
image can be selected; several formats are supported.
• Limits: this is used to set the range of the axes of the curves as they are in the graphics file.
• Scale: the options Linear and Log. (logarithmic) can be selected and should be as per the graphic
file.
• Curves: two different types of curves can be input:
– Single: each matrix input defines a single curve. The first column in the matrix holds the
x-values, the second one the y values. Other columns are ignored.
– Set of Curves: only the first matrix is used for input. The first column in the matrix holds the
x-values, the other columns hold the y-values of each curve in the group of curves.
• Interpolation: the measured curve is drawn between the measured points by interpolation. The
available modes of interpolation are:
– Linear
– Cub. Spline
– Polygon
– Hermite
• Curves Tables: the matrix or list of matrices to be used has to be set in this table.

The rest of the setting of the plot are done using the context sensitive menu, which is accessed by right
clicking on the plot. The settings are described below in the order they should be executed.

• Set Axis: with this option the origin of the axes and the length of the axes can be adjusted
according to the figure imported.
– Origin: sets the origin of the graph to be inserted
– x-Axis (y=Origin): sets the x-axis dependent on the y-axis origin.
– x-Axis: sets the x-axis independent of the y-axis.
– y-Axis (x=Origin): sets the y-axis dependent on the x-axis origin.
– y-Axis: sets the y-axis independent of the x-axis
• Active Curve: sets the curve to modify
• Input: specifies the input mode:
– x/y-Pairs: each left mouse click adds a point to the curve.

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– Drag & Drop: turns on the “edit mode”: all points can be dragged and dropped to change
their y-position or left click and delete the point with the Del key.
– Off: switches off the measurement mode

• Interpolate All: interpolates undefined y values for all curves for all defined x-values
• Interpolate N: interpolates undefined y values of curve N for all defined x-values

19.7.9 Virtual Instruments

The virtual instruments are basically measurement instruments that can be inserted into the plot to
present steady state values. The variable can be displayed with one of the following instruments:

• Digital display
• Horizontal scale
• Vertical scale

• Measurement instrument

An example of all the available measurement instruments is shown on the right side of the following
figure; the maximum and minimum limits, as well as the element and the variable presented should be
defined in the edit dialog of the instrument.

Figure 19.7.12: Measurement Instruments

19.7.10 Voltage Profile Plot

The Voltage Profile Plot (along feeder) shows the voltage profile of a radial network based on the load
flow calculation results. The Voltage Profile Plot is directly connected to a feeder object defined in the
network, so it can only be created for parts of the system where a feeder is assigned.

The Voltage Profile Plot requires a successful load flow calculation before it can display any results.
The voltage profile plot can be inserted, as all the plots, using the Insert Plot dialog, however, since it is
linked to one or more feeders, in this case it is recommended to create the plot directly from the context
sensitive menu of the feeder element, selecting Show → Voltage Profile.

An example of a voltage profile plot is shown here:

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Figure 19.7.13: Voltage profile along feeders

Customising the Voltage Profile Plot

Scales Page

The x-axis variable can be set to one of the following options:

• Distance: shows the distance from the beginning of the feeder in km.
• Bus Index: each bus is numbered sequentially from the beginning of the feeder and all of the
buses are displayed equidistantly on the plot.
• Other: this option allows plotting against a user defined variable. Only variables available at all
terminals in the feeder can be used.
By default, any branch with a loading greater than 80 % will appear red on the voltage profile plot and
any branch loaded less than the Lower Limit will be coloured blue. These colours and limits can be
adjusted in the Branch Colouring field.

The Parallel Branches option is required because the voltage profile plot only shows a single connection
line between nodes, regardless of how many parallel branches connect the two nodes. If there is a
situation where one of these parallel lines is below the Lower Limit and another is above the Upper
Limit, then the parallel branches option determines whether the single line in the voltage profile plot is
either the line with the maximum loading or the line with the minimum loading.

Curves Page

On the Curves page, the colour and style of the displayed feeders can be modified; also, a display filter
can be configured to show only the nodes with a nominal values between the specified values and to
ignore nodes with voltages below a specified limit.

Advanced Page

On this page the frame of the plot and the visibility of the legend can be defined. The colour of the
busbar (terminal) names on the voltage profile plot can also be modified as follows:

• Off: does not display any bus names

• Black: shows all names in black
• Coloured acc. to Feeder: colours the bus names according to the colour of the different feeders.

The context sensitive menu of the plot shows additional functions regarding the voltage profile plot
including:

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• Edit Feeder: opens the edit dialog of the feeder related to the plot.
• Edit Data: opens the edit dialog of the selected line, transformer or other element.

• Edit and Browse Data: shows the selected element in the Data Manager.
• Mark in Graphic: marks the selected element in the single line graphic(s).

19.7.11 Plots Toolbar

There are numerous tools which help the user interpret and analyse data and calculation results. Most
of the tools are accessible directly through plot toolbar, which is displayed when a plot is inserted. Each
of the icons of the plot toolbar, shown in figure 19.7.14 and the additional context sensitive menu options
are described in the following sections.

Figure 19.7.14: Plots Toolbar

19.7.11.1 Insert Plot

The icon inserts a plot in the existing page. Clicking on this button opens the Insert Plot dialog,
described in section 19.7.

19.7.11.2 Edit Plots on Page

The icon opens the dialog for defining curves of several plots. If the variables of only one plot are
to be changed, it is suggested to edit the dialog of the plot itself by double-clicking it. This procedure is
more convenient.

This dialog gives a very good overview over the diagrams on the plot page and the variables, axis and
curve styles. Figure 19.7.15 shows an example of the dialog.

Figure 19.7.15: Editing all plots on the plot page

Each line of the table named Curves defines a variable shown on the panel. The variables definition
applies to the plot shown in the first column. When the dialog is opened the plots are sorted from left to
right and from top to bottom and are numbered accordingly.

All data and settings of each variable are displayed in the table, and the columns are used exactly like
the columns in the table of a plot.

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The Default File for Page is a reference to the results element of the plot page. The Filter. . . button
opens the filter dialog. The selected filter will be applied to all plots on plot page.

Default Results File for Page is a reference to the default results element of plot page.

19.7.11.3 View and Select Commands

• Rebuild: updates the currently visible page by updating the drawing from the database.

• Zoom In: changes the cursor to a magnifying glass. The mouse can then be clicked and
dragged to select a rectangular area of the plot to be zoomed.

• Zoom Back: returns to the previous zoom scale.

• Zoom All: zooms to the page extends.

• Zoom Level: zooms to a custom or pre-defined level.

• Hand Tool: if a zoom is applied, can be used to pan the plot.

• Select All Plots: all the plots of the page are selected.

19.7.11.4 Automatic Arrangement Commands

A plot’s size and position is usually set automatically. There are two different modes for automatically
arranging the plots in the plot page:

• Arrange plots on top of each other

• Arrange plots automatically

The modes can easily be changed by pressing the one or the other button. The relative positions of
plots can also easily be changed: mark the plot by clicking it, then ’drag’ the plot across another plot.

Note: This option of exchanging the plots by dragging is only possible when one of the arrangement
buttons are active. If you deactivate both buttons by unselecting them in the toolbar, the plots can
freely be moved by dragging them on the panel

19.7.11.5 Scale Buttons

• Scale x-axis automatically: scales the x-axis to the start and end of the results file.

• Scale y-axis automatically: scales the y-axis according to the maximum and minimum values
of the variables in the results file.
• Zoom x-axis: zooms in a certain range of the x-axis.

• Zoom y-axis: zooms in a certain range of the y-axis.

• Move x-scale: moves the position of the x-axis.

• Stretch/compress x-scale: modifies the x-axis scales in order to compress or stretch the
shown curve.
• Stretch/compress curve: moves the curve temporarily around a reference point set in the
curve.

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Note: The scale buttons are inactive if there are no plots shown at all or if the x or y axes can not be
scaled automatically.

19.7.11.6 Labels Buttons

There are different styles of labels available for labelling curves and graphics. Setting labels is possible
in most of the different plots, although some of the labels are not available in all plot types. Labels are
all created in the same way.

Most of the label buttons are only visible after clicking on the curve. After selecting the appropriate label
from the sub-option of label, a rubber band from the cross to the mouse is shown. A click with the left
mouse button sets the label, the right mouse button cancels. The following labels are available:

• Text Label: displays user defined text above and below a line connected to the curve.

• Value Label: displays the x/y coordinates of the cross. The label is a text-label filled with the
marked coordinates.
• Gradient Label:displays the value of the difference between two x- resp. y-values (dx resp.
dy) as well as the gradient (dy/dx) and the 1/dx value. The label is a text-label filled with the
marked coordinates.
• Format Label: uses a form to print the displayed text. The form can be selected as local for
each label or a common label can be used for all plots of the same type in the active project.

• Text box: can be used to display text or tables anywhere in the plot.

• Statistic Label: helps to analyse a curve, by labelling, for example, its extrema.

Text, Value and Gradient labels

The text, value and gradient labels are defined using the same object type. The VisValue edit dialog
contains the following fields:

• Value: displays the connected curve position of the label. For labels created as a value-label this
position is displayed automatically as label text. “x-Axis” displays the x axis value and “y-Axis” the
y axis value. “Time” is only visible for plots showing a trajectory.
• Text on Top and on Bottom: text written above and below the horizontal line.
• Delete Label when a new Simulation is started: labels in plots showing simulation results are
usually automatically deleted when the simulation is started again. To keep labels in such plots,
e.g. to compare curves with the last run, this option should be un-selected.

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Figure 19.7.16: Text, Value and Gradient labels

The Format Label

The format-label displays text printed using a form. It is typically used to show the name of the object
whose variable is shown in the curve. It is useful when several curves with the same colour are plotted.

Text Box

The text box (VisText) can be used to display text somewhere in the plot. After creating the text box, it
can freely be moved across the plot. The edit dialog is shown in Figure 19.7.17.

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Figure 19.7.17: The text box dialog

• Name: name for the text box can be inserted, under which the object is saved.
• Text: the required text. A table will be created, if the option Format as Table is activated and the
text is formatted.

• Settings: the Moveable option to allows/prohibits the movement of the text box.
• Frame: displays a simple frame (single solid line) around the text box and defines the distance
between the edge of the frame and the text or hides the frame.
• Format as Table: the inserted text will be formatted as a table, if the Format as Table option is
activated and the characters “-” and “|” are used in the form as shown in Figure 19.7.17. The
horizontal and vertical line types, i.e. the line width and the line style, can then be specified.

Statistic Labels

The statistic label function provides the possibility to label the following values of the curves:
• Minimum or Maximum in the visible area of the plot

• Global Minima or Maxima

• Local Minima or Maxima
• Global Average
• Average of the visible area of the plot

• Integral of the visible area of the plot

To remove statistic labels from a curve, the button Delete Statistic Labels can be used.

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19.7.11.7 Frequency Analysis

When the button is clicked, the frequency of an area of the curve can be analysed. More information
about the frequency analysis is available in section 29.13.

19.7.11.8 Cursors

The buttons and can be used to add a vertical line in all the plots of the page. These cursor can
be used to compare plots instead of defining separate x-constants in every plots.

19.7.11.9 Title Block

The icon shows or hides the title block. The title can be defined or changed by double-clicking on it
or using the icon .

All plot pages in a Graphics Board show the same title by default. The only difference of the title blocks
on the plots pages are the panel name and the page number which are unique for each plot page. A
local title can be created by right-clicking on the title and selecting Create local Title from the context
sensitive menu.

For details about the settings of the title object refer to Chapter 9: Network Graphics.

19.7.11.10 Edit Plot Page

Whenever a plot is inserted, a Plot Page is automatically created, the Plot Page being one of the
possible page types on a Graphics Board. The edit dialog can be opened by clicking on the icon
and the pages are described below.

x-Axis

Holds the default x-Axis for plots without local axis stored in pages without local axis. The options are
the same as described in section 19.7.1, on page 288.

Advanced

• Arrangement: this option has the same effect of using the icons described in section 19.7.11.4.
If the option User Defined is selected, the plots can be resized and moved inside the panel as
desired.
• Plot style: the style used for all the plots in the plot page can be selected in this field; more
information is available in section 19.7.11.11.
• Background: the default background of the plot page is empty. The Filename defines the back-
ground file. If the selected file does not exist, or the filename not set, the background remains
empty. Graphics are transparent must be activated to make all graphics transparent. If an opaque
graphic fills the complete panel area the background will be invisible.

Results

On this page, it is possible to define the Results File object used for all the plots in the plot page. The
result column of the plots need not be set for most calculations: the plot itself will look for the results
element to display automatically.

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19.7.11.11 Current Styles

Each plot page uses a style where line-widths, fonts, brushes and other graphical settings are defined.
There are some predefined styles available in PowerFactory, which are:

• Default - Standard Text and Symbols

• Paper

The Default style uses smaller line-widths and smaller fonts than the Paper style. It was designed to get
satisfactory printouts. The paper style was designed for reports and papers where plots are included in
text-programs.

User-defined styles can also be created. This process is described in detail in section 19.7.14 later in
this chapter.

19.7.11.12 Print Preview

The Print Preview icon opens the print preview page. The printer and margins to be used can be
selected in this dialog.

19.7.11.13 Page Format

The page format is modified using the icon. In the Page Format, the drawing size and the page
format are defined. The plot page uses the page format set in the graphics board.

In addition a local page format can be created for each Plot Page by selecting the option Create local
Page Format from the context sensitive menu.

19.7.11.14 New and Copy

The icon can be used to insert a new plot page, which will initially be empty; the icon should then
be used to insert plots on the plot page.

An existing Plot Page can be copied using the icon . This will create a copy of the page, including all
the plots it contains.

19.7.12 Context Sensitive Menu Tools

As well as the tools of the plot toolbar, the following additional tools are available via the context sensitive
menu, displayed by right clicking on the plot.

Create Full Size

This option will create a new Plot Page containing only the selected plot.

Set Constant

The constant label is used to display a straight line. It can be used to display y-values for a constant
x-quantity or x-values for a constant y-quantity.

The look of constant labels can be varied with the following settings:

• Style: changes the representation of the constant label as follows:

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– Line Only : displays only the solid line and the related label.
– Line with Intersections: shows a solid line including label and indicates the values when
intersections with the curves of the plot.
– Short Line Only (Left/Right/Top/Bottom): indicates the constant value at the bottom/top re-
spectively at the right/left side of the plot.
– Short Line/Intersection (Left/Right/Top/Bottom): indicates the constant value at the bottom/-
top respectively at the right/left side of the plot and the intersections with curves.
– Intersection Only : shows only the intersection points with the curves.
• Label: defines the position of the constant value label as follows:
– None: displays no label at all.
– Outside of Diagram: creates the label between the border of the Plot and the diagram area.
Labels of constant x values are created above the diagram area, labels of constant y values
to the right of the diagram area.
– Above Line (right): shows a label above the line if y is constant; the label will be on the right
hand side.
– Below Line (left): shows the label below the line on the left hand side.
– Left of Line (top): shows a label on the left side of the line if x is constant; the label will be on
the top end.
– Right of Line (bottom): shows the label right of the line on the bottom end.
• Value: defines the constant value, either X or Y. The dialog shows if either an X or Y is set. Also
the actual position of the cross will be shown as an x- or y-value. It is not possible to change a
constant X into a constant Y label other than by removing the old label and creating the new one.
• Colour: specifies the colour of the line and the labels/intersections.
• Linestyle and Width: specifies the line style and line width for the line shown. Invisible if Show
Values is set to Intersections Only.

Straight Line

The Straight Line → . . . option includes the following options:

• Set Secant: adds a line directly through the selected data point.
• Through Point: defines a graphic line through the selected data point with a defined gradient and
gives back the function of the line.
• User Defined: defines a line independent from the curves shown with a defined gradient and
y-offset. The function of the inserted line can also be seen, when holding the mouse arrow over
the line for 1 second. The options of the line dialog is similar to the options for the constant value.

19.7.13 The Status Bar

In the status bar of PowerFactory on the bottom of the program window useful information regarding
the data shown in the curves can be obtained.

• First the value of the mouse position in the diagram is displayed in the status bar, similar to the
information shown with an open single line diagram.
• When a curve is clicked and marked with a cross, the cross value is displayed in the status bar and
remains unchanged until the cross is set to a different position. If there is no cross on the active
page the status bar value is reset and no longer displayed. Some plots have different scales on
one axis; these plots can not display a value in the status bar.
• The option Curve-Tracking can be found in the status bar, normally in grey. Double-clicking on this
enables the “Curve-Tracking” mode. In this mode a cross will appear if the mouse arrow is near a
curve. Holding the mouse pointer still for one second will show a balloon window with the x- and
y-value.

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19.7.14 User-Defined Styles

The user-defined styles are stored in the settings folder element of the active project. There are two
folders where the styles are stored, one for the Plot Page and one for the Plot object. A new style
is created by right clicking on the plot or on the plot page and selecting Style → Create New Style.
Once a user-defined style is created, the option Style → Edit Style of the context sensitive menu can
be selected to open the dialog of the new style.

The user defined styles dialogs for the plot page and plot are described below.

19.7.14.1 User-Defined Styles for the Plot Page

Figure 19.7.18 shows the dialog for editing the layout of the panel.

Figure 19.7.18: Editing the Plot Page style

In this dialog it is mainly the layout of the title block of the Plot Page that is edited. The following settings
can be defined:

• the different font styles for the various entries of the block by clicking on the buttons
• the height and the width of the columns of the title block

• the line width of the title block and of the page frame

19.7.14.2 User-Defined Styles for Plots

There is the possibility to define the x- and y-axis of the plots inside on one page. These settings are
then valid for every plot on panels using this style. When selecting the option Style → Edit Style from
the plot a window will be shown, containing the settings for:
• all x-axis of plots using this style
• all y-axis

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• the selected plot object (Visplot)

When double-clicking on the object which is to be changed, the dialog of the selected axis will be opened
as shown in the following figure and can then be modified.

Figure 19.7.19: Editing the styles of X-axis

In the axes dialogs the following settings can be specified for the selected style:

• Axis: here the style and width of the axis itself can be changed. Also the number of small ticks
shown between the divisions can be chosen.
• Text: the number of characters and the digits behind the decimal point as well as the font type
and size can be specified.

• Distance Axis-Text: distance between the axis and the text

• Arrow: the representation can be altered between the normal style and a style with an arrow at
the end of the axis with a certain width and length of its tip.
The presentation of the plot itself can be chosen by modifying the plot object (VisPlot). The settings
available for the plot object are:

• Grid: options to alter the width, line style and colour of the main grid and the help grid.
• Legend: to edit the distances from the legend to axis and between the different legends.
• Margins: to set spaces between the diagram and the surroundings.

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Chapter 20

Data Extensions

20.1 Introduction

Introduced in PowerFactory 2018, the Data Extensions functionality allows users to extend their data
models by adding user-defined attributes for elements and other objects in a PowerFactory project.
Furthermore, if the users find that defining additional attributes for existing objects is not sufficient to
address their needs, it is also possible to define entire new classes of object.

The definitions of the attributes, which are done on an object class basis, include the data type (such as
integer, double, string), description, unit and default value. Once defined, the new attributes are treated
by PowerFactory in the same way as the inbuilt attributes, available to scripts, DGS interface etc. Data
Extensions are specific to the project, but the configuration can be copied from one project to another,
where the new Data Extensions will be aggregated with any existing Data Extensions.

20.2 Data Extension Configuration

20.2.1 Creating Data Extensions

To create Data Extensions within a project, select from the main toolbar Tools → Data Extensions→
Configuration. The Data Extension Configurations are stored in the project Settings folder, and the
required *.SetDataext will be automatically created as required.

When the Tools → Data Extensions→ Configuration command is used, a dialog box appears, which
allows the user to create new Data Extensions or modify or delete existing ones.

To create a new Data Extension variable definition, follow these steps:

• Use the new object icon ; this will then create a new IntAddonvars object, where the attributes
are configured.
• Select or type in the name of the class for which the attributes are to be configured. “Wildcards”
(e.g. Elm*) may be used if the attributes are to be made available to multiple classes. Note that if
the class name is not recognised as an existing class, it will be assumed that the user wishes to
create an entirely new class (see section 20.2.2 below)
• Give the definition a meaningful name.
• Use right-click to append rows in the table below.
• Populate the rows as required. The Name is the actual attribute name and the Description will
appear, for example, as a column heading if the attribute is used in a flexible data page.

