On voltage collapse in electric power systems

Several voltage collapses have had a period of slowly decreasing voltage followed by an accelerating collapse in voltage. The authors clarify the use of static and dynamic models to explain this type of voltage collapse, where the static model is used before a saddle-node bifurcation and the dynamic model is used after the bifurcation. Before the bifurcation, a static model can be used to explain the slow voltage decrease. The closeness of the system to bifurcation can be interpreted physically in terms of the ability of transmission systems to transmit reactive power to load buses. Simulation results show how this ability varies with system parameters. It is suggested that voltage collapse could be avoided by manipulating system parameters so that the bifurcation point is outside the normal operating region. After the bifurcation, the system dynamics are modeled by the center manifold voltage collapse model. The essence of this model is that the system dynamics after bifurcation are captured by the center manifold trajectory. The behavior predicted by the model is found simply by numerically integrating the system differential equations to obtain this trajectory.<>