Efficient extreme event screening for power systems using constrained and unbalanced partitioning

In this paper, we design and implement an efficient algorithm for extreme event screening for power systems based on constrained and unbalanced partitioning. The proposed methodology directly addresses the cutsize and power-imbalance oriented partitioning problem. This problem has two objectives: minimization of the cutsize and maximization of the power-imbalance between partitions. The proposed algorithm uses the well known hMetis partitioner as a core partitioning engine. The main advantages of the proposed screening methodology are scalability, efficiency, and ease of implementation. The average CPU runtime is less than 0.1 s and 1.5 s for systems with 2,383 buses and 43,501 buses, respectively. The quality of the partitioning solution is similar to that achieved by the algorithm studied in for the 30-bus system.