POWER SYSTEM OPERATION

AND CONTROL

BY
P.A.MOHANA RAO
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
MVGR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING(A)
 SYLLABUS
UNIT-1
PRELIMINARIES ON POWER SYSTEM OPERATION
ANDCONTROL
Power scenario in Indian grid
National and Regional load dispatching centre’s
Requirements of good power system
Necessity of voltage and frequency regulation
Real power vs frequency
Reactive power vs voltage control loops
System load variation
Load curves
Basic concepts of load dispatching
Load forecasting
Economic load factors
 UNIT-2
ECONOMIC OPERATION OF POWER SYSTEM

Statement of economic dispatch problem

Input and output characteristics of thermal plant
Heat rate curve
Cost Curve
Incremental fuel and Production costs
Constraints-optimal operation of thermal units without and with
transmission losses
Statement of unit commitment (UC) problem
constraints on UC problem
solution of UC problem using priority list and Dynamic programming.
 UNIT-3
REAL POWER - FREQUENCY CONTROL
• Load forecasting
• Basics of speed governing mechanisms and modelling
• Speed load characteristics
• Regulation of two generators in parallel.
• Load Frequency Control (LFC) of single area system-static and dynamic
analysis of uncontrolled and controlled cases –
• LFC of two area system - tie line modelling – block diagram representation
of two area system - static and dynamic analysis –
• Tie line with frequency bias control – state variability model –
• Integration of economic dispatch control with LFC.
 UNIT-4
REACTIVE POWER – VOLTAGE CONTROL
Generation and absorption of reactive power
Basics of reactive power control
Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR)
Brushless AC excitation system
Block diagram representation of AVR loop
Static and dynamic analysis
Stability compensation
Uncompensated and compensated transmission lines: shunt and Series
Compensation voltage drop in transmission line - methods of reactive power
injection -
 UNIT-5
COMPUTER CONTROL OF POWER SYSTEMS
Need of computer control of power systems
PMU - system monitoring, data acquisition and controls
System hardware configurations
SCADA and EMS functions
State estimation problem
Measurements and errors
Weighted least square estimation
Various operating states
State transition diagram
Power system security
 OUTCOMES
• CO1 Ability to understand the day-to-day operation of electric
power system.
• CO2 Ability to analyze the control actions to be implemented on
the system to meet the minute-to-minute variation of system
demand.
• CO3 Ability to understand the significance of power system
operation and control.
• CO4 Ability to acquire knowledge on real power-frequency
interaction.
• CO5 Ability to understand the reactive power-voltage interaction.
• CO6 Ability to design SCADA and its application for real time
operation.
 Power scenario in Indian grid

UPDATED ON 17-06-2022
Total Installed Capacity (As on 31.05.2022) - Source : Central Electricity Authority (CEA)
INSTALLED GENERATION CAPACITY (SECTOR WISE) AS ON 31.05.2022
SECTOR MW % OF TOTAL
CENTRAL SECTOR 99005 24.6
STATE SECTOR 104863 26
PRIVATE SECTOR 198949 49.4
TOTAL 402817 100%
Installed GENERATION CAPACITY(FUELWISE) AS ON 31.05.2022
CATAGORY INSTALLED Installed
GENERATIONCAPACITY(MW) % of SHARE IN Total

Fossil Fuel
Coal 204080 50.7
Lignite 6620 1.6
Gas 24879 6.2
Diesel 510 0.1
Total Fossil Fuel 236088 58.6
Non-Fossil fuel
RES(Incl.Hydro) 159949 39.7
Hydro 46723 11.6
Wind, solar & other RE 113226 28.1
Wind 40706 10.1
National Load Despatch Centre(NLDC)
On 25 February 2009 the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC) was inaugurated by Sushilkumar Shinde
(Former Union Minister of Power) and Shiela Dixit (Former Chief Minister, NCT of Delhi). National Load Despatch
Centre (NLDC) has been constituted as per Ministry of Power (MOP) notification, New Delhi dated 2 March 2005
and is the apex body to ensure integrated operation of the national power system.
Regional Load Despatch Centers (RLDCs) and the state transmission systems under them.
The five RLDCs oversee the interstate transmission for the following states:
• Northern Regional Load Despatch Center (NRLDC) : Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and
Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand

