UNDERSTANDING POWER SYSTEM STABILITY

Michael J. Basler Richard C. Schaefer

Member, IEEE Senior Member, IEEE
Basler Electric Company Basler Electric Company
Route 143, Box 269 Route 143, Box 269
Highland, IL 62249 USA Highland, IL 62249 USA

Abstract - This paper discusses power system

instability and the importance of fast fault clearing II. BASIS FOR STEADY-STATE STABILITY
performance to aid in reliable production of power.
Explanation is provided regarding small signal stability, In an interconnected power system, the rotors of each
high impedance transmission lines, line loading, and high synchronous machine in the system rotate at the same
gain, fast acting excitation systems. Transient stability is average electrical speed. The power delivered by the
discussed, including synchronizing and damping torques. generator to the power system is equal to the mechanical
The power angle curve is used to illustrate how fault power applied by the prime mover, neglecting losses. During
clearing time and high initial response excitation systems steady state operation, the electrical power out balances the
can affect transient stability. mechanical power in. The mechanical power input to the shaft
The term, "power system stability" has become from the prime mover is the product of torque and speed, PM =
increasingly popular in generation and transmission. The TMoW. The mechanical torque is in the direction of rotation. An
sudden requirement for power system stabilizers has
created confusion about their applicability, purpose, and electrical torque is applied to the shaft by the generator and is
benefit to the system. This paper discusses the in a direction opposite of rotation as seen in Figure 1 below.
Te
fundamentals of the power system stabilizer and its
effectiveness. In today's paper industry, power system
stabilizers are being applied on larger machines in the T G
Northwest United States and Canada.
Index Terms-Stability, voltage regulator, pole slip, TM c

excitation, synchronous machine, transient stability where PM = Mechanical power

o= speed
I. INTRODUCTION Te = Electrical torque
Fig. 1. Mechanical and Electrical Torque Applied to the Shaft
In the 1950s and into the 1960s, many power generating
plants were equipped with continuously acting automatic
voltage regulators. As the number of power plants with When the system is disturbed due to a fault or the load is
automatic voltage regulators grew, it became apparent that the changed quickly, the electrical power out of the machine
changes. The electrical power out of the machine can change
high performance of these voltage regulators had a rapidly, but the mechanical power into the machine is relatively
destabilizing effect on the power system. Power oscillations of slow to change. Because of this difference in speed of
small magnitude and low frequency often persisted for long response, there exists a temporary difference in the balance of
periods of time. In some cases, this presented a limitation on power. This power unbalance causes a difference in torque
the amount of power able to be transmitted within the system. applied to the shaft, which causes it to accelerate or
Power system stabilizers were developed to aid in damping of decelerate, depending on the direction of the unbalance. As
these power oscillations by modulating the excitation supplied the rotor changes speed, the relative rotor angle changes.
to the synchronous machine. Figure 2 shows the relationship between the rotor (torque)
This paper will discuss the various types of power system angle, 6, the stator magnetomotive force (MMF), F1, and the
instability. It will cover the effects of system impedance and
excitation on stability. Synchronizing torque and damping rotor MMF, F2. The torque angle, 6, is the angle between the
torque will be discussed and a justification will be made for the rotor MMF, F2, and the resultant of the vector addition of the
need for supplemental stabilization. rotor and stator MMFs, R, as seen in Figure 2 below.

1-4244-1 192-0/07/$25.00 C2007 IEEE.

