A Multi-Source Power System’s Load Frequency Control Utilizing Particle Swarm Optimization

Abstract

Electrical power networks consist of numerous energy control zones connected by tie-lines, with the addition of nonconventional sources resulting in considerable variations in tie-line power and frequency. Under these circumstances, a load frequency control (LFC) loop gives constancy and security to interconnected power systems (IPSs) by supplying all consumers with high-quality power at a nominal frequency and tie-line power change. This article proposes employing a proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller to effectively control the frequency in a one-area multi-source power network comprising thermal, solar, wind, and fuel cells and in a thermal two-area tie-line IPS. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique was utilized to tune the PID controller parameters, with the integral time absolute error being utilized as an objective function. The efficacy and stability of the PSO-PID controller methodology were further tested in various scenarios for proposed networks. The frequency fluctuations associated with the one-area multi-source power source and with the two-area tie-line IPS’s area 1 and area 2 frequency variations were 59.98 Hz, 59.81 Hz, and 60 Hz, respectively, and, in all other investigated scenarios, they were less than that of the traditional PID controller. The results clearly show that, in terms of frequency responses, the PSO-PID controller performs better than the conventional PID controller.