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CHAPTER 2

POWER FLOW ANALYSIS

2.1 Introduction

 DEFINITION:
o Power flow studies also referred as load flow analysis give the
solution for power and voltage level in the buses of the power
system network.
 The analysis of a power system in normal steady-state operation is known
as a ‘power flow studies’ or ‘load flow studies’. The analyses under fault
conditions (short circuit) will be discussed in the next chapter.
 Power flow studies attempt to determine the voltages, currents, and real
and reactive power flows in the power system network under a set of load
conditions.
 Power flow studies are the backbone for power system analysis and
design.
 They are necessary for planning, operation, economic scheduling and
exchange of power between utilities.
 Power flow analysis is required for many other analyses such as fault
analysis, transient stability studies and contingency studies.

2.2 The Importance of Power Flow Studies

 To get information of the power flow and voltage level in the power system
network.

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 To evaluate the power flow performance in the power system network.
 To analyze any planning for power system improvement under steady state
conditions such as to build new power generation capacity, new transmission
lines in the case of additional or increasing of loads, to plan and design the
future expansion of power systems as well as in determining the best
operation of existing systems.
 To identify the need for additional transmission lines and generation
capability early enough to plan properly for the future.

2.3 Power Flow Equations

 Can be written in the form of Cartesian coordinate, V = (e + jf) or polar

coordinate, V = |V| .
 Can be written following the mesh, nodal and cut set equations.

2.4 Numerical Techniques for Power Flow Solutions

 Direct techniques
 Iterative techniques
 Hybrid techniques (direct techniques + iterative techniques)

In power system, power are rather known than currents. Thus, the resulting
equations in terms of power, known as ‘power flow equations’ become non linear and
commonly solved by iterative techniques.

2.5 Iteration Techniques

 Gauss-Seidel method - [ Y ]

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 Newton-Raphson method – using Jacobian matrices
 Fast decouple method – [B]
 Jacobi – [Z]
 Second order Newton Raphson - using Jacobian matrices
 Superdecoupled – [ Yθ ], [ Yv ]

2.6 Factors to be considered in choosing Iterative Techniques

 High computer speed

 System size
 Software facilities
 Low computer storage
 Convergence (total number of iterations)

2.7 Bus Admittance Matrix

Consider a simple power system shown in Figure 2.1 below:

Figure 2.1: Impedance Diagram of Simple Power System

The line impedance Z12 connects bus 1 to bus 2. The line impedance, Z 23 connects
bus 2 to 3. The line impedance, Z 31 connects bus 1 to bus 3. The y 1, y2 and y3 are the

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capacitance susceptance at the buses. Since the nodal solution is based upon Kirchhoff’s
Current Law (KCL), impedance are converted to admittance,

(2.1)

Applying KCL to the impedance nodes 1 through 3 results in

(2.2)

Rearranging these equations yields

(2.3)

We write the above equation in the matrix form,

(2.4)

We introduce the following admittance, with the diagonal element which is

known as self-admittance,

(2.5)

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And the off-diagonal element which is known as mutual admittance,

(2.6)

Therefore, the node-voltage equation in matrix form is

(2.7)

Extending the above relation to an n bus system

(2.8)

or (2.9)

Therefore, for n bus system,

(2.10)

When the bus currents are known, the bus voltage can be solved,

(2.11)

Example2.1
2.1
Example

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For the 3 buses power system in Figure 2.1, the line data are shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1: The line data for 3 buses power system in Figure 2.1
Line Z p.u
1–2 0.08 + j0.24
1–3 0.02 + j0.06
2–3 0.06 + j0.18

Find the bus admittance matrix, Ybus.

Solution

The bus admittance matrix for 3 buses power system is

Equation (2.1) is used to convert the impedance data to admittance data. Use Equation
(2.5) for the diagonal element and Equation (2.6) for the off-diagonal element.

For the diagonal element,

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For the off-diagonal element,

The bus admittance matrix for 3 buses network in Figure 2.1 is

Exercise2.1
2.1
Exercise

Built and run the Matlab programming of the Example 2.1 above to obtain the bus
admittance matrix.

2.8 Buses Type for Power Flow Solution

The system buses are generally classified into three types. There are reference
buses which also known as swing or slack bus, load bus and generator bus. In solving
power flow problem, the system is assumed to be operating under balanced conditions.
Each bus associated with four quantities which are magnitude voltage |V|, phase angle, θ,
real power, P and reactive power, Q.