 R

0)
jIlxg
/'$' ~~~ET/*
E IXE

Fig. 4. Phasor Diagram, Generator tied to infinite bus

If a fault causes the current, 1, to increase and the terminal
Fig. 2. Stator, Rotor, and Resultant MMFs and Torque voltage to decrease, the electrical power out of the machine
Angle will decrease, since the impedance seen by the generator is
now mainly inductive. This disturbance causes the rotor angle
Figure 3 is a circuit representation of a synchronous to increase, perhaps beyond the limits of generator
generator connected through a transmission system to an synchronous operation. The resulting variations in power flow
infinite bus. as the rotor accelerates will cause a well-designed loss of
ET - EHV Eo
synchronism protective relaying (78 function) to isolate that
?
generator from the rest of the system. The disturbance on the
Infinite Bus remaining system, due to the loss of generation may result in
XL 1
additional units tripping off line, and potentially a cascading
XT outage.
Egq XE =XT +XL
111. TRANSIENT STABILITY
Generators are connected to each other by a network that
behaves much like weights interconnected by rubber bands
where ET = Generator terminal voltage (see Figure 5). The weights represent the rotating inertia of the
Xg = Generator internal reactance
Eg = Internal generator voltage turbine generators and the rubber bands are analogous to the
EHV = High side voltage of generator step inductance of the transmission lines. By pulling on a weight
transformer and letting go, an oscillation is setup with several of the
Eo = System voltage weights that are interconnected by the rubber bands. The
XE = External impedance result of disturbing just one weight will result in all the weights
oscillating. Eventually the system will come to rest, based on
its damping characteristics. The frequency of oscillation
Fig. 3. Synchronous machine tied to infinite bus depends on the mass of the weights and the springiness of the
The synchronous machine is modeled by an ideal voltage rubber bands. Likewise, a transient disturbance to the
source, E in series with an impedance, X . The terminal generator/network can be expected to cause some oscillations
due to the inability of the mechanical torque to instantaneously
voltage of the machine, ET is increased to transmission balance out the transient variation in electrical torque.
system levels through a Generator Step-Up (GSU)
transformer, which is represented by an impedance, XT. The
high voltage side of the GSU is connected to the infinite bus
via a transmission line represented by reactance, XL. The real
(MW) power output from the generator on a steady state basis
\ ~~~Rubber Bands/
is governed by equation:

Pe X T sind (1)
Xg
where 6 is the angle between the generator terminal voltage
and the internal voltage of the machine. As the power transfer
increases, the angle 6 increases. A fault in the system can Weights
result in a change in electrical power flow, resulting in a
change in the power angle, 6. This can be seen graphically in Fig. 5. Rubber Band Analogy
Figure 4.
The synchronous machine's electrical power output can be
resolved into an electrical torque, Te multiplied by the speed,
o. Following a disturbance, the change in electrical torque can
further resolved into two components:
 Starting from the initial operating condition (point 1), a close-in
ATe = K,A8 + KDAac (2)
transmission fault causes the generator electrical output power
Pe to be drastically reduced. The resultant difference between
Where: electrical power and the mechanical turbine power causes the
Ks AS = the component of torque that is in phase with the generator rotor to accelerate with respect to the system,
rotor angle change. This is known as the "synchronizing increasing the power angle (point 2). When the fault is cleared,
torque". the electrical power is restored to a level corresponding to the
appropriate point on the power angle curve (point 3). Clearing
KD Alto = the component of torque that is in phase with the the fault necessarily removes one or more transmission
speed change. This is known as the "damping torque". elements from service and at least temporarily weakens the
transmission system. After clearing the fault, the electrical
Both components of torque act on each generator in the power out of the generator becomes greater than the turbine
system. A lack of sufficient synchronizing torque will result in power. This causes the unit to decelerate (point 4), reducing
loss of synchronism. Such loss of synchronism can only be the momentum the rotor gained during the fault. If there is
prevented if sufficient magnetic flux can be developed when a enough retarding torque after fault clearing to make up for the
transient change in electrical torque occurs. This is facilitated acceleration during the fault, the generator will be transiently
by a high initial response excitation system (an excitation stable on the first swing and will move back toward its
system that will cause a change from the input to output within operating point. If the retarding torque is insufficient, the power
.1 seconds) having sufficient field forcing capability and angle will continue to increase until synchronism with the
sufficiently fast response to resist the accelerating or power system is lost.
decelerating rotor. In order to be effective for both accelerating Power system stability depends on the clearing time for a
and decelerating rotor response, the excitation system must be fault on the transmission system. Comparing the two examples
capable of field forcing both positively and negatively, in Figure 7 illustrates this point. In the example of slower fault
particularly on generators with rotating exciters. When the rotor clearing (a), the time duration of the fault allows the rotor to
is accelerating with respect to the stator flux, the rotor angle is accelerate so far along the curve of PE, that the decelerating
increasing due to mechanical torque higher than electrical torque comes right to the limit of maintaining the rotor in
torque. The exciter system must increase excitation by synchronism. The shorter fault clearing time (b) stops the
applying a high positive voltage to the alternator field as acceleration of the rotor much sooner, assuring that sufficient
quickly as possible. Conversely, when the rotor angle is synchronizing torque is available to recover with a large safety
decreasing due to mechanical torque less than electrical margin. This effect is the demand placed on protection
torque, the exciter system must decrease excitation by engineers to install the fastest available relaying equipment to
applying a high negative voltage to the alternator field as protect the transmission system.
quickly as possible.
Transient stability is primarily concerned with the
immediate effects of a transmission line fault on generator PMAX
synchronism. Figure 6 illustrates the typical behavior of a
generator in response to a fault condition. Post-faulted System
Fault