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• The attribute Type is selected from a drop-down list, and the Unit and Initial Value can also be
specified as required.
• Click on OK to save the new definition.

Note that once Data Extensions have been created, further additions or changes will result in a need to
migrate the data within the project, and a version will be created in case there is a need to roll back to
the state prior to the change.

Modifications to Data Extensions must be done using the Tools → Data Extensions→ Configuration
command. Modifications cannot be done by going to the Settings folder of the project and accessing
the Data Extensions directly there. It should also be noted that it is currently not possible to change an
attribute’s type in an existing Data Extension. The attribute must be deleted, the configuration saved
and then the attribute can be redefined with a new type.

20.2.2 User Defined Classes

In an enhancement to the above process, the use can choose to define a completely new class of
object, then ascribe the attributes to this new object class.

To define a new object class, follow the above steps but instead of using an existing class name the
enter a new class name. PowerFactory will create the new class, prefixing it with “Ext” to indicate that it
is a user-defined class.

Once the new class is defined, objects of that class can be created and handled like other objects in the
project, for example being populated with data and accessed via DPL or Python scripts.

20.3 Using Data Extensions

The new attributes can be treated in much the same way as existing attributes, for example added to
flexible data pages or accessed by scripts; the use of characteristics with such parameters, however, is
not possible.

To add a new attribute to a flexible data page (see 10.6 for more information about the use of flexible
data pages), open up the Variable Definition dialog and select Data Extension on the left-hand side.

They have a prefix p, rather than the e used for the built-in attributes, so for example if Data Extension
for synchronous machines includes a new attribute Size, the parameter will be shown as p:Size.

The value of a Data Extension attribute can be modified within the object’s edit dialog (select the Data
Extension page) or in a Flexible data page, as with other parameters. Attributes of primitive data types,
i.e. integer and double, can be edited in place. For more complex attributes including strings, double-
clicking into the cell opens a dedicated edit value dialog. Although it is not possible to type such values
directly in a flexible data page, it is still possible to copy and paste them from one object to another.

As mentioned in the introduction, Data Extensions can be used by scripts, DGS imports etc. Recording
in scenarios is also supported; however, this is restricted to attributes of type string, integer, double or
object.

20.4 Sharing Data Extensions

Having created Data Extensions in one project, users may wish to use them in other projects. It is
possible to fetch Data Extension configurations from another project using the command Tools → Data
Extensions→ Copy settings from project. This process is additive, i.e. the fetched Data Extensions will

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be added to any existing Data Extensions in the project. However, the user will be required to resolve
any conflicts such as duplicate attribute names for the same object class.

Another option open to users if they have Data Extensions which they want to use routinely is to create
them in the default project (in the Configuration, Default folder) so that every new project created in the
database will automatically have them.

As the Data Extensions are part of the project, they are therefore retained when moving or copying
projects. Likewise, they are also retained when projects are exported as .pfd or snapshot export .dzs
files, but will not be retained if the older .dz export is used.

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Chapter 21

Data Management

21.1 Introduction

The basic elements of project management within the PowerFactory environment were introduced in
Chapter 4 (PowerFactory Overview). They allow the user to generate network designs and administer
all input information and settings related to PowerFactory calculations and analyses. The project itself
is much more than a simple folder which stores all objects which comprise a power system model; it
allows the user to do advanced management tasks such as: versioning, deriving, comparing, merging
and sharing. These advanced features simplify data management in multi-user environments.

The following sections explain each of the data management functions in more detail:

• Project Versions;
• Derived Projects;
• Comparing and Merging Projects;
• How to update a Project;
• Sharing Projects;
• Combining Projects; and
• Database Archiving.

21.2 Project Versions

The section explains the PowerFactory concept of a version. The section first explains what a version
is and when it can be used. Next the procedure for creating a version is explained. Specific procedures
related to versions such as rolling back to a version, checking if a version is the basis for a derived
project and deleting a version are then explained.

21.2.1 What is a Version?

A Version is a snapshot of a project taken at a certain point in time. Using versions, the historic
development of a project can be controlled. Also, the previous state of a project can be recovered by
rolling back a version. From the PowerFactory database point of view, a version is a read-only copy of
the original project (at the moment of version creation), which is stored inside a Version (IntVersion, ).
Versions are stored inside the original project in a special folder called Versions.

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The concept of versions is illustrated in Figure 21.2.1. At time 𝑡0, the project ’SIN’ is created. After a
time, 𝑡1, when the owner has made several changes they decide to make a copy of the project in its
current state by creating the version ’V1’. After more time, 𝑡2, and after more changes with respect to
’V1’, another version ’V2’ is created by the owner. The version control can continue with time like this,
with versions accumulating with a periodicity of 𝑡.

After versions are created, the owner can revert the project to the state of the version by using the
Rollback function. This destroys all modifications implemented after a version was created (including
all versions created after the rolled-back version.

Figure 21.2.1: Project versions

21.2.2 How to Create a Version

This sub-section describes the procedure for creating a version. To create a version of the active project
follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the active project.

2. Select New → Version from the context-sensitive menu. Alternatively, use the option File → New
Version from the main PowerFactory menu. The dialog for the new version appears.
3. Set the desired options (explained in the next section) and press OK. PowerFactory automatically
creates and stores the version in the Versions folder (which is automatically created if it does not
yet exist).

21.2.2.1 Options in the Version Dialog

Point in Time By default this is set to the system clock time when the version was created. However, it
is also possible to enter an earlier time (back to the beginning of retention period of the project).

Note: Setting a Point in Time earlier than the clock time means that the version is created considering
the state of the project at the time entered. This can be used for example, to revert the project to
a previous state, even though other versions have not yet been created.

Notify users of derived projects If this option is enabled, when a user of a project that is derived from
the active project activates their derived project, they are informed that the new version is available.
Thereafter, updates of the derived project can be made (for further information about derived projects
refer to Section 21.3).

Complete project approval for versioning required If this option is enabled, PowerFactory checks if
all the objects in the active project are approved. If Not Approved objects are found, an error message
is printed and the version is not created.

Note: The Approval Status is found on the Description page in the dialog of most grid and library
objects.

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21.2.3 How to Rollback a Project

This sub-section describes the use of the Rollback function to revert a project to the state of a version
of that project. For example, consider a project called ’V0’, created at a point in time, 𝑡. If a Rollback to
’V0’ is completed, the project returns to its state at the creation of ’V0’. After the Rollback, all changes
implemented after ’V0’ (i.e. after V0’s point in time) are deleted. Also, all versions newer than ’V0’ are
removed. This concept is illustrated in Figure 21.2.2.

Figure 21.2.2: Example of a rollback

To complete a rollback

1. Deactivate the target project.

2. Right-click on the version that you wish to rollback to and select the option Rollback to this version
from the context-sensitive menu.
3. Press OK when the confirmation message appears.

Note that a Rollback is not allowed (and therefore not enabled in the context-sensitive menu) if a newer
version of the project exists and this version is the base of a derived project. A rollback cannot be
undone!

Note: A version can only be deleted if it does not have derived projects.

21.2.4 How to Check if a Version is the Base for a Derived Project

The following steps should be followed to check if a version is the base for a derived project:

1. Activate the project.

2. Go to the Versions folder inside the project.
3. Right-click on the Version that should be checked. This should be done via the right window pane
in the Data Manager, not the main Data Manager tree.

4. Select the option Output. . . → Derived Projects.

5. A list of derived projects will be shown in PowerFactory ’s output window.

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21.2.5 How to Delete a Version

To delete a version:

1. Activate the project containing the version.

2. Go to the Versions folder inside the project.
3. Right-click on the Version that should be deleted.

4. Select the option Delete.

21.3 Derived Projects

This section explains the concept of a derived project. For background information regarding the use of
derived projects, see sub-Section 21.3.1. In addition, sub-Section 21.3.2 describes the procedure for
creating a derived project.

21.3.1 Derived Projects Background

As is often the case, several users might wish to work on the same project. To avoid large amounts of
data duplication that would be required to create a project copy for each user, DIgSILENT has developed
a virtual copy approach called derived projects. From the user’s point of view, a derived project is like
a normal copy of a project version. However, only the differences between the original project version
(the base project) and the virtual copy (the derived project) are stored in the database. Because the
derived project is based on a version, changes made to the base project do not affect it. Like ’normal’
projects, derived projects can be controlled over time by the use of versions, but these derived versions
cannot be used to create further derived projects.

Note: A derived project is a local ’virtual copy’ of a version of a base project (master project):
- It behaves like a “real copy” from the user’s point of view.
- Internally, only the data differences between the base project and the derived project are stored
in the database.
- This approach reduces the data overhead.

In a multi-user database, the data administrator might publish a base project in a public area of the
database. Every user can subsequently create their own derived project and use as if it is the original
base project. Changes made by individual users are stored in their respective derived projects, so that
the base project remains the same for all users.

In a single-user database, the data administrator must export the base project. The user of the derived
project must always have this project imported. However, different users of the same base project can
exchange their derived project. Therefore the derived project should not be exported with option Export
derived project as regular project enabled. See Section 8.1.4 for further details.

The purpose of a derived project is that all users work with an identical power system model. The
derived project always remains connected to the base project.

The concept of derived projects is illustrated in Figure 21.3.1; here version ’Version3’ of the base project
(’MasterProject’) was used to create ’DerivedProject’. After ’DerivedProject’ was created, two versions
of it were created.

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Figure 21.3.1: Principle of derived projects

At any stage, the data administrator might create a version of a base project which has derived projects
from other versions of the base project. The user might wish to update their derived project with one of
these new versions. Alternatively, the data administrator might like to incorporate changes made in a
derived project to the base project. All of these features are possible, by using the Compare and Merge
Tool, explained in Section 21.4.

Figure 21.3.2: Derived projects in a multi-user database

In the Data Manager, a derived project looks like a normal project. The Derived Project page of its
dialog has a reference where the user can see the base project and the version used to derive the
project.

Users are notified of changes in the base project if: there is a new version of the base project (newer
than the currently-used version) which has the option Notify users of derived projects enabled (the
user/administrator enables this option when creating a new version), and the option Disable notification
at activation disabled (found on the Derived Project page of the project dialog).

The user may update a derived project when they next activate it, provided that the conditions stated
above are met. The newest version that can be used to update a derived project is referred to (if
available) in the Most recent Version field of the dialog. Users can compare this new version with their
own derived project and decide which changes to include in the derived project. For comparing and
accepting or refusing individual changes, the Compare and Merge Tool is used. For information about
the Compare and Merge Tool refer to Section 21.4.

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Figure 21.3.3: New version of base project in a multi-user database

Figure 21.3.4: Merging the new version of the base project into derived projects

21.3.2 How to Create a Derived Project

A derived project is created using the Data Manager as follows:

1. Right-click on the desired folder in the right pane of the Data Manager where the derived project
is to be created.
2. Select New → Derived Project from the context-sensitive menu.

3. Select the source version of the base project using the data browser that appears. This will likely
be the last available version of a project in a public area, created by the data administrator.
4. Press OK.

Note: • The base or master project has to have at least one version before other projects can be
derived from it.
• A project cannot be derived from a derived project.
• Whether a project is derived or not can be checked on the Derived Project page of the project
dialog.

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• To create a derived project from a base project stored in another user’s account, read access
is required. See Section 21.6 for further details.

After the derived project is created, it can be used as a normal project.

The derived project can be exported as a “Regular Project” or with the base project. This option can be
selected from the Export dialog.

21.4 Comparing and Merging Projects

This section describes the procedure for comparing and merging projects within the PowerFactory
database. There are many circumstances whereby it may be desirable and/or necessary to merge
data from multiple projects. For example, when the data administrator updates a master project that is
the base project for a derived project that a user is working with. The Compare and Merge Tool (CMT)
can be used to update the user’s project with the data changes, yet also allows the user control over
which changes are implemented.

This section is separated into six sub-sections. Firstly, the background of the CMT is presented. The fol-
lowing sub-section explains the procedure needed for merging together or comparing two projects. Sub-
Section 21.4.3 explains the procedure for merging or comparing three projects. In sub-Section 21.4.4,
the advanced options of the CMT are explained. The CMT uses a diff browser for showing the
differences and conflicts between compared projects and also for allowing data assignments. This
is explained in sub-Section 21.4.5.

21.4.1 Compare and Merge Tool Background

When working collaboratively in a multi-user environment, a data administrator might often need to
update the master project to create a version based on updates completed by one or more users to
projects derived from the master project. The Compare and Merge Tool (CMT) is used for this purpose.
This tool can be used for project comparison in addition to the merging of project data. It is capable of
a two-way comparison between two projects and also a three-way comparison for three projects.

Internally, PowerFactory refers to each of the compared projects according to the following nomencla-
ture:

• <Base> Project - the base project for comparison.

• <1st> - the first project to compare to the <Base> project.
• <2nd> - the second project to compare to the <Base> project and to the <1st> project (three-
way comparison only).

The CMT compares the chosen projects and generates an interactive window known as the CMT diff
browser to show the differences. For a two-way merge, the changes found in the <1st> project can be
implemented in the <Base>, provided that the user selects <1st> as the source (<Base> is by default
the target). When merging three projects together, the target is either the <1st> or <2nd> project.

21.4.2 How to Merge or Compare Two Projects Using the Compare and Merge
Tool

This section describes the procedure for merging together or comparing two projects using the Compare
and Merge Tool (CMT) (ComMerge). Note that the comparison is completed using a similar procedure
but with slight differences that will also be explained here.

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To merge or compare two projects:

1. In the Data Manager, right-click on an inactive project and choose Select as Base to Compare.
2. Right-click on a second (inactive) project and select Compare to [Name of Base Project]. The
CMT options dialog will appear. The <Base> and the <1st> project are listed in the Compare
section of the dialog.
3. Optional: If a third project should be included in the comparison, the box next to <2nd> must be
checked. The third project can then be selected with a data browser by using the icon. See
Section 21.4.3 for a more detailed explanation of the 3-way comparison.

4. Optional: If the base and compare projects should be swapped around, press the button. This
would be the case if Project A should be the <1st> project and Project B should be the <Base>.
5. Select one of the options Compare only, Manually or Automatically. The differences between
these three choices are:
• Compare only : If the two projects should only be compared and no merge is desired, then
select Compare only. This disables the merge functionality and only the differences between
the two projects will be shown.
• Manually : When this option is selected, the user will be asked to make assignments (i.e.
to choose the source project data for common objects that are merged together). For this
option, the target project can also be selected. Selecting <Base> will merge changes into
the <Base> project, whereas selecting <1st> will instead merge changes into the <1st>
comparison project.
• Automatically : When this option is selected, PowerFactory will attempt to automatically
merge the two projects together, by automatically making data assignments. In a two-way
comparison, merging will be automatically into the base project (the base is automatically
assumed to be the ’target’ for the merging procedure). Note that if conflicts are detected
during an automatic merge, the CMT will automatically switch to manual mode.
6. Press Execute to run the compare or merge. The CMT diff browser will appear (unless an
automatic merge was selected and no conflicts were identified by PowerFactory ). Interpreting
and using the diff browser is described in Section 21.4.5.

Note: It is possible to assign user-defined names to each of the compared projects. This makes it
easier to recognise which project is being referred to by the CMT later on in the diff browser (see
Section 21.4.5). For example, the user might wish to name two compared projects ’Master’ and
’User’, respectively. User-defined names can be implemented by typing the desired name in the
as ... field in the CMT options dialog. These user-defined names are limited to a maximum of 10
characters.

21.4.3 How to Merge or Compare Three Projects Using the Compare and Merge
Tool

This section describes the procedure for merging or comparing three projects using the Compare and
Merge Tool (CMT). The comparison procedure is completed using a similar method to that used for a
two-way merge or compare, but with minor differences that will be explained here.

To merge or compare three projects:

1. In the Data Manager, right-click an inactive project and choose Select as Base to Compare.
2. In the window on the right of the Data Manager, hold the CTRL key to multi-select a second and
third inactive project.
3. Right-click the multi-selection and select the option Compare to “<project>”. The CMT options
dialog will appear as shown in Figure 21.4.1. The <Base>, the <1st> and the <2nd> project are
listed in the Compare section of the dialog.

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Figure 21.4.1: Compare and Merge Tool options dialog for a three-way merge

4. Select one of the options Compare only, Manually or Automatically. The differences between
these three choices are:
• Compare only : If only two projects should be compared and no merge is required, then select
the radio button Compare only. This disables the merge functionality and only the differences
between the two projects will be shown.
• Manually : When this option is selected, the user will be asked to make assignments (to
choose the source project data for common objects that are merged together). Using this
option, the target project can also be selected. For a three-way merge, merging cannot
be done into the <Base>, meaning that either the <1st> or the <2nd> project must be
selected.
• Automatically : When this option is selected, PowerFactory will attempt to merge the three
projects together, via automatic data assignments. As for the option Manually, the target
can be either the <1st> or <2nd> project. Note that if ’conflicts’ are detected during an
automatic merge, the CMT will automatically switch to manual mode.
5. If using options Manually or Automatically, the assignment priority must also be selected, by
choosing an option from the Assign drop-down menu. This defines the default assignment in
the CMT diff browser (or automatic merge) when PowerFactory identifies conflicts. For example,
say the CMT identifies that the load ’L1’ has an active power of 10 MW in <Base>, 12 MW in
<1st> and 13 MW in <2nd>. By choosing the option Automatically and favour 1st, the default
assignment for ’L1’ would be <1st>, and a power of 12 MW would be assigned to this load in the
target project (provided that the user did not manually alter the assignment).

6. Press Execute to run the compare or merge. The CMT diff browser will appear (unless an
automatic merge was selected and no conflicts were identified by PowerFactory ). Using the diff
browser is described in Section 21.4.5.

Note: It is possible to assign user-defined names to each of the compared projects. This makes it
easier to recognise which project is being referred to by the CMT later on in the diff browser (see
Section 21.4.5). For example, the user might wish to name two compared projects ’Master’ and
’User’, respectively. User-defined names can be implemented by typing the desired name in the
as ... field in the CMT options dialog. These user-defined names are limited to a maximum of 10
characters.

21.4.4 Compare and Merge Tool Advanced Options

Search correspondents for added objects

This option is only available for a three-way merge and is enabled by default. If enabled, PowerFactory
can automatically align two independently added objects as being the same object. This option can

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be useful when completing a comparison on projects where users have added the same object (same
name) in each of their respective projects, and the user would like to ensure that PowerFactory identifies
this object as being the same object. Note that this option is only considered when the Identify
correspondents always by name/rules option is also enabled.

Consider approval information

By default this option is disabled, which means that information on the Description page under Approval
Information is not compared. For example, if this option is disabled and an object’s Approval status
changes from Not Approved to Approved or vice versa, then this modification would not be registered
by the CMT comparison engine.

Depth

This option controls whether the CMT compares only the selected objects or also all objects contained
within the compared objects. By default, Chosen and contained objects is enabled which means
the CMT compares all objects within the selected comparison objects. This is generally the most
appropriate option when merging projects.

Ignore differences <

This field defines the tolerance of the comparison engine when comparing numerical parameters. If
the difference between two numerical parameters is less than the value entered into this field, then the
comparison will show the two values as equal, =.

21.4.5 Compare and Merge Tool ’diff browser’

After the CMT options have been set, press the Execute button to start the CMT comparison. The
comparison and assignment results are then presented in a data browser window (the CMT diff browser
window shown in Figure 21.4.2). The diff browser is divided into three parts:

• Data Tree window on the left;

• Comparison and Assignment window on the right; and
• Output window at the bottom.

These features are explained in the following sections.

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Figure 21.4.2: Compare and Merge Tool diff browser after a three-way merge

Output Window

The output window displays reports from the context-sensitive (right-click) menu, and other error infor-
mation.