• Western Regional Load Despatch Center (WRLDC) : Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya

Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli

• Eastern Regional Load Despatch Center (ERLDC) : Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim

• Southern Regional Load Despatch Center (SRLDC) : Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana, Pondicherry

• North-Eastern Regional Load Despatch Center (NERLDC) : Arunachal

Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura
Each RLDC maintains their own dedicated website where scheduling and despatch of power within their
respective control areas are handled round the clock.
Evolution of National Grid
• Grid management on regional basis started in sixties.
• Initially, State grids were inter-connected to form regional grid
and India was demarcated into 5 regions namely Northern,
Eastern, Western, North Eastern and Southern region.
• In October 1991 North Eastern and Eastern grids were
connected.
• In March 2003 WR and ER-NER were interconnected .
• August 2006 North and East grids were interconnected thereby 4
regional grids Northern, Eastern, Western and North Eastern
grids are synchronously connected forming central grid operating
at one frequency.
• On 31st December 2013, Southern Region was connected to
Central Grid in Synchronous mode with the commissioning of
765kV Raichur-Solapur Transmission line thereby achieving 'ONE
NATION'-'ONE GRID'-'ONE FREQUENCY'.
National and Regional load dispatching center's
• Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) is a wholly owned Government of India
enterprise under the Ministry of Power.
• It was earlier a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL). It was
formed in March 2009 to handle the power management functions of PGCIL.
• It is responsible to ensure the integrated operation of the Grid in a reliable, efficient,and secure
manner.It consists of 5 Regional Load Dispatch Centre's and a National Load Dispatch Centre
(NLDC).
• National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) has been constituted as per Ministry of Power (MOP)
notification, New Delhi dated 2 March 2005 and is the apex body to ensure integrated operation of
the national power system.
• Function: for optimum scheduling and despatch of electricity among the Regional
• Load Despatch Centres.
• -To monitor grid operations
• -To exercise supervision and control over the inter-state transmission system
• -To optimize scheduling and dispatch of electricity within the region
• -To keep accounts of quantity of electricity transmitted through the regional grid.
• -To carry out real time operations of grid control and dispatch of electricity within the
• region in accordance with the Grid Standards and Grid Code.
 Southern Regional Grid
i) Southern regional grid is an electrical system comprising of 6,51,000 Sq. km of area with 5 States namely
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Telangana and Union Territory of Pondicherry, Generating
Stations at Central and State Sector, Independent Power producing stations, State DISCOMS and STUs etc.

ii) The States are inter connected with each other through 765/400/220 kV network. Southern Region is connected
to Western region through HVDC Back-to-back (2x500 MW) link at Bhadrawathi in WR and to Eastern regions
through HVDC back-to-back link (2x500 MW) at Gazuwaka in SR and ±500 kV Bipolar HVDC link (2x1000 MW)
from Talcher in ER to Kolar in SR as well as 765 kV 2 x Single Circuit Sholapur- Raichur Interconnector to facilitate
exchange of power from surplus to deficit region / State as well as wheeling of power.
 Requirements Of Good Power System
• The function of a power station is to deliver power to a large number of consumers.
• However, the power demands of different consumers vary in accordance with their activities. The
result of this variation in demand is that load on a power station is never constant, rather it varies
from time to time.
• Most of the complexities of modern power plant operation arise from the inherent variability of the
load demanded by the users.
• Unfortunately, electrical power cannot be stored and, therefore, the power station must produce
power as and when demanded to meet the requirements of the consumers.
• On one hand, the power engineer would like that the alternators in the power station should run at
their rated capacity for maximum efficiency and on the other hand, the demands of the consumers
have wide variations.
• This makes the design of a power station highly complex. In this chapter, we shall focus our
attention on the problems of variable load on power stations.
 Requirements Of Good Power System
In general, each generation plant in any power may have more than one generating units. Each of the
unit may have identical or different capacities. A number of power plants can be tied together to
supply the system load by means of interconnection of the generating stations.
Interconnected electric power system is more reliable and convenient to operate and also offers
economical operating cost. It has better regulations characters by all the units are interconnected.
The function of an electric power system is to convert energy from one of the naturally available
forms to electrical from and to transport it to points of consumption.
A properly designed and operated power system should meet the following fundamental requirement.
1. Adequate spinning reserve must be present to meet the active and reactive power demand.
2. Minimum cost with minimum ecological impact.
3. The power quality must have certain minimum standards within the tolerance or limit such as,

