Joint contribution of RTEM and AGC system for frequency stabilisation in renewable energy integrated power system

Abstract Increasing penetration of variable renewable generations will diminish system inertia thereby degrading the conventional frequency regulation capability. As a result, maintaining frequency stability will be more and more challenging with traditional approaches. Even though renewable sources integration would jeopardise the grid stability, it also presents several opportunities as well. For example, converter‐interfaced generators can bid in real‐time electricity markets (RTEM) and provide short‐time dispatch to minimise load‐generation mismatch. In this paper, an integrated approach that accommodates discrete automatic generation control (AGC) system with a regulation mileage framework and RTEM model to balance generation and consumption is proposed. The RTEM model is assumed to have a five‐minute dispatch trading interval which is to some extent comparable to the discrete AGC system. Furthermore, a fractional order PID (FOPID) controller is equipped in the AGC system whose parameters are tuned using a novel metaheuristic‐based optimisation called Lichtenberg Algorithm (LA). The proposed framework is tested in a three‐area system under several operating conditions to reveal the improvement in the dynamic performance of the system. The objective function is also incorporated with mileage payment that allows a fair compensation rule for all the units.