How to use the Comparison and Assignment window

In the CMT Comparison and Assignment Window, a list of the compared objects is shown. The
window appears slightly different depending on whether a two-way merge, a three-way merge or a
comparison has been performed. For instance, after a comparison, the Assigned from and Assignment
Conflict columns are not shown. After a two-way merge, the columns with the project names will show
<Base> and <1st> (or user-defined names), whereas after a three-way merge they will show <1st>
and <2nd>. A comparison result symbol, indicating the differences found for each object from the list,
is displayed in the columns <Base> and <1st> after a two-way merge and in columns <1st> and
<2nd> after a three-way merge. The possible combinations of these symbols are shown and explained
in Tables 21.4.1 and 21.4.2.

Base 1st Comment

The object has been removed from the <1st> project
The object has been added to the <1st> project
A parameter of the object has been modified in the <1st> project
The object is identical in both projects

Table 21.4.1: Possible results after a two-way comparison or merge

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Base 1st Comment

Objects are identical in all projects
A parameter of the object is modified in the
<2nd> project
A parameter of the object is modified in the
<1st> project
A new object in the <2nd> project
A new object in the <1st> project
Object removed from the <2nd> project
Object removed from the <1st> project
Modified in both projects but the same
modifications in both
Modified in both projects but the modifica-
tions are different
Modified in the <1st> project and re-
moved from the <2nd> project
Modified in the <2nd> project and re-
moved from the <1st> project
Identical object added to both projects
Object added to both projects but param-
eters are different
Object removed from both projects

Table 21.4.2: Possible results after a three-way comparison or merge

For a project merge (i.e. the Merge option was enabled in the command dialog), the Assigned from
must define the source project of the changes to implement in the target project. All listed objects must
have an Assignment. If a certain change should not be implemented in the target; then the ’target’
project must be selected as the source.

Special attention should be paid to all results indicated by the ’conflict’ symbol . This symbol shows
that the objects are different in both compared projects or that another error has occurred. In the case
of conflicts, the user must always indicate the source project for the data.

In a two-way merge, the only available sources for assignment are the <Base> (which is also the
target) and <1st>. In a three-way merge, the possible sources are <Base>, <1st> and <2nd>. The
assignment can be made manually by double-clicking on the corresponding cell in the Assigned from
column and selecting the desired source, or double-clicking the <Base>, <1st> or <2nd> cell that
the user wishes to assign. However, this task can be tedious in large projects where there are many
differences. To rapidly assign many objects, the objects can be multi-selected and then Assign from . . .
or Assign with Children from . . . can be selected from the context-sensitive (right-click) menu.

Following the assignment of all the objects, the projects can be merged by pressing the Merge button.
The changes are then automatically implemented in the target project.

Note: The Comparison and Assignment window always shows the selected object in the Data Tree
window in the first row.

Data Tree Window

The window on the left side of Figure 21.4.2 shows the Data Tree, which is similar in appearance
to PowerFactory ś Data Manager tree. This window shows the compared objects in a normal project
tree structure. At each level of the tree, there is an indication on the right showing the status of the
comparison of the contained objects (and the object itself). The legend for the comparison indication is
shown in Table 21.4.3.

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Icon/Text Meaning
Assignments/comparison is okay
Conflicts exist
Mixed/<Base>/<1st>/<2nd> The text indicates the assignments
within by indicating the assigned
project. If assignments within are from
multiple different sources, then ’Mixed’
will be shown.
Assignments missing
Bold red font Three-way merge - information will be
lost during the merge
Two-way merge - information could be
lost during the merge

Table 21.4.3: Data Tree window legend

Diff Browser Toolbar

As previously mentioned, the objects displayed in the CMT window can be sorted and organised by the
toolbar as shown in Figure 21.4.3. The buttons available are explained in this section.

Figure 21.4.3: Compare and Merge Tool ’diff browser’ toolbar

Modifications to be shown The Modifications to be shown drop-down menu allows the results
in the comparison windows to be filtered according to their comparison status. Possible filter
options for a three-way comparison are:

• All objects

• All modifications (default)

• All modifications in <1st> (show all modifications, additions and deletions in the <1st> project)
• All modifications in <2nd> (show all modifications, additions and deletions in the <2nd> project)

• All modifications in both (show only those objects which exist in both projects and have been
modified in both projects)
• All modifications in both but different (show only those objects which exist in both projects and
have been modified in both projects to different values)

• Added in <1st> (show only objects added to the <1st> project)

• Modified in <1st> (show only objects modified in the <1st> project)
• Deleted in <1st> (show only objects deleted from the <1st> project)
• Added in <2nd> (show only objects added to the <2nd> project)

• Modified in <2nd> (show only objects modified in the <2nd> project)

• Deleted in <2nd> (show only objects deleted from the <2nd> project)

The following options are available for a two-way comparison:

• All objects

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• All modifications
• Added in <1st>

• Modified in <1st>
• Deleted in <1st>

Only one option can be selected at a time.

Show all objects inside chosen object This button will list all compared objects and also
all contained objects (at every level of the tree).

Show graphical elements Pressing this button will prevent graphical differences from ap-
pearing in the Comparison window. Because graphical changes often occur, and are usually
trivial (i.e. a slight adjustment to the x-axis position of an object), this button is extremely useful
for organising the data.

Detail mode and Detail mode class select The functionality of these two buttons is
identical to their function in the Data Manager.

Show only not assigned Filters the display to show only objects not yet assigned. This filter
is only available when the merge option is used. By default all assigned and unassigned objects
are displayed.

Show only Objects with assignment conflicts Only objects with assignment conflicts are
displayed. This filter is only available when the merge option is used. By default objects with and
without assignment conflicts are displayed.

Group dependent objects If this option is enabled, dependent objects are listed indented
underneath each listed comparison object. A dependent object is defined as an object that is
referenced by another object. For example, a line type (TypLne) is a dependent object of a line
element (ElmLne), as are the cubicles that connect the line element to a terminal. If the objects
are grouped and not filtered otherwise, every object has to be listed at least once but can be
listed several times as a dependency. Non-primary objects (such as graphical elements) are only
listed separately if they are not listed as a dependency for another object.

Dependent objects are not filtered. By default, the grouping of dependent objects is not displayed
because this type of display can quickly expand to become unusable (because in a typical project
there are many dependencies).

Diff window right-click menu options

A context-sensitive menu can be accessed by right-clicking on a cell or an object in the Data

Tree window or in the Comparison and Assignment window. The following options are available:
Show Object . . . A project selection window will appear so that the user can select to show
specific object data. After the reference project has been selected, the dialog of the selected
object is then displayed. The dialog is read-only.

Output Modification Details This prints a report to the output window showing the details of the
differences for the selected objects. The format of the report is an ASCII table with the modified
parameters as rows and the parameter values in each compared project as columns. The date
and time of the last modification along with the database user who made the last change are
always shown in the first two rows.

Output Non-OPD Modification Details This option is similar to the Output Modification Details
option, but it only shows the modifications that are not classed as Operational Data.

Align Manually This option allows the compared objects to be realigned across the compared
projects. What this means is that disparate objects can instead be compared directly. This could
be useful for example when two different users have added an object to their derived projects but

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each has given it a slightly different name, even though the objects are representing the same
’real world’ object. The CMT would see these objects as different objects by default. In this case,
the data administrator might wish to tell PowerFactory that these two different objects are the
same object. This can be achieved using the Align Manually function.

Ignore Missing References For every compared object, missing references can be optionally
ignored. The assignment check will then not check the references of the object. Missing refer-
ences can also be considered again by using the Consider Missing References option. By default
missing references are not ignored.

Set Marker in Tree A right-click in the Data Tree window allows the user to set a marker within
the Data Tree. This has the functionality similar to a bookmark and the user can return to this
point in the Data Tree at any time by using the Jump to Marker ”...” in Tree. Note that it is only
possible to set one marker at a time; setting a new marker will automatically overwrite the last
marker.

Diff window buttons

The various diff window buttons (as highlighted in Figure 21.4.4) will now be explained.

Figure 21.4.4: Compare and Merge Tool ’Diff window’ with buttons highlighted

Check This button checks that all assignments are okay. The following conflicts are checked for
all compared objects:
• Missing assignment;

• Missing parent (parent object of an assigned object will not exist in the target after merge.)
• Missing reference (referenced object of an assigned object will not exist in the target after merge.)
All conflicts are printed as errors to the output window of the CMT. Conflicts are listed in groups
and with the icon in the Data Tree and in the Comparison and Assignment window.

Recompare After a realignment, it is necessary to run the CMT again using this button to update
the comparison results.

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Merge The merge procedure updates the target by copying objects or parameters or by deleting
objects according to the assignments. Before the merge procedure is started, an assignment
check is done. The merge procedure is cancelled if the check detects conflicts. If no conflicts
are detected, the diff browser is closed and then the merge procedure is started. After the merge
procedure is complete, all data collected by the CMT is discarded.

Info The Info dialog called by the Info button shows more information about the comparison:
• Database path of the top-level projects/objects that are being compared;
• Target for merge (only if merge option is active);
• Selected comparison options;

• Number of objects compared;

• Number of objects modified; and
• Number of objects with conflicts (only if merge option is active).

21.5 How to Update a Project

There are two common procedures that users and data administrators need to complete when working
with master projects and other user projects that are derived from versions of this master project:
• Updating a derived project with information from a new version; and
• Updating a master project with information from a derived project.

This section explains these two procedures and also provides tips for working with the CMT.

21.5.1 Updating a Derived Project from a new Version

When a derived project is activated after a new version of the Base project has been created (provided
that the flag Notify users of derived projects was checked when the version was created and that the
derived project option Disable notification at activation is unchecked), then the user will be presented
with the dialog shown in Figure 21.5.1.

Figure 21.5.1: New version available dialog

The options offered in the notification dialog are:

• Merge new version with derived project and. PowerFactory automatically generates a tem-
porary copy derived from the new version. It then executes a 3-way comparison with the base

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version of the user’s project (as the base), the derived project (as <1st>) and the temporary copy
(as <2nd> and target). In the case of a conflict, one of the following actions will be taken:
– favor none: The CMT diff browser is displayed, and the user can then resolve the conflict(s)
by defining how the changes should be assigned.
– favor derived project: Conflicts are resolved automatically by favouring the user’s modifica-
tions, thereby discarding modifications in the base.
– favor new version: Conflicts are resolved automatically by favouring the base’s modifica-
tions, thereby discarding the user’s modifications.
• Get new version and discard modifications in derived project. The derived project is auto-
matically replaced by the new version. All user modifications will be lost.
• Merge manually. Use the CMT to merge the modifications manually. The results of the com-
parison are displayed in a CMT diff browser, where the user defines how the changes should be
assigned. After these assignments have been defined, the new version and the derived project
are merged to the temporary copy, when the user clicks on the Merge button. The derived project
is then automatically replaced by the temporary copy (now containing information from the new
version), which is deleted.
• Notify me again in. . . . The user enters the desired time for re-notification, and the derived project
is activated according to how it was left in the previous session. The notification is deactivated for
the indicated number of days.

Note: In a multi-user environment, updated versions of the base project can be released regularly and
the user will often be presented with the new version notification in Figure 21.5.1. In many cases,
the user will not want to apply the updated version because they will be in the middle of a project
or other calculation and may not want to risk corrupting or changing their results. Therefore, the
option Notify me again in. . . is the recommended choice because it will leave the user’s project
unchanged.

If the Cancel button is used, the project is activated as it was left in the previous session. The notification
will appear following the next activation.

An alternative way to manually initiate the above procedure is to right-click on the derived project and
select the option Merge from base project. This feature is only possible with deactivated projects.

21.5.2 Updating a Base Project from a Derived Project

Changes implemented in derived projects can also be merged to the base project. In this case, the
option Merge to base project must be selected from the context-sensitive menu available by right-
clicking on the derived project. As in previous cases, the CMT is started and conflicts can be manually
resolved using the diff browser.

21.5.3 Tips for Working with the Compare and Merge Tool

One of the most common uses of the CMT is for merging changes made by users to their derived
projects back into the master project to create an updated version for all users. This kind of task is often
performed by the data administrator. For this task it can help to follow the steps outlined below:

1. Check the user’s modifications with a 2-way merge (derived vs. base; What changes were made?
Are all changes intended? Modifications which were made by mistake should be corrected in the
user’s derived model before continuing with the merge procedure.). The check of the modifications
should be done by the user and the data administrator.
2. The data administrator creates a new derived project based on the most recent version of the
’master’ model.

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3. A three-way merge is performed, selecting the version on which the user’s derived project is based
on as ’base’, the derived project created in the previous step as <1st> and the user’s derived
project as <2nd>. The changes are merged into <1st> (target).
4. The resulting model is then validated. Conflicts which could not be resolved automatically by the
CMT are corrected manually.
5. The validated model (derived project in data administrator account) is merged to the base model
by using the context-sensitive menu entry Merge to Base Project. This will not cause problems if
the master model has not been changed since deriving the model in step 2.
6. A new version is created by the data administrator and the users are informed.

Note: The Compare and Merge Tool can be used to compare any kind of object within a PowerFactory
project. The functionality and procedure to follow is similar to that explained in this section for
project comparison and merging.

21.6 Sharing Projects

In PowerFactory, any project can be shared with other users according to the rules defined by its owner.
Projects are shared with groups of users and not directly with individuals. Therefore, users must be part
of a group (created and managed by the data administrator) in order to access shared projects.

Depending on the access level that the owner assigns to a group, other users can get:
• Read-only access to the shared project, which allows the copying of objects and the creation of
derived projects from versions within the shared project;
• Read-write access, which allows users full control over all objects within the project.
• Full access, which allows the user to modify the sharing properties and create versions.

Each access level includes the rights of the lower levels.

To share a project:

1. Open the project dialog by right-clicking on the project name and selecting the option Edit.
2. Select the Sharing page;
3. Right-click within the Groups or Sharing access level columns on the right side of the Sharing
information table to insert (or append) a row(s);
4. Double-click in the Groups cell of the new line and select the group with whom the project is
shared using the data browser;
5. Double-click on the Sharing access level to select the desired access level.

A shared project is marked with the symbol in the Data Manager. To display all the available users
on the Data Manager, click on the Show All Users icon ( ). Only the shared projects of the other users
will be displayed.

For information regarding user groups and the data administrator, refer to Chapter 6 (User Accounts
and User Groups).

21.7 Combining Projects

In version 2017 of PowerFactory, a new tool was introduced which enables two or more projects to be
combined. It is a two-stage process: first, the Project Combination Assistant is used to bring the two

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networks and all associated data into one project, then the Project Connection Assistant can be used
to make connections between the two networks at known common points. Buttons which give easy
access to these functions can be found in the “Additional Tools” toolbar.

Note: Within any individual PowerFactory project, if a foreign key is defined for any element (on the
Description page of the element), that foreign key must be unique. However, when projects are
to be combined it is quite possible that there will be duplication of foreign keys. This can be
deliberate, to facilitate the connection process (see section 21.7.2.2) but may also be coincidental.
In either case, the situation is managed by prefixing all foreign keys with characters which make
them unique. For example, a foreign key of “LA234” from the first project would be changed to
“001:LA234”.

21.7.1 Project Combination Assistant

The Project Combination Assistant can be used either to combine two or more projects into one new
project, or to incorporate further projects into an already active project.

21.7.1.1 New Combined Project

Before starting the combination process, it is first necessary to ensure that the source projects all have
a Version defined; the user will need to specify which Version is to be used when the combination
process is executed. Please see section 21.2 for more information about versions. It may also be worth
thinking about how the networks will be connected in the next step, to ensure that the necessary data
configuration has been made, although this can also be done after the two projects are combined.

To start the project combination, first of all ensure that there is no project active, then bring up the
Project Combination Assistant tool, either via the icon on the Additional Tools toolbar, or via the File →
New→ Combined Project . . . option from the main menu, or by right-clicking on the user name in data
manager, then New → Combined Project.

A list of projects is then made by adding project and version references. Once this has been done, the
process is run by pressing the Execute button. The new project is created and activated.

21.7.1.2 Structure of Combined Project

The resultant structure of the combined project can be seen in figure 21.7.1, below. In this example two
projects have been combined.

Figure 21.7.1: Structure of combined project

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The folders seen in the figure, which are automatically created, take the names of the source projects
and allow the user to clearly identify where each object came from. Initially no study cases or grids are
active. The user can now use the Project Connection Assistant (21.7.2) to establish the links between
the two networks.

21.7.1.3 Incorporating additional Projects

Another possibility for combining projects is to start with an active project and incorporate an additional
project or projects into it. In this case, the target project must be active but there should be no study
case active. The Project Combination Assistant is then launched using the button on the Additional
Tools toolbar. As described above, the source project is then specified, including the required version.

21.7.2 Project Connection Assistant

The Project Connection Assistant offers two methods for automatically making the connections
between two networks at the common points in their grids: connection via terminals, or connection via
switches.

Following the process of creating a new project described in section 21.7.1.1, a new active study case
must first be created before the connection process can start. To do this, right-click on one of the source
study cases and select the option to “Apply network state”. The same can be done on the other source
study case(s), in which case all the settings of those study cases, i.e. the active scenarios, variations
and the summary grid will also be copied to the currently active Study Case. These settings might affect
the network topology so it can make a difference for the connection algorithm if they are not added, but
it is optional.

At this point it is still possible to make any adjustments to the data (e.g. foreign keys or node names) to
ensure that the next step runs smoothly.

21.7.2.1 Connection Using Common Terminals

With this approach, the common points in the two networks are identified as nodes, i.e terminal elements
ElmTerm. In each of the source projects, all the relevant ElmTerm objects should be separated into a
designated grid; in the example in figure 21.7.1, the grid is called Fictitious Border Node. There is
no restriction on the name of the grid but the same name must be used in each source project. The
default method by which the nodes within the connecting grids are matched up is to use the node names
(loc_name). However the user can specify an alternative parameter such as the CIM RDF id (cimRdfId).

The Project Connection Assistant is launched from the Additional Tools toolbar. It should be noted that a
new Variation will be created during the process, which will record all the changes made. The user then
selects the connection method “by virtual nodes” from the drop-down menu and specifies the virtual
nodes grid. It doesn’t matter which of the virtual nodes grid is selected; the tool searches for all grids of
this name.

When the Execute button is pressed, the matching nodes in the various virtual node grids are consoli-
dated into new terminals in a new virtual node grid. The source virtual node grids are deactivated.

21.7.2.2 Connection Using Elements with Foreign Keys

As an alternative to specifying terminals as connection points, it is possible to identify the connection

points as elements with identical foreign keys. Currently, only switch elements are permitted for this
process. Such switches must only be connected to one terminal, indicating that the other side is
available for connection. If necessary, the terminal on the outer side of the switch can simply be deleted.

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The connection tool searches from switches which have the same foreign key in the two models and
will then execute a connection process using any switches connected only on one side. The process
involves the removal of one switch and connecting the other switch in its place, as shown in figure 21.7.2.
The switch is always left open after this process.

Figure 21.7.2: Network connection using paired switches

To carry out the connection process, the Project Connection Assistant is launched from the Additional
Tools toolbar. The user should select the connection method “by foreign key” from the drop-down menu,
then press Execute.

Once the connection process is complete, a report is presented to the user in tabular format, listing the
matching switches. Any switches found which had identical foreign keys but could not be connected
because they were already connected to terminals at both sides will be highlighted.

21.7.3 Final Project State

Once the project combination and connection processes are complete, the result will be a useable
project for the whole network. The project structure, with separate folders for components originating
from the different source projects, will remain. The connection activities are captured in variations,
which can be deactivated if the user wishes to see the state before connection. As mentioned above,
foreign keys will have been modified to avoid duplication.

The user should review the connected network to ensure that it correctly represents the desired state.
For example, it may be necessary to remove load objects that previously represented lower voltage
networks which are now modelled. If connections were made using terminals, the user should consider
whether changes need to be made as a result of the original terminals being deleted, for example check
that station controllers which referenced terminals in the virtual node grid are now pointing to the new
terminals at the interface points.

If it is found that the networks have not been connected as expected, the user should check carefully
that the names or foreign keys of the matching elements are precisely the same (remembering that
these names/keys are case-sensitive).

Before executing any calculations, the user should be aware that when projects are combined no
command objects are copied from the source projects (as there would be no way of knowing which
are the preferred settings). Any calculations will therefore initially take the default settings.