Constancy of frequency:
Constancy of voltage (Voltage magnitude and load angle).
Level of reliability.
In simply, the generation of power is transfer to the Consumers through the transmission system.
Generation unit, Transformer Unit, Converter Unit, Transmission Unit, Inverter Unit and Consumer
Point. This combination of all the unit is called the overall power system units.
• Necessity of Voltage and Frequency Regulation
• Constant frequency
• Constant frequency is to be maintained for the following functions:
• All the AC motors should require constant frequency supply so as to maintain speed constant.
• In continuous process industry, it affects the operation of the process itself.
• For synchronous operation of various units in the power system network, it is necessary to maintain
frequency constant.
• Frequency affects the amount of power transmitted through interconnecting lines.
• Frequency fluctuations are harmful to electrical appliances.
• Speed of three phase ac motors proportional to the frequency. (N=120f/p)
• The blades of turbines are designed to operate at a particular speed. Frequency variation leads to speed
variation and results in mechanical vibration
• Constant voltage
• Over voltage and under voltage
• Electric motors will tend to run on over speed when they are fed with higher voltages resulting vibration
and mechanical damage.
• Over voltage may cause insulation failure.
• For a specified power rating, lower voltage results in more current and this results in heating problems.
(P=VI)
• Kinetic energy= 1/ 2 J w 2 Kinetic Energy decreases, w decreases, speed decreases, frequency decreases
N= 120 f/P
Real Power Vs Frequency And Reactive Power VsVoltage Control
Loops
• P–f control
• The Load Frequency Control (LFC), also known as generation control or P–f control, deals with the
control of loading of the generating units for the system at normal frequency.
• The load in a power system is never constant and the system frequency remains at its nominal value only
when there is a match between the active power generation and the active power demand.
• During the period of load change, the deviation from the nominal frequency, which may be called
frequency error (Δf), is an index of mismatch and can be used to send the appropriate command to
change the generation by adjusting the LFC system.
• It is basically controlling the opening of the inlet valves of the prime movers according to the loading
condition of the system.
• In the case of a multi-area system, the LFC system also maintains the specified power interchanges
between the participating areas. In a smaller system, this control is done manually, but in large systems
automatic control devices are used in the loop of the LFC system
• Q–V Control
• In this control, the terminal voltage of the generator is sensed and converted into proportionate DC
signal and then compared to DC reference voltage. The error in
• between a DC signal and a DC reference voltage, i.e., Δ |V | is taken as an input to
• the Q–V controller. A control output ΔQ is applied to the exciter
Generator Controllers (p–f and Q–V Controllers)
• The active power P is mainly dependent on the internal angle δ and is independent of the bus voltage magnitude |V|.
• The bus voltage is dependent on machine excitation and hence on reactive power Q and is independent of the machine
angle δ.
Change in the machine angle δ is caused by a momentary change in the generator speed and hence the frequency.
• Therefore, the load frequency and excitation voltage controls are non-interactive for small changes and can be modeled
and analyzed independently.
Figure gives the schematic diagram of load frequency (P–f) and excitation voltage (Q–V) regulators of a
turbogenerator.
• The objective of the MW frequency or the P–f control mechanism is to exert control of frequency and simultaneously
exchange of the real power flows via interconnecting lines.
In this control, a frequency sensor senses the change in frequency and gives the signal Δf .
The P–f controller senses the change in frequency signal (Δ f) and the increments in tie-line real powers (ΔP ), which
will indirectly provide information about the incremental state error (Δδ ).
These sensor signals (Δf and ΔP ) are amplified, mixed, and transformed into a real-power control signal ΔP .
The valve control mechanism takes ΔP as the input signal and provides the output signal, which will change the
position of the inlet valve of the prime mover.
