A wide area synchronous grid (also called an "interconnection" in North America) is a three-phase electric power grid that has regional scale or greater that operates at a synchronized utility frequency and is electrically tied together during normal system conditions. Also known as synchronous zones, the most powerful is the Northern Chinese State Grid with 1,700 gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity, while the widest region served is that of the IPS/UPS system serving most countries of the former Soviet Union. Synchronous grids with ample capacity facilitate electricity trading across wide areas. In the ENTSO-E in 2008, over 350,000 megawatt hours were sold per day on the European Energy Exchange (EEX). [1]
Neighbouring interconnections with the same frequency and standards can be synchronized and directly connected to form a larger interconnection, or they may share power without synchronization via high-voltage direct current power transmission lines (DC ties), solid-state transformers or variable-frequency transformers (VFTs), which permit a controlled flow of energy while also functionally isolating the independent AC frequencies of each side. Each of the interconnects in North America is synchronized at a nominal 60 Hz, while those of Europe run at 50 Hz.
The benefits of synchronous zones include pooling of generation, resulting in lower generation costs; pooling of load, resulting in significant equalizing effects; common provisioning of reserves, resulting in cheaper primary and secondary reserve power costs; opening of the market, resulting in possibility of long term contracts and short term power exchanges; and mutual assistance in the event of disturbances. [2]
One disadvantage of a wide-area synchronous grid is that problems in one part can have repercussions across the whole grid.
Wide area synchronous networks improve reliability and permit the pooling of resources. Also, they can level out the load, which reduces the required generating capacity, allow more environmentally-friendly power to be employed; allow more diverse power generation schemes and permit economies of scale. [3]
Wide area synchronous networks cannot be formed if the two networks to be linked are running at different frequencies or have significantly different standards. For example, in Japan, for historical reasons, the northern part of the country operates on 50 Hz, but the southern part uses 60 Hz. That makes it impossible to form a single synchronous network, which was problematic when the Fukushima Daiichi plant melted down.
Also, even when the networks have compatible standards, failure modes can be problematic. Phase and current limitations can be reached, which can cause widespread outages. The issues are sometimes solved by adding HVDC links within the network to permit greater control during off-nominal events.
As was discovered in the California electricity crisis, there can be strong incentives among some market traders to create deliberate congestion and poor management of generation capacity on an interconnection network to inflate prices. Increasing transmission capacity and expanding the market by uniting with neighbouring synchronous networks make such manipulations more difficult.
In a synchronous grid, all the generators naturally lock together electrically and run at the same frequency, and stay very nearly in phase with each other. For rotating generators, a local governor regulates the driving torque and helps maintain a more or less constant speed as loading changes. Droop speed control ensures that multiple parallel generators share load changes in proportion to their rating. Generation and consumption must be balanced across the entire grid because energy is consumed as it is produced. Energy is stored in the immediate short term by the rotational kinetic energy of the generators.
Small deviations from the nominal system frequency are very important in regulating individual generators and assessing the equilibrium of the grid as a whole. When the grid is heavily loaded, the frequency slows, and governors adjust their generators so that more power is output (droop speed control). When the grid is lightly loaded the grid frequency runs above the nominal frequency, and this is taken as an indication by Automatic Generation Control systems across the network that generators should reduce their output.
In addition, there's often central control, which can change the parameters of the AGC systems over timescales of a minute or longer to further adjust the regional network flows and the operating frequency of the grid.
Where neighbouring grids, operating at different frequencies, need to be interconnected, a frequency converter is required. HVDC Interconnectors, solid-state transformers or variable-frequency transformers links can connect two grids that operate at different frequencies or that are not maintaining synchronism.
Inertia in a synchronous grid is stored energy that a grid has available which can provide extra power for up to a few seconds to maintain the grid frequency. Historically, this was provided only by the angular momentum of the generators, and gave the control circuits time to adjust their output to variations in loads, and sudden generator or distribution failures.
Inverters connected to HVDC usually have no inertia, but wind power can provide inertia, and solar and battery systems can provide synthetic inertia. [4] [5]
In short circuit situations, it's important for a grid to be able to provide sufficient current to keep the voltage and frequency reasonably stable until circuit breakers can resolve the fault. Many traditional generator systems had wires which could be overloaded for very short periods without damage, but inverters are not as able to deliver multiple times their rated load. The short circuit ratio can be calculated for each point on the grid, and if it is found to be too low, for steps to be taken to increase it to be above 1, which is considered stable.