21.7.4 Project Normalisation

As described in Section 21.7.1.2, the contents of the project are organised into dedicated folders,
making it easy to identify the original sources of the different data items. In some cases, users would

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like to take a further step of completely integrating the data into a single folder structure. Although it is
possible to do this “normalisation” manually, there also a tool provided, to do this very easily:

• Deactivate the combined project

• Edit the project and go to the Combined Project page
• Click on the Normalise button

21.8 Database Archiving

An archiving function for decreasing the used database storage space and increasing performance of
large multi-user databases is available. Older projects that are currently not used, but which are still
important for possible future use can be archived.

Archiving describes the process of automatically exporting and deleting projects from the database and
storing them in a restorable way in the file system. The actual workload is shifted to the housekeeping
job which can be run overnight, where export and delete operations do not interfere with the users.
Archiving can either be done by the user selecting a project for archiving, or by using DPL scripts.

In multi-user database environments, the user can easily send projects to the archive folder via the
context-sensitive (right-click) menu for each project, and selecting “Archive”. The archived projects
are exported from the database and are placed in a separate folder (“Archived Projects”) for long-term
storage. The user thereby increases system performance and the speed of general database operations
(e.g. project loading/closing). All information regarding the initial project location is also saved allowing
the user to restore projects to the exact location from which they originated.

Projects can be restored into the active database by executing the “Restore” command in the context-
sensitive (right-click) menu of each project.

For more information on this topic, see Chapter 5 Program Administration, Section 5.6: Housekeeping.

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Chapter 22

Task Automation

22.1 Introduction

The Task Automation command (ComTasks) enables the PowerFactory user to run a list of various
tasks ranging from specific PowerFactory power system analysis calculation functions up to generic
data handling/processing jobs (via scripts) in parallel or sequentially. Using this command it is possible
to execute tasks defined in multiple study cases (with any number of calculation commands per case)
or multiple independent calculation commands (organised within a single study case). The Parallel
Computation feature makes full use of a host machine with multi-core processor architecture.

To successfully execute the Task Automation command the user first needs to configure a list of
calculation functions (e.g. ComLdf, ComSim) or scripts (e.g. ComDpl, ComPython) for every designated
study case and then PowerFactory processes automatically the assigned tasks. Depending on the
selected configuration options, a task may represent one study case or one calculation command
within a study case (refer to Section 22.2.2 for more information). Most calculation commands can be
used within the Task Automation tool given that the specific command actions are acting on the same
PowerFactory project data. Generally speaking, a calculation command is designated in PowerFactory
by the object class prefix “Com”.

Task Automation offers enhanced possibilities for power network studies execution, with examples such
as:

• Already developed PowerFactory projects containing complete power grid analyses which are
organised in various study cases, as is usually the case, can be directly used for parallel compu-
tation;
• Calculation intensive dynamic simulations can be configured with individual simulation events /
operation scenarios by creating multiple study cases. Then, the list of study cases can be passed
to the Task Automation command for parallel computation.

For information on how to configure the Task Automation command, refer to Section 22.2.

For information on the Parallel Computing Manager object, refer to Section 22.4.

For information on how to locate and manage the results generated by the Task Automation command,
refer to Section 22.3.

22.2 Configuration of Task Automation

A new Task Automation command can be created via:

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• the Menu Bar: Click on Calculation → Task Automation...

• the Main Toolbar:
– Click on Change Toolbox icon ( ) and select the Additional Tools toolbox
– Click on Task Automation icon ( )

• the Data Manager:

– With a project active, open the Data Manager and click on the Study Cases project folder
– From the Data Manager toolbar click on the New Object icon ( )
– Select the elements category Others and type in “ComTasks”. Click the OK button.
• Scripting, by creating a Task Automation object (ComTasks). Special care needs to be taken when
configuring the Task Automation object using a script in the sense that assigning references (e.g.
study cases or specific commands) to the Basic Options page fields (e.g. vecCases and curTasks)
is done via the dedicated DPL functions described in the DPL Reference document.
The Task Automation command dialog has the following pages:
• Basic Options

• Parallel Computing
• Output.

22.2.1 Basic Options Page

Selection of study cases: This dialog pane contains a list of existing study cases that may be
considered for the Task Automation command. Study Cases can be added to the list via the Add button.
The Remove all button removes all items within the current list. The checkboxes in the Ignore column
exclude a specific study case from the cases being considered by the calculation without removing it
from the list.

Selection of commands/additional results: This dialog pane stores information on the calculation
commands (Com*) to be executed by the Task Automation for each study case that is added to the
Selection of study cases list as previously described. The commands list is unique for each study case.
The currently shown list is valid for one specific study case as selected via the drop down menu Study
case. Calculation commands (Com*) can be added to the list via the Add button. As a prerequisite,
each selected command must be located within the referenced study case folder. The Remove all
button removes all items within the current list. The Ignore checkbox excludes a specific command from
the list without removing its entry.

Additional Results: Several commands generate results files during their execution, such a case being
for example the Contingency Analysis command (ComSimoutage). Others, like a conventional load flow
calculation (ComLdf ), do not, while the results are stored temporarily in the memory. To address this
latter case, the user can choose to write an additional results file per command (by ticking the checkbox
in the Additional results column). Variables that shall be recorded in that results file after the execution
of the command can be configured by double-clicking/right-clicking on the corresponding cell of the
Result variables column.

Results: This field reference defines the folder where the additional results files of the currently selected
study case will be located after the Task Automation command is executed. Moreover, this folder will
contain references to all results files that have been generated by a calculation command within this
study case.

Note: There is one Results-folder per study case. The shown field reference corresponds to the
currently selected study case as shown in the drop down menu Study case.

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22.2.2 Parallel Computing Page

The Task Automation command can be executed sequentially, thereby processing command after
command, or in parallel mode, using the built-in process parallelisation algorithm.

The following settings are subject to user configuration:

Parallel computation: By ticking this checkbox, the user switches from the sequential execution to
the parallel task processing; by unchecking it, the sequential execution of tasks is adopted. If parallel
computation is selected, a minimum number of tasks can be specified via the setting Minimum number of
packages. If the user selects fewer tasks than this number, the ComTasks will be executed sequentially.

Parallel Computing Manager: A reference to the Parallel Computing Manager which administrates
the parallelisation settings is added. The Parallel Computing Manager is described in Section 22.4. If
the Parallel Computation checkbox is ticked, the number of processor cores that are practically used by
PowerFactory (as configured in the Parallel Computing Manager and dependent on the local machine
characteristics) is displayed. Clicking the Edit button ( ) next to the Parallel Computing Manager
reference will open the parallel computing configuration object. Further details on the settings used in
this object are presented in Section 22.4.

Note: The Task Automation command supports only the Parallel computing method “Local machine
with multiple cores” (setting of the Parallel Computing Manager object) while the method “Local
machine and remote machines (distributed computing)” is not supported by the Task Automation.

The use of the Parallel Computing feature is dependent on the particular PowerFactory user settings as
defined via the PowerFactory Administrator account. Enabling Parallel Computing for a particular user
is achieved by following the procedure below:
• Log in PowerFactory using the Administrator account;

• Within the Data Manager, open the specific PowerFactory user account Edit Dialog;
• Click on the Parallel Computing page;
• Tick the Allow Parallel Computing checkbox.

Note: If a user is not allowed to perform a parallel computation an info-message is displayed in the
Parallel Computing page.

Distribute packages: The radio-button Distribute packages determines the definition of a task (pack-
age) in the context of distribution of tasks to the parallel processes:

• If By study case is selected, a task is defined as a study case and all commands configured for a
specific study case are processed sequentially by the Task Automation command within a single
parallel process. This setting is handy when commands belonging to one study case list depend
on each other.

• If By command is selected, a task is defined as an individual command. Every command is

executed by the Task Automation independently of the other commands within the same study
case. Furthermore, commands within the same study case may be queued for execution in
different parallel processes in order to maximise performance. This option can be used when
commands are independent of each other.

Note: The Distribute packages option is disabled for sequential execution of the Task Automation. In
this case, the option By study case is always chosen and commands are executed in the defined
order (as specified in the Selection of commands/additional results list). If the option By study

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case is chosen for parallel computation, different study cases are assigned to different parallel
processes. In particular, the execution of a command in a later study case in the list should not
rely on the execution of commands in a previous study case.

Database changes of parallel processes: the radio-button Database changes of parallel processes
defines, which data shall be transferred from the parallel process to the master process and merged
into the database:

• If Merge all changes to master process is selected, all changes, which have been made within
the parallel process, are transferred to the master and merged into the database. In this case the
changes of the database correspond to a sequential execution.
• If Transfer only results files to master process is selected, the parallel processes will run in read-
only mode. That means, all modifications are temporarily stored in the internal memory of the
computer. After a parallel process has finished, only the results (i.e. pointers to results files)
are transferred to the master process, to be written back into the database. In addition to the
advantage that the database is not changed by the parallel processes in this way, the amount of
data, which has to be transferred to the master process, is significantly reduced. This results in a
performance increase.

Note: The Database changes of parallel processes option will only be available, if a parallel calculation
is possible (Parallel computation box is checked and settings of the Task Automation allow a par-
allel execution → emphasised by the blue text in the Parallel computation field). For a sequential
execution (emphasised by the red text in the Parallel computation field) the Database changes of
parallel processes option will be disabled.

22.2.3 Output Page

Output per package defines the behaviour of the Task Automation command with respect to Output
Window reporting. The Output per package radio button has the following settings subject to user
configuration:

• Detailed calculation status The behaviour of this option is dependent on the task execution
mode:
– Sequential Task Execution: All messages of executed commands are shown in the output
window.
– Parallel Task Execution: A message is issued when the calculation of a task starts and one
on success or failure at the task end. Details about which command failed in the task are
additionally issued.
• Short (only issue errors) The behaviour of this option is dependent on the task execution mode:
– Sequential Task Execution: Only errors issued during the calculation command execution are
displayed.
– Parallel Task Execution: one message is issued when the calculation of a task starts and
another one at the calculation end (reporting execution success or failure).

22.3 Task Automation Results

The Task Automation executes a series of commands either sequentially or in parallel using different
local machine processor cores and parallel processes. Therefore, there will be no single set of results
readily available after executing the Task Automation command. The results of an individual command
(i.e. from the Selection of commands/additional results list) are recorded during its execution or right
after it finished by means of an additional results file.

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The available tools for obtaining results from the Task Automation command are summarised below:

• The calculation status of individual commands is issued in the Output Window during the task
processing as described in Section 22.2.3. Moreover, there is an error summary of all failed com-
mands per study case printed to the Output Window at the end of executing the Task Automation
command.
• Beside results files created during the execution of individual commands, additional results files
can be defined which are created after the individual command execution. Pre-defined variables
can be recorded, as shown in Section 22.2.1. Note that all such results files together with
references to results files generated during the calculation are added to a results folder per study
case (as defined in the Task Automation command).
• Access all these results files in a summarised tree-structure manner, where the icon Task Automa-
tion - Show results ( ) can be used. The icon is available from the main toolbar, Additional Tools
toolbox, next to the Task Automation command.
• Result log files are created for each parallel process. The log files are saved under the PowerFac-
tory workspace folder, “db-process-1\log” subfolder (e.g. C:\Users\MyUser\AppData\Local\DIgSILENT
\PowerFactory
textbackslash Workspace.nnnnnnn\db-process-1\log). These files provide further information on
the execution details of each parallel process.

22.4 Parallel Computing Manager

When creating a new Task Automation command or any other command which supports parallel compu-
tation (e.g. Contingency Analysis, Quasi Dynamic Simulation, Reliability Analysis, etc.), PowerFactory
links the specific command to a Parallel Computing Manager object (e.g. as seen in the Parallel Com-
puting page of the Task Automation command dialog). This object contains the necessary settings for
the parallel computation of tasks and by default it is located in within the PowerFactory database under
“/System/Configuration/Parallel Computation”. This object has read-only rights for a non-administrator
PowerFactory user account: it can be used by the Task Automation command (or any other command
which supports parallel computation) but cannot be edited by the normal user. However, it is possible
for a user to customise the Parallel Computing Manager settings in order to user fewer cores than the
maximum defined by the Administrator. See Section 7.10 for details.

Alternatively, it is possible to create a user defined settings object by following the steps below:

• Log in PowerFactory using the administrator account;

• Using the Data Manager, verify under the “/Configuration” folder if there exists a subfolder named
“Parallel Computation” whose key (parameter loc_name) is “Parallel”. If it does not exist then
create a new folder, give it a suitable name and assign the “Parallel” key to it;
• Create a new Parallel Computing Manager object (“*.SetParalman”) under the newly created
system folder (e.g. “Parallel Computation” folder) and give it a suitable name;
• Edit and modify corresponding settings by opening the Parallel Computing Manager Dialog;
• Log out of the Administrator account and log in with the normal PowerFactory user account;
• Go back to the “Parallel Computing” page of the specific command and notice the changed
reference to the newly created Parallel Computing Manager object.
The Parallel Computing Manager has the configuration options as summarised below:

• Basic Options page

– Master host name or IP
– Parallel computing method
– Max. number of processes on local machine

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• Communication page
– Communication method
– Max. waiting time for process response
– Transfer complete project to all processes

Note: The Parallel Computing Manager settings can be changed only by the Administrator account.

22.4.1 Basic Options Page

Master host name or IP: The machine name or IP address of the master host. If only the local multi-
core machine is used, the name can be “localhost”.

Parallel computing method:

• Local machine with multiple cores: all the parallel processes will be started in the local machine.
• Local machine and remote machines (distributed computing): the parallel processes could be
started in both the local and remote machines.
Max. number of processes on local machine:

• Number of cores: all cores available in the machine will be used for parallel computing.
• Number of cores minus 1: use N-1 cores (N is the number of cores available in this machine).
• User defined: the number of parallel processes as specified by the given table will be started
in the local machine. The first column of the table is the number of cores available in the local
machine and the second column is the number of parallel processes to be started. For a specific
machine, the corresponding row in this table is found according to the number of available cores
and then the number of parallel processes in the second column is used. If the row is not found
(not specified in this table), all cores are used by default.
Computer group: references to a Computer Group object (SetMachinegroup). The Computer group
set contains configuration objects (Remote Machine Configuration - IntMachine) for all the available
remote machines which will be used for parallel computing. A Computer Group can be defined by
following the steps below:
• Make sure that the Parallel computing method is set to “Local machine and remote machines
(distributed computing)”

• Click on the button and choose Select....

• From the selection window that appears click on the New Object ( ) icon from the toolbar.
• A new object of type Computer Group (SetMachinegroup) is created and its Edit Dialog is shown.
Click the OK button.
• Click the OK button of the selection window. The new Computer Group object is assigned to the
Parallel Computing Manager.
Remote Machine Configuration: After a Computer Group set has been created and linked to the Par-
allel Computing Manager, its contents can be populated by a number of Remote Machine Configuration
objects as detailed in the steps below:

• Click on the Edit ( ) button next to the Computer Group reference (Basic Options Page of the
Parallel Computing Manager ).

• From the Computer Group Edit Dialog, click on the Contents button. If no Remote Machine
Configuration objects have been previously defined in this Computer Group, the contents should
be empty.

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• Click on the New Object ( ) icon from the toolbar.

• Fill in the remote machine configuration data according to the following description:
– Name or IP: host name or IP address of the remote machine running PowerFactory
– User Name: Windows account name for the remote machine.
– Password: Windows account password for the remote machine.
– PowerFactory path: Local folder path where the PowerFactory installation is located
– Number of parallel processes: Number of parallel processes created in the remote ma-
chine by the Parallel Computation

Note: The remote machine must have the same PowerFactory version as the local machine.

• Click on OK button of the Remote Machine Configuration object Edit Dialog.

• Re-do the three steps above until all Remote Machine Configuration objects have been added.
• Click on Close button of the Computer Group contents.
• Click on OK button of the Computer Group object.

22.4.2 Communication page

Communication method: The network data can be transferred to parallel processes either via file or
TCP/IP protocol if the local machine is used for parallel computing. Communication for remote machines
is done via TCP/IP protocol.

Transfer complete project to all processes: If this flag is checked, all project contents are transferred
to every parallel process. Otherwise, only a selection of necessary data is transferred.

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Chapter 23

Scripting

In this chapter two programming languages for scripting in PowerFactory will be presented. The
first part contains a description of the DIgSILENT Programming Language DPL (section 23.1) built-
in programming language and the second part (section 23.2) introduces the open source programming
language Python.

The third section of the chapter introduces the concept of Add-On modules, which may be used with
either DPL or Python.

23.1 The DIgSILENT Programming Language - DPL

The DIgSILENT Programming Language DPL serves the purpose of offering an interface for automating
tasks in the PowerFactory program. The DPL method distinguishes itself from the command batch
method in several aspects:
• DPL offers decision and flow commands
• DPL offers the definition and use of user-defined variables
• DPL has a flexible interface for input-output and for accessing objects

• DPL offers mathematical expressions

The DPL adds a new dimension to the DIgSILENT PowerFactory program by allowing the creation of
new calculation functions. Such user-defined calculation commands can be used in all areas of power
system analysis, such as

• Network optimising
• Cable-sizing
• Protection coordination
• Stability analysis

• Parametric sweep analysis

• Contingency analysis
• etc.

Such new calculation functions are written as program scripts which may use
• Flow commands like “if-then-else” and “do-while”

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• PowerFactory commands (i.e. load-flow or short-circuit commands)

• Input and output routines

• Mathematical expressions
• PowerFactory object procedure calls
• Subroutine calls

23.1.1 The Principle Structure of a DPL Command

The principle structure of a DPL script is shown in Figure 23.1.1.

Figure 23.1.1: Principle structure of a DPL command

The DPL command ComDpl is the central element, which connects different parameters, variables or
objects to various functions or internal elements and then outputs results or changes parameters.

The input to the script can be predefined input parameters, single objects from the single line diagram or
the database or a set of objects/elements, which are then stored inside a so called “General Selection”.

This input information can then be evaluated using functions and internal variables inside the script.
Also internal objects can be used and executed, like
• a calculation command, i.e. ComLdf, ComSim, etc., especially defined with certain calculation
options
• subscripts also released in DPL
• filter sets, which can be executed during the operation of the script

Thus the DPL script will run a series of operations and start calculations or other functions inside the
script. It will always communicate with the database and will store changed settings, parameters or
results directly in the database objects. Almost every object inside the active project can be accessed
and altered.

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During or at the end of the execution of the DPL script, the results can be output or parameters of
elements may be changed. There is the possibility to execute a predefined output command ComSh or
to define one’s own outputs with the DPL commands available.

23.1.2 The DPL Command

The DPL command element ComDpl contains the script code (or a reference to a so called remote
script), the definition of input and output parameters, a description and information about versions. DPL
command objects can therefore be divided into:

• Root commands, which have their own scripts on the Script page of the dialog.

• Referring commands, which use the scripts of remote DPL commands by only adapting input and
output parameters and external objects.

23.1.2.1 Creating a new DPL Command

A DPL Command ComDpl can be created by using the New Object ( ) icon in the toolbar of the Data
Manager and selecting DPL Command and more. Then press OK and a new DPL command is created.
The dialog is now shown and the parameters, objects and the script can now be specified.

This dialog is also opened by double-clicking a DPL script, by selecting Edit from the context sensitive
menu or by selecting the script from the list when pressing the icon .

23.1.2.2 Defining a DPL Commands Set

The DPL command holds a reference to a selection of objects (General Selection). At first this general
selection is empty, but there are several ways to define a special set of object used in the DPL command.
This “DPL Commands Set” (SetSelect) can be specified through:

• Select one or more elements in the single line diagram. Then right-click the selection (one of the
selected elements) and choose the option Define. . . → DPL Commands Set. . . from the context
sensitive menu.
• It is also possible to select several elements in the Data Manager. Right-click the selection and
choose the option Define. . . → DPL Commands Set. . . from the context sensitive menu.

23.1.2.3 Executing a DPL Command

To execute a DPL command or to access the dialog of a script, the icon can be activated. This will
pop up a list of available DPL and Python scripts from the global and local libraries.

The easiest way to start a DPL command AND define a selection for it is to:
• Select one or more elements in the single line diagram or in the Data Manager and then right-click
the selection.