As a result, there will be a change in the prime mover output and hence a change in real-power generation ΔP .
This entire P–f control can be yielded by automatic load frequency control (ALFC) loop.
• The objective of the MVAr-voltage or Q–V control mechanism is to exert control of the voltage state
|Vi |.
• A voltage sensor senses the terminal voltage and converts it into an equivalent proportionate DC
voltage.
• This proportionate DC voltage is compared with a reference voltage Viref by means of a
comparator.
• The output obtained from the comparator is error signal Δ|Vi | given as input to Q–V controller,
which transforms it to a reactive power signal command ΔQci and is fed to a controllable excitation
source.
This results in a change in the rotor field current, which in turn modifies the generator terminal
voltage. This entire Q–V control can be yielded by an automatic voltage regulator (AVR) loop.
Schematic diagram of P–f controller and Q–V controller
System Load
• System Load
• From systems point of view, there are 5 broad category of loads:
• 1. Domestic 2. Commercial 3. Industrial 4. Agriculture 5. Others - street lights,
traction.
• Domestic:
• Lights, Fans, domestic appliances like heaters, refrigerators, air conditioners, mixers,
• ovens, small motors etc.
• 1. Demand factor = 0.7 to 1.0;
• 2. Diversity factor = 1.2 to 1.3;
• 3. Load factor = 0.1 to 0.15
• Commercial:
• Lightings for shops, advertising hoardings, fans, AC etc.
• 1. Demand factor = 0.9 to 1.0;
• 2. Diversity factor = 1.1 to 1.2;
• 3. Load factor = 0.25 to 0.3
• Industrial:
• Small scale industries: 0-20kW
• Medium scale industries: 20-100kW
• Large scale industries: above 100kW
• Industrial loads need power over a longer period which remains fairly uniform
• throughout the day.
• For heavy industries:
• 1. Demand factor = 0.85 to 0.9;
• 2. Load factor = 0.7 to 0.8
• Agriculture:
• Supplying water for irrigation using pumps driven by motors
• 1. Demand factor = 0.9 to 1;
• 2. Diversity factor = 1.0 to 1.5;
• 3. Load factor = 0.15 to 0.25
• Other Loads:
• a) Bulk supplies,
• b) street lights,
• c) traction,
• d) government loads
• which have their own peculiar characteristics
• System Load Characteristics
• a) Connected Load
• b) Maximum Demand
• c) Average Load
• d) Load Factor
• e) Diversity Factor
• f) Plant Capacity Factor
• g) Plant Use Factor
System load- continue
• Plant Capacity Factor:
• It is the ratio of actual energy produced to the maximum possible energy that could have been
produced during a given period.
• Plant Use Factor:
• It is the ratio of kWh generated to the product of plant capacity and the number of hours for which
the plant was in operation.
• Plant use factor = Station output in kWh / (Plant capacity * Hours of use)
• When the elements of a load curve are arranged in the order of descending magnitudes.
• Economic of Generation
• 1. Load curves
• The curve showing the variation of load on the power station with respect to time
• The curve drawn between the variations of load on the power station with reference
• to time is known as load curve. Fig shows the load curve
• There are three types, Daily load curve, Monthly load curve, Yearly load curve .
Economic of Generation
Load curves
• The curve showing the variation of load on the power station with respect to time
• The curve drawn between the variations of load on the power station with reference
to time is known as load curve. Fig shows the load curve
• There are three types, Daily load curve, Monthly load curve, Yearly load curve .
 Types of Load Curve:
• Daily load curve–Load variations during the whole day
• Monthly load curve–Load curve obtained from the daily load curve
• Yearly load curve-Load curve obtained from the monthly load curve
Daily load curve
• The curve drawn between the variations of load with reference to various time period of day is
known as daily load curve.
Monthly load curve
• It is obtained from daily load curve.
• Average value of the power at a month for a different time periods are calculated and plotted in the
graph which is known as monthly load curve.
Yearly load curve
• It is obtained from monthly load curve which is used to find annual load factor
 Connected load
It is the sum of continuous ratings of all the equipment's connected to
supply systems.
Maximum demand
It is the greatest demand of load on the power station during a given
period.
Demand factor
It is the ratio of maximum demand to connected load.
Demand factor= (max demand)/ (connected load)
The value of demand factor is usually less than 1.
