Power Grid and Electrical Power System Security

Abstract

Automation in power systems has a very long tradition. Nowadays automatic generation control and sophisticated communication devices are equipped with most of power plants, and sensors are placed throughout electricity networks to collect real-time information, all to ensure power system security. However, due to the physical requirement of continuous balancing of electricity supply and demand, ensuring the security of power systems calls for planning and operation processes that are inherently of multiple temporal scales, ranging from a decade to a millisecond. In addition, while traditional power systems are operated in a centralized fashion, with bulk, dispatchable fossil fuel plants being the main generation resources, the recent development of renewable energy and various demand-side resources is reshaping power systems with more uncertainty and less controllability. This chapter aims to provide a high-level overview of power system planning and operation to ensure their security, with a focus on their multi-scale nature, and how they adapt to meet the emerging challenges.