• Choose the option Execute Script from the context sensitive menu.
• Then select a DPL script from the list. This list will show DPL scripts from the global as well as
from the local library.
• Select a DPL script, insert/change the variables and then press the button Execute

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In this way the selection is combined into a DPL Commands Set and the set is automatically selected
for the script chosen.

Only one single DPL command set is valid at a time for all DPL scripts. This means that setting the DPL
command set in one DPL command dialog, will change the DPL command set for all DPL commands
in the database.

Note: To choose different sets for various DPL scripts you can either use different selection object
SetSelect like the “General Set”. Or new DPL command sets can be created and selected
inside the active study case. This is done by pressing , selecting “other” and the element
Set (SetSelect) and then selecting the set type.

The interface section Input Parameters is used to define variables that are accessible from outside the
DPL command itself. DPL commands that call other DPL commands as subroutines, may use and
change the values of the interface variables of these DPL subroutines.

The list of External Objects is used to execute the DPL command for specific objects. A DPL command
that, for example, searches the set of lines for which a short-circuit causes too deep a voltage dip at a
specific busbar, would access that specific busbar as an external object. Performing the same command
for another busbar would then only require setting the external object to the other busbar.

23.1.2.4 Results

On this page, the Result parameters can be defined. These parameters are results from the script
and they are stored inside the results object. Hence it is possible to access them through the variable
monitor and display them in a plot. In addition to the value itself, the name, the type (if a string, object
or number), the unit and the parameter description can be entered.

23.1.2.5 DPL Script Page

The most important part of a DPL command is of course the DPL script code. That script is written on
the Script page of the DPL command dialog. As an alternative to writing the code directly, the command
can reference an existing script by selecting it as a Remote script.

On this page the DPL code of an already defined script is shown and/or new command lines can be
inserted for modifying this script or writing a new script. The available commands and the DPL language
are described in the following sections.

The edited program code also features highlighting specially suited for handling DPL scripts.

23.1.2.6 DPL Script Encryption

PowerFactory offers the possibility to encrypt the script code of a DPL command. The encryption action
can be initiated by pressing the corresponding button in the edit dialog of the DPL command object
(does not work for commands with a remote script referenced). The encryption process then asks in
a dialog for a password and its confirmation. The password is only needed to decrypt the script at a
later stage. The encrypted script can be executed without entering the password. After completing the
encryption with OK, the code is hidden and only the name of the command itself, the values of the input
parameters and external objects can be changed. If there are subscripts stored as contents, they will
be encrypted with the same password, too.

Note: The encrypt-action affects the script for which it is executed and does not create an encrypted
copy of the ComDpl-object.

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The encryption is reversible; an encrypted script can be decrypted using the corresponding button in the
edit dialog of the encrypted ComDpl-object. After entering the password and confirming with OK, the
script returns to its original status, where all properties may be changed and the script code is shown.

23.1.3 The DPL Script Editor

The Script page of the DPL command includes a built-in editor based on the Scintilla editing component
(http://www.scintilla.org), which offers the following features:

• Auto-completion: when typing a new word, a list of suitable suggestions for keywords, global
functions, variable names (defined within the current script or as input/result variables) and sub-
scripts will pop up. Using the arrow keys the user may explore all suggestions, and insert the
currently selected suggestion. The autocompletion can be deactivated in the editor settings.
Note: The suggestion lists do not contain deprecated names.

• Bracket match checking: when the cursor stands before an opening or closing bracket, the
editor will check if the brace is matched. If it is, the bracket and its partner are highlighted in blue.
If the bracket, however, is not matched, it will be highlighted in red.
• Automatic bracket insertion: when typing in an opening bracket, the editor will automatically
insert a matching closing bracket and position the caret between the two brackets. Additionally, if
the caret stands before a matched closing bracket, typing a closing bracket of the same type will
simply result in the caret moving forwards. This helps users who are not familiar with automatic
bracket insertion avoid inserting unnecessary additional closing brackets.
• Automatic quote character insertion: similar to automatic bracket insertion; when typing in a
single quote character (’), the editor will automatically insert an additional single quote character
and position the caret between the two quote characters. Additionally, if the caret stands before a
quote character, typing a quote character of the same type will simply result in the caret moving
forwards.
• Zoom-in/Zoom-out: using the key combination Ctrl + Mousewheel will increase or decrease the
zoom. Note that this only temporarily modifies the used font size and has no effect at all on the
font size that the user chose in the editor font settings. The key combination Ctrl + 0 restores the
font to its original size.
• Selection highlighting: whenever text is selected (not counting column selections and selections
that span more than one line), all occurrences of the selected text in the current document are
lightly highlighted using the last known search settings.
• Instance-independent search terms and search settings: whenever the user opens the find
(or find/replace) dialog, the chosen search term and search settings are used in every open
editor component. This enables users to search the same term with the same settings in multiple
documents without having to call the find (or find/replace) dialog for each one of them.
• Advanced syntax styling: the script will be coloured according to this scheme: keywords are
blue, (recognised) global function and method names are light blue, string literals are red, number
literals are turquoise, operators are light brown, identifiers are dark blue, comments are green.

To open the editor (23.3) in an additional window press the icon on the bottom side of the Script
page of the DPL Command dialog. Note that when the script is opened in an additional window, it
cannot be edited via the DPL Command.

23.1.4 The DPL Script Language

The DPL script language uses a syntax quite similar to the C++ programming language. This type of
language is intuitive, easy to read, and easy to learn. The basic command set has been kept as small
as possible.

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The syntax can be divided into the following parts:

• variable definitions

• assignments and expressions

• program flow instructions
• method calls
The statements in a DPL script are separated by semicolons. Statements are grouped together by
braces. Example:
1 statement1;
2 statement2;
3 if (condition){
4 groupstatement1;
5 groupstatement2;
6 }

23.1.4.1 Variable Definitions

DPL uses the following internal parameter types

• double, a 15 digits real number
• int, an integer number
• string, a string

• object, a reference to a PowerFactory object

• set, a container of objects
Vectors and Matrices are available as external objects.

The syntax for defining variables is as follows:

[VARDEF] = [TYPE] varname, varname, ..., varname;

[TYPE] = double | int | object | set

All parameter declarations must be given together in the top first lines of the DPL script. The semicolon
is obligatory.

Examples:
1 double Losses, Length, Pgen;
2 int NrOfBreakers, i, j;
3 string txt1, nm1, nm2;
4 object O1, O2, BestSwitchToOpen;
5 set AllSwitches, AllBars;

23.1.4.2 Constant parameters

DPL uses constant parameters which cannot be changed. It is therefore not accepted to assign a value
to these variables. Doing so will lead to an error message.

The following constants variables are defined in the DPL syntax:

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SEL is the general DPL selection

NULL is the “null” object

this is the DPL command itself

Besides these global constants, all internal and external objects are constant too.

23.1.4.3 Assignments and Expressions

The following syntax is used to assign a value to a variable:

1 variable = expression;
2 variable += expression;
3 variable -= expression;

The add-assignment “+=” adds the right side value to the variable and the subtract-assignment “-=”
subtracts the right-side value.

Examples:
1 double x,y;
2 x = 0.5*pi(); ! x now equals 1.5708
3 y = sin(x); ! y now equals 1.0
4 x += y; ! x now equals 2.5708
5 y -= x; ! y now equals -1.5708

23.1.4.4 Standard Functions

The following operators and functions are available:

• Arithmetic operators: +, -, * , /
• Standard functions ( all trigonometric functions based on radians (RAD))

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function description example

sin(x) sine sin(1.2)=0.93203
cos(x) cosine cos(1.2)=0.36236
tan(x) tangent tan(1.2)=2.57215
asin(x) arcsine asin(0.93203)=1.2
acos(x) arccosine acos(0.36236)=1.2
atan(x) arctangent atan(2.57215)=1.2
sinh(x) hyperbolic sine sinh(1.5708)=2.3013
cosh(x) hyperbolic cosine cosh(1.5708)=2.5092
tanh(x) hyperbolic tangent tanh(0.7616)=1.0000
exp(x) exponential value exp(1.0)=2.718281
ln(x) natural logarithm ln(2.718281)=1.0
log(x) log10 log(100)=2
sqrt(x) square root sqrt(9.5)=3.0822
sqr(x) power of 2 sqr(3.0822)=9.5
pow (x,y) power of y pow(2.5, 3.4)=22.5422
abs(x) absolute value abs(-2.34)=2.34
min(x,y) smaller value min(6.4, 1.5)=1.5
max(x,y) larger value max(6.4, 1.5)=6.4
modulo(x,y) remainder of x/y modulo(15.6,3.4)=2
trunc(x) integral part trunc(-4.58823)=-4.0000
frac(x) fractional part frac(-4.58823)=-0.58823
round(x) closest integer round(1.65)=2.000
ceil(x) smallest larger integer ceil(1.15)=2.000
floor(x) largest smaller integer floor(1.78)=1.000

Table 23.1.1: DPL Standard Functions

• Constants:

pi() pi
twopi() 2 pi
e() e

Table 23.1.2: DPL Internal Constants

23.1.4.5 Program Flow Instructions

The following flow commands are available.

if ( [boolexpr] ) [statlist]
if ( [boolexpr] ) [statlist] else [statlist]
do [statlist] while ( [boolexpr] )
while ( [boolexpr] ) [statlist]
for ( statement ; [boolexpr] ; statement ) [statlist]

in which

[boolexpr] = expression [boolcomp] expression

[boolcomp] = "<" | ">" | "=" | ">=" | ">=" | "<>"
[statlist] = statement; | { statement; [statlist] }

• Unary operators: “.not.”

• Binary operators: “.and.” | “.or.” | “.nand.” | “.nor.” | “.eor.”

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• Parentheses: {logical expression}

Examples:
1 if (a<3) {
2 b = a*2;
3 }
4 else {
5 b = a/2;
6 }
7 while (sin(a)>=b*c) {
8 a = O:dline;
9 c = c + delta;
10 }
11 if ({.not.a}.and.{b<>3}) {
12 err = Ldf.Execute();
13 if (err) {
14 Ldf:iopt_lev = 1;
15 err = Ldf.Execute();
16 Ldf:iopt_lev = 0;
17 }
18 }
19 for (i = 0; i < 10; i = i+1){
20 x = x + i;
21 }
22 for (o=s.First(); o; o=s.Next()) {
23 o.ShowFullName();
24 }

Break and Continue

The loop statements “do-while” and “while-do” may contain “break” and “continue” commands. The
“break” and “continue” commands may not appear outside a loop statement.

The “break” command terminates the smallest enclosing “do-while” or “while-do” statement. The exe-
cution of the DPL script will continue with the first command following the loop statement.

The “continue” command skips the execution of the following statements in the smallest enclosing “do-
while” or “while-do” statement. The execution of the DPL script is continued with the evaluation of the
boolean expression of the loop statement. The loop statement list will be executed again when the
expression evaluates to TRUE. Otherwise the loop statement is ended and the execution will continue
with the first command following the loop statement.

Example:
1 O1 = S1.First();
2 while (O1) {
3 O1.Open();
4 err = Ldf.Execute();
5 if (err) {
6 ! skip this one
7 O1 = S1.Next;
8 continue;
9 }
10 O2 = S2.First();
11 AllOk = 1;
12 DoReport(0); !reset
13 while (O2) {
14 err = Ldf.Execute();
15 if (err) {
16 ! do not continue
17 AllOk = 0;

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18 break;
19 }
20 else {
21 DoReport(1); ! add
22 }
23 O2 = S2.Next();
24 }
25 if (AllOk) {
26 DoReport(2); ! report
27 }
28 O1 = S1.Next();
29 }

23.1.4.6 Input and Output

The “input” command asks the user to enter a value.

input(var, string);

The input command will pop up a window with the string and an input line on which the user may enter
a value. The value will be assigned to the variable “var”.

The “printf” command can be used to write text to the output window.

printf(string);

The string may contain “=-” signs, followed by a variable name. The variable name will then be replaced
by the variable’s value.

Example:
1 double diameter;
2 input(diameter, 'enter diameter');
3 printf('the entered value = %f',diameter);

The example results in the pop up of a window as depicted in Figure 23.1.2.

Figure 23.1.2: The input window

The following text will appear in the output window:

the entered value = 12.3400

Refer to the DPL Reference for more information about the printf command.

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23.1.5 Access to Other Objects

With the syntax for the parameter definitions, program flow and the input and printf, it is already possible
to create a small program. However, such a script would not be able to use or manipulate variables of
“external” objects. It would not be possible, for instance, to write a script that replaces a specific line by
possibly better alternatives, in order to select the best line type. Such a script must be able to access
specific objects (the specific line) and specific sets of objects (the set of alternative line types).

The DPL language has several methods with which the database objects and their parameters become
available in the DPL script:
• The most direct method is to create an object, or a reference to an object, in the DPL command
folder itself. Such an object is directly available as “object” variable in the script. The variable
name is the name of the object in the database.
• The DPL command set may be used. This method is only useful when the order in which the
objects are accessed is not important. The DPL command set is automatically filled when a
selection of elements is right-clicked in either the single line graphic or the Data Manager and the
option Execute DPL Script is selected.
• The list of external objects is mainly used when a script should be executed for specific objects or
selections. The list of external objects is nothing more than a list of “aliases”. The external object
list is used to select specific objects for each alias, prior to the execution of the script.

23.1.5.1 Object Variables and Methods

If a database object is known to the DPL command, then all its methods may be called, and all its
variables are available. For example, if we want to change a load-flow command in order to force an
asymmetrical load-flow calculation, we may alter the parameter iopt_net. This is done by using an
assignment:
1 Ldf:iopt_net = 1; ! force unbalanced

In this example, the load-flow objects is known as the objects variable “Ldf”. The general syntax for a
parameter of a database object is
1 objectname:parametername

In the same way, it is possible to get a value from a database object, for instance a result from the
load-flow calculations. One of such a result is the loading of a line object, which is stored in the variable
c:loading. The following example performs the unbalanced load-flow and reports the line loading.
Reported value is always represented in the unit selected in PowerFactory. In our case returned value
is in % but for example returned value for active power (m:P:bus1) can be represented in MW, kW, etc.

Example
1 00. int error;
2 01. double loading;
3 02. Ldf:iopt_net = 1; ! force unbalanced
4 03. error = Ldf.Execute(); ! execute load-flow
5 04. if (error) {
6 05. exit();
7 06. } else {
8 07. loading = Line:c:loading; ! get line loading
9 08. printf('loading=%f', loading ); ! report line loading
10 09. }

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This examples is very primitive but it shows the basic methods for accessing database objects and their
parameters.

23.1.6 Access to Locally Stored Objects

Locally stored objects (also called “internal objects”) can be accessed directly. They are known in the
DPL script under their own name, which therefore must be a valid DPL variable name. It will not be
possible to access an internal object which name is “My Load-flow\∼{}1* ”, for instance.

Internal objects may also be references to objects which are stored elsewhere. The DPL command
does not distinguish between internal objects and internal references to objects.

The example DPL script may now access these objects directly, as the objects “Ldf” and “Line”. In
the following example, the object “Ldf”, which is a load-flow command, is used in line 01 to perform a
load-flow.
1 00. int error;
2 01. error = Ldf.Execute();
3 02. if (error) {
4 03. printf('Load-flow command returns an error');
5 04. exit();
6 05. }

In line 01, a load-flow is calculated by calling the method Execute() of the load-flow command.
The details of the load-flow command, such as the choice between a balanced single phase or an
unbalanced three phase load-flow calculation, is made by editing the object “Ldf” in the database. Many
other objects in the database have methods which can be called from a DPL script. The DPL contents
are also used to include DPL scripts into other scripts and thus to create DPL “subroutines”.

23.1.7 Accessing the General Selection

Accessing database objects by storing them or a reference to them in the DPL command would create
a problem if many objects have to be accessed, for instance if the line with the highest loading is to be
found. It would be impractical to create a reference to each and every line.

A more elegant way would be to use the DPL global selection and fill it with all lines. The Data Manager
offers several ways in which to fill this object DPL Command Set with little effort. The selection may
then be used to access each line indirectly by a DPL “object” variable. In this way, a loop is created
which is performing the search for the highest loading. This is shown in the following example.

Example
1 00. int error;
2 01. double maxi;
3 02. object O, Omax;
4 03. set S;
5 04.
6 05. error = Ldf.Execute(); ! execute a load-flow
7 06. if (error) exit(); ! exit on error
8 07.
9 08. S = SEL.AllLines(); ! get all selected lines
10 09. Omax = S.First(); ! get first line
11 10. if (Omax) {
12 11. maxi = Omax:c:loading; ! initialise maximum
13 12. } else {

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14 13. printf('No lines found in selection');

15 14. exit(); ! no lines: exit
16 15. }
17 16. O = S.Next(); ! get next line
18 17. while (O) { ! while more lines
19 18. if (O:c:loading>maxi) {
20 19. maxi = O:c:loading; ! update maximum
21 20. Omax = O; ! update max loaded line
22 21. }
23 22. O = S.Next();
24 23. }
25 24. printf('max loading=%f', maxi); !print results
26 25. Omax.ShowFullName();

The object SEL used in line 08 is the reserved object variable which equals the General Selection in
the DPL command dialog. The SEL object is available in all DPL scripts at all times and only one single
“General Selection” object is valid at a time for all DPL scripts. This means that setting the General
Selection in the one DPL command dialog, will change it for all other DPL commands too.

The method AllLines() in line 08 will return a set of all lines found in the general selection. This
set is assigned to the variable “S”. The lines are now accessed one by one by using the set methods
First() and Next() in line 09, 16 and 22.

The line with the highest loading is kept in the variable “Omax”. The name and database location of this
line is written to the output window at the end of the script by calling “ShowFullName()”.

23.1.8 Accessing External Objects

The DPL contents make it possible to access external objects in the DPL script. The special general
selection object (“SEL”) is used to give all DPL functions and their subroutines access to a central
selection of objects. i.e. the DPL Command Set.

Although flexible, this method would create problems if more than one specific object should be ac-
cessed in the script. By creating references to those objects in the DPL command itself, the DPL
command would become specific to the current calculation case. Gathering the objects in the general
selection would create the problem of selecting the correct object.

To prevent the creation of calculation-specific DPL commands, it is recommended practice to reserve

the DPL contents for all objects that really “belong” to the DPL script and which are thus independent
on where and how the script is used. Good examples are load-flow and short-circuit commands, or the
vector and matrix objects that the DPL command uses for its computations.

If a DPL script must access a database object dependent on where and how the DPL script is used, an
“External Object” must be added to the external object list in the DPL root command. Such an external
object is a named reference to an external database object. The external object is referred to by that
name. Changing the object is then a matter of selecting another object.

In Figure 23.1.3, an example of an external object is given. This external object may be referred to in
the DPL script by the name “Bar1”, as is shown in the example.

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Figure 23.1.3: DPL external object table

Example:
1 sagdepth = Bar1:u;

23.1.9 Remote Scripts and DPL Command Libraries

To understand the DPL philosophy and the resulting hierarchical structure of DPL scripts, it is important
to understand the following:

• A DPL command either executes its own script or the script of another, remote, DPL command.
In the first case, the DPL command is called a “root command” and the script is called a “local
script”. In the second case, the DPL command is called a “referring” command and the script
is called a “remote script”.
• A root command may define interface variables that are accessible from outside the script and
which are used to define default values.
• Each root command may define one or more external objects. External object are used to make
a DPL command run with specific power system objects, selections, commands, etc.
• A referring command may overrule all default interface values and all selected external objects of
the remote command.

• Each DPL command can be called as a subroutine by other DPL commands.

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The use of remote scripts, external objects and interface variables makes it possible to create generic
DPL commands, which may be used with different settings in many different projects and study cases.

The easiest way to develop a new DPL command is to create a new ComDpl in the currently active
study case and to write the script directly in that DPL object. In such a way, a DPL “root command” is
made. If this root command needs DPL subroutines, then one or more DPL command objects may be
created in its contents. Each of these subroutines will normally also be written as root functions.

