Q-v Curve Interpretations of Energy Measures for Voltage Security

Energy methods have shown promise as measures for quantifying the vulnerability of power systems to problems of voltage instability and collapse. However, to make such measures more useful as a security assessment tool in an operational environment, it is important to provide physical interpretations of the quantitative measure. This paper will demonstrate that for certain basic load models, the energy based security measure is equal to the area enclosed by a familiar Q-V curve, with a change of scale on the voltage axis. This interpretation has the added benefit of providing easily computed approximations to the maximum real and reactive power loadability both at individual buses and for the system as a whole. Results are demonstrated in detail on the IEEE 118 bus system, with additional tests on a 415 bus sample system.