4th Year Lectures

EPM 401A
Electrical Power Systems 2A
(Power Flow Analysis)
Dr. Mostafa Elshahed

Electrical Power Dept., Faculty of

Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt
Power Flow Analysis
• The most common power system analysis tool is the
power flow (also known sometimes as the load
flow)
– power flow determines how the power flows in a network
– also used to determine all bus voltages and all currents
– because of constant power models, power flow is a
nonlinear analysis technique
– power flow is a steady-state analysis tool

1
Bus Admittance Matrix or Ybus
• First step in solving the power flow is to create what is
known as the bus admittance matrix, often call the Ybus.
• The Ybus gives the relationships between all the bus
current injections, Ibus, and all the bus voltages, Vbus,
Ibus = Ybus Vbus

I
Y

I=YV 2
Bus Admittance Matrix or Ybus
The Ybus is developed by Direct Inspection or Singular
Transformation.

 I1  Y11 Y12 ... Y1i ... Y1n  V1 

 I  Y Y ... Y2i  
... Y2 n V2 
 2   21 22  
...   ... ... ... ... ... ...  ... 
 =   
I
   Y Y ... Yii ... Yin Vi 
i i1 i2 
...   ... ... ... ... ... ...  ... 
    
 I n  Yn1 Yn 2 ... Yn1 .. Ynn  Vn 
3
 Power Flow Analysis
• When analyzing power systems we know neither the
complex bus voltages nor the complex current
injections

• Rather, we know the complex power being consumed

by the load, and the power being injected by the
generators plus their voltage magnitudes

• Therefore we can not directly use the Ybus equations,

but rather must use the power balance equations

4
 Stated Another Way
• Example; we had Bus 2 Bus 1
j0.2

 −15 5 10 
Ybus j  5 −15 10 
=
j0.1 j0.1
 10 10 −20 
Bus 3

• This Ybus is actually singular!

[ bus ] I
−1
• So we cannot solve V = Y
• This means (as you might expect), we cannot
independently specify all the current injections I
5
Gauss Iteration
There are a number of different iterative methods
we can use. We'll consider two: Gauss and Newton.

With the Gauss method we need to rewrite our

equation in an implicit form: x = h(x)

To iterate we first make an initial guess of x, x (0) ,

and then iteratively solve x (v +1) = h( x ( v ) ) until we
ˆ such that xˆ = h(x).
find a "fixed point", x, ˆ
6
Gauss Iteration Example
Example: Solve x - x − 1 =0
x ( v +1) = 1 + x ( v )
Let v = 0 and arbitrarily guess x (0) = 1 and solve
v x(v ) v x(v )
0 1 5 2.61185
1 2 6 2.61612
2 2.41421 7 2.61744
3 2.55538 8 2.61785
4 2.59805 9 2.61798
7
Stopping Criteria

A key problem to address is when to stop the iteration.

1. With the Guass iteration we stop when

max ∆xi (v ) < ε with ∆xi (v )  xi (v +1) − xi (v )
Then the solution has converged.
2. If the accuracy doesn't varified, we stop when reach
to maximum number of iterations.

8
 Gauss Power Flow
We first need to put the equation in the correct form
*
 n  n
Si =
Vi I i* Vi  ∑ Y=
ik k 
V Vi ∑ ikVk
Y * *

=  k 1=  k 1
n n
S*i =
Vi* I i Vi* ∑=
YikVk Vi* ∑ YikVk
=k 1=k 1

S*i n n
=
Vi*
∑ Yik=
Vk YiiVi + ∑ YikVk
=
k 1 =
k 1,k ≠i

1  S*i n 
Vi  * − ∑ YikVk 
Yii  V =k 1,k ≠i 

i
9
 Injected Power Signs

At Pi + jQi injection is known (PQ bus)

• net injection = local generation-load
• At bus i: Pi+jQi = Pgi-Pdi + j(Qgi-Qdi)
d: demand g: generation

10
 Injected Power Signs, cont’d
• Generator
– Injects active power (Pi positive)
– Injects reactive power (Qi Positive) Lagging/Overexcited
– Consumes reactive power (Qi Negative) Leading/Underexcited
• Load
– Consumes active power (Pi negative )
– Consumes reactive power (Qi Negative) Lagging
– Injects reactive power (Qi Positive) Leading
• Capacitor
– Injects reactive power (Qi positive)
– It should be included in Ybus if it is given as admittance
11
Gauss Two Bus Power Flow Example
•A 100 MW, 50 Mvar load is connected to a generator
through a line with z = 0.02 + j0.06 p.u. and line shunt
admittance of j0.05 on each end (100 MVA base).
Also, there is a capacitor (ycap = j0.25) at bus 2. If the
generator voltage is 1.0 p.u., what is V2?