The newly written DPL command with its subroutines may be tested and used in the currently active
study case. However, it cannot be executed when another study case is active. In order to use the DPL
command in other study cases, or even in other projects, one would have to copy the DPL command
and its contents. This, however, would make it impossible to alter the DPL command without having to
alter all its copies.

The solution is in the use of “remote scripts”. The procedure to create and use remote scripts is
described as follows.

Suppose a new DPL command has been created and tested in the currently active study case. This
DPL command can now be stored in a safe place making it possible to use it in other study cases and
projects.

This is done by the following steps:

• Copy the DPL command to a library folder. This will also copy the contents of the DPL command,
i.e. with all its DPL subroutines and other locally stored objects.
• “Generalise” the copied DPL command by resetting all project specific external objects. Set all
interface variable values to their default values. To avoid deleting a part of the DPL command,
make sure that if any of the DPL (sub)commands refers to a remote script, all those remote
scripts are also stored in the library folder.
• Activate another study case.
• Create a new DPL command (ComDpl) in the active study case.
• Set the “Remote script” reference to the copied DPL command.
• Select the required external objects.
• Optionally change the default values of the interface variables
• Press the Check button to check the DPL script
The Check or Execute button will copy all parts of the remote script in the library that are needed for
execution. This includes all subroutines, which will also refer to remote scripts, all command objects, and
all other objects. Some classes objects are copied as reference, other classes are copied completely.

The new DPL command does not contain a script, but executes the remote script. For the execution
itself, this does not make a change. However, more than one DPL command may now refer to the same
remote script. Changing the remote script, or any of its local objects or sub-commands, will now change
the execution of all DPL commands that refer to it.

Note: PowerFactory is delivered with several ready-to-use scripts, which are located in the correspond-
ing folder in the global library. They can be used as root commands for remote scripts or adapted
as required, enhancing their functionality. The description and version page contain information
about their functionalities, parameters and handling.

23.1.9.1 Subroutines and Calling Conventions

A DPL command may be included in the contents of another DPL command. In that case, the included
DPL “subroutine” may be called in the script of the enclosing DPL command. In principle, this is not
different from calling, for example, a load-flow command from a DPL script.

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As with most other commands, the DPL command only has one method:

int Execute(); executes the DPL script.

The difference is that each DPL subroutine has different interface parameters, which may be changed
by the calling command. These interface parameters can also be set directly at calling time, by providing
one or more calling arguments. These calling arguments are assigned to the interface parameters in
order of appearance. The following example illustrates this.

Suppose we have a DPL sub-command “Sub1” with the interface section as depicted in Figure 23.1.4.

Figure 23.1.4: Interface section of subroutine

The calling command may then use, for example:

1 ! set the parameters:
2 Sub1:step = 5.0;
3 Sub1:Line = MyLine;
4 Sub1:Outages = MySelection;
5 ! execute the subroutine:
6 error = Sub1.Execute();

However, using calling arguments, we may also write:

1 ! execute the subroutine:
2 error = Sub1.Execute(5.0, MyLine, MySelection);

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23.1.10 DPL Functions and Subroutines

The DPL syntax is very small because it mainly serves the purpose of basic operations like simple
calculations, if-then-else selections, do-while loops, etc..

The strength of the DPL language is the possibility to call functions and to create subroutines. A function
which can be called by a DPL command is called a “method”. Four types of methods are distinguished:

Internal methods These are the build-in methods of the DPL command. They can always be
called.

Set methods These methods are available for the DPL “set” variables.

Object methods These methods are available for the DPL “object” variables.

External methods These are the methods which are available for certain external PowerFactory
objects, such as the load-flow command, the line object, the asynchronous machine, etc.

Refer to the DPL Reference for a description of these functions including implementation examples. The
DPL Reference is also accessible selecting Help → Scripting References→ DPL from the main menu.

23.2 Python

This section describes the integration of the Python scripting language in PowerFactory and explains the
procedure for developing Python scripts. The Python scripting language can be used in PowerFactory
for:
• Automation of tasks

• Creation of user-defined calculation commands

• Integration of PowerFactory into other applications
Some of Python’s notable features include:
• General-purpose, high-level programming language

• Clear, readable syntax

• Non-proprietary, under liberal open source licence
• Widely used

• Extensive standard libraries and third-party modules

– Interfaces to external databases and Microsoft Office-like applications
– Web services, etc.

The integration of Python into PowerFactory makes the above-mentioned features accessible to users
of PowerFactory.

To execute a Python script the following steps have to be considered:

1. Python interpreter has to be installed. (Subsection 23.2.1)
2. Python file .py that contains code of the script has to be created by external editor. After being
created .py file can be link to the ComPython object inside of PowerFactory. (Subsection 23.2.3)

3. In each .py file PowerFactory Python module ’powerfactory.pyd’ has to be imported. (Subsection
23.2.2)
4. To run the script the User has to execute the (ComPython) object. (Subsection 23.2.3.2)

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23.2.1 Installation of a Python Interpreter

When PowerFactory is installed, the installation does not include a Python interpreter and therefore
this must be installed separately. The recommended Python versions are available on https://www.
python.org/downloads/. PowerFactory supports Python versions 3.3 and above and by default
PowerFactory uses the newest Python version available at the time of PowerFactory release. The
preferred Python version can be selected via the PowerFactory Configuration dialog (see Figure 23.2.1).

The PowerFactory architecture (32- or 64-bit) determines the Python interpreter as shown below:
• PowerFactory 32-bit requires a Python interpreter for 32-bit
• PowerFactory 64-bit requires a Python interpreter for 64-bit

To check which PowerFactory architecture is installed, press Alt-H to open the Help menu and select
About PowerFactory. If the name of PowerFactory includes “(x86)”, then a 32-bit version is installed; if
the name of PowerFactory instead includes “(x64)”, then a 64-bit version is installed. To avoid issues
with third-party software, the Python interpreter should be installed with default settings (for all users),
into the directory proposed by the installer.

Depending on the functions to be performed by a particular Python script, it may be necessary to install
a corresponding Python add-on/package. For example, Microsoft Excel can be used by Python scripts if
the “Python for Windows Extensions” PyWin32 (http://sourceforge.net/projects/pywin32/)
package is installed, which includes Win32 API, COM support and Pythonwin extensions.

23.2.2 The Python PowerFactory Module

The functionality of PowerFactory is provided in Python through a dynamic Python module (“power-
factory.pyd”) which interfaces with the PowerFactory API (Application Programming Interface). This
provides Python scripts with access to a comprehensive range of data in PowerFactory :
• All objects
• All attributes (element data, type data, results)
• All commands (load flow calculation, etc.)
• Most special built-in functions (DPL functions)
A Python script which imports this dynamic module can be executed from within PowerFactory through
the new Python command ComPython (see Section 23.2.3), or externally (PowerFactory is started by
the Python module in non-interactive mode) (see Section 23.2.4).

23.2.2.1 Python PowerFactory Module Usage

To allow access to the Python PowerFactory module it must be imported using the following Python
command:
1 import powerfactory

To gain access to the PowerFactory environment the following command must be added:
1 app = powerfactory.GetApplication()

A Python object of class powerfactory.Application is called an application object. Using the application
object from the command above(“app”), it is possible to access global PowerFactory functionality.
Several examples are shown below:

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1 user = app.GetCurrentUser()
2 project = app.GetActiveProject()
3 script = app.GetCurrentScript()
4 objects = app.GetCalcRelevantObjects()
5 lines = app.GetCalcRelevantObjects("*.ElmLne")
6 sel = app.GetDiagramSelection()
7 sel = app.GetBrowserSelection()
8 project = app.CreateProject("MyProject", "MyGrid")
9 ldf = app.GetFromStudyCase("ComLdf")

The listed methods return a data object (Python object of class powerfactory.DataObject) or a Python
list of data objects. It is possible to access all parameters and methods associated with a data object.
Unlike DPL syntax, Python syntax requires use of the dot (.) operator instead of the colon (:) in order to
access element parameters of objects (i.e. name, out of service flag, etc.).

Examples:
1 project = app.GetActiveProject()
2 projectName = project.loc_name
3 project.Deactivate()

All other object parameters (calculated, type, measured, . . . ) are to be called by GetAttribute() method
and using the colon (:), as is done in DPL.
1 lines = app.GetCalcRelevantObjects("*.ElmLne")
2 line = lines[0]
3 currLoading = line.GetAttribute("c:loading")

For printing to the PowerFactory output window, the following application object (e.g. “app” object)
methods are provided:
1 app.PrintPlain("Hello world!")
2 app.PrintInfo("An info!")
3 app.PrintWarn("A warning!")
4 app.PrintError("An error!")

Printing the string representation of data objects to the PowerFactory output window makes them
selectable (i.e. creates a hyperlink string in the output window):
1 project = app.GetActiveProject()
2 app.PrintPlain("Active Project: " + str(project))

A list of all parameters and methods associated with an object can be obtained using the dir() function
as shown below:
1 project = app.GetActiveProject()
2 app.PrintPlain(dir(project))

23.2.2.2 Python PowerFactory Module Reference

A Python Module Reference document is available in the Help menu containing a list of offered functions.
Python reference

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23.2.3 The Python Command (ComPython)

In contrast to DPL, the Python command only links to a Python script file. It stores only the file path of
the script and not the file itself.

The script may be executed by clicking on the Execute button of the corresponding dialog. Editing the
script file is possible by clicking the Open in External Editor button.

The preferred editor may be chosen in the External Applications page of the PowerFactory Configuration
dialog by selecting the Tools → Configuration. . . menu item from the main menu (see section 5.2.4).
Python scripts may be created in any text editor as long as the script file is saved using the UTF-8
character encoding format. The Python version can be selected in the PowerFactory Configuration
dialog.

Figure 23.2.1: Selection of a preferred Python editor program

On the Basic Options page of the Python command (ComPython), the user can define Input parameters
and External objects. The Input parameter table in the dialog is used as in DPL to define variables that
can be accessed from outside of the Python script. Input parameters may be the following data types:
double, int and string. All other fields (Name, Value, Unit, Description) are user definable.

The External object table allows the direct configuration of objects under investigation. An external
object is an object external to the Python command that the user wants to access in the script. By
defining the External object here, the user avoids accessing it via Python methods inside the script
(thereby allowing the script to execute faster).

Important: To access an external object or input parameter in Python, the user has first to get the script
and can then access the parameter through ScriptObj.ExternObjName:
1 script=app.GetCurrentScript() #to call the current script
2 extObj=script.NameOfExternObj #to call the external object
3 inpPar=script.NameOfInpPram #to call input parameter

Result parameter section is to be found on the Results page. The Result parameters represents results
from the script and they are stored inside the specified results object. The Script page contains three
sections:Remote script,Script file and Interface version. Remote script offers a selection of a remote
script, which is used instead of the code defined in the Script file section. A remote script can be
advantageous in cases where the user has multiple Study Cases using the same script code, but
different input parameters. If the user wants to use a remote script, then modifying the master script will
affect all the Python scripts that refer to it. If the user had locally-defined scripts, then they would need

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to change the code in each of them.

Python Script: The source of the Python script can be selected. Two options are available:
• External: An external *.py Python script file has to be selected under Script file.
• Embedded: The script is embedded in the ComPython-object and can directly be developed
using the internal editor (see Section 23.3). Please note that only single file Python scripts are
supported.
Script file will be available if External (see above) is selected. It is a field that contains the path of the
Python script file (*.py).

Embedded Code: Available if option Embedded (see above) is selected. The Python script is embedded
in the ComPython-object and can directly be developed in the editor.

Interface Version refers to the returned value of some Python methods. For example if selecting

Version 1-“old interface version”. Data object methods with arguments such as the method GetPage()
from the class SetDesktop return list containing [[returned value],argument of the following entries] :
1 list(DataObject, ...) SetDesktop::GetPage(str,[int])

Version 2- “new interface version”. Methods like the method GetPage() returns just the result, without
input parameters.
1 DataObject SetDesktop::GetPage(str,[int])

The Python command may also contain objects or references to other objects available in the Pow-
erFactory database. These can be accessed by clicking on the Contents button. New objects are
defined by first clicking the New Object icon in the toolbar of the Python script contents dialog and
then selecting the required object from the New Object pop-up window. References to other objects are
created by defining a reference object “IntRef”. Note: Python supports different access to this objects
than DPL. See example
1 script=app.GetCurrentSctipt()
2 ContainedObejct=script.GetContents('Results.ElmRes')

23.2.3.1 Creating a New Python Command

To create a new Python command click on the New Object ( ) icon in the toolbar of the Data Man-
ager and select DPL Command and more. From the Element drop-down list select ’Python Script
(ComPython)’. Then press OK and a new Python command will be created. The Python command
dialog is then displayed. The name of the script, its input parameters and the file path to the script, etc,
can now be specified. The Python command dialog is also opened by double-clicking a Python script;
by selecting Edit from the context-sensitive menu or by selecting the script from the list after clicking on
the main toolbar icon Execute Script ( ).

23.2.3.2 Executing a Python Command

A Python command may be executed by clicking the Execute button in the dialog.

Alternative methods for executing a Python script include:

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• From the Data Manager:

– Right-click on the Python command and select Execute from the context-sensitive menu.
– Right-click in a blank area and select Execute Script from the context-sensitive menu. A list
of existing DPL and Python scripts contained in the global and local libraries will pop up.
Select the required Python script and click OK.
• From the single line diagram:
– Select one or more elements in the single line diagram. Right-click the marked elements
and select Execute Script from the context-sensitive menu. A list of existing DPL and Python
scripts contained in the global and local libraries will pop up. Select the required Python
script and click OK.
– A button may be created in the single line diagram to automate the execution of a specific
Python script.
• From the main toolbar:
– Click the icon Execute Script . A list of existing DPL and Python scripts from the global
and local libraries will appear. Select the specific Python script and click OK.

23.2.4 Running PowerFactory in Non-interactive Mode

PowerFactory may be run externally by Python. In order to do this, the script must additionally add the
file path of the dynamic module (“powerfactory.pyd”) to the system path. Example:
1 # Add powerfactory.pyd path to python path.
2 import sys
3 sys.path.append("C:\\Program Files\\DIgSILENT\\PowerFactory 2016\\Python\\3.5")
4

5 #import PowerFactory module

6 import powerfactory
7

8 #start PowerFactory in non-interactive mode

9 app = powerfactory.GetApplication()
10

11 #run Python code below

12 #.....................

The PowerFactory environment can be accessed directly from the Python shell as shown in Fig-
ure 23.2.2

Figure 23.2.2: Python shell

Note: If an error message appears when importing the powerfactory module stating “ DLL load failed:
the specified module could not be found”, this often means that the corresponding Microsoft Visual
C++ Redistributable are not installed on the computer.

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23.2.5 Debugging Python Scripts

As with any other Python script, it is possible to remotely debug scripts written for PowerFactory by
using specialised applications.

23.2.5.1 Prerequisites

The recommended IDE for debugging is Eclipse (www.eclipse.org) with the Python add-on PyDev
(www.pydev.org).

1. Install Eclipse Standard from www.eclipse.org/downloads/

2. Open Eclipse
3. Click “Install New Software . . . ” in the “Help” menu

4. Add the repository http://pydev.org/updates and install PyDev

23.2.5.2 Debugging a Python script for PowerFactory

The following is a short description of remote debugging with PyDev. For more information please con-
sult the remote debugger manual of PyDev (http://pydev.org/manual_adv_remote_debugger.
html).
1. Start Eclipse
2. Open Debug perspective
3. Start the remote debugger server by clicking “Start Debug Server” in the “Pydev” menu

4. Start PowerFactory
5. Prepare the Python script for debugging:
• Add “pydevd.py” path to sys.path
• Import PyDev debugger module “pydevd”
• Start debugging calling pydevd.settrace()
Example:
1 #prepare debug
2 import sys
3 sys.path.append ("C:\\Program Files\\eclipse\\plugins\\
4 org.python.pydev_2.8.2.2013090511\\pysrc")
5 import pydevd
6

7 #start debug
8 pydevd.settrace()

6. Execute the Python script

7. Change to Eclipse and wait for the remote debugger server

It is not possible to stop and restart the remote debugger server while running PowerFactory.

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23.2.6 Example of a Python Script

The following example Python script calculates a load flow and prints a selection of results to the output
window. The script can be executed from within PowerFactory.
1 if __name__ == "__main__":
2 #connect to PowerFactory
3 import powerfactory as pf
4 app = pf.GetApplication()
5 if app is None:
6 raise Exception("getting PowerFactory application failed")
7

8 #print to PowerFactory output window

9 app.PrintInfo("Python Script started..")
10

11 #get active project

12 prj = app.GetActiveProject()
13 if prj is None:
14 raise Exception("No project activated. Python Script stopped.")
15

16 #retrieve load-flow object

17 ldf = app.GetFromStudyCase("ComLdf")
18

19 #force balanced load flow

20 ldf.iopt_net = 0
21

22 #execute load flow

23 ldf.Execute()
24

25 #collect all relevant terminals

26 app.PrintInfo("Collecting all calculation relevant terminals..")
27 terminals = app.GetCalcRelevantObjects("*.ElmTerm")
28 if not terminals:
29 raise Exception("No calculation relevant terminals found")
30 app.PrintPlain("Number of terminals found: %d" % len(terminals))
31

32 for terminal in terminals:

33 voltage = terminal.GetAttribute("m:u")
34 app.PrintPlain("Voltage at terminal %s is %f p.u." % (terminal , voltage))
35

36 #print to PowerFactory output window

37 app.PrintInfo("Python Script ended.")

23.3 Editor

PowerFactory has an integrated editor which can be used to write and execute scripts or as normal
text editor. The editor can be reached by pressing “ctrl e” on the keyboard or from the script page of a
ComDpl/ComPython dialog by right clicking somewhere in the code and selecting “Open Text Editor”.
When the editor is opened in an additional window, the available tools are shown in the Editor Toolbar ;
note that the same tools are available when using the page Script of ComDpl/ComPython command by
using the context sensitive menu.

Open external text file

Save file. If the file is a script the changes will be saved to the script object. Otherwise the file will
be saved as a .txt file
Print the current file

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Check the syntax of the script. Only available for DPL scripts

Execute the current script. The button is interpreted as save and execute.

A browser with the script contents is shown.

With this Edit icon the edit dialog of the script is opened.

Cut part of the text.

Copy part of the text.

Paste the copied or cut text.

The text of the script will be deleted

Undo the last operation.

Redo the last operation.

With the Search icon the user can activate a Find, a Replace or also a Go To function inside the
editor.
Find/replace/go to the next matching word.

Find/replace/go to the previous matching word.

With this icon bookmarks can be set in the editor.

Go to the next bookmark.

Go to the previous bookmark.

Clear all the existing bookmarks.

Open the User Settings dialog in the Editor page. More information is given in section 7.6.

When editing is complete, press the icon or icon and the script will be synchronised with the
main dialog.

In order to close an editor window click on the “close button” (“X”) on the top of the right side of the
window directly underneath corresponding buttons on the title bar.

23.4 Add On Modules

The purpose of Add On Modules is to allow the user more flexibility in the processing of calculations
and the presentation of results. By using Add On Modules the user can, for example, execute a number
of different calculations and present the results together on a graphic or in a report. Furthermore,
the concept of user-defined variables is introduced, these being variables created by the user in order
to store results, parameters, or any other information relevant to the process. After a module has
been executed, the user-defined variables may be accessed in the same way as the standard results
variables, for example being selected to display in a flexible data page. An Add On Module is created
and executed using an Add-On Command (ComAddon), which can be stored within a project or stored
in a central location and accessed via the user-defined toolbar.

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23.4.1 Add On Module framework

The Add On Module is created using an ComAddon command, which typically consists of the following
components:

• A DPL or Python script, which:

– uses a CreateModule command to create the Add On module;
– may include a range of calculation commands such as ComLdf and ComShc;
– includes commands to transfer results variables or other information to the user-defined
variables;
– uses a FinaliseModule command to complete the Add On module and make the results in
the user-defined variables available to the user.
• One or more User-defined variable definitions IntAddonvars; these are where the user specifies a
set of user-defined variables for a particular element class.

