A Simple and Novel Tuning Technique for Load Frequency Control in a Multi-Area Microgrid System

A simple and novel analytical tuning technique for load frequency control (LFC) problem is presented in this work. The controllers used in work are conventional fixed parameter PID controllers. Their parameters are evaluated using the most reliable and famous Ziegler-Nichols (ZN) method. The frequencies of each area in a multi-area network as well as the tie-line power get fluctuated due to a slight unexpected load shift in any of the control areas. Further, frequency variations have direct negative influence on the operation, stability, reliability, and efficiency of a power system. Frequency needs to be essentially constant for a power system to operate effectively. Using LFC, an interrelated system can return the frequency of each area and the tie line powers to desired values even with an unexpected load variation. This can be accomplished by usage of a properly tuned controllers like PID controllers. A system model has been constructed in MATLAB/SIMULINK domain. The results from the studied system with ZN-tuned PID controller are compared with that of without PID controller. From the result analysis, the transient performances of studied system with ZN-based PID controller are found to be better than that of without controller case.