Identification of Weak Areas of Power Network Based on Exposure to Voltage Sags—Part I: Development of Sag Severity Index for Single-Event Characterization

This paper presents a new single-event characteristic, sag severity index (SSI), derived with respect to equipment sensitivity to voltage sags. It is more inclusive of associated uncertainties/variation in equipment response to voltage sags than existing single-event characteristics. By changing parameter settings, the index appropriately accounts for sag duration and adequately addresses the variation in equipment sensitivity. The value of the index changes continuously at the joining regions of different sag severity levels and reflects realistically the sensitivity trend of equipment embedded in voltage tolerance curves. The properties of the SSI are analyzed and discussed through comparison with characteristics of five previously reported single-event indices including four numerical indices and one fuzzy voltage sag index.