Equal Area has

1 a) Systm 4 no margin

(a) System
Power
Fault

Power Angle, 5
PMAX

Post-faulted System
(a) slow fault clearing time

PMAX

Power Angle, 5
900 1800 Fault
"I
*- Power Angle, 5
9O0 180°
(b)Power-angle Curve
(b) fast fault clearing time
Fig. 6. Transient Stability Illustration
Fig. 7. Effect of Fault Clearing Time
 IV. EFFECT OF THE EXCITATION SYSTEM torque, ATe, into the two components of synchronizing torque
ON STABILITY and damping torque. The synchronizing torque increases the
Maintaining power system stability depends on speed of pull between rotor and stator flux, decreasing the angle C, and
fault clearing, excitation system speed of response and forcing reducing the risk of pulling out of step. The damping torque, on
capacity. Increasing forcing capability and decreasing the other hand, results from the phase lag or lead of the
response time increases the margin of stability. This effect is excitation current. Like the timing of pushes to a swing, the
illustrated in Figure 8, where the lower curve, A, represents the excitation current acting to improve synchronizing torque
power angle curve of a lower forcing, slower response normally is time delayed by the characteristics of the excitation
excitation system. Comparing the area under the curve for system, the time delay of the alternator field, and the time
acceleration when the electrical load is less than the delay of the exciter field (if used). These time delays cause the
mechanical load to the area under curve A for deceleration effect of a high initial response excitation system to cause
clearly shows that a machine under the example condition will negative damping, resulting in loss of small-signal stability.
lose synchronism. For curve B representing a faster, higher Loss of small-signal stability results in one or more of the types
forcing exciter, the area under the curve where electrical power of oscillations listed below, involving rotor swings that may
exceeds mechanical power is much greater, sufficient to allow grow without bound or may take a long time to dampen.
the generator to recover from this swing. This effect is the Three types of oscillations that have been experienced with
source of the demand placed on generation engineers to install interconnected generators and transmission networks (shown
the fastest available excitation equipment with very high levels in Figures 9 through 1 1) include:
of positive and negative forcing to secure the highest level of
immunity to transient loss of synchronism. xgi

Eo
Fast excitation system Egi
Maximum field forcing 1-1 1.5 - 3 Hertz
First swing, system recovers

