A novel efficient model for the power flow analysis of power systems

The overall system status calculated by power flow analysis is the most basic information used for all decisions taken by power system operators and planners. While conventional AC power flow solutions are computationally tractable, approximate DC models are employed in many applications, such as optimal power flow studies and unit commitment problems, mainly due to the linear nature of DC models. These models do not provide any information on the reactive power and voltage magnitude quantities and occasionally inaccurate results of the active power values. This paper presents an efficient power flow approach compromising both the conflicting aspects of speed and accuracy. The proposed model adopts bus voltage magnitudes and phase angles as state variables. Given the nonlinear nature of transmission system losses, an iterative method for solving the problem is proposed. Simulation results reveal that the proposed method outperforms conventional methods from an execution time viewpoint, while preserving acceptable accuracy. Different system conditions are also investigated to reveal the robustness and reliability of the proposed model.