The Knowledge of demand factor is vital in determining the capacity of
plant equipment
Average demand
• The average of loads occurring on the power station in a given period
(day or month or year) is known as average demand
• Daily average demand = (no of units generated per day) / (24 hours)
• Monthly average demand = (no of units generated in month) / (no of
hours in a month)
 Load factor
• The ratio of average load to the maximum demand
during a given period is known as load factor.
• Load factor = (average load)/ (maximum demand)
• =(Average load X T) / (Max,Demand X T)
• =(Units generated in T hours / (Max,Demand X T hours)
• Load factor is always less than 1. Because average load is smaller than the maximum
demand
• The load factor plays key role in determining the overall cost per unit generated. Higher
the load factor of the power station , lesser will be the cost per unit generated.
 Diversity factor
• The ratio of the sum of individual maximum demand on power station is known as diversity factor.
• Diversity factor = (sum of individual maximum demand ) / (maximum demand).
• Diversity factor will always be greater than 1. The greater the diversity factor, lesser will be
the cost per unit generated.
Capacity factor
• This is the ratio of actual energy produced to the maximum possible energy that could have been
produced during a given period.
• Capacity factor = (actual energy produced) / (maximum energy that have been produced)
• = (Average demand ) / (Plant capacity)
• Reserve Capacity = Plant capacity – Max.Demand
Plant use factor
• It is the ratio of units generated to the product of plant capacity and the number of hours for which
the plant was in operation.
• Units generated per annum= average load * hours in a year
Load duration curve
• When the elements of a load curve are arranged in the order of descending magnitudes.
• The load duration curve gives the data in a more presentable form.
• The area under the load duration curve is equal to that of the corresponding load curve.
• The load duration curve can be extended to include any period of time.
• Problems
• Example 1. A generating station has a maximum demand of 35 MW and has a connected load of
60 MW. The annual generation of units is 24 × 107 kWh. Calculate the load factor and the demand
factor
• No. of units generated annually = 24 × 107 kWh
• No. of hours in a year (assuming 365 days in a year) = 365 × 24= 8,760 hours
• Average load on the station = Units generated per annum/ No of hrs = 24x107 / 8760 =
27.397MW
• Load Factor = Average load / Max. demand = 27.397 / 35 = 0.7828 or 78.28%
• Demand Factor = Max. demand/ connected load = 35/60 = 0.583 or 58.3%
Load Forecasting
• Electrical energy cannot be stored. It has to be generated whenever there is a demand for it. It is,
therefore, imperative for the electric power utilities that the load on their systems should be
estimated in advance.
• This estimation of load in advance is commonly known as load forecasting. It is necessary for
power system planning. Power system expansion planning starts with a forecast of anticipated
future load requirements.
• The estimation of both demand and energy requirements is crucial to an effective system planning.
• Demand predictions are used for determining the generation capacity, transmission, and
distribution system additions, etc.
• Load forecasts are also used to establish procurement policies for construction capital energy
forecasts, which are needed to determine future fuel requirements.
• Thus, a good forecast, reflecting the present and future trends, is the key to all planning
• Purpose of load forecasting
• 1. For proper planning of power system;
• 2. For proper planning of transmission and distribution facilities;
• 3. For proper power system operation;
• 4. For proper financing;
• 5. For proper manpower development;
• 6. For proper grid formation;
• 7. For proper electrical sales.
• (i) For Proper Planning of Power System
• To determine the potential need for additional new generating facilities;
• To determine the location of units;
• To determine the size of plants;
• To determine the year in which they are required;
• To determine that they should provide primary peaking capacity or energy or both;
• To determine whether they should be constructed and owned by the Central Government
or State Government or Electricity Boards or by some other autonomous corporations.
• (ii) For Proper Planning of Transmission and Distribution Facilities
• For planning the transmission and distribution facilities, the load forecasting is