Power

Fig. 9. Inter-unit Oscillations

Fig. 8. Effect of High Initial Response Excitation System A. Inter-Unit Oscillations
These oscillations involve typically two or more
While fast excitation systems help improve the transient synchronous machines at a power plant or nearby power
stability following large impact disturbances to the system, the plants. The machines swing against each other, with the
benefit may be outweighed by the impact of the excitation frequency of the power oscillation ranging between 1.5 to 3
system on damping the oscillations that follow the first swing Hertz.
after the disturbance. In fact, the fast responding excitation xL Eo
system can contribute a significant amount of negative "I .7 - 2 Hertz
damping to oscillations because it can reduce damping torque. 11
Eg
Thus an excitation system has the potential to contribute to
small signal instability of power systems. With the very old
electromechanical excitation systems, the transient response
was relatively slow compared to systems introduced today. Fig. 10. Local Mode Oscillations
This slow response has minimal effect in reducing the damping
torque. B. Local Mode Oscillations
These oscillations generally involve one or more
synchronous machines at a power station swinging together
V. SMALL-SIGNAL STABILITY against a comparatively large power system or load center.
Small signal stability is defined as the ability of the power The frequency of oscillation is in the range of 0.7 Hertz to 2
system to remain stable in the presence of small disturbances. Hertz. These oscillations become troublesome when the plant
These disturbances could be minor variations in load or is at high load with a high reactance transmission system.
generation on the system. If sufficient damping torque doesn't xg XL Xg2 0.5 Hertz
exist, the result can be rotor angle oscillations of increasing
amplitude. Generators connected to the grid utilizing high gain Egi Eg5
automatic voltage regulators can experience insufficient
damping to system oscillations.
To further understand the difference between the good Fig. 11. Inter-area Oscillations
effect of high performance excitation systems and the side-
effect of reduced damping torque, recalling the equation (1) C. Inter-Area Oscillations
we discussed earlier that breaks down the change in electrical These oscillations usually involve combinations of many
machines on one part of a power system swinging against
machines on another part of the power system. Inter-area where:
oscillations are normally in the frequency range of less than S =rotor angle, in radians
0.5 Hertz. = angular speed of rotor (the base or rated
New fast excitation systems that are installed to aid in coo
improving transient stability can be a source of these types of value coo = 377 radls)
oscillations. These systems recognize a change in voltage due Tm = mechanical torque in per-unit
to load change up to 10 times faster than older excitation Te = electrical torque in per-unit
systems. Thus, small oscillations of the unit cause the H = combined turbogenerator inertia constant
excitation system to correct immediately. Because of the high expressed in MW-s/MVA
inductance in the generator field winding however, the field
current rate of change is limited. This introduces considerable For small deviations in rotor speed, the mechanical and
"lag" in the control function. Thus from the time of recognition electrical torques are approximately equal to the respective per
of a desired excitation change to its partial fulfillment, there is unit power values. The base value of power is selected to be
an unavoidable time delay. During this delay time, the state of equal to the generator nameplate MVA. The "swing equation"
the oscillating system will change, causing a new excitation dictates that, when disturbed from equilibrium, the rotor
adjustment to be started. The net result is the excitation accelerates at a rate that is proportional to the net torque
system tends to lag behind the need for a change, aiding the acting on the rotor divided by the machine's inertia constant.
inherent oscillatory behavior of the generators interconnected Equation 3 can be rewritten in terms of small changes
by transmission lines. The excitation system acts to introduce about an operating point:
energy into the oscillatory cycle at the wrong time.
Positive synchronizing torque can be provided to restore
the rotor back to the steady state operating point if the ATe = K,A8 + KDAac (4)
excitation system can be made to appropriately accelerate or
decelerate the rotor. Positive damping torque damps out the
rotor oscillations of the torque angle loop to return the system where the expression for electrical-torque-deviation has been
back to normal. For most power systems, the configuration of expanded into its synchronizing and damping components:
the network and the generator control systems maintains KS = synchronizing coefficient
stable damping forces that restore equilibrium to the power KD = damping coefficient
system. In some system configurations however, unstable
oscillations can result from the introduction of negative A6 = rotor angle change
damping torques caused by a fast responding excitation 0) = angular speed of rotor
system. This can occur when the system is connected to a A = change
high impedance transmission system as compared to one
connected to a low impedance transmission system. From Equation 4, it can be seen that for positive values of
One solution to improve the dynamic performance of this Ks, the synchronizing torque component opposes changes in
system and large scale systems in general would be to add the rotor angle from the equilibrium point (i.e. an increase in
more parallel transmission lines to reduce the reactance rotor angle will lead to a net decelerating torque, causing the
between the generator and load center. This solution is well unit to slow down relative to the power system, until the rotor
known, but usually it is not acceptable due to the high cost of angle is restored to its equilibrium point, A6 = 0). Similarly, for
building transmission lines. An alternative solution adds a positive values of KD, the damping torque component opposes
power system stabilizer (PSS) acting through the voltage
regulator. Working together, the excitation output is modulated changes in the rotor speed from the steady-state operating
to provide positive damping torque to the system. point. A generator will remain stable as long as there are
sufficient positive synchronizing and damping torques acting
on its rotor for all operating conditions.
VI. POWER SYSTEM STABILIZERS
The Power System Stabilizer (PSS) is a device that A. Damping of Electromechanical Oscillations
improves the damping of generator electromechanical For positive values of the damping coefficient, and constant
oscillations. Stabilizers have been employed on large input power, the rotor angle's response to small disturbances
generators for several decades, permitting utilities to improve (i.e. the solution of Equation 3) will take the form of a damped
stability-constrained operating limits. In order to describe the sinusoid. The relationship between rotor speed and electrical
application of the PSS, it is necessary to introduce general power following small disturbances is illustrated in Figure 12.
concepts of power system stability and synchronous generator
operation.
When disturbed by a sudden change in operating
conditions, the generator speed and electrical power will vary
around their steady-state operating points. The relationship
between these quantities can be expressed in a simplified form
of the "swing equation":

2T T
2H d5
o dt2 m e (3)
MAd i AiAw Vil. SPEED BASED STABILIZERS
Stable
*positive i ATd *ATe To supplement the unit's natural damping after a
---