For timekeeping purposes, over the course of a day the operating frequency will be varied so as to balance out deviations and to prevent line-operated clocks from gaining or losing significant time by ensuring there are 4.32 million on 50 Hz, and 5.184 million cycles on 60 Hz systems each day.
This can, rarely, lead to problems. In 2018 Kosovo used more power than it generated due to a row with Serbia, leading to the phase in the whole synchronous grid of Continental Europe lagging behind what it should have been. The frequency dropped to 49.996 Hz. Over time, this caused synchronous electric clocks to become six minutes slow until the disagreement was resolved. [6]
Name | Countries | Covers/Notes | Organization/Company | Generation capacity | Yearly generation | Year/Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northern Chinese State Grid | China | Northern China | State Grid Corporation of China | 1700 GW | 5830 TWh | 2020 [7] |
Continental Europe (UCTE) | EU (minus Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and Eastern Denmark) Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro North Macedonia Kosovo Serbia Switzerland Morocco Algeria Tunisia Turkey Ukraine Moldova | 24 European countries, serving 450 million | ENTSO-E. | 859 GW | 2569 TWh | 2017 [8] |
Eastern Interconnection | United States Canada | Eastern US (except most of Texas) and eastern Canada (except Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador) | 610 GW | 1380 TWh | 2017[ citation needed ] | |
Indian National Grid | India | Serving over 1.4 billion people | Power Grid Corporation of India | 425 GW | 1844 TWh | 2023[ citation needed ] |
IPS/UPS | Russia Belarus Estonia Latvia Lithuania Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Georgia Azerbaijan Mongolia | 11 countries of former Soviet Union serving 240 million | 337 GW | 1285 TWh | 2005 [9] [10] | |
China Southern Power Grid | China | Chinese southern grid | 320 GW | 1051 TWh | 2019 [11] | |
Western Interconnection | United States Canada Mexico | Western US, western Canada, and northern Baja California in Mexico | 265 GW | 883 TWh | 2015 [12] | |
National Interconnected System (SIN) | Brazil | Electricity sector in Brazil | 150 GW | 410 TWh (2007)[ citation needed ] | 2016 | |
Synchronous grid of Northern Europe | Norway Sweden Finland Denmark | Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden-except Gotland, Norway and Eastern Denmark) serving 25 million people | 93 GW | 390 TWh | [ citation needed ] | |
National Grid (Great Britain) | United Kingdom | Great Britain's synchronous zone, serving 65 million | National Grid plc | 83 GW (2018) [13] | 336 TWh | 2017 [13] |
Iran National Grid | Iran Armenia Turkmenistan | Iran and Armenia, serving 84 million people | 82 GW | 2019 [14] | ||
Southern African Power Pool | Angola Botswana Democratic Republic of the Congo Eswatini Lesotho Mozambique Malawi Namibia South Africa Tanzania Zambia Zimbabwe | SAPP serves 9 out of 12 SADC countries and small regions of Angola, Malawi, and Tanzania | 80.9 GW | 289 TWh | 2020 [15] | |
Texas Interconnection | United States | Most of Texas; serves 24 million customers | Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) | 78 GW | 352 TWh (2016) [16] | 2018 [17] |
National Electricity Market | Australia | Australia's States and Territories except for Western Australia and the Northern Territory (Tasmania is part of it but not synchronised) | National Electricity Market | 50 GW | 196 TWh | 2018 [18] |
Quebec Interconnection | Canada | Quebec | Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie | 42 GW | 184 TWh | [ citation needed ] |
Java-Madura-Bali System (JAMALI) | Indonesia | JAMALI System serves 7 provinces (West, East, and Central Java, Banten, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Bali), serving 49.4 million customers. (Part of ASEAN Power Grid project) | PLN | 40.1 GW (2020) [19] | 163 TWh (2017) [20] | 2021 |
Argentine Interconnection System | Argentina | Argentina except Tierra del Fuego | 39.7 GW | 129 TWh | 2019 [21] | |
National Electrical System | Chile | Main Chilean grid | 31.7 GW | 75.8 TWh | 2022 [22] | |
Sumatera System | Indonesia | Sumatera System serves 8 provinces (North, West, South Sumatera, Aceh, Bengkulu, Lampung, Jambi, and Riau) and Bangka Island, serving 17 million customers. (Part of ASEAN Power Grid project) | PLN | 14.7 GW (2020) [23] | 32.1 TWh (2016) [23] | 2022 [24] |
Irish Grid | Ireland United Kingdom | Ireland and Northern Ireland. | EirGrid | 7.3 GW (2022) [25] | 29.6 TWh | 2020 [26] |
SIEPAC | Panama Costa Rica Honduras Nicaragua El Salvador Guatemala | The Central American Electrical Interconnection System serves Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama | 6.7 GW | 2020 [27] | ||
Khatulistiwa System | Malaysia Indonesia | Sarawak state and the northwestern part of West Kalimantan (Part of ASEAN Power Grid project) | Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities/Authorities (HAPUA) | 5.5 GW | 2017[ citation needed ] | |
South West Interconnected System | Australia | Western Australia | 4.3 GW | 17.3 TWh | 2016 [28] |
A partial table of some of the larger interconnections.