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Table 2.2: Classifications of Buses

Buses Specified Parameter Unknown Parameter
Reference (Swing / slack) V, δ PG, QG
Generator or PV PG, V, PL, QL δ, QG
Load or PQ PL, QL V, δ

2.9 Power Flow Equation

Consider a typical bus of power system network as shown in Figure 2.2. The
transmission lines are represented by equivalent π model where impedance has been
converted to per unit admittance on a common MVA base.

Figure 2.2: A typical bus power system

We apply Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL) to the bus

(2.12)

or

(2.13)

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The real and reactive power at bus i is

(2.14)
or

(2.15)

Substitute (2.15) to (2.13) we get

(2.16)

The power flow problem results in a system of nonlinear equations which must be solved
by iteration techniques.

2.10 Gauss_Seidel Power Flow Solution

In the power flow study, it is necessary to solve the set of nonlinear equations
represented by (2.16) for two unknown variables at each node. In the Gauss-Seidel
method, (2.16) is solved for Vi, and the iterative sequence becomes

2.11 Newton – Raphson Power Flow Solution

Newton-raphson method is found to be more practical and efficient for large

power system. The number of iterations required to obtain a solution is independent of
the system size, but more functional evaluations are required at each iteration.

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For a typical bus of power system shown in Figure 2.2, the current entering bus i
in Equation (2.13) can be rewritten in terms of the bus admittance matrix as

(2.17)

The typical element Yij is

(2.18)

The voltage at a typical bus i of the system in polar form is

(2.19)

Expressing Equation (2.17) in polar form, we have

(2.20)

The complex conjugate of the power injected at bus i is

(2.21)

Substitute Equation 2.20 into Equation 2.21 we get

(2.22)

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Separating Equation 2.22 into real and reactive parts, we obtain

(2.23)

(2.24)

Equation 2.23 and 2.24 constitute a polar form of the power flow equations. When
j is set to be equal to i in Equation 2.23 and 2.24 and the corresponding terms are
separated from the summations, we obtain

(2.25)

(2.26)

Let Pgi denote the scheduled power being generated at bus i and Pli denote the
scheduled power demand of the load at the bus. Then, Pi,sch is the net scheduled power
being injected into the network at bus i.

The power mismatches for the typical load bus i is

(2.27)

(2.28)

Mismatches occur when the calculated values Pi,calc and Qi,calc do not coincide with
the schedule values. If the calculated values Pi,calc and Qi,calc match the scheduled values
Pi,sch and Qi,sch perfectly, then we say the mismatches and are zero at bus i.

Equation 2.25 and Equation 2.26 constitute a set of non-linear algebraic equations
in terms of the independent variables, voltage magnitude in per-unit, and phase angle in

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radians. Expending the equations in Taylor’s series about the initial estimate and
neglecting all higher order terms yields the Newton-Raphson power flow equations:

(2.29)

The diagonal elements of J11 are

(2.30)

By comparing this equations for Qi in Equation 2.26 we obtain

(2.31)

The off - diagonal elements of J11 are

(2.32)

The diagonal elements of J21 as follows

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(2.33)

By comparing this equations for Pi in Equation 2.25 we obtain

(2.34)

The off - diagonal elements of J21 as follows

(2.35)

The diagonal elements of J12 as follows

(2.36)

Comparing Equation 2.36 with Equation 2.33 and Equation 2.34 yields

(2.37)

The off - diagonal elements of J12 as follows

(2.38)

Comparison with Equation 2.35 yields

(2.39)

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Finally, the diagonal and off-diagonal of sub matrix J22 are as follows

(2.40)

(2.41)

The power flow solution by Newton-Raphson method is demonstrated in the following

example.

Example2.2
2.2
Example

Obtain the power flow analysis by Newton-Raphson method for 2 buses power system in
Figure 2.3. Refer to Table 2.3 for bus data.

