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Area Control
Area Control
Solving and Simulating a Case > Solution and Control > Area Control
Area Control
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One of the most important aspects of interconnected power system operation is the requirement that each
operating area changes its total generation to match changes in the sum of its load plus losses plus power
transactions with other areas. This requirement is normally met by Automatic Generation Control (AGC). The
purpose of AGC is to ensure that the actual MW output of an area is equal to the scheduled MW output of the
area. The AGC system accomplishes this by first calculating the Area Control Error (ACE), which is defined as
ACE = Pactual - Pscheduled
In Simulator, Pscheduled for an area is made up of the Area’s MW Transactions and the Area’s Unspecified MW
Export. MW Transactions represent the transfer of power between two areas in the power system. This transaction is
done presumably under a contract between the two areas. The advantage of using MW transactions to describe
these is that it ensures that the total export of all areas is consistent: if one area is exporting 100 then another area
is automatically importing that power. However, each area also specifies a value called the Unspecified MW Export
which can be entered on the Area Information Dialog. The unspecified MW export represents an export of power
from the area that goes to an unspecified other area. When using unspecified MW exports, it is important that the
total unspecified MW exports in the system sum to zero. PowerWorld highly recommends that care be taken when
using unspecified exports.
Whenever the ACE is greater than zero, it means that the area is over generating and thus needs either to decrease
generation or to sell more. Likewise, whenever the ACE is less than zero, the area is under generating and thus
needs either to increase generation or to buy more. AGC works to keep the ACE close to zero.
In addition, you can also enter piecewise linear curves directly instead of the cubic cost curve models. In fact, a
mixture of piecewise linear and cubic models is acceptable. For the economic dispatch routine, whichever type of
model is entered will be used directly for each generator. For the OPF routine, all piecewise linear curves entered
directly will be used as is, and any cubic models entered will be converted to piecewise linear curves internally
during the processing of the OPF algorithm.