Multistability in lossy power grids and oscillator networks

Abstract

Networks of phase oscillators are studied in various contexts, in particular, in the modeling of the electric power grid. A functional grid corresponds to a stable steady state such that any bifurcation can have catastrophic consequences up to a blackout. Also, the existence of multiple steady states is undesirable as it can lead to transitions or circulatory flows. Despite the high practical importance there is still no general theory of the existence and uniqueness of steady states in such systems. Analytic results are mostly limited to grids without Ohmic losses. In this article, we introduce a method to systematically construct the solutions of the real power load-flow equations in the presence of Ohmic losses and explicitly compute them for tree and ring networks. We investigate different mechanisms leading to multistability and discuss the impact of Ohmic losses on the existence of solutions.