Figure 2.3: One line diagram for 2 buses power system

Table 2.3: Bus data for Figure 2.3

Bus Bus type |V|, pu δ Pg , pu Qg, pu Pl , pu Ql, pu
(generation) (generation) (load) (load)
1 reference 1.05 0.0 - - 1.15 0.31
2 load 1.0 0.0 - - 0.1 0.1

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The values in Table 2.3 are marked in per unit on a 100MVA base. Based from power
flow solution by Newton-Raphson method determine the magnitude and phase values of
voltage at load bus 2, V2, (for first iteration only)

Solution

Step 1: Write the Newton-raphson equation

Step 2: Form the bus admittance matrix, Ybus

Step 3: Calculate P2, Q2, and

Step 4: Convergence test

Tolerance = 0.05

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Step 5: Form the Jacobian matrix

i) The diagonal elements of J11

or

Both equations should give the same results

ii) The diagonal elements of J12

iii) The diagonal elements of J21

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iii) The diagonal elements of J22

Therefore the Jacobian matrix is

Step 6: Form the Inverse of Jacobian matrix,[ J]-1

By using scientific calculator,

Step 7: Calculate and

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Step 7: Determine the magnitude and phase values of voltage at load buses 2, for first
iteration and .

Exercise2.3
2.3
Exercise

Obtain the power flow solution by Newton-Raphson method for the 3 buses power
system in Figure 2.4. Refer to Table 2.4 for bus data.
Table 2.4: Bus data for Figure 2.4
Bus Bus type |V|, pu δ Pg , pu Qg, pu Pl , pu Ql, pu
(generation) (generation) (load) (load)
1 reference 1.05 0.0 - - 0 0
2 generator 1.03 0.0 0.2 0 0.5 0.2
3 load 1.0 0.0 - - 0.6 0.25

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Figure 2.4: One line diagram for 3 buses power system

The values in Table 2.4 are marked in per unit on a 100MVA base and line charging
susceptances are neglected. Based from power flow solution by Newton-Raphson method
determine the magnitude and phase values of voltage at load buses 3, δ 3, V3, and phase
value of voltage at bus 2, δ2 (for first iteration only).

Solution

Since the reference bus has no rows or columns in the jacobian, a 4 x 4 matrix would be
necessary if P and Q are specified for the remaining two buses. However, the voltage
magnitude is specified (remain constant) at generator bus 2, thus the jacobian will be a 3
x 3 matrix.

Step 1: Write the Newton-raphson equation

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Step 2: Form the bus admittance matrix, Ybus

For the diagonal element,

For the off-diagonal element,

The bus admittance matrix for 3 bus network in Figure 2.3 is

Step 3: Calculate P2, P3, Q3, , and

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Step 4: Convergence test

Tolerance = 0.05

Step 5: Form the Jacobian matrix

i) The diagonal elements of J11

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or

The off-diagonal elements of J11

ii) The diagonal elements of J12

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The off-diagonal elements of J12

iii) The diagonal elements of J21

The off-diagonal elements of J21

iii) The diagonal elements of J22

Therefore the Jacobian matrix is

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Step 6: Form the Inverse of Jacobian matrix,[ J]-1

By using scientific calculator,

Step 7: Calculate , and

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Step 7: Determine the magnitude and phase values of voltage at load buses 3 and phase
values of generator bus 2, for first iteration , and .

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2.12 Power Flow Programs

Power system analysis software for use with personal computers is available for
utility, industrial and commercial industries. Engineers use this software to design,
operate and control power systems. The software allows engineers to solve power system
analysis problem more easily. Now, the software packages are cost-effective since the
prizes ranges from US$1,000 to US$100,000 are available depending on the type of
software and the sophistication of the algorithm used in modeling. The example of a
power system analysis software package for open electricity markets are PSAS, PSS/E,
DigSilent, SKM Powertools, PSCAD EMTDC etc. The availability of different levels
allows the user to customize a power system analysis package to fit a specific budget.

Assignment2.1
2.1
Assignment

Obtain the power flow solution of Example 2.2 and Example 2.3 by using computer
programs with MATLAB. Solve the power flow problems by using:
(i) Gauss-Seidel method
(ii) Newton-raphson method
(iii) Fast-decouple method

2.13 Line Flows and Losses

After the iterative solution of bus voltage, the next step is the computation of line flows
and losses.

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Figure 2.5: Transmission line model for calculating line flows

The line current Iij is given by

(2.42)

Similarly, the line current Iji at bus j is given by

(2.43)

The complex power Sij from bus i to j and Sji from bus j to i are

(2.44)

Substitute Equation 2.42 and Equation 2.43 into Equation 2.44 we obtain,

(2.45)

(2.46)

The power loss in line i – j is the algebraic sum of the power flows, Sij and Sji.