SLoad = 1.0 + j0.5 p.u.

12
Gauss Two Bus Example, cont’d
The unknown is the complex load voltage, V2 .
To determine V2 we need to know the Ybus .
1
= 5 − j15
0.02 + j 0.06
5 − j14.95 −5 + j15 
Hence Ybus =  
 − 5 + j15 5 − j14.70 
( Note Y22= 5 - j15 + j 0.05 + j 0.25)

13
Gauss Two Bus Example, cont’d
1  S*2 n 
V2  * − ∑ YikVk 
Y22  V2 =k 1,k ≠i 
1  -1 + j 0.5 
V2  − (−5 + j15)(1.0∠0) 
5 − j14.70  V2 *

Guess V2(0)= 1.0∠0 (this is known as a flat start)
v V2( v ) v V2( v )
0 1.000 + j 0.000 3 0.9622 − j 0.0556
1 0.9671 − j 0.0568 4 0.9622 − j 0.0556
2 0.9624 − j 0.0553
14
Gauss Two Bus Example, cont’d
=
V2 0.9622 − j 0.0556
= 0.9638∠ − 3.3°
Once the voltages are known all other values can
be determined, such as the generator powers and the
line flows
S1* =V1* (Y11V1 + Y12V2 ) =1.023 − j 0.239
In actual units P1 = 102.3 MW, Q1 = 23.9 Mvar
2
The capacitor is supplying V2 25 = 23.2 Mvar

15
Gauss with Many Bus Systems
With multiple bus systems we could calculate
new Vi ' s as follows:

1  S*i n 
=( v +1)
Vi  ( v )* − ∑ YikVk  (v)
Yii  V = ≠ 
 i k 1, k i 
= hi (V1( v ) ,V2( v ) ,...,Vn( v ) )
But after we've determined Vi( v +1) we have a better
estimate of its voltage , so it makes sense to use this
new value. This approach is known as the
Gauss-Seidel iteration.
16
Gauss-Seidel Iteration
Immediately use the new voltage estimates:
V2( v +1) h2 (V1,V2( v ) ,V3( v ) ,…,Vn( v ) )
V3( v +1) h3 (V1,V2( v +1) ,V3( v ) ,…,Vn( v ) )
V4( v +1) h4 (V1,V2( v +1) ,V3( v +1) ,V4( v ) …,Vn( v ) )

Vn( v +1) hn (V1,V2( v +1) ,V3( v +1) ,V4( v +1) …,Vn( v ) )
The Gauss-Seidel works better than the Gauss, and
is actually easier to implement. It is used instead
of Gauss.
17
Slack Bus
• In previous example we specified S2 and V1 and
then solved for S1 and V2.
• We can not arbitrarily specify S at all buses
because total generation must equal total load +
total losses
• We also need an angle reference bus.
• To solve these problems we define one bus as the
"slack" bus. This bus has a fixed voltage
magnitude and angle, and a varying real/reactive
power injection.

18
Three Types of Power Flow Buses

• There are three main types of power flow buses

– Load bus (or PQ bus) at which P/Q are fixed; iteration
solves for voltage magnitude and angle.
– Slack bus at which the voltage magnitude and angle are
fixed; iteration solves for P/Q injections.
– Generator bus (or PV bus) at which P and |V| are fixed;
iteration solves for voltage angle and Q injection.
• Special method is needed to include PV buses in
the Gauss-Seidel iteration

19
Three Types of Power Flow Buses

20
Definition

• Ground bus: Generally earth. (In single phase

circuit, it represents return path.)
• Slack bus (Swing, Infinite bus): A swing bus is a
system bus other than ground at which the voltage
phasor is fixed in both magnitude and phase angle
(phase angle is chosen as reference angle, usually
zero) the swing bus is also known as the slack bus
(V``1 may be = 1∠0 ).

21
Calculation of Net Injected Power

We first need to put the equation in the correct form

*
 n  n
=
Si =
Vi I i* Vi  ∑ Y=
ik k 
V Vi ∑ ikVk
Y * *

=  k 1=  k 1
n
Si* =Pi − jQi =Vi* ∑ YikVk
k =1

 * n   * n 
Pi = Re Vi ∑ YikVk  & Qi = − Im Vi ∑ YikVk 
 k 1=   k 1 

22
PV buses in the Gauss-Seidel iteration

• For P-Q buses, the real and reactive powers Pi and

Qi are known. Starting with initial values of the
voltages, set of voltage equations can be solved
iteratively.

