Smart Grid

Technologies
and
Applications Dr. Hari Kumar R
Assistant Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering
College of Engineering Trivandrum
 Module V

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Syllabus
Module V

• Load Frequency Control (LFC) in Micro Grid System

• Reactive Power Control in Smart Grid

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Micro Grid
• “A group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources (DERs) within clearly
defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the
grid. A microgrid can connect and disconnect from the grid to enable it to operate in bot
h connected or island-mode.” US DoE

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Micro Grid: Benefits

• Have much smaller financial commitments.

• Use renewable resources hence are more environmentally friendly with lower carbon
footprints.

• Stability issues

• Require fewer technical skills to operate and rely more on automation.

• Isolated from any grid disturbance or outage.

• Place the consumer out of the grip of large corporations that run the generation networks.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Micro Grid: Challenges

• Bidirectional power flows

• Stability issues

• Modeling

• Low inertia

• Uncertainty

• A high and sophisticated level of automation for monitoring and controlling the grid and
to contain harmonics and other parameter fluctuations

• Availability and reliability of storage devices

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control

• To minimize the transient deviations in frequency

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control

• In an isolated micro-grid with fluctuating renewable sources and storage, the system state
parameters and operating conditions are changing rapidly.

• Traditional controllers are not optimized for the whole set of possible operating conditions and
configurations, so they cannot guarantee the control of system frequency through
coordinating all units for all operating conditions

• there are some constraints in the LFC units including capacity constraints and generation rate
constraints, which are difficult to be considered in the controller design.

• So, a controller with robust performance over a wide range of system operating conditions is
necessary in isolated micro-grids.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control
Isochronous Mode:
• The machine is not affected by load and regardless of load it will maintain the frequency.
• This mode is also referred to as frequency control mode of operation.
• Systems are not connected to grid, it is required to run at least one machine in this mode so
as to take care of the load variation
Droop Mode:
• The machine will react to the load variation by changing its speed.
• Utilised when multiple machine run in parallel so that load is shared between the machines.
• For sharing to be equal the machine need to have same droop characteristic.
• Typically if a machine has droop of 4% it means for a change of 1% in rated speed the
machine takes 25% of its rated load.
• This is also referred to as load control mode of operation.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control
Isochronous Governor:
• Adjusts the input valve to a point that brings frequency back to nominal value.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control
Isochronous Governor:
• Cannot be used if two or more generators are electrically connected to the same system
• Each generator would have to have precisely the same speed setting or they would "fight
" each other, each trying to pull the system's speed (or frequency) to its own setting.
• Wild oscillations of the grid frequency usually result.
• To be able to run two or more generating units in parallel on a generating system, the
governors are provided with a feedback signal that causes the speed error to go to zero
at different values of generator output.
• This can be accomplished by adding a feedback loop around the integrator

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control
Isochronous Governor with speed droop feedback:
• A new input, called the load reference is inserted
• The governor now has a net gain of 1/R and a time constant Tg.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control
Governor with droop:

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control
Droop Characteristics:
• The value of R determines the slope of the characteristic : change on the unit's output for
a given change in frequency.
• Common practice is to set R on each generating unit so that a change from 0 to 100 (i.e.,
rated) output will result in the same frequency change for each unit.
• As a result, a change in electrical load on a system will be compensated by generator
unit output changes proportional to each unit's rated output.
• If two generators with drooping governor characteristics are connected to a power system,
there will always be a unique frequency, at which they will share a load change between
them.
• R is equal to pu change in frequency divided by pu change in unit output.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control
Allocation of unit output with droop:

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control
Block diagram of a Governor-Primemover-Rotating Mass

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control in Micro Grid
Control strategies: The hierarchical control
Consists of three levels:
1) The primary control is based on the droop method, including an output-impedance virtual
loop;
2) The secondary control allows the restoration of the deviations produced by the primary
control; and
3) The tertiary control manages the power flow between the MG and the external electrical
distribution system.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Load Frequency Control in Micro Grid
The hierarchical control: ISA-95 to the control of a microgrid

• Level 3 (tertiary control): This energy-production level controls the power flow between
the MG and the grid.
• Level 2 (secondary control): Ensures that the electrical levels into the MG are within the
required values. In addition, it can include a synchronization control loop to seamlessly co
nnect or disconnect the MG to or from the distribution system
• Level 1 (primary control): The droop-control method is often used in this level to
emulate physical behaviors that makes the system stable and more damped. It can include
a virtual impedance control loop to emulate physical output impedance
• Level 0 (inner control loops): Regulation issues of each module are integrated in this
level. Current and voltage, feedback and feed forward, and linear and nonlinear control
loops can be performed to regulate the output voltage and to control the current while
maintaining the system stable.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Operation of Micro Grid

