Research

Review of Defence Plans in Europe: Current Status, Strengths and Opportunities

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Abstract

In recent years the European power system has changed significantly, causing the system to be operated closer to the limits. The transition to more renewable generation is causing power injections at different locations from conventional generation. Secondly the integration of the internal electricity market is causing an increase in flows on interconnections between different areas of the European power system. Furthermore the time needed to construct new infrastructure pushes Transmission System Operators (TSOs) to better utilize the installed infrastructure. As the power system is strongly interconnected, a contingency in one area can affect the whole power system and possibly lead to a wide area black out. Therefore adequate defence plans need to be designed and in place to handle these situations. This paper starts with an overview of the terminology used in defence plans. Subsequently the current status of defence plans in Europe and the preferred sequence of actions to mitigate contingencies, is given based on a survey conducted among several European TSOs. Furthermore his paper gives an overview of how the ongoing changes with renewables, phasor measurement units (PMUs), power flow controlling devices and demand side response can affect the adequacy of defence plans.