• For the PV controlled buses, where Pi and Vi are

specified, Q equation should be solved firstly.

23
 PV buses in the Gauss-Seidel iteration

 *( v ) n (v ) 
Qi ( v +1) = − Im Vi ∑ YikVk        Gauss Method
 k =1 

 *( v )  i −1 n
(v )  
Qi ( v +1) − Im Vi  ∑ YikVk
= ( v +1)
+ ∑ YikVk      Gauss Seidl  Method
=   k 1 =k i 

Check value of Qi ; It should be within the limits

(Qmin ≤ QCalculated ≤ Q max)

24
PV buses in the Gauss-Seidel iteration
• If Qi is within the limits,
calculate Vi at the PV bus with using Qi, then
Vi ( v +1)
= Vi ( v +1)
∠δ i ( v +1)

Vi ( v +1)
= Vi ( given )
∠δ i ( v +1)

• If (Qcalculated < Qmin), set (Qnew = Qmin ), OR

• If (Qcalculated > Qmax), set (Qnew = Qmax), then
calculate Vi at the bus with using the new Qi

Vi ( v +1)
= Vi ( v +1)
∠δ i ( v +1) (this is now PQ bus)
25
Computation of Line Flows and Losses
Iij I1 I1 Iji

Ii0
yij Ij0
i j
yi0 yj0

26
Load Flow Example

27
Load Flow Example

28
Load Flow Example

29
Gauss-Seidel Advantages/Disadvantages
• Advantages
– Each iteration is relatively fast (computational order is
proportional to number of branches + number of buses in the
system
– Relatively easy to program
• Disadvantages
– Tends to converge relatively slowly, although this can be
improved with acceleration
– Has tendency to miss solutions, particularly on large systems
– Tends to diverge on cases with negative branch reactances
(common with compensated lines)
– Need to program using complex numbers
30
Accelerated Convergence
Previously in the Gauss-Seidel method we were
calculating each value x as
( v +1)
x = h( x ) (v )

To accelerate convergence we can rewrite this as

x ( v +1) = x ( v ) + h( x ( v ) ) − x ( v )
Now introduce acceleration parameter α
v +1)
x (Acc elerated =x ( v ) + α ( x ( v +1) − x ( v ) )
With α = 1 this is identical to standard gauss-seidel.
Larger values of α may result in faster convergence.
31
 Accelerated Convergence, cont’d
Consider the previous example: x - x − 1 =0
v +1)
x (Accelerated x ( v ) + α ( x ( v +1) − x ( v ) )
=
Comparison of results with different values of α
=
k α 1= α 1.2= α= 1.5 α 2
0 1 1 1 1
1 2 2.20 2.5 3
2 2.4142 2.5399 2.6217 2.464
3 2.5554 2.6045 2.6179 2.675
4 2.5981 2.6157 2.6180 2.596
5 2.6118 2.6176 2.6180 2.626 32
Tap Changing Transformer

33
Tap Changing Transformer

Vx = 1/a Vj
V*x Ii = V*j (-Ij )
Ii / - Ij = V*j/ V*x = a* V*x / V*x = a*
Ii = - a* Ij
Ii = yt (Vi - Vx )
Ii = yt Vi - yt /a Vj
Ij = - 1/ a* Ii = - 1/ a* ( yt Vi - yt /a Vj)
= - yt / a* Vi + yt /| a |2 Vj
34
Tap Changing Transformer

Ii yt - yt /a Vi
=
Ij - yt /a * yt / a2 Vj

(If a is real number)

35
Tap Changing Transformer Example
Three bus system, a transformer is connected between bus
1 and bus 2, has an impedance equal to transmission line
impedances for simplicity ( z = j0.1 pu)
- G ---20 J J 10
- J 20 J 10 J 10
YBUS =
J 10 - J 20 J 10 (y = - j 10 pu)
J 10 J 10 - J 20

1 2
1:a

3
36
 Example, cont’d

If transformer is off nominal ratio a at bus 2

Then Y BUS is given by:

- J 20 JJ 10 / a J 10
Y BUS = J 10 / a -J10 –J10(1/a2) J 10
J 10 J 10 - J 20

37
Results of Load Flow Study

• Voltages at all buses are determined (magnitude and

angle)
So we can determine if bus voltage is within limits
(V min ≤ V bus ≤ V max ( inequality constraint)

• Active and reactive power at slack bus are determined.

• Power flows via all lines are determined and
So we can check lines’ thermal limit and can determine
power loss in each line.
In addition, we can get network active and reactive losses
(summation of losses at all lines).