* Positive TD disturbance, the power system stabilizer must produce a

component of electrical torque that opposes changes in rotor
speed. One method of accomplishing this is to introduce a
oAT signal proportional to measured rotor speed deviation into the
voltage regulator input, as depicted in Figure 15.
MAd iOscillatory Aw AITs Ad
Instability
* PositiveTS
* Negative TD ATDr ----
T
O t
Fig. 12. Response of Speed and Angle to Small Disturbances
A number of factors can influence the damping coefficient
of a synchronous generator, including the generator's design,
the strength of the machine's interconnection to the grid, and
the setting of the excitation system. While many units have
adequate damping coefficients for normal operating conditions,
they may experience a significant reduction in the value of KD
following transmission outages, leading to unacceptably low
damping ratios. In extreme situations, the damping coefficient
may become negative, causing the electromechanical
oscillations to grow, and eventually causing loss of
PsDes
Fig. 13. Block Diagram of Excitation System and PSS
synchronism. This form of instability is normally referred to as
dynamic, small-signal or oscillatory instability to differentiate it Figure 14 illustrates the steps used within the speed-based
from the steady-state stability and transient stability. stabilizer to generate the output signal. These steps are
By adding a power system stabilizer to a high initial summarized below:
response excitation system, the benefit of higher synchronizing * Measure shaft speed using a magnetic-probe and
torque is available and the possibility of decreased damping gear-wheel arrangement.
torque can be corrected. The function of the power system * Convert the measured speed signal into a dc voltage
stabilizer is to counter any oscillations by signaling to change proportional to the speed.
excitation at just the right time to dampen the oscillations. The * High-pass filter the resulting signal to remove the
source of reduced damping is the phase lags due to the field average speed level, producing a "change-in-speed"
time constants and the lags in the normal voltage regulation signal; this ensures that the stabilizer reacts only to
loop. Thus, the pss (power system stabilizer) uses phase changes in speed and does not permanently alter the
compensation to adjust the timing of its correction signal to generator terminal voltage reference.
oppose the oscillations it detects in the generator rotor. * Apply phase lead to the resulting signal to compensate
A power system stabilizer can increase a generator's for the phase lag in the closed-loop voltage regulator.
damping coefficient, thus allowing a unit to operate under * Adjust the gain of the final signal applied to the AVR
conditions where there is insufficient natural damping. input.

