Preventing System Separation and Enhancing Tie-line Transfer Limit Using Multiple Wide- Area Damping Controllers - Saudi Grid Case Study

This paper investigates the impact of multiple wide-area damping controllers (WADCs) on system separation and tie-line power transfer limit using the Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) for the Saudi power grid. The Saudi power grid full model in PSS/e is significantly reduced using the DYNRED tool while preserving the desired dynamic features. Then, the reduced model is converted from PSS/e format to RTDS format for real-time simulation. The WADCs are designed using a measurement-driven approach and integrated into the RTDS model, with the generator units (ex-citer and governor) in three selected power plants as the actuators. Finally, the WADCs are tested in the RTDS model under various contingencies, including an actual incident of a large amount generation trip that occurred in 2017 and resulted in system separation. The test results demonstrated that these WADCs can prevent the entire system from separation after large generation trip disturbances. Meanwhile, these WADCs can further enhance the power transfer limit of the tie-lines between the operation areas in the Saudi power grid.