Historically, on the North American power transmission grid the Eastern and Western Interconnections were directly connected, and was at the time largest synchronous grid in the world, but this was found to be unstable, and they are now only DC interconnected. [29]
Interconnectors such as High-voltage direct current lines, solid-state transformers or variable-frequency transformers can be used to connect two alternating current interconnection networks which are not necessarily synchronized with each other. This provides the benefit of interconnection without the need to synchronize an even wider area. For example, compare the wide area synchronous grid map of Europe (in the introduction) with the map of HVDC lines (here to the right). Solid state transformers have larger losses than conventional transformers, but DC lines lack reactive impedance and overall HVDC lines have lower losses sending power over long distances within a synchronous grid, or between them.
The Tres Amigas SuperStation aims to enable energy transfers and trading between the Eastern Interconnection and Western Interconnection using 30GW HVDC Interconnectors.
Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a transmission network. This is distinct from the local wiring between high-voltage substations and customers, which is typically referred to as electric power distribution. The combined transmission and distribution network is part of electricity delivery, known as the electrical grid.
Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electricity. Electricity is carried from the transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and lower the transmission voltage to medium voltage ranging between 2 kV and 33 kV with the use of transformers. Primary distribution lines carry this medium voltage power to distribution transformers located near the customer's premises. Distribution transformers again lower the voltage to the utilization voltage used by lighting, industrial equipment and household appliances. Often several customers are supplied from one transformer through secondary distribution lines. Commercial and residential customers are connected to the secondary distribution lines through service drops. Customers demanding a much larger amount of power may be connected directly to the primary distribution level or the subtransmission level.
The electric power industry covers the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electric power to the general public and industry. The commercial distribution of electric power started in 1882 when electricity was produced for electric lighting. In the 1880s and 1890s, growing economic and safety concerns lead to the regulation of the industry. What was once an expensive novelty limited to the most densely populated areas, reliable and economical electric power has become an essential aspect for normal operation of all elements of developed economies.
The utility frequency, (power) line frequency or mains frequency is the nominal frequency of the oscillations of alternating current (AC) in a wide area synchronous grid transmitted from a power station to the end-user. In large parts of the world this is 50 Hz, although in the Americas and parts of Asia it is typically 60 Hz. Current usage by country or region is given in the list of mains electricity by country.
The National Grid is the high-voltage electric power transmission network supporting the UK's electricity market, connecting power stations and major substations, and ensuring that electricity generated anywhere on the grid can be used to satisfy demand elsewhere. The network serves the majority of Great Britain and some of the surrounding islands. It does not cover Northern Ireland, which is part of the Irish single electricity market.
Railway electrification using alternating current (AC) at 15 kilovolts (kV) and 16.7 hertz (Hz) are used on transport railways in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway. The high voltage enables high power transmission with the lower frequency reducing the losses of the traction motors that were available at the beginning of the 20th century. Globally, railway electrification in late 20th century tends to use 25 kV, 50 Hz AC systems which has become the preferred standard for new railway electrifications. Nevertheless, local extensions of the existing 15 kV network is commonplace. In particular, the Gotthard Base Tunnel uses 15 kV, 16.7 Hz electrification.
A variable-frequency transformer (VFT) is used to transmit electricity between two alternating current frequency domains. The VFT is a relatively recent development. Most asynchronous grid inter-ties use high-voltage direct current converters, while synchronous grid inter-ties are connected by lines and "ordinary" transformers, but without the ability to control power flow between the systems, or with phase-shifting transformers with some flow control.