VIl. PSS THEORY OF OPERATION

Modulation of generator excitation can produce transient
changes in the generator's electrical output power. Fast-
responding exciters equipped with high-gain automatic voltage
regulators (AVRs) use their speed and forcing to increase a
generator's synchronizing torque coefficient (Ks), resulting in Fig. 14. Speed-based Stabilizer
improved steady-state and transient stability limits.
Unfortunately improvements in synchronizing torque are often With some minor variations, many of the early power
achieved at the expense of damping torque, resulting in system stabilizers were constructed using this basic structure.
reduced levels of oscillatory or small-signal stability. To
counteract this effect, many units that utilize high-gain AVRs IX. DUAL INPUT STABILIZERS
are also equipped with power system stabilizers to increase
the damping coefficient (KD) and improve oscillatory stability. While speed-based stabilizers have proven to be extremely
effective, it is frequently difficult to produce a noise-free speed
See Figure 13. signal that does not contain other components of shaft motion
such as lateral shaft run-out (hydroelectric units) or torsional
oscillations (steam-driven turbogenerators). The presence of
these components in the input of a speed-based stabilizer can
result in excessive modulation of the generator's excitation relationship to substitute measured electrical and mechanical
and, for the case of torsional components, in the production of power signals for the input speed. The electrical power signal
potentially damaging electrical torque variations. These was measured directly using an instantaneous watt transducer.
electrical torque variations led to the investigation of stabilizer The mechanical power could not be measured directly, and
designs based upon measured power. instead was estimated based on the measurement of valve or
Figure 15 illustrates a 2% voltage step change introduced gate positions. The relationship between these physical
into the voltage regulator summing point that causes the measurements and the actual mechanical power varies based
generator voltage to change by 2%. Here, a speed type power on the turbine design and other factors, resulting in a high
system stabilizer provides damping after the small signal degree of customization and complexity.
disturbance to resolve the momentary MW oscillation after the This approach was abandoned in favor of an indirect
disturbance. Note that the "PSS Out" changes abruptly during method that employed the two available signals, electrical
the disturbance to provide damping, but a constant modulation power and speed. The goal was to eliminate the undesirable
that is being applied into the excitation system even during components from the speed signal while avoiding a reliance on
normal operation is also observed. the difficult to measure mechanical power signal. To
accomplish this, the relationship of Equation 2 was rearranged
1.0
to obtain a derived integral-of-mechanical power signal from
0.99 electrical power and speed:
0.95
0.05
0
2H [tATmdt - Te dt] (6)
0.10 Since mechanical power normally changes slowly relative
to the electromechanical oscillation frequencies, the derived
0.0010 mechanical power signal can be band-limited using a low-pass
0.0005
filter. The low-pass filter attenuates high-frequency
03 components (e.g. torsional components, measurement noise)
from the incoming signal while maintaining a reasonable
representation of mechanical power changes. The resulting
0.3
E-O.x,,1.,t band-limited derived signal is then used in place of the real
mechanical power in The Swing Equation to derive a change-
1.012
1.008
in-speed signal with special properties.
^2- 1.004f The Swing Equation has been written in the frequency
1.000
0.996
_ domain using the Laplace operator "s", to represent complex
0 2 frequency. The final derived speed signal is derived from both
irn (secori) a band-limited, measured speed signal and a high-pass filtered
Fig. 15. On-line Step Response, Frequency Type PSS
integral-of-electrical power signal. At lower frequencies the
measured speed signal dominates this expression while at
Ks=6, 92MW Hydro Turbine Generator
higher frequencies the output is determined primarily by the
electrical power input.
Although field voltage has not been recorded, one can The integral-of-accelerating-power arrangement is illustra-
conclude that the field voltage is also moving aggressively in ted in the block diagram of Figure 16.
response to the "PSS Out" driving the voltage regulator. The
reason for the constant changing is the high noise content at Stabilizer GaiSt Lani
the input of the speed type stabilizer. For years, the constant High-Pass Filters eac p-Tracking Fister s ead
andPh ase Vstma
changes in the field voltage have alarmed operators using this
type of power system stabilizer. Notice in the example that,
while the generator active power is oscillatory for a few cycles
after the disturbance, the terminal voltage and reactive power righ-Pass Filters and I CTtegrator [Link]
are very constant. Power 1Tw 1
Incremental improvements were made to the power system
stabilizer by manipulating the swing equation shown in mreasured
eihrTietlWrdeie from the+ST
Fig.16. Block Diagram of Dual-Input
compesated votg +inlotiedfo
frqunc
Power
h
System
eeao
of a
Equation 4 to derive a better method of improving the damping Stabilizer
signal input.
d X. SPEED SIGNAL
-Aco= (Tn -Te )= ~~Ta (5)
dt 2H 2Hac For the frequency or speed stabilizer, shaft speed was
measured either directly or derived from the frequency of a
The simplified swing equation can be rearranged to reveal
the principle of operation of early power-based stabilizers.
compensated voltage signal obtained from the generator
terminal VT and CT secondary voltages and currents. If
Based on Equation 5, it is apparent that a speed deviation directly measured, shaft speed is normally obtained from a
signal can be derived from the net accelerating power acting magnetic-probe and gear-wheel arrangement. On horizontal
on the rotor; i.e., the difference between applied mechanical
turbo-generators, operating at 1800 RPM or 3600 RPM, there
power and generated electrical power. Early attempts at are normally several gear wheels already provided for the
constructing power-based stabilizers used the above purpose of speed measurement or governing. The shaft
location is not critical as long as it is directly coupled to the Xl. GENERATOR ELECTRICAL POWER SIGNAL
main turbo-generator shaft. On vertical turbogenerators
(hydraulic) the direct measurement of shaft speed is The generator electrical power output is derived from the
considerably more difficult, particularly when the shaft is generator VT secondary voltages and CT secondary currents.
subjected to large amounts of lateral movement (shaft run-out) The power output is high-pass filtered to produce the required
during normal operation. On these units, speed is almost power deviation signal. This signal then is integrated and
always derived from a compensated frequency signal. In either scaled, using the generator inertia constant (2H) for
type of generator, the speed signal is plagued by noise, combination with the speed signal. Figure 19 depicts the
masking the desired speed change information. operations performed on the power input signal to produce the
integral-of-electrical power deviation signal.
El _ Generator

;
X q I~ q-axis
i
d asEt
d-axis
Fig. 19. Integral of Electrical Power Block Diagram

XII. DERIVED MECHANICAL POWER SIGNAL

As previously described, the speed deviation and integral-
of-electrical power deviation signals are combined to produce
a derived integral-of-mechanical power signal. This signal is
then low-pass filtered, as depicted in the block diagram of
Figure 20.

