Cut-set and Stability Constrained Optimal Power Flow for Resilient Operation During Wildfires

TL;DR

This work tackles resilient power system operation under active wildfires, where fire-induced arc-faults and outages create static and dynamic insecurities. It introduces CSCOPF, a convex optimal power-flow framework that couples a Feasibility Test (FT) for cut-set desaturation with a data-driven Transient Stability Constraint Predictor (TSCP) to estimate the transient stability correction factor (TSCF) via $\Delta \hat{P}_{tr} = \sum_{j\in L} \theta_j l_j + \theta_0$, trained through mean-squared error minimization. The approach operates in two stages: a day-ahead TSCP training phase and a real-time CSCOPF stage that uses a warm-start from economic dispatch to yield fast, secure redispatch with minimal or zero load shedding, as demonstrated on the IEEE 118-bus system. Results show CSCOPF can mitigate both saturated cut-sets and transient instabilities with an acceptable incremental cost, offering a practical path toward wildfire-resilient grid operations and informing utility decision-making during extreme weather events.

Abstract

Resilient operation of the power system during ongoing wildfires is challenging because of the uncertain ways in which the fires impact the electric power infrastructure (multiple arc-faults, complete melt-down). To address this challenge, we propose a novel cut-set and stability-constrained optimal power flow (OPF) that quickly mitigates both static and dynamic insecurities as wildfires progress through a region. First, a Feasibility Test (FT) algorithm that quickly desaturates overloaded cut-sets to prevent cascading line outages is integrated with the OPF problem. Then, the resulting formulation is combined with a data-driven transient stability analyzer that predicts the correction factors for eliminating dynamic insecurities. The proposed model considers the possibility of generation rescheduling as well as load shed. The results obtained using the IEEE 118-bus system indicate that the proposed approach alleviates vulnerability of the system to wildfires while minimizing operational cost.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: CSCOPF overview
• Figure 2: CSCOPF redispatch schedule
• Figure 3: Rotor angle stability for the IEEE 118-bus system