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
AC Micro Grid
• AC MGs should be able to operate both in grid-connected and islanded modes
• The bypass switch is responsible for connecting the MG to the grid.
• This bypass switch is designed to meet grid-interconnection standards, e.g., IEEE 1547
and UL 1541.
• In grid-connected mode, the MG operates according to IEEE 1547-2003.
• The transition to islanded mode is done by intentional or unintentional events, e.g.,
grid failures. Thus, proper islanding-detection algorithms must be implemented.
• In islanded mode, the MG must supply the required active and reactive powers as well a
s provide frequency stability and operate within the specified voltage ranges
• Reconnection of the MG to the grid will be done when the grid voltage is within accept
able limits and the phasing is correct.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
AC Grid
Voltage and Frequency control
d
  (t )  syn
dt
•Generator’s angular frequency (Micro) Grid’s angular frequency

• Ideally, the electrical power equals the mechanical input power.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
AC Grid
•Droop control
• It is an autonomous approach for controlling frequency and voltage amplitude of
the generator and, eventually, the microgrid.
• It takes advantage that real power controls frequency and that reactive power
controls voltage.

f V
f  f 0   k P ( P  P0 ) V  V0  kQ (Q  Q0 )

f0 V0

P Q
P0 Q0
Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
AC Grid
•Droop control (Autonomous Operation)
• A simple (e.g. PI) controller can be implemented to track reference voltage and a
reference frequency:
• If the output voltage is different, the field excitation is changed (and, thus, changes
Q and then V).
• If the frequency is different, the prime mover torque is changed (and thus, changes
f
P and then f). V
f  f 0   k P ( P  P0 ) V  V0   kQ (Q  Q0 )
f0 V0

P Q
P0 Q0
Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
AC Grid
•Droop control (Grid Connected Operation)
• A large grid is seen as an infinite power bus.
• It is like a generator in which
• changes in real power do not cause changes in frequency
• changes in reactive power do not originate changes in voltage
• its droop control curves are horizontal lines

f V

P Q
Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
AC Grid
•Droop control (Grid Connected Operation)
• When connected to the grid, the voltage amplitude and frequency is set by the grid
• In order to synchronize the oncoming generator, its frequency needs to be slightly
higher than that of the grid, but all other variables need to be the same.

f V
f gen VG
fG

P Q
Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
AC Grid
•Droop control (Grid Connected Operation)
• After the generator is paralleled to the grid then its output frequency and voltage
will remain fixed and equal to the grid’s frequency and voltage, respectively.
• Output power is controlled by attempting a change in frequency by controlling the
prime mover’s torque. By “commanding” a decrease in frequency, the output power
will increase.
• A similar approach is followed with reactive power control, by controlling field
excitation in an attempt to change output voltage.
f Higher power output
Higher commanded frequencies

Operating frequency
No load droop line

P1 P2 P
Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
AC Grid
•In ac systems, large machine inertia helps to maintain stability.
•Since frequency needs to be regulated at a precise value, imbalances between electric and
mechanical power may make the frequency to change. In order to avoid this issue, mechanic
al power applied to the generator rotor must follow load changes.
•If the mechanical power cannot follow the load alone (e.g. due to machine’s inertia), energy
storage must be used to compensate for the difference.
•This is a situation often found in microgrids.
• Reactive power is used to regulate voltage.
• Droop control is an effective autonomous controller.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in AC Micro Grid
•Primary control
• When connecting two or more inverters in parallel, circulating active and reactive
power can appear.

• This control level adjusts the frequency and amplitude of voltage reference
provided to the inner current and voltage control loops.
• It uses the P/Q droop method:

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in AC Micro Grid
•Primary control
• P/Q droop functions:

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in AC Micro Grid
• The secondary control level can also include the virtual output impedance loop, in which
the output voltage can be expressed as

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in AC Micro Grid
• Secondary control
• In order to compensate for the frequency and amplitude deviations, a secondary control is
proposed.
• The frequency and amplitude levels in the microgrid ωMG and EMG are sensed and
compared with the references ω*MG and Ε*MG .
• The errors processed through compensators are send to all the units δω δE to restore the
output voltage.

