Published Paper Details:

Available transfer capability (ATC) is a metric in power systems that determines the maximum amount of incremental power that can be transferred between two parts (usually seller and buyer) of the underlying power system without crossing any system thresholds. It is evaluated using 3 major metrics; i.e.; total transfer capability (TTC), transmission reliability margin (TRM) and existing transmission commitments. In order to determine these parameters, various methods are proposed by researchers, some of these methods are applicable to large-scale grids, while others work effectively for small-to-medium grid deployments. In order to deploy a customized grid with effective ATC calculations, it is recommended that power system designers must select an optimum combination of these methods. For instance, the Single Linear Step (SL) approach uses present state system information along with sensitivities embodied in the power transfer distribution factors (PTDF) and line outage distribution factors (LODF) in order to determine ATC values. The SL method is applicable only for small-scale power distribution systems but can be extended via Iterated Linear Step (IL) method to incorporate controller changes for large-scale systems. As system complexity increases, it becomes difficult to select the best method out of the given methods for ATC calculations. In order to reduce this complexity, the underlying text reviews different ATC calculation methods and compares their statistical performance. Using this study, power system designers can identify the most suited methods for their system deployment, and thus save time and cost for testing out a different method.