(2.47)

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Example2.4
2.4
Example

For the 3 buses system of Example 2.3, the bus voltages obtained in power flow analysis
is given in Table 2.5. Determine

(i) Real and reactive power generated in reference bus

(ii) Reactive power generated in generator bus
(iii) Line flows and line losses
(iv) Construct a power flow diagram showing the direction of power flow.

Table 2.5: Bus Voltage obtained from power flow analysis

Busbar Voltage
1 (reference bus)

2 (generator bus)

3 (load bus)

Solution

(i) Real and reactive power generated at reference bus, Pg1

From Equation 2.16

From bus admittance matrix

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Bus voltage obtained from power flow analysis

Therefore the real and reactive power generated at bus 1 is

(i) Reactive power generated at generator bus, Qg2

From bus admittance matrix

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The reactive power generated at bus 2 is

(iii) Line flows and losses

From bus admittance matrix

Bus voltage obtained from power flow analysis

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The line flows are

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The line losses are

The power flow diagram is shown in Figure 2.6. The values within the parentheses are
the real and reactive power losses in the line.

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Figure 2.6: Power flow diagram showing the direction of power flow and losses

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2.14 Fast-decouple Power Flow Solution

When solving large scale power transmission systems, an alternative strategy for
improving computational efficiency and reducing computer storage requirements is the
decoupled power flow method, which makes use of an approximate version of the
Newton-Raphson procedure.

For large scale power system, usually the transmission lines have a very high X/R
ratio. For such a system, real power changes are less sensitive to changes in voltage
magnitude and are most sensitive to changes in phase angle . Similarly, reactive power
is less sensitive to changes in angle and most sensitive on changes in voltage magnitude.
Incorporate of these approximations into the Jacobian matrix in Newton-Raphson power
flow solution makes the elements of the submatrices J12 and J21 zero.

We are then left with two separated systems of equations,

(2.48)

(2.49)

In well-designed and properly operated power transmission system:

i) Angular differences between typical buses of the system are usually so
small.

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is very small which results,

ii) The line susceptances Bij are many times larger than the line conductance G ij
so that .
iii) The reactive power Qi injected into any bus i of the system during normal
operation is much less than the reactive power which would flow if all lines
from that bus were short circuited to reference.
That is .

In Equation 2.32 and Equation 2.41, the off diagonal elements of J11 and J22 are given by

(2.50)

Using the identity in Equation 2.50 gives us

(2.51)

The approximation listed above then yield the off diagonal elements

(2.52)

The diagonal elements of J11 and J22 are shown in Equation 2.30 and Equation 2.40
respectively. Applying the inequality to those expressions yields

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(2.53)

Substitute Equation 2.52 and Equation 2.53 into Equation 2.48 and Equation 2.49, we
obtain

(2.54)

(2.55)

We can also modify Equation 2.54 and Equation 2.55 to two decoupled systems of
equations for n-bus network.

(2.56)

or

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(2.57)

And

(2.58)

or

(2.59)

Bij are the imaginary parts of the corresponding Ybus elements.

Example2.5
2.5
Example

Obtain the power flow solution by Fast-decouple method for the 2 buses system in Figure
2.7. Refer to Table 2.6 for bus data.

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Figure 2.7: One line diagram for 2 bus power system

Table 2.6: Bus data for Figure 2.7

Bus Bus type |V|, pu δ Pg , pu Qg, pu Pl , pu Ql, pu
(generation) (generation) (load) (load)
1 reference 1.05 0.0 - - 1.15 0.31
2 load 1.0 0.0 - - 0.1 0.1

The values in Table 2.4 are marked in per unit on a 100MVA base. Based from power
flow solution by fast-decouple method determine the magnitude and phase values of
voltage at load buses 2, V2, (for first iteration only).

Solution

Step 1: Write the fast-decouple equation

Step 2: Form the bus admittance matrix, Ybus

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And –B22 = 10

Step 3: Calculate P2, Q2, and (Same method with Newton-raphson solution)

Step 4: Convergence test

Tolerance = 0.05

Step 5: Calculate and

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Step 7: Determine the magnitude and phase values of voltage at load buses 2, for first
iteration and .

Example2.6
2.6
Example

Obtain the power flow solution by fast-decouple method for the 3 buses system in Figure
2.8. Refer to Table 2.7 for bus data.