38
Newton-Raphson Algorithm

• The second major power flow solution method is

the Newton-Raphson algorithm
• Key idea behind Newton-Raphson is to use
sequential linearization

39
 Sequential Linear Approximations

At each iteration the N-R

method uses a linear
approximation to get the
next value for x

Function is f(x) = x2 - 2 = 0.
Solutions are points where f(x) intersects f(x) = 0 axis
40
Power Flow And Design

• One common usage of the power flow is to determine

how the system should be modified to remove
contingencies problems or serve new load
• In an operational context this requires working with the
existing electric grid

• In a planning context additions to the grid can be considered

41
 Good Power System Operation
• Good power system operation requires that there be no
reliability violations for either the current condition or
in the event of statistically likely contingencies
• Reliability requires as a minimum that there be no
transmission line/transformer limit violations and that bus
voltages be within acceptable limits (perhaps 0.95 to 1.08)
• Example contingencies are the loss of any single device. This
is known as n-1 reliability.

42
Basic Power Control
• Opening or closing a circuit breaker causes the
power flow to instantaneously(nearly) change.

• By changing generation or load, or by switching

other lines, we can indirectly change this flow.

43
37 Bus Example Design Case
Metropolis Light and Power Electric Design Case 2
A
SLACK345
MVA
A

MVA

220 MW
1.03 pu RAY345 52 Mvar
slack

1.02 pu
System Losses: 10.70 MW A A

SLACK138
A

TIM345
MVA MVA MVA

1.02 pu RAY138
A A

MVA MVA
A
1.03 pu
TIM138 33 MW A MVA

1.00 pu 13 Mvar MVA

1.03 pu
A
15.9 Mvar 18 MW 1.02 pu RAY69
A
5 Mvar 37 MW
MVA A
17 MW A
MVA
1.01 pu PAI69 MVA 3 Mvar MVA
13 Mvar
1.02 pu TIM69
A 1.01 pu GROSS69 A

23 MW MVA
MVA
FERNA69
7 Mvar A
12 MW 1.01 pu WOLEN69
A A
HISKY69 3 Mvar
MVA

MVA
A
MVA PETE69 A
A
58 MW 4.9 Mvar
MORO138 MVA
A MVA

39 MW MVA
40 Mvar 1.01 pu MVA
13 Mvar 1.00 pu BOB138
12 MW
A

HANNAH69 28.9 Mvar DEMAR69

5 Mvar
A A
60 MW
MVA

19 Mvar
MVA MVA

1.00 pu 20 MW A
1.02 pu BOB69
1.00 pu
0.99 pu 14.2 Mvar UIUC6912 Mvar MVA
1.00 pu
12.8 Mvar 124 MW 56 MW
KYLE69 A A

A
MVA
45 Mvar 13 Mvar LYNN138
16 MW
MVA
MVA
A -14 Mvar
MVA
25 MW A A
14 MW
36 Mvar MVA
1.00 pu BLT138 4 Mvar
AMANDA69
MVA
A 0.99 pu A A

