PROJECT TITLE :

Optimal Transmission Switching as a Remedial Action to Enhance Power System Reliability

ABSTRACT:

Increasing the number of redundant pathways in transmission grids has long been considered a technique to improve service reliability. Network equations, on the other hand, put more constraints on systems with more redundancy by interweaving power flows across redundant pathways. As a result, autonomously eliminating a few lines could alleviate capacity limit violations in particular contingency circumstances, improving service reliability. The purpose of this work is to investigate the effects of manually deleting transmission lines on composite system reliability. The present model is extended to include optimal transmission switching (OTS) as a remedial step in order to achieve this. The model reduces the total cost of damage caused by load curtailments. The extended model is written in a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) format that commercial solvers can easily solve. The model is used to predict potential scenarios in which capacity constraints are exceeded. The data, as well as the likelihood of the contingencies occurring, are then used to produce load point and system oriented reliability indices. When OTS is implemented, simulation results on the modified reliability test system (MRTS) show significant improvements in service reliability.