As can be seen in figure 23.4.1 below, the Add On command object also specifies two other pieces of
information:

Module Name: This is the name that will be given to the module itself. When the command is executed,
the module is created and this name will appear, for example, when the user selects variables to
display on a flexible data page.
Module Key: This is a key used internally by PowerFactory. It is used as a reference so that the
appropriate flexible data, graphic colouring and result boxes are used when the command is
executed. It is possible, if appropriate, for several Add On commands to use the same module
key.

Figure 23.4.1: Add On Command object

So when the Add On command is executed, the Add On module that is created can be regarded as
a bespoke PowerFactory function, handled in the same way as other functions such as a load flow or
RMS simulation, but offering great flexibility for the user.

23.4.2 Creating a new Add-on Module command

To create a new Add On Module in a study case, the following steps can be followed:

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• In a Data Manager, select the study case and click on the New Object icon .
• Select from the list Others and as Filter “Commands (Com*)”. Choose from the Element drop
down list “Add On (ComAddon)” and confirm with OK.

• Give the Add On a name and a key and confirm the edit dialog with Close.
• Select the Add On on the left side in the tree hierarchy of the Data Manager and press the New
Object icon again.
• Four options are available initially. The DPL Command (ComDpl) or Python Script(ComPython)
can be selected to create the script for the module. The third option, Variable Definition of Add On
(IntAddonvars) is used to create the user-defined variable definitions (IntAddonvars). The fourth
option, Flexible Data (SetFoldflex), offers the possibility to define a new tab (like the flexible data
page) and a predefined set of displayed variables.
• Once a script exists, any additional objects created in the module can only be user-defined variable
definitions IntAddonvars or the definition of an additional flexible data page SetFoldlfex.
• The IntAddonvars is configured to set up the user-defined variables. In the example in figure 23.4.2
below, short-circuit results variables are defined, one for each phase, and also line loading, line
length and an internal counter from the script.

Figure 23.4.2: Example of user-defined variable definitions for line elements

The setup of an additional flexible data page could be done as follows:

• Create a Flexible Data definition SetFoldflex inside the Add On.

• Execute the Add On.
• Open the Network Model Manager and look at the object classes for which Add On variable
definitions were created.

• Switch to the newly created, user defined flexible data tab at the bottom.
• Add user defined and whatever parameters of interest to the displayed variables via the Variable
Selection .
• With the variable selection done for all object classes of interest, the corresponding settings can
be copied into the Add On. Navigate in the Data Manager to the Settings folder of the project and
within it to the newly created flexible data page.

• Copy the Flexible Page Selector objects (IntMonsel) and paste them inside the Add On Flexible
Data definition (see figure 23.4.3).
• When this Add On is then executed in another project, the additional flexible data page will contain
the configured sets of variables.

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Figure 23.4.3: Definition of additional flexible data page and corresponding variable sets for the object
classes.

For the user-defined variables, supported data types include integer, double, string, object (reference),
arrays and matrices; for edge elements, variables can be defined as per phase and/or per connection
quantities.

Within the script itself, important features are the command CreateModule();, which is followed by all
the required calculations and data manipulation, new DPL and Python methods used for the handling
of the variables, and the FinaliseModule(); command, which is used once the calculations and data
manipulation are complete and which defines the point at which no more changes are made to the
user-defined variables and the results are ready to be viewed.

23.4.3 Executing an Add-on Module command

Add-on Modules can be executed directly or from an icon on the Additional Tools toolbar as shown in
figure 23.4.4 below. Clicking on this icon will bring up a list of all Add On commands stored in the active
study case or in the Add On folder in the Configuration area (see section 23.4.4).

Figure 23.4.4: Running Add On modules from the Additional Tools toolbar

When the script has been executed, it is possible to access the user-defined variables in a flexible data
page as shown in figure 23.4.5 below, or add them to a result box.

If an additional flexible data page is defined in the Add On, the corresponding flexible data page can be
selected and further adapted.

In figure 23.4.5, it can be seen how the Add On Module name appears on the left-hand side together
with the standard PowerFactory calculation functions.

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Figure 23.4.5: Selecting user-defined variables for a flexible data page

23.4.4 Adding Add On Modules to the User-Defined Tools toolbar

Add On Modules can be made available for use in different projects and (in the case of a multi-
user database) by other users, by adding the Add-On commands to the User-defined Tools toolbar.
Section 6.7.1 describes how the User-defined Tools toolbar is configured; the Add On Module command,
including contents, is placed in the Add On folder of the Configuration folder.

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Chapter 24

Interfaces

24.1 Introduction

PowerFactory supports a wide set of interfaces. Depending on the specific data exchange task the user
may select the appropriate interface.

The interfaces are divided as follows:

• Interfaces for the exchange of data according to DIgSILENT specific formats:
– DGS
– StationWare (DIgSILENT GmbH trademark)
• Interfaces for the exchange of data using proprietary formats:
– PSS/E (Siemens/PTI trademark)
– NEPLAN (NEPLAN AG trademark)
– ELEKTRA
– MATLAB (The MathWorks, Inc trademark)
– INTEGRAL
– PSS/SINCAL (Siemens/PTI trademark)
• Interfaces for the exchange of data according to standardised formats:
– UCTE-DEF
– CIM
– OPC
• Programming interfaces for integration with external applications
– C++ API
The above mentioned interfaces are explained in the following sections.

24.2 DGS Interface

DGS (DIgSILENT) is PowerFactory ’s standard bi-directional interface specifically designed for bulk data
exchange with other applications such as GIS and SCADA, and, for example, for exporting calculation
results to produce Crystal Reports, or to interchange data with any other software package.

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Figure 24.2.1 illustrates the integration of a GIS (Graphical Information System) or SCADA (Supervisory
Control And Data Acquisition) with PowerFactory via the DGS interface Here, PowerFactory can be con-
figured either in GUI-less or normal mode. When used in GUI-less mode (engine mode), PowerFactory
imports via DGS the topological and library data (types), as well as operational information. Once a
calculation has been carried out (for example a load flow or short circuit), the results are exported
back so they are displayed in the original application; which in this example relates to the SCADA
or GIS application. The difference with PowerFactory running in normal mode (see right section of
Figure 24.2.1) is that, besides the importing of data mentioned previously, the graphical information
(single line graphics) is additionally imported, meaning therefore that the results can be displayed
directly in PowerFactory. In this case, the exporting back of the results to the original application would
be optional.

Figure 24.2.1: DGS - GIS/SCADA Integration

Although the complete set of data can be imported in PowerFactory every time a modification has
been made in the original application, this procedure would be impractical. The typical approach in
such situations would be to import the complete set of data only once and afterwards have incremental
updates.

24.2.1 DGS Interface Typical Applications

Typical applications of the DGS Interface are the following:

• Importing to PowerFactory
– Data Import/Update into PowerFactory from external data sources such as GIS (Network
Equipment), SCADA (Operational Data) and billing/metering systems (Load Data) in order to
perform calculations.
• Exporting from PowerFactory
– Performing calculations in PowerFactory and exporting back the results to the original appli-
cation.
• Integration
– Importing data sets to PowerFactory from GIS or SCADA, performing calculations, and
exporting back results to GIS or SCADA.

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24.2.2 DGS Structure (Database Schemas and File Formats)

PowerFactory ’s DGS interface is strictly based on the PowerFactory data model. Data can be imported
and exported with DGS using different file formats and database schemas.

The following databases or file formats are supported:

• Databases
– Oracle DB Server (ODBC client 10 or newer)
– Microsoft SQL Server (ODBC driver 2000 or newer)
– System DSN (ODBC)
– Generic ODBC
• File Formats
– DGS File - ASCII
– XML File
– Microsoft Excel File (2003 or newer)
– Microsoft Access File (2003 or newer)
Important to note here is that the content of the files is the same; the only difference being the format.

Note: Due to changes in the format, DGS is available in several versions. It is highly recommended to
always use the latest available DGS version.

The core principle of DGS is to organise all data in tables. Each table has a unique name (within
the DGS file or database/table space) and consists of one or more table columns, where generally all
names are case-sensitive.

More information on DGS and examples can be accessed by selecting from the main menu Help →
Additional Packages→ DGS Data Exchange Format

24.2.3 DGS Import

To import data via the DGS interface, the general procedure is as follows:
• From the main menu go to File → Import. . . → DGS Format. . . which opens the DGS-Import
dialog.

• Specify the required options in both the General and Options pages, and click on the Execute
button.
When importing DGS files, the user has two options:
1. Importing into a new project. With this option selected a newly generated project is left activated
upon completion.
2. Importing into an existing project. If an operational scenario and/or a variation is active at the
moment the import takes place, the imported data set will be divided correspondingly. For example
importing breaker status (opened/closed) while an operational scenario is active will store this
information in the operational scenario.

The following sections describe each of these options.

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24.2.3.1 General Page

Import into New Project By choosing this option, a project will be created where all the DGS data
will be stored. The user will have the option of specifying a specific name and location (other than the
default).

Import into Existing Project By choosing this option, the DGS data will be imported into an already
existing project. Here, the data can be selective and its not required that the imported data must be
complete. In some cases, most of the objects already exist and only an update is required for some of
them.

Import from The source of the data to be imported is specified with this option. If a File Format source
is selected then the location and type of data (DGS, XML, MDB or XLS) must be specified. If a Database
source is selected, then a service, User and Password information is required (the SQL server option
will require an extra Database information).

24.2.3.2 Options Page

The visible options depend on the DGS version being used, and on the users choice of the Import
Format.

Options for DGS version 4.x

Predefined Library
A predefined library located somewhere else in the database can be selected. The option of
copying the library into the project is available.

Create Switch inside Cubicle

In cases where the source data has no switches defined inside the cubicles, the enabling of
this option will create the switches automatically during the import. If switches already exist in a
certain cubicle, the creation of switches in that particular cubicle is ignored.

Replace non-printable characters

If the source data contains not allowed characters (∼, ?, etc.), they are replaced by an underscore
character.

Options for DGS version 5.x

Open single line diagram(s)

If the DGS source contains graphics objects for single line diagrams, these will be opened
automatically after import.

Dataset Import (only available if a Database Schema is selected as Import Format)

For DGS version 5 or higher, a labelled version of the data in the source data base can be
selected for import. The labelled versions are mainly used to chose a time-dependent state of
the data. The label name is input in the field Label.

Options for DGS version 6.x

The options for DGS version 5.x are available for DGS version 6.x as well. In addition, the options
described below can be configured.

Global type library

The DGS import in earlier versions only allows for references to existing objects within the active
project. With the DGS version 6.x, a global type library can be selected. Elements in the DGS
source can refer to the foreign key of types in the selected global library.

Partial Import (only available if a Database Schema is selected as Import Format)

For DGS version 6 or higher, labelled regions can be selected for import in the source data base.

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The labelled regions can be used to select specific voltage levels or sub-grids from the bulk data
set. The label names are input in the field Labels separated by commas.

The option pages for all DGS versions contain the field

Additional Parameters
This field is specified for internal use only. No extra information is required by the user.

More detailed information on DGS and examples can be accessed by selecting from the main menu
Help → Additional Packages→ DGS Data Exchange Format

24.2.4 DGS Export

In contrast to the DGS Import, where it is not relevant if a project is active or not; the DGS Export is
based on what information is active at the moment the export takes place. In other words, only the active
project, with the corresponding active Study Case, active Scenario, and active Variations are exported
(objects are exported in their current state). Furthermore, the export can be fully configured, meaning
that the user has the option of selecting the amount of information to be exported per class object. In
general, the following data can be exported:
• Element data

• Type data
• Graphic data
• Result data (e.g. load flow results)
To export data via the DGS interface, the general procedure is as follows:

• Create an Export Definition

• Activate the project to be exported, considering which Study Case, Scenario and Variations should
be active.

• From the main menu go to File → Export. . . → DGS Format. . . which opens the DGS-Export
dialog.
• Specify the required options in both the General and Options pages, and click the Execute button.

The following sections describe each of these options.

24.2.4.1 General Page

DGS Version
Version of the DGS structure.

Format
Output format. Either as ASCII, XML, MS Excel or MS Access file (for Excel or Access, Microsoft
Office must be installed on the computer) or as Oracle, MS SQL Server, ODBC DSN or generic ODBC
databases (respective data base drivers must be installed.). File Name or Data Base Service
Depending on the Output Format, a file name for the output file or the data base service and user
access information are required.

Insert Description of Variables

If checked, a description of the column headers is included in the output file (only available for ASCII,
XML and MS Excel).

Variable Sets
Select the variable set definition for export. The data exported will be according to the variable definition

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specified (see the explanation at the beginning of the section). It is required to select a folder that
contains the monitor variable objects (IntMon) related to each class that is to be exported.

24.2.4.2 Options Page

The visible options mostly depend on the DGS version 4.x, 5.x or 6.x and on the users choice of the
Export Format.

DPL Script
Independent of the DGS version, the user can select a DPL script. This DPL script is automatically
executed before DGS export.

Options for DGS version 5.x

Allow hierarchy and references of exported objects to be incomplete

If this option is set, error messages because of references to external objects (e.g. types in the
global library) that will not be exported are omitted. Furthermore, the export of data classes is
possible although their parent-folder class is not contained in the variable definition set.

Allow user-defined table names

With this option, a prefix and suffix can be added to all table names on DGS export. The prefix
or suffix is defined in the field Additional Parameters.

Export as dataset (available for export to data base formats only)

This option is used to write the exported data to a specifically labelled data set (session state)
into the data base. A label identifier must be given. Optional, a description can be added.

Options for DGS version 6.x

All options for DGS version 5.x are available for DGS version 6.x. In addition, the following options exist:

Export as Update
DGS 6.0 supports an explicit marker OP to mark a data record to be created (C), updated (U) or
deleted (D) on DGS import. On export, the user can chose to mark all data as Update by means
of this option. Otherwise the exported data are marked for Create.

Categorisation of data for partial import (available for export to data base formats only)
This option is used to define for each grid (ElmNet) in the active project a data part in the data
base. In addition, certain data types and elements are labelled with respect to their meaning in
the context of this partial export: global types, local types, boundary set (branches connecting
elements that belong to different grids), other elements (e.g. characteristics). The names of these
labels are input in the respective fields (all fields should be filled in). In addition, a global library
folder can be selected to include referenced types from this library on DGS export.

Options for DGS version 4.x

Export Grid Name

If this option is set, a column “Grid” is added to all tables containing network elements.

Export Cubicles
With this option, cubicles are exported. Cubicles describe the connectivity of nodes and branches.
The export of cubicles can be omitted if the grid topology is not needed (e.g. for result export).

Export Graphical Data

The user can select one of three options for the export of graphical data:

No No graphical data are exported.

Yes, with Graphic (IntGrfnet) Names Graphical data are exported. All graphic object tables
contain a column for the name of the graphic scheme (IntGrfnet).

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Yes, without Graphic (IntGrfnet) Names Graphical data are exported. The graphic scheme
is not referenced by the exported graphic objects.
The option page contains independent of the DGS version always the field

Additional Parameters
This field is specified for internal use only. No extra information is required by the user.

More detailed information on Variable Sets definitions (IntMon) can be accessed by selecting from the
main menu Help → Additional Packages→ DGS Data Exchange Format.

24.3 PSS/E File Interface

Although both import and export functions for PSS/E files are integrated commands of PowerFactory,
the export function is licensed separately. For more information on prices and licensing contact the
sales department at [email protected].

PSS/E Import supports versions 23 to 32 and can be performed by going to the main menu and selecting
File → Import. . . → PSS/E.

In the same manner, and provided the appropriate licensing exists, a project can be exported in PSS/E
format by selecting form the main menu File → Export. . . → PSS/E.

24.3.1 Importing PSS/E Steady-State Data

PowerFactory is able to convert both steady-state data (for load-flow and short-circuit analysis) and
dynamic data files. It is good practise to first import the steady-state data (described in this section),
then to add the dynamic models (described in Section 24.3.2: Import of PSS/E file (Dynamic Data).

Before starting the next steps for importing a PSS/E file, make sure that no project is active. Once this
has been confirmed, select from the main menu File → Import. . . → PSS/E. By doing so, the Convert
PSS/E Files command dialog will be displayed, asking the user to specify various options.

24.3.1.1 General Page

Nominal Frequency Nominal frequency of the file to be Converted/Imported.

PSS/E File Type

PSS/E Raw data Location on the hard disk of the PSS/E raw data file. By default the program searches
for * .raw extensions.
Sequence Data Location of the PSS/E sequence data file. By default the program searches for * .seq
extensions.
Add Graphic Files Location of the PSS/E drw files on the file system. Again by default the programs
searches for files with extension * .drw.

Note: After the Conversion/Importing has finished, the resulting project will contain a graphics folder
where all of the PSS/E drw converted graphics will be stored. The user must therefore relocate
each one of them to the corresponding diagram folder.

Save converted data in

Project The project name that will be assigned to the converted/imported file in PowerFactory.

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in Location in the Data Manager tree where the imported file will be stored.
The following topics: Dyn. Models Data, Composite Frame Path, DSL - Model Path, Parameter
Mapping; are not used for the import of steady-state data and will be explained in the dynamic import
Section 24.3.2.

24.3.1.2 Options Page

• Convert only sequence data file - With this option enabled, the converter will only add the
sequence data to an existing project.
• Convert only dynamic models file - With this option enabled, the converter will only add the
dynamic data file to an existing project (only for dynamic data import).
• Convert only graphic file - With this option enabled, the converter will add only a single-line
diagram to an existing project.
• Only convert file (no DB action) - Internal option used for syntax check and error messages
during conversion. Normally this box should be left unchecked.
• Output only used dynamic models - Displays a list of used dynamic models (only for dynamic
data import).
• Unit of ’LEN’ for lines in miles instead of km - With this option enabled, all lengths will be
interpreted in miles in the PSS/E raw files.
• Consider transformer phase shift - With this option enabled, transformer phase shifts will be
considered. This option is recommended and activated by default.
• Convert Induction Machines (Generators: P<0) - With this option enabled, all generators in the
raw data file that have negative active power will be converted to asynchronous machines. For
transmission grids the option should be disabled for proper modelling of phase shift generators.
• Automatic 3-W. Transformer detection/conversion - In versions <27, PSS/E does not handle 3-
winding transformers as a dedicated model. In such cases, the 3-winding transformer is modelled
with three 2-winding transformers connected to a busbar. If this option is selected, the converter
will try to detect the existence of three 2-Winding Transformers connected to a busbar. If any can-
didates are available, PowerFactory will replace them by a 3-Winding Transformer. The detection
algorithm uses the impedances and the voltage control of the transformers as reference. From
version 27 onwards PSS/E supports the 3W-transformer model, so that PowerFactory does not
start an automatic detection of 3W-Trf modelled as 2W-Trfs.
• Convert capacitive line shunts to line susceptance B’ - If a line has line shunts the converter
adds automatically the line shunt capacitance to the C1’ (B1’) in the PowerFactory line type.
• Convert Common Impedance as Transformer - If this option is selected, the Common Impedance
in PSS/E may be converted to a PowerFactory common impedance or to a transformer.
• Convert Series Capacitance as Common Impedance - Older versions of PSS/E do not handle
series capacitances as a dedicated model. These elements therefore are represented by lines
with negative reactances. During the conversion, PowerFactory detects these branches and
converts them to series capacitances (by default) or to common impedances (when this option
is active).
• Convert off-nominal turn ratio to transformer tap - Transformer ratios different from the rated
ratio are automatically converted to a transformer type using taps, including the correct tap posi-
tion.
• Busbar naming: ’PSSE_NAME’ - With this option enabled, the busbars are named similar to the
PSS/E raw data file (without bus number).
• Branch naming: ’BUSNAME1_BUSNAME2_ID’ - With this option enabled, the branches are
named as the name of the busbars + ID.

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Additional Parameters - This field is specified for internal use only. No extra information is required by
the user.

24.3.1.3 Graphical Options Page

• Rotate with respect to busbars - The converter will rotate the graphical layout in case of the
majority of busbars being in vertical or horizontal position.
• Snap coordinates to grid - The converter will snap to grid all objects in the single line graphics.

• Transformer Symbol according to IEC -This options lets the user choose the transformer symbol
as IEEE (default) or IEC representation.
• Scaling factor - The graphic files are scaled according to the scaling factor shown.

