A software tool for coordination of controllers in power systems

A report is presented on the theoretical background and the methodology of development of a software tool for offline coordination of power system controllers in either a high-frequency (5-55 Hz) or a low-frequency (0.2-2.0 Hz) range. The controllers considered for coordination are: voltage regulators, power system stabilizers (PSSs), speed governors, main and auxiliary controllers of HVDC converters, and main and auxiliary controllers of static VAr compensators (SVCs). The software package calculates the eigenvalues associated with a prespecified number of least-stable oscillatory modes of the system using a modified version of the S matrix method, and it adjusts the controller parameters to increase a damping of the least-stable mode, using a gradient optimization technique. The software tool is referred to as EICO (EIgenvalue program of COordination of controllers). EICO is coded in Fortran. The application of EICO is demonstrated by coordinating the controllers of a power system with 371 state variables and 140 controller parameters, in the high-frequency range. EICO results are verified by detailed digital simulation of the system, using the electromagnetic transients program (EMTP). The study results demonstrate the technical advantages of the coordinated controllers as compared with the noncoordinated scheme.>