(1)
Fig. 17. Speed derived from VT and CT signals
The derivation of shaft speed from the frequency of a
voltage phasor and a current phasor is depicted graphically in
Figure 18. The internal voltage phasor is obtained by adding Fig. 20. Filter Configurations for Derived Mechanical
the voltage drop associated with a q-axis impedance (Note: Power Signal
For salient pole machines, the synchronous impedance
provides the required compensation.) to the generator terminal A low-pass filter can be configured to take on one of the
voltage phasor. The magnitude of the internal phasor is following two forms:
proportional to field excitation and its position is tied to the * The first filter, a simple four-pole low-pass filter,
quadrature axis. Therefore, shifts in the internal voltage phasor was used to provide attenuation of torsional
position correspond with shifts in the generator rotor position. components appearing in the speed. For thermal
The frequency derived from the compensated phasor units, a time constant can be selected to provide
corresponds to shaft speed and can be used in place of a attenuation at the lowest torsional frequency of
physical measurement. On round-rotor machines, the selection the turbogenerator set. Unfortunately, this design
of the correct compensating impedance is somewhat more requirement conflicts with the production of a
complicated; simulations and site tests are normally performed reasonable derived mechanical power signal,
to confirm this setting. which can follow changes in the actual prime
In either case, the resulting signal must be converted to a mover output. This is particularly problematic on
constant level, proportional to speed (frequency). Two high- hydroelectric units where rates of mechanical
pass filter stages are applied to the resulting signal to remove power change can easily exceed 10 percent per
the average speed level, producing a speed deviation signal; second. Excessive band-limiting of the
this ensures that the stabilizer reacts only to changes in speed mechanical power signal can lead to excessive
and does not permanently alter the generator terminal voltage stabilizer output signal variations during loading
reference. and unloading of the unit.
Figure 18 shows the high-pass filter transfer function blocks * The second low-pass filter configuration deals
in frequency domain form (the letter "s" is used to represent with this problem. This filter, referred to as a
the complex frequency or Laplace operator). "ramp-tracking" filter, produces a zero steady-
state error to ramp changes in the input integral-
of-electrical power signal. This limits the stabilizer
output variation to very low levels for the rates-of-
change of mechanical power that are normally
encountered during operation of utility-scale
generators.
Fig. 18. Accelerating-Power Design (Speed Input)
 XiII. STABILIZING SIGNAL SELECTION AND PHASE XIV. TERMINAL VOLTAGE LIMITER
COMPENSATION
Since the Power System Stabilizer operates by
As depicted in the simplified block diagram of Figure 16, modulating the excitation, it may counteract the voltage
the derived speed signal is modified before it is applied to the regulator's attempts to maintain terminal voltage within a
voltage regulator input. The signal is filtered to provide phase tolerance band. To avoid producing an overvoltage condition,
lead at the electromechanical frequencies of interest i.e., 0.1 the PSS may be equipped with a terminal voltage limiter that
Hz to 5.0 Hz. The phase lead requirement is site-specific, and reduces the upper output limit to zero when the generator
is required to compensate for phase lag introduced by the terminal voltage exceeds the set point.
closed-loop voltage regulator. The level is normally selected such that the limiter will
operate to eliminate any contribution from the PSS before the
Limits
Stabilizer Gain7 an7d Phase Lead Vstmnax generator's time delayed overvoltage or V/Hz protection
operates.
The limiter will reduce the stabilizer's upper limit at a fixed
rate until zero is reached, or the overvoltage is no longer
present. The limiter does not reduce the AVR reference below
Vstmin
its normal level; it will not interfere with system voltage control
during disturbance conditions. The error signal (terminal
Fig. 21. Output stage of PSS to AVR voltage minus limit start point) is processed through a
conventional low-pass filter to reduce the effect of
The diagram of Figure 21 depicts the phase compensation measurement noise.
portion of the digital stabilizer. The transfer function for each
stage of phase compensation is a simple pole-zero XV. CASE STUDIES
combination where the lead and lag time constants are A small turbine generator was experiencing potentially
adjustable. damaging power oscillations when the unit load was increased
Tests are performed to determine the amount of to more than 0.5 pu, with oscillations triggered by small
compensation required for the generator/excitation system by changes in load or terminal voltage. The oscillations could be
applying a low frequency signal into the voltage regulator triggered by a step change in unit terminal voltage. The
auxiliary summing point input and then by comparing to the waveforms in Figure 23 illustrate the test results indicating that
generator output for phase shift and gain over the frequency the oscillations under the test condition were damped, but with
range applied. These tests are normally performed with the significant duration. This condition occurred after the unit was
generator at 10% MW load. Figure 22 illustrates the results of upgraded from manual control to a modern static exciter
a typical test performed to determine the phase lag of the system with high initial response characteristic.
voltage regulator/generator interconnected to the system
without the power system stabilizer. Compensation is then 14.9
provided through the lead and lag of the power system
stabilizer to ensure that the voltage regulator will be responsive 14.8