needed so that the right amount of power is available at the right place and at the
right time. Wastage due to mis-planning like purchase of equipment, which is not
immediately required, can be avoided.
• (iii) For Proper Power System Operation
• Load forecast based on correct values of demand and diversity factor will prevent
overdesigning of conductor size, etc. as well as overloading of distribution
transformers and feeders.
• Thus, they help to correct voltage, power factor, etc. and to reduce the losses in the
distribution system.
• (iv) For Proper Financing
• The load forecasts help the Boards to estimate the future expenditure, earnings,
and returns and to schedule its financing program accordingly.
• (v) For Proper Manpower
• Development Accurate load forecasting annually reviewed will come to the
aid of the Boards in their personnel and technical manpower planning on a
long-term basis.
• Such a realistic forecast will reduce unnecessary expenditure and put the
Boards’ finances on a sound and profitable footing.
• (vi) For Proper Grid Formation
• Interconnections between various state grids are now becoming more and
more common and the aim is to have fully interconnected regional grids and
ultimately even a super grid for the whole country. These expensive high-
voltage interconnections must be based on reliable load data,
• otherwise the generators connected to the grid may frequently fall out of
step causing power to be shut down.
• (vii) For Proper Electrical Sales In countries, where spinning reserves are
more, proper planning and the execution of electrical sales program are
aided by proper load forecasting
• Classification of load forecasting
• The load forecasting can be classified as: (i) demand forecast and (ii) energy forecast.
• Demand Forecast: This is used to determine the capacity of the generation, transmission, and
distribution system additions.
• Future demand can be predicted on the basis of fast rate of growth of demand from past history
and government policy. This will give the expected rate of growth of load.
• Energy Forecast :This is used to determine the type of facilities required, i.e., future fuel
requirements
Load Scheduling Or Load Dispatching
• Loading of units are allocated to serve the objective of minimum fuel cost is known
• as load scheduling. Load scheduling problem can be divided into:
• i. Thermal scheduling.
• ii. Hydrothermal scheduling.
• i) Thermal scheduling.
• The loading of steam units are allocated to serve the objective of minimum fuel cost.
• Thermal scheduling will be assumed that the supply undertaking has got only from
• thermal or from steam stations.
• ii. Hydrothermal scheduling.
• Loading of hydro and thermal units are allocated to serve the objective of
minimum fuel cost is known as hydrothermal scheduling.
• Scheduling of hydro units are complex because of natural differences in the
• watersheds, manmade storage and release elements used to control the flow of
water are difficult. During rainy season, we can utilize hydro generation to a
maximum and the remaining period, hydro generation depends on stored water
availability.
If availability of water is not enough to generate power, we must utilize only
thermal power generation.
Mostly hydroelectric generation is used to meet out peak loads.

• There are two types of hydrothermal scheduling.

• a) Long range hydro scheduling
• b) Short range hydro scheduling
a) Long range hydro scheduling

• Long range hydro scheduling problem involves the long range forecasting of water availability and
the scheduling of reservoir water releases for an interval of time that depends on the reservoir
capacities.
• Long range hydro scheduling involves from I week to I year or several years.
• Long range hydro scheduling involves optimization of statistical variables such as load, hydraulic
inflows and unit availabilities.
b) Short range hydro scheduling.

• Short range hydro scheduling involves from one day to one week or hour-by-hour scheduling of all
generation on a system to achieve minimum production cost for a given period.
• Assuming load, hydraulic inflows and unit availabilities are known, for a given reservoir level, we
can allocated generation of power using hydro plants to meet out the demand, to minimize the
production cost.
• The largest category of hydrothermal system includes a balance between hydroelectric and thermal
generation resources.
• Hydrothermal scheduling is developed to minimize thermal generation production cost.