Applying Optimal Sliding Mode Based Load-Frequency Control in Power Systems with Controllable Hydro Power Plants

In this paper an optimal load-frequency controller for a nonlinear power system is proposed. The mathematical model of the power system consists of one area with several power plants, a few concentrated loads and a transmission network, along with simplified models of the neighbouring areas. Firstly, a substitute linear model is derived, with its parameters being identified from the responses of the nonlinear model. That model is used for load-frequency control (LFC) algorithm synthesis, which is based on discrete-time sliding mode control. Due to a non-minimum phase behaviour of hydro power plants, full-state feedback sliding mode controller must be used. Therefore, an estimation method based on fast output sampling is proposed for estimating the unmeasured system states and disturbances. Finally, the controller parameters are optimized using a genetic algorithm. Simulation results show that the proposed control algorithm with the proposed estimation technique can be used for LFC in a nonlinear power system.