A new parallel algorithm for security constrained optimal power flow with a nonlinear interior point method

This paper presents a new algorithm for parallel solution of security constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) with a nonlinear interior point method (IPM). In the parallel algorithm proposed in this paper, the SCOPF problem is easily decomposed and distributed to a set of processors where the computations are done independently on a subset of the contingency states. Moreover, a full AC model is used in this parallel algorithm. The new parallel algorithm has been tested for accuracy and speedup with two systems: one with 57 buses, 80 branches and 9 contingencies, another with 3493 buses, 6689 branches and 79 contingencies. With less than 1% relative error and more than a factor of 10 speedup, the test results demonstrate that this new parallel algorithm with IPM is accurate and efficient for large-scale SCOPF problems.