24.3.2 Import of PSS/E file (Dynamic Data)

As explained in Section 24.3.1 it is good practise first to import the steady-state data and then to add
the dynamic model data.

Some dynamic models used in PSS/E are available in the Global Library. User defined dynamic models
should be modelled in PowerFactory before importing the program. In this case, an important condition
for successful file conversion is that all DSL models used during the conversion process should be
stored in the same model library folder.

If the original library should use specific folders for the different types of controllers (AVR,PCO,PSS,
etc.), the user should copy all of the models into the same library folder, in this case the recommendation
is to copy the dynamic models from the global library into the library where the rest of the user defined
models are located. After the conversion, the user may re-arrange the models.

The procedure to start the import of dynamic network data is very similar to the import of steady-state
data. Some parameter adjustments have to be made.

24.3.2.1 General Page - Dynamic Models

On the General page of the import dialog the following topics have to be specified:

Dyn. Models Data - Location of the PSS/E Dynamic Models data file. By default the program searches
for * .dyn and *dyr extensions.

Use Standard Models from global library - If this option in enabled, PowerFactory will automatically
point to the Standard Models library located in the Global library. There will be no need of selecting the
composite Frame Path and DSL Model Path.

Composite Frame Path - Location in the PowerFactory data base where the composite frames are
stored (Standard Models/Composite Models Frames. . . ).

DSL - Model Path - Location in the PowerFactory data base where the DSL models are stored (Stan-
dard Models. . . ).

Parameter Mapping - Location of the PowerFactory mapping file. This is an option that normally
will not have to be defined by the user. By default PowerFactory will automatically set up its own
internal mapping file. This file defines how to translate the PSS/E internal models into PowerFactory
models, including the mapping of controller parameters. For automated conversion of user-defined
PSS/E controllers the mapping file may be customised.

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24.3.2.2 Import Options Page - Dynamic Model Import

On the Options page of the import dialog the following options should be considered:

Convert only dynamic models file - With this option enabled, the converter will only add the dynamic
data file to an existing project.

Output only used dynamic models - Displays a list of used dynamic models.

24.3.3 Exporting a project to a PSS/E file

This function allows the export of the network model in PSS/E format. The export comprises both
steady-state and dynamic data sets. The correct conversion of dynamic models is only possible for
the standard IEEE models. Models which the user implemented in PowerFactory ’s DSL can not be
automatically translated and must be modelled as user-defined controller types separately in PSS/E.

To export a project in PSS/E format select File → Export. . . → PSS/E from the main menu.

24.3.3.1 Export General Page

RAW Conversion File - Path and file name for the PSS/E RAW file, containing the symmetrical de-
scription of the model.

SEQ Conversion File - Path and file name for the PSS/E SEQ file, containing the additional description
of the model necessary for unbalanced conditions.

DYN Conversion File - Path and file name for the PSS/E DYN file, containing the dynamic models of
the project.

PSS/E Version - Version of the exported PSS/E file (25 to 32).

24.3.3.2 Export Options Page

Convert Motors to Generators if P<0 - With this option enabled, all asynchronous machines in
generator mode will be converted to synchronous machines.

Export branch as single equivalent line - Selecting this option will convert the branch models to an
equivalent line.

Convert SVS to generator - This option defines how the SVS elements will be exported. Three options
are available:

• No: the SVS elements won’t be exported.

• Only voltage controlled: will convert the SVS elements with control mode set to Voltage Control
(Load Flow page of the element) to generator models.
• Always: all the SVS elements will be converted to generator models.

Base Apparent Power - Base for the power values given in per-unit system.

Min (Zero) Impedance Branch - Minimum impedance for ideal connections.

PSS/E Bus Number - This option defines the naming convention when exporting terminals ElmTerm.
Three options are available:

• Automatic: the number assigned will be according to the name (in ascending/alphabetical order).

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• Use Serial Number: the serial number information stated in the Description page of each terminal
will be used for assigning the PSS/E bus number.
• Use Characteristic Name: the characteristic name information stated in the Description page of
each terminal will be used for assigning the PSS/E bus number.

Export PSS/E-Area index as - The way the Area index is defined in PSS/E is defined here, two options
are available:
• Grids: the exported file will have the areas defined according to the Grids defined in the Power-
Factory model.
• Areas: the exported file will have the areas defined according to the Areas defined in the Power-
Factory model.
Additional Parameters - This field is specified for internal use only. No extra information is required by
the user.

24.4 ELEKTRA Interface

PowerFactory offers the user the possibility to import different types of ELEKTRA files. The files
supported for import are as follows:

• Elektra network models

– Element data (*.esd) from Elektra Version 3.60 to 3.98, which contain the topological and
electrical data of the elements in the grid.
– Network diagrams (*.enp) from Elektra Version 3.92 to 3.98, which contain the graphical
representation of grids.
• Elektra equipment type library
– Type data (*.dat), which contains equipment types.

24.4.1 Import of Elektra Data

The general way to import data via the Elektra interface is as follows:

• From the main menu, select: File → Import→ Elektra. . . . The Elektra-Import dialog will be
displayed.
• Select the desired options and click on the Execute button.

Note: The Elektra import cannot be executed if Elektra is open. Close the software before executing
the import.

The import will be executed regardless of whether a project is activated or not. At the end of the
import, the project will be activated. If there is another project activated while importing the Elektra
data, PowerFactory will deactivate the active project, and activate the newly-created or selected project
(according to the settings).

The options available in the Elektra import dialog are described in the following section.

24.4.2 General Settings

Import into

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New project A new project will be created in which all of the Elektra data will be stored. The user can
select a name and a storage location. Different versions of the same network model should be
stored in new projects.
Existing project Elektra data will be imported into an existing project. Use this option if grids from
different regions will be connected and should be calculated together in one project.

Files

Kind of data Within the Elektra import, Element/graphic data (data type *.esd and *. enp) or Type data
(data type *.dat) can be imported, according to the selection.
Element data If Element/graphic data is selected, set the storage location of the Elektra element data
by clicking the “. . . ” icon.
Graphical data Add graphical data for the element. Select Delete to remove the data from the list.
Type data If Kind of Data: Type data is selected, click on Add to select the Elektra type library (*.dat)
for import. Repeat this step if more type libraries should be added to the import. Select Delete to
delete single files from the selection.

24.4.3 Advanced Settings

On the Advanced settings page, the following options can be used to simplify the imported network. In
addition, there are two options to activate the import of coupling impedances and active/reactive power
characteristics (Q(P) curves).

General Options

consider graphical node representation If a node is set to Internal Node in the Elektra element
data, PowerFactory will also set the node to Internal Node. That is, the usage of the node in
PowerFactory is set according to the usage in Elektra element data.
create detailed busbar systems for single busbars By default, a detailed representation of substa-
tions is generated for all Elektra busbars in a PowerFactory substation. This is done regardless of
whether it is a single or double busbar. This option should be chosen to set locations where only
single busbars exist, to single busbars in PowerFactory.
create auxiliary graphic objects in annotation layer Objects in the Elektra open graphic (open texts,
memos, rectangles, pictures, . . . ) will be transformed into the annotation layer of PowerFactory
by default. These layers can be scaled and changed in PowerFactory. As an alternative, graph-
ical objects can be split into parts in the import process. This leads to limited options in later
adaptations of the objects.
create element names with reference to the node name In PowerFactory, every element must have
a unique name. To ensure this uniqueness for the Elektra import, the names are comprised of
the following parts: Elektra element name - Elektra name of terminal 1 - Elektra name of other
terminal. If this name has more than 40 letters it will be shortened.
coupling impedances Coupling impedances between adjacent overhead lines in Elektra network data
are converted into corresponding tower elements (ElmTow) and tower types TypTow in PowerFac-
tory.
convert Q(P) curves The reactive power behaviour of generator units or synchronous machines in
Elektra data can be given as an active/reactive power characteristic. These curves are converted
into a Q(P) characteristic in PowerFactory and assigned to the corresponding static generator/s
or synchronous machine/s.

Individual scaling factors at Elektra node elements

Active and reactive power can be modified through scaling factors in Elektra on different layers. These
factors are transformed into scalar PowerFactory characteristics, upon import of Elektra element data.

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If there are many individual scaling factors for Elektra node elements, one of the following options can
be chosen. These options may assist in reducing the number of characteristics in PowerFactory.

Ignore all scaling factors The factors for active and reactive power for Elektra node elements are
ignored within the data import. The results of the load flow calculation are influenced by this
option.
Calculate resulting power quantities The multiplication of the active and reactive power by the Elek-
tra node element factor is transferred into PowerFactory.

Create individual scale factor objects For all factors for Elektra node elements that are set to a value
different to ’1’, corresponding scalar characteristics are created in PowerFactory. This is the
default option.

Additional Parameter This field is for internal use. No additional information is required from the user.

24.4.4 Importing Elektra Network Data

To import Elektra network data, choose Kind of data: Element/graphic data. The following combinations
of element and graphic data exist:

1. Selection of Elektra element data (*.esd) without graphic data

The element and topological data from the *.esd file will be imported. Type data for the element
data will be created. There is no creation of a network diagram.
2. Selection of Elektra element data (*.esd) and one or more corresponding graphic files (*.enp)
The included topological and type data from the *.esd file will be imported. Type data for the
element data will be created. Additionally, a network diagram for every selected Elektra graphical
data will be created and elements are linked to the graphical objects (if present in both files).

3. Selection of Elektra graphical data (*.enp), without element data.

If only graphical data has been selected, for each graphic file one network diagram will be created.
From the topological information in the *.enp file, network data will be created. This network data
does not contain technical parameters or type references.

24.4.5 Importing Elektra Type Data

To import Elektra type data, select one or more *.dat files.

In the folder Library/Equipment Type Library from the import project, a new Equipment Library will be
created for each file and relevant kind of element.
If the successfully imported type data should be used in PowerFactory ś global library, continue as
follows:
1. Change the user to Administrator by selecting Tools → Switch User. . . → Administrator via the
main menu.

2. Open the PowerFactory Data Manager, and create a new folder of type Library within the directory
Database.
3. Copy the Equipment Library from the import project into this folder.

24.4.6 Output Window

During the import the following information is provided in the output window:

• Network elements which do not coexist in the Elektra element and in the Elektra graphical data
(multiple entries while importing multiple graphical files are possible).

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• Network elements which are generated from power ratings in Elektra nodes.
• Coupling objects between different locations, which cannot be converted.
• Graphical objects whose names are adapted during import.
• Inconsistent or incomplete element parameters.

24.5 NEPLAN Interface

PowerFactory offers to the user the option of importing different types of NEPLAN files. The files
supported for importing are the following:
• NEPLAN 4
– Project File Data (*.mcb) containing the topological, electrical and graphical data.
– Line Data Type (*.ldb) containing the line type information.
• NEPLAN 5
– Node Table (*.ndt) containing the node data, such as rated voltages and loads.
– Element table (*.edt) containing the branch data, such as lines and transformers.
– GIS/NMS Interface (*.cde) containing the graphical information of all the networks which are
part of the NEPLAN project.

24.5.1 Importing NEPLAN Data

To import data via the NEPLAN interface, the general procedure is as follows:

• From the main menu go to File → Import. . . → Neplan. . . which opens the NEPLAN-Import dialog.
• Specify the required options and click on the Execute button.
The NEPLAN data import always creates a new PowerFactory project. Once the import process has
been executed, the newly generated project is left activated upon completion.

Independent of the NEPLAN file version (4 or 5), the user has the option of importing the data with
or without graphical information. That is, if the user selects importing the data without graphical
information, only the topological and electrical data will get imported, and no single line graphic will
be generated. In order to import NEPLAN 5 graphics, the path to the NEPLAN files should not contain
spaces.

Importing NEPLAN 4 Files

When importing NEPLAN 4 files, the user has basically two options:
1. Selection of a * .mcb file.
If the user selects this type of file and if a corresponding * .ldb file is present (should be in the same
directory where the * .mcb is stored), then the information of both files gets imported. If only the
*
.mcb file exists, then only the information regarding this file is imported (which can also contain
line data).
2. Selection of a * .ldb.
If the user selects this type of file only the information regarding this file (line data) is imported.

Importing NEPLAN 5 Files

When importing NEPLAN 5 files, the user is only required to select the * .ndt. By doing so, the
corresponding * .edt file is automatically imported also. This basically means that a * .edt file must
be present otherwise the import will not be executed. The * .cde file is however optional. Additionally, all

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three files must have the same name and must be in the same directory! As a recommendation, create
a separate folder and place all the files there.

The following section describes each of the NEPLAN import dialog options.

24.5.1.1 General Settings

File Type
Neplan Data Location on the hard disk of the NEPLAN data file. Three types of files are available:
*
.mcb, * .ldb and * .ndt.
Save converted data in

Project The project name that will be assigned to the converted/imported file in PowerFactory.
in Location in the Data Manager tree where the imported file will be stored.
Common Conversion Settings
Automatic busbar system detection

Import Graphic Information If this option is enabled then the graphical information is imported and
the single line diagram is generated. In case of NEPLAN 5 import the * .cde file is required.
Graphic Import Options (only for NEPLAN 5 import)

Additional Rotation Angle for 1-port Elements (deg) If a value different than 0 is stated, then the
single port elements (loads, generators, motors, etc.) are rotated counter clockwise (degrees)
with respect to the original position.
Automatically scale to A0 If this option is selected, then the graphic is rescaled according to the A0
page format.

User defined scaling factor

Additional Parameters
This field is specified for internal use only. No extra information is required by the user.

24.6 INTEGRAL Interface

PowerFactory offers the user the option to import Integral files for Load Flow and Short Circuit analysis.
The following files are supported:

• *.dvg
• *.dtf

• *.xml

Furthermore Integral files can be export as *.xml files.

24.6.1 Importing Integral Data

To import Integral data, the procedure is as follows:

• From the main menu go to File → Import. . . → Integral. . . (this will open the Integral import dialog).

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In the ’Save converted data in’ field the user can enter a project name, and the PowerFactory user for
this project can be selected. The Integral data import always creates a new PowerFactory project.
The *.xml Integral files contain graphical information. However, for older Integral files with the ending
*.dvg and *.dtf it is necessary to select graphical data with the ending *.bild.

More information about the Integral Import is available in the German version of the User Manual.

24.6.2 Export Integral Data

The Integral export converts the PowerFactory project into an *.xml file in Integral format. Therefore
’XML Data’ must be defined as the path where to store the xml file. If the ending .xml is not given, it will
automatically added.

More information about the Integral Export is available in the German version of the User Manual.

24.7 PSS SINCAL Interface

PowerFactory offers the user the option to import MS Access database files from PSS SINCAL for Load
Flow and Short Circuit analysis. The following files are supported:

• *.mdb

24.7.1 Importing PSS SINCAL Data

The procedure to import PSS SINCAL data is as follows:

• From the main menu go to File → Import. . . → Sincal. . . (this will open the PSS SINCAL import
dialog).
• Select the file location of the MS Access database file of the SINCAL project (usually named
database.mdb) in the field Database name.
• In the Save converted data in field, the user can enter a project name, and the PowerFactory user
for this project can be selected.

The PSS SINCAL data import will always create a new PowerFactory project.

The SINCAL *.mdb database files contain graphical information. This information is converted into a
PowerFactory network diagram.

24.8 UCTE-DEF Interface

In PowerFactory, both export and import of UCTE-DEF (Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission
of Electricity - Data Exchange Format) is supported. The UCTE interface is currently intended for
importing/exporting grid data of a country belonging to the former UCTE community.

The data contained in these files correspond basically to load flow and short circuit (3 phase) type data.
Furthermore, it only considers specific UCTE voltage levels according to voltage level codes, as well as
UCTE specific country codes, such as DK for Denmark, P for Portugal, etc.

Important to note here is that from 1𝑠𝑡 of July 2009, ENTSO-E (European Network of Transmission
System Operators for Electricity) took over all operational tasks of the 6 existing TSO associations in
Europe, including the Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE).

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For more information related to the UCTE format, refer to the ENTSOE website: https://www.entsoe.eu

24.8.1 Importing UCTE-DEF Data

To import data via the UCTE interface, the general procedure is as follows:
• From the main menu go to File → Import. . . → UCTE. . . which opens the UCTE-Import dialog.

• Specify the required options and click on the Execute button.

Once the import process has been executed, the project (new or existing) is left activated upon comple-
tion.

The following section describes each of the UCTE import dialog options.

24.8.1.1 General Settings

Import into
New Project By choosing this option, a project will be created where all the UCTE data will be stored.
The user will have the option of specifying a specific name and location (other than the default).
Existing Project By choosing this option, the UCTE data will be imported into an already existing
project.
File Type
Add UCTE Files Location on the hard disk of the UCTE files. Two types of files are available: * .uct and
*
.ucte.

Options
Import for DACF process With this setting the user has the option to import the Day Ahead Forecast.
Convert negative loads to generators With this option enabled, negative loads defined in the UCTE
file will be converted to generators in the PowerFactory model.

Convert transformer equivalent to common impedance With this option enabled, transformer equiv-
alents defined in the UCTE file will be converted to common impedances in the PowerFactory
model.
Ignore reactive power limits for generators With this option enabled, the reactive power limits of the
generators defined in the UCTE file will be ignored .

Additional Parameters This field is specified for internal use only. No extra information is required by
the user.

24.8.2 Exporting UCTE-DEF Data

As in the other export interfaces, the UCTE Export is based on the active project at the moment the
export takes place. To export data via the UCTE interface, the general procedure is as follows:
• Activate the project to be exported, considering the which Study Case, Scenario and Variations
should be active.
• From the main menu go to File → Export. . . → UCTE. . . which opens the UCTE-Export dialog.
• Specify the required options, and click on the Execute button.
The following section describe each of these options.

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24.8.2.1 General Settings

File Type

UCTE Data Location on the hard disk where the UCTE files will be stored. Two types of files are
available: * .uct and * .ucte.
Grids Selection of which grids to export.

Options
Export UCTE voltage >= Only the elements having a voltage greater than the UCTE voltage specified
are exported.

Export branch as single equivalent line By enabling this option the export will convert the PowerFac-
tory branch definitions into single equivalent lines.
Use first character of characteristic name as branch order code If checked, the characteristic name
(first character) is used in the branch order code of the exported UCTE file.

Additional Parameters This field is specified for internal use only. No extra information is required by
the user.

24.9 CIM Interface

In PowerFactory, both export and import of CIM (Common Information Model) is supported. The CIM
interface is currently intended for importing/exporting the following profile:
• ENTSO-E 2009
CIM is defined in IEC-61970, and its purpose is to allow the exchange of information related to the
configuration and status of an electrical system.

For information relating to CGMES, please see section 24.10 below.

24.9.1 Importing CIM Data

To import data via the CIM interface, the general procedure is as follows:

• From the main menu go to File → Import. . . → CIM. . . which opens the CIM-Import dialog.
• Specify the required options and click on the Execute button.
Once the import process has been executed, the project (new or existing) is left activated upon comple-
tion.

The following section describes each of the CIM import dialog options.

24.9.2 General Page

Import into
New Project By choosing this option, a project will be created where all the CIM data will be stored.
The user will have the option of specifying a specific name and location (other than the default).
Active Project By choosing this option, the CIM data will be imported into the active project.
Import from

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Profile Currently the profile ENTSO-E 2009 is supported.

separated Files With this setting the user has the option to import the equipment, topology and solved
state files separately.

CIM File Location on the hard disk of the CIM files. Two types of files are supported: * .zip and * .xml.
Additional Parameters This field is specified for internal use only. No extra information is required by
the user.

24.9.3 Exporting CIM Data

As in the other export interfaces, the CIM Export is based on the active project at the moment the
export takes place. To export data via the CIM interface, the general procedure is as follows:

• Activate the project to be exported, considering which Study Case, Scenario and Variations should
be active.
• From the main menu go to File → Export. . . → CIM. . . which opens the CIM-Export dialog.

• Specify the required options, and click on the Execute button.

The following sections describe each of these options.

24.9.3.1 General Page

Export to
Profile Currently the profile ENTSO-E 2009 is supported.
separated Files With this setting the user has the option to export the equipment, topology, and solved
state files separately.

CIM File Location on the hard disk where the CIM files will be stored. Two types of files are supported: