An MPC-based Approach for Emergency Control ensuring Transient Stability in Power Grids with Steam Plants

This paper proposes a novel methodology for emergency control acting on the mechanical power in a power grid containing steam power generators that experiences a contingency. The control strategy is based on the Model Predictive Control (MPC), a model-based control that is widely adopted for the regulation of linear and nonlinear dynamical systems in various fields of application. The MPC is applied in a decentralized formulation, where only local measurements are necessary. The performances of the proposed control strategy are assessed by means of simulations on a Western Electricity Coordinating Council test case network and on the 39-Bus New England network. The results highlight both the good behavior of the MPC control technique, even in conditions that traditional emergency control would not support, and the robustness of the proposed structure against power system modeling approximations.