Table 2.7: Bus data for Figure 2.8

Bus Bus type |V|, pu δ Pg , pu Qg, pu Pl , pu Ql, pu
(generation) (generation) (load) (load)
1 reference 1.05 0.0 - - 0 0
2 generator 1.03 0.0 0.2 0 0.5 0.2
3 load 1.0 0.0 - - 0.6 0.25

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Figure 2.8: One line diagram for 3 buses power system

The values in Table 2.7 are marked in per unit on a 100MVA base and line charging
susceptances are neglected. Based from power flow solution by fast-decouple method
determine the magnitude and phase values of voltage at load buses 3, δ 3, V3, and phase
value of voltage at bus 2, δ2 (for first iteration only).

Solution

Step 1: Write the fast-decouple equation

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Step 2: Form the bus admittance matrix, Ybus

For the diagonal element,

For the off-diagonal element,

The bus admittance matrix for 3 bus network in Figure 2.3 is

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Step 3: Calculate P2, P3, Q3, , and (Same method with Newton-raphson)

Step 4: Convergence test

Tolerance = 0.05

Step 5: Calculate , and

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Step 7: Determine the magnitude and phase values of voltage at load buses 3 and phase
values of generator bus 2, for first iteration , and .

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2.15 Conclusions

There are three methods of power flow solution discuss in this chapter. The
methods are Gauss-Seidel, Newton-Raphson and Fast-decouple. The Newton-raphson
and Fast-decouple method is discussed in detail in this chapter. The power flow analysis
method consists of mathematical calculations which are difficult to perform manually
especially for large power system networks. Therefore, the analysis can be easily
performed by using digital computers and power system analysis software package.

Exercises

2.1) Bus Admittance Matrix

a. For the power system network in Figure E2.1, determine the element of bus
admittance matrix, Ybus.

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Figure E2.1

b. Determine the element of bus admittance matrix, Ybus in Figure E2.2.

Figure E2.2

c. Determine the element of bus admittance matrix, Ybus in Figure E2.3.

Figure E.2.3
d. Determine bus admittance matrix, Ybus for the five bus system in Figure E2.4.

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Figure 2.4

2.2) Newton-Raphson Method

Figure E2.5 shows the one line diagram of a simple three-bus power system with bus 1 as
a reference bus and bus 2 as a generator bus. The voltage at bus 1 is fixed at V 1=1.025
0o pu. Voltage magnitude at bus 2 is fixed at 1.03 pu with a real power generation of
300 MW. A load consisting of 400 MW and 200 MVar is connected to bus 3 (load bus).
Line impedances are marked in per unit on a 100 MVA base.

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Figure E2.5

a) Using Newton-raphson method and initial estimate of and

, determine phasor values of V 2 and V3 and magnitude of V3.

Perform one iteration only.

b) If after several iterations the bus voltages converge to

Determine the real and reactive power at reference bus and reactive power at
generator bus.

c) Determine the line flow and line losses.

d) Construct a power flow diagram and show the direction of the line flows.

e) Check the power flow solution using MATLAB software.

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2.3) Fast-decouple method
a) Obtain the power flow solution by fast-decouple method for the 3-buses system in
Figure E2.6. The values in Figure 6 are marked in per unit on a 100 MVA base
and line charging susceptances are neglected.

Figure E2.6

b) Determine the magnitude and phase values of voltage at load buses 3, δ 3, V3, and
phase value of voltage at bus 2, δ2 (for first iteration only).

c) If after several iterations the bus voltages converge to

Determine the real and reactive power at reference bus and reactive power at
generator bus.

d) Determine the line flow and line losses.

e) Construct a power flow diagram and show the direction of the line flows.

f) Check the power flow solution using MATLAB software.

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References

[1] Hadi Saadat, Power System Analysis, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2004
[2] John J. Grainger, William D. Stevenson, Power System Analysis, International
Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1994
[3] B.M. Weedy, B. J. Cory, Electric Power Systems, 4th Edition, 1999
[4] Abdullah Asuhaimi Mohd Zin, Modul Pengajaran Kejuruteraan Sistem Kuasa,
Edisi Pertama, 2003.
[5] Joseph N. Y. Cheung, A power system analysis software package for open
electricity markets, 2006 International Conference on Power System Technology

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