| In abnormal conditions, the operator's ability to deal with a large volume of data, and initiate the most appropriate remedial action is a fundamental concern in the design of energy control centers. Once a severe disruption has occurred in the power network, a series of tasks have to be accomplished before the operator can make any decisions. Many of these functions involve much of computational efforts, and require a long period of time to be processed. The application of a wrong set of information by the operator may result in a catastrophic recovery situation. Furthermore, as the system becomes larger, the required time for these tasks grows significantly and the operator may have very little time to analyze the contingency and issue a proper decision. These facts have led to the conclusion that a computer driven decision making mechanism will help the operator perform his duties with minimum flaws and maximum efficiency. The challenge in applying an expert system to a power network is to introduce procedures for recognizing the impact of system contingencies, and develop strategies for restoring the normal operation in an interactive manner with the system operator. The proposed integrated package for power system restoration will help a system operator identify bottlenecks in the operation of the system and develop strategies for providing a reliable service to customers. The principle features of this package include, the localization of control actions in an emergency, using a logical reasoning to reduce the required memory space and the processing time for decision making, and the prioritization of the available control tools to minimize the cost of operation and the risk of degradation of the power system. This study has introduced a systematic procedure for decision making in critical circumstances, regardless of the type, the size and the location of the disruption in a large power system. |