MVA 25 MW MVA MVA SHIMKO69 1.02 pu

HOMER69 10 Mvar 1.01 pu 7.4 Mvar
A
A

BLT69 MVA
A
1.01 pu MVA

20 MW
A
MVA 15 MW
3 Mvar MVA HALE69 A 55 MW 5 Mvar
1.00 pu MVA
25 Mvar A

36 MW 1.01 pu
A A MVA
A
60 MW MVA 10 Mvar 7.3 Mvar MVA
A
A

MVA
12 Mvar
0.0 Mvar 1.00 pu 1.00 pu PATTEN69 MVA
MVA

A
45 MW 14 MW ROGER69
1.01 pu WEBER69 0 Mvar
MVA

1.02 pu LAUF69 2 Mvar

23 MW 22 MW 10 MW
20 MW
A A
6 Mvar 15 Mvar 5 Mvar 14 MW A

28 Mvar
MVA MVA 3 Mvar MVA

LAUF138 1.02 pu SAVOY69 1.02 pu 38 MW JO138 JO345

1.00 pu 3 Mvar
1.01 pu BUCKY138 A

A MVA A

MVA 1.01 pu SAVOY138 MVA

150 MW
A A
0 Mvar
MVA MVA

150 MW
A
0 Mvar
MVA

1.02 pu A 1.03 pu
MVA

Power flow diagram

44
Looking at the Impact of Line Outages
Metropolis Light and Power Electric Design Case 2
A
SLACK345
MVA
A

MVA

227 MW
1.03 pu RAY345 43 Mvar
slack

1.02 pu
System Losses: 17.61 MW A A

SLACK138
A

TIM345
MVA MVA MVA

1.02 pu RAY138
A A

MVA MVA
A
1.03 pu
TIM138 33 MW A MVA

1.01 pu 13 Mvar MVA

1.03 pu
A
16.0 Mvar 18 MW 1.02 pu RAY69
A
5 Mvar 37 MW
MVA A
17 MW A
MVA

1.01 pu PAI69 MVA 3 Mvar MVA

13 Mvar
1.02 pu TIM69
A 1.01 pu GROSS69 A

23 MW MVA
MVA
FERNA69
7 Mvar A
12 MW 1.01 pu WOLEN69
A A
HISKY69 3 Mvar
MVA

MVA MVA PETE69 A

A
58 MW 4.9 Mvar
MORO138 A MVA

39 MW MVA
40 Mvar 1.01 pu MVA
13 Mvar 1.00 pu BOB138
12 MW
A
HANNAH69 28.9 Mvar DEMAR69
5 Mvar
A A
60 MW
MVA

19 Mvar
MVA MVA

1.00 pu 20 MW A
1.02 pu BOB69
1.00 pu
0.90 pu 11.6 Mvar UIUC6912 Mvar MVA
1.00 pu
12.8 Mvar 124 MW 56 MW
KYLE69
A A

A
MVA
45 Mvar 13 Mvar LYNN138
16 MW
MVA

MVA
A -14 Mvar
MVA
25 MW A A
14 MW
36 Mvar MVA
1.00 pu BLT138 4 Mvar
AMANDA69
MVA
A 0.90 pu A A

110% 25 MW MVA MVA SHIMKO69 1.02 pu

MVA
HOMER69 10 Mvar 1.01 pu 7.3 Mvar
A
A
BLT69 MVA

A
A
1.01 pu MVA

15 MW
20 MW 135%
MVA

3 Mvar MVA
HALE69 A 55 MW 5 Mvar
0.94 pu MVA
32 Mvar A

36 MW 1.01 pu
A A MVA
A
60 MW MVA 10 Mvar 7.2 Mvar MVA
A
A
MVA
12 Mvar
0.0 Mvar 1.00 pu 1.00 pu PATTEN69 MVA
MVA

A
45 MW 14 MW ROGER69
1.00 pu WEBER69 0 Mvar
MVA

1.01 pu LAUF69 2 Mvar

A
23 MW 22 MW 10 MW
A
6 Mvar 14 MW A
20 MW 80% 15 Mvar 5 Mvar
3 Mvar
40 Mvar
MVA MVA
MVA

LAUF138 1.01 pu SAVOY69 1.02 pu 38 MW JO138 JO345

0.99 pu 9 Mvar
1.00 pu BUCKY138 A

A MVA A

MVA 1.01 pu SAVOY138 MVA

150 MW
A A
4 Mvar
MVA MVA

150 MW
A
4 Mvar
MVA

1.02 pu A 1.03 pu
MVA

Opening one line (Tim69-Hannah69) causes an overload.

This would not be allowed 45
Power Systems Control
• A major problem with power system operation is
the limited capacity of the transmission system
– lines/transformers have limits (usually thermal)
– no direct way of controlling flow down a transmission
line (e.g., there are no valves to close to limit flow)
– open transmission system access associated with industry
restructuring is stressing the system in new ways
• We need to indirectly control transmission line
flow by changing the generator outputs
• Similar control issues with voltage

46
Indirect Transmission Line Control
What we would like to determine is how a change in
generation at bus k affects the power flow on a line
from bus i to bus j.
The assumption is
that the change
in generation is
absorbed by the
slack bus

47
Power Flow Simulation - Before
•One way to determine the impact of a generator change
is to compare a before/after power flow.
•For example below is a three bus case with an overload
131.9 MW

124%
One Two

200.0 MW 68.1 MW 200 MW

68.1 MW 100 MVR
71.0 MVR

Z for all lines = j0.1

Three 1.000 pu

0 MW
64 MVR

Power flow diagram

48
Power Flow Simulation - After
Increasing the generation at bus 3 by 95 MW (and hence
decreasing it at bus 1 by a corresponding amount), results
in a 31.3 drop in the MW flow on the line from bus 1 to 2.
101.6 MW

100%
One Two

105.0 MW 3.4 MW 200 MW

98.4 MW 100 MVR
64.3 MVR
92%
Z for all lines = j0.1
Limit for all lines = 150 MVA
1.000 pu
Three
95 MW
64 MVR

Power flow diagram

49
Active Power Control

50
Active Power Control

51
Voltage Control

52
Voltage Control

53
Generator Control Loops
Power System Control Loops