Determining the best sequence of load pickup during power system restoration

The first control action in power system restoration concerns the generation restart. In the initial phase of restoration, operators are often concerned with load pickup problems. One of the important problems during load pickup is keeping frequency response in allowable range. The aim of this paper is to determine the best sequence of load pickup by hydro and steam units during power system restoration based on frequency response of prime movers. Hydro power plants and combustion turbine units have the capability of black start operation and can be used for early stages of power system restoration. This paper considers hydro power plants for evaluating the stability and frequency response during load pickup in the early stages of restoration. Load pickup scheme has been developed based on using a pair of interconnected units.