• ACE calculated in about five to ten second intervals by computers in the dispatch center is

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in AC Micro Grid
• Secondary control
• The frequency and amplitude restoration controllers can be obtained as

• In order to connect the microgrid to the grid, the frequency and voltage of the grid need
to be measured and that will be the reference of the secondary control loop.
• The phase between the grid and the microgrid will be measured and send to all the
modules to synchronize the microgrid phase.
• After the synchronization process, the microgrid can be connected to the mains through
the static bypass switch.
• At that moment, the microgrid does not have any exchange of power with the mains.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in AC Micro Grid

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in AC Micro Grid
• Tertiary control
• When the microgrid is operating in grid-connected mode, the power flow can be
controlled by adjusting the frequency (changing the phase in steady state) and amplitude
of the voltage inside the microgrid
• By measuring the P/Q through the static bypass switch PG and QG, they can be compared
with the desired P*G and Q*G.
• The control laws can be expressed as:

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in AC Micro Grid

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in DC Micro Grid
• Primary control
• This control level adjusts the voltage reference provided to the inner current and voltage
control loops (level 0).
• It includes the virtual output impedance loop, in which the output voltage can be
expressed as:

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in DC Micro Grid
• This control loop provides resistive output impedance to the power converters to
compensate for the difference between the voltage references

• The current sharing between two converters is

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in DC Micro Grid
• Secondary control
• A secondary control is used to solve the problem of the voltage deviation
• The voltage level in the microgrid vMG is sensed and compared with the voltage reference
v*MG
• The error processed through a compensator is send to all the units δvo to restore the
output voltage
• The controller can be expressed as

• Now,

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in DC Micro Grid

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in DC Micro Grid
• Tertiary control
• Once the the microgrid is connected to the DC source, the power flow can be controlled
by changing the voltage inside the microgrid.
• By measuring the current (or the power) through the static bypass switch iG, it can be com
pared with the desired current i*G (or power) positive or negative, depending on whether
to import or export energy.
• The controller can be expressed as

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Hierarchical Control in DC Micro Grid

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Volt/VAR Control
• One of the main targets in the operation of power systems is to maintain voltages within
pre-defined limits
• To achieve this goal, reactive flow has to be monitored
• Since voltage and reactive power are closely related, Volt/VAR control is used
• Uses voltage regulating devices and reactive power controls to maintain voltage levels
within the accepted ranges at all points of the distribution system under all loading
conditions.
• Voltage regulation and reactive power control are performed by switching capacitor banks
installed along the lines, substation transformer load tap changers (LTCs), shunt capacitor
banks installed at substations, voltage regulators, Distributed energy resources, FACTS
equipment (like STATCOM) and distributed generation (DG).

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Volt/VAR Control
• The main objectives of implementing VVC are:
• Maintain acceptable voltages at all points along the feeder under all loading
conditions.
• Increase the efficiency of distribution systems without violating any loading and
voltage constrains.
• Support the reactive power needs of the bulk power system during system
emergencies.
• Keep power factor within the accepted ranges which normally are higher than 0.9
inductive.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Volt/VAR Control
• Options to improve voltage regulation in distribution system :
• use of generator voltage regulators
• application of voltage-regulating equipment in the distribution substations
• application of capacitors in the distribution substation
• balancing of the loads on the primary feeders
• increasing feeder conductor size
• changing feeder sections from single-phase to multiphase
• transferring loads to new feeders
• installing new substations and primary feeders
• increasing or primary voltage level
• application of voltage regulators out on the primary feeders
• application of shunt capacitors on the primary feeders
• application of series capacitors on the primary feeders
• use of DG or DER.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Volt/VAR Control
• Volt/Var control considering SCADA

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Integrated Volt/VAR Control
• Integrated Volt/VAR control :
• Function of distributed automation that helps identify the most suitable control procedures for
the devices involved in voltage regulation and VAR control to help achieve the specified
operational goals of utilities avoiding violations to the fundamental operational constraints like
high/low voltage limits and load limits.
• VVC goals consider conditions like minimal electrical losses, minimal electrical demand, and
reduced energy consumption.
• The decision criterion of IVVC requires the employment of an online power flow
• The IVVC offers improvements compared to VVC based on the fact that it can accommodate to
scenarios resulting from FLISR or feeder reconfiguration
• Could include modeling the dynamic effects of DER

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Integrated Volt/VAR Control
• Integrated Volt/VAR control with DER :

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Integrated Volt/VAR Control
• Integrated Volt/VAR control :
• IVVC control can be achieved in a centralized or decentralized controller way
• Centralized Volt/VAR controlled system, the distribution system integrates the IVVC which
determines how to proceed and provides information for the recording system.
• The solution is considered very reliable and offers an overall illustration of the system.
• Drawback: It is more expensive and could possibly congest the SCADA system.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Integrated Volt/VAR Control
• Integrated Volt/VAR control :
• Decentralized Volt/VAR controller is a standalone system that does not involve the overall
system SCADA.
• It relies on local interaction with various devices associated with IVVC
• The recording takes place once all operations have been completed.

Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum
Dr. Dr. Hari Kumar R, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum