Rapid Frequency Response From Smart Loads in Great Britain Power System

Abstract

Flexibility in certain types of loads could be exploited to provide fast and controllable power reserve if the supply voltage/frequency is controlled using existing power electronic interfaces (e.g., motor drives) or additional ones like recently proposed electric springs. Such a load together with its power electronic interface forms a so called smart load. Effectiveness of static smart loads for primary frequency response provision has been shown in the previous papers through case studies on a segment of the low voltage/medium voltage (LV/MV) distribution network. In this paper, collective contribution of both static and motor type smart loads to rapid frequency response provision is demonstrated through a case study on the Great Britain (GB) transmission system. The active power reserve available from such smart loads are quantified and aggregated at each node at the transmission level (275/400 kV). The study shows that the smart loads collectively offer a short-term power reserve which is comparable to the spinning reserve in the GB system, and thus can ensure acceptable frequency deviation and its rate of change following a large infeed loss.