The Texas Interconnection is an alternating current (AC) power grid – a wide area synchronous grid – that covers most of the state of Texas. The grid is managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
The Western Interconnection is a wide area synchronous grid and one of the two major alternating current (AC) power grids in the North American power transmission grid. The other major wide area synchronous grid is the Eastern Interconnection. The minor interconnections are the Québec Interconnection, the Texas Interconnection, and the Alaska Interconnections.
A black start is the process of restoring an electric power station, a part of an electric grid or an industrial plant, to operation without relying on the external electric power transmission network to recover from a total or partial shutdown.
The synchronous grid of Continental Europe is the second largest synchronous electrical grid in the world. It is interconnected as a single phase-locked 50 Hz mains frequency electricity grid that supplies over 400 million customers in 24 countries, including most of the European Union. In 2009, 667 GW of production capacity was connected to the grid, providing approximately 80 GW of operating reserve margin. The transmission system operators operating this grid formed the Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE), now part of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E).
An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids consist of power stations, electrical substations to step voltage up or down, electric power transmission to carry power over long distances, and finally electric power distribution to customers. In that last step, voltage is stepped down again to the required service voltage. Power stations are typically built close to energy sources and far from densely populated areas. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. From small to large there are microgrids, wide area synchronous grids, and super grids. The combined transmission and distribution network is part of electricity delivery, known as the power grid.
The IPS/UPS is a wide area synchronous transmission grid of some CIS countries, with a common mode of operation and centralized supervisory control. It has an installed generation capacity of 300 gigawatts, and produces 1,200 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year for its 280 million customers. The system spans eight time zones.
A super grid or supergrid is a wide-area transmission network, generally trans-continental or multinational, that is intended to make possible the trade of high volumes of electricity across great distances. It is sometimes also referred to as a "mega grid". Super grids typically are proposed to use high-voltage direct current (HVDC) to transmit electricity long distances. The latest generation of HVDC power lines can transmit energy with losses of only 1.6% per 1,000 km.
Ancillary services are the services necessary to support the transmission of electric power from generators to consumers given the obligations of control areas and transmission utilities within those control areas to maintain reliable operations of the interconnected transmission system.
Inertial response is a property of large synchronous generators, which contain large synchronous rotating masses, and which acts to overcome any immediate imbalance between power supply and demand for electric power systems, typically the electrical grid. Due to the ever existing power imbalance between mechanical power supply and electric power demand the rotational frequency of the rotating masses in all synchronous generators in the grid either speed up and thus absorb the extra power in case of an excess power supply, or slow down and provide additional power in case of an excess power demand. This response in case of a synchronous generator is built-in into the design and happens without any external intervention or coordination, providing the automatic generation control and the grid operator with valuable time to rebalance the system The grid frequency is the combined result of the detailed motions of all individual synchronous rotors in the grid, which are modeled by a general equation of motion called the swing equation.
The electrical power grid that powers Northern America is not a single grid, but is instead divided into multiple wide area synchronous grids. The Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection are the largest. Three other regions include the Texas Interconnection, the Quebec Interconnection, and the Alaska Interconnection. Each region delivers power at a nominal 60 Hz frequency.
The National Grid is the high-voltage electricity transmission network in India, connecting power stations and major substations and ensuring that electricity generated anywhere in India can be used to satisfy demand elsewhere. The National Grid is owned, and maintained by state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India and operated by state-owned Power System Operation Corporation. It is one of the largest operational synchronous grids in the world with 417.68 GW of installed power generation capacity as of 31 May 2023.
Synchronverters or virtual synchronous generators are inverters which mimic synchronous generators (SG) to provide "synthetic inertia" for ancillary services in electric power systems. Inertia is a property of standard synchronous generators associated with the rotating physical mass of the system spinning at a frequency proportional to the electricity being generated. Inertia has implications towards grid stability as work is required to alter the kinetic energy of the spinning physical mass and therefore opposes changes in grid frequency. Inverter-based generation inherently lacks this property as the waveform is being created artificially via power electronics.
In an electrical grid, the short circuit ratio is the ratio of: the short circuit apparent power (SCMVA) in the case of a line-line-line-ground (3LG) fault at the location in the grid where some generator is connected, to: the power rating of the generator itself (GMW).