Tracing the flow of electricity

Continuing trend towards deregulation and unbundling of transmission services has resulted in the need to assess what the impact of a particular generator or load is on the power system. A new method of tracing the flow of electricity in meshed electrical networks is proposed which may be applied to both real and reactive power flows. The method allows assessment of how much of the real and reactive power output from a particular station goes to a particular load. It also allows the assessment of contributions of individual generators (or loads) to individual line flows. A loss-apportioning algorithm has also been introduced which allows the break down of the total transmission loss into components to be allocated to individual loads or generators. The method can be useful in providing additional insight into power system operation and can be used to modify existing tariffs of charging for transmission loss, reactive power and transmission services.