to the frequency range desired. Here, phase lead is needed 14.7

above 1 Hertz as shown by the solid line in Figure 22. 14.6

300

200
250
stabilizer phase comppetsa tn w100
unil 2
maagurad t=mp,nsa6ori raquiraennt unil

200 _
50
7.00 A1
a. 6.50

ISIl 4- 6.00
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Fig. 23. Hydro Generator without PSS

II When the PSS, a dual input type power system stabilizer,
0
C)
was implemented, the response of the turbine generator was
substantially improved, showing much greater damping
capability compared to the performance in Figure 23. In
operation, with the settings of the PSS set as indicated in
--------------i

Figure 24, the unit was able to deliver rated load once again,
with no danger from power oscillations threatening to damage
the machine. This is an example of a local area oscillation. The
combination of high performance excitation and the
Fig.22. Phase Compensation denoted with and with( )ut compensation of the PSS provides the best combination of
the Power System Stabilizer performance benefits for this hydro turbine installation.
 15.20
15.10 machines 35 MVA and above or groups of machines in a plant
S 1500- that total 75 MVA. To help improve the reliability of the
14.90
14.80
transmission system, power system stabilizers have proven to
14.70 dampen oscillations, and new innovations in power system
400. stabilizer technology continue to make them more user-friendly
200. in regard to commissioning and implementation. Old
potentiometer-type stabilizer adjustments are obsolete with
-200.
new commissioning software to reduce time for
13.00 commissioning. See Figure 26.
12.50 Additional features provided in stabilizers, such as multiple
R 12.00
setting groups, have made them more flexible to speed
11.50
11.00 commissioning and accommodate a wide range of application
IM50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 needs. Here, reduced PSS gains may be required as the
Fig. 24. Hydro Generator with PSS turbine generator is moving through its rough zones during
machine loading. Without another set of gains in the power
system stabilizer, the voltage regulator could become
The benefits of a newly installed dual-input ttype power excessively aggressive and result in poor power system
system stabilizer (Figure 25) versus those of the exi sting single performance.
input power system stabilizer (Figure 15) for the same machine
can be seen in the on-line step response of a 92MW turbine
generator to system oscillations. The speed-based stabilizer
produces a significant amount of noise in the stabilizing signal.
This noise limits the maximum Ks gain to 6.2. With the dual-
input type, the noise is considerably less, allowing higher gain,
Ks=7.5s and more effective damping as illustrated in Figure
25.

E0-97

0.96
0-100
-0. 20
-025
[Link]
0.0005

a- -0.0005-
e -0.0010
.5
0.5
Fig. 26. Setup Screen for Power System Stabilizer Tuning
:::
X -0.5
-1.5- XVII. CONCLUSION
>
In 2006, the Energy Act was passed with legislation that
0.995

._ 0.990
9 0.985 requires conformance to performance audits by the American
9 0.980
Electric Reliability Council that are specifically defined by the
regional council. In the Northwest, WECC requires all
500

300

C200 generators, 35MVA, or group of machines totaling 75MVA to

oz 0
include a power system stabilizer. Many paper mills in the
10 Northwest and Canada meet these guidelines and, therefore,
Time (secorx)
may require power system stabilizers in the future if they do
Fig. 25. On-line Step Response, Basler PSS-100 not already have them.
Ks=7.5, 92MW Hydro Turbine Generator
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Since the blackouts in the Northwest in the late 90s and the Local Mode Oscillations", IEEE Transactions on Power
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1054-1059.
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[2] F. W. Keay and W. H. South, "Design of a Power System
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