POWER SYSTEM FREQUENCY CONTROL

M. S. R. Murty

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Frequency and Voltage are two important parameters that are to be regulated closely. All electrical
equipment is designed for specified frequency and voltage. Any variations in these parameters will
affect the performance of the equipment.

The operating frequency in India is 50 Hz. Fall in frequency below certain value can drastically affect
the performance turbines in the power plants and the motors. Similarly higher frequency values affect
the last stage turbine blades and all electrical loads.

As per Indian Electricity Rules, 1956 frequency of the system shall be 50.0 Hz and shall normally be
controlled within the limits. The grid codes specify the permissible limits on voltage and frequency.
Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC) specifies that all possible efforts should be made to ensure that the
grid frequency remains always within the band of 49.0 Hz to 50.5 Hz. When frequency falls below
49.0Hz, spare generation capacity (if available) should be utilized and if required steps are to be taken
requisite load shedding to restore frequency.

2.0 FREQUENCY VARIATION

In a power system ‘generation’ and ‘load’ should always be in balance. Any mismatch in generation
and load results in change in frequency. The power system is in dynamic state and load varies
continuously, though slowly and randomly.

The variations in frequency are continuously corrected by the automatic controls provided. These
automatic control systems control the power generation by the power plants.

The instantaneous variation in frequency can be described by the following differential equation:

Pgen - Pload = [ 1 / 2 Hsystem ]* [df/dt]

Hsystem represents the total rotating ‘inertia’ of the system that includes inertias of generators and
motors.

Whenever Pload (load power) changes frequency ( f) changes Pgen has to be changed by the
automatic controls to match with the changed Pload. This process is called ‘frequency regulation’.

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3.0 FREQUENCY REGULATION

Frequency regulation in a power system can be categorized as:

• Primary regulation

• Secondary regulation and

• Tertiary regulation

Set point Secondary regulation

AUTOMATIC ○

LOAD REQUENCY
To

Other Generator
Other m/c Total
Load
Power ○
Set point + GRID Area
○
+ -
Governor Turbine INERTIA Freq-
- + uency
○ + Total Generation
Frequency

Primary regulation
Fig. 1 AUTOMATIC POWER SYSTEM FRFEQUENCY CONTROL SYSTEM

The frequency in a power system area changes whenever there is a mismatch in the total generation
and the total load.

In primary regulation the variation in power system frequency is sensed by the governing systems of
prime movers and the power outputs of turbine- generators are adjusted, as shown in Fig. 1. But the
frequency does not get restored to the original value due to the ‘droop’ characteristic.

The set points of the governing systems of selected turbine- generators are adjusted to bring the
frequency back to the original value by the secondary regulation function.

The primary regulation acts immediately after a change in frequency is sensed and the secondary
regulation after few seconds.

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The generator values after the secondary regulation may not be the most economic generation
settings. The tertiary regulation looks into the optimum economic aspects and readjusts the
generation set points.

The secondary regulation is also called Automatic Generation Control (AGC).

4.0 PRIMARY REGULATION

The dynamic aspects of the primary regulation can be studied by considering isolated operation of a
turbine –generator unit. In the isolated operation any load change will cause a change in the speed (or
frequency) of the rotor. The governing system senses the change in speed and adjusts the control
valve (CV) opening in the case of a steam turbine- generator system as shown in the schematic
diagram in Fig. 2. There is a stop valve (SV) ahead of the control valve (CV) which will be closed in the
case of emergencies by the protection system.

SV SV : stop valve
Steam CV contr. valve
CV ST : steam turbine
G : generator

Grid
G
Reference GOVERNING
ST
Speed

Power

Fig. 2 STEAM TURBINE GOVERNING SCHEME

The governing system of a Francis hydro turbine is shown in Fig. 3, where the guide vane (or gate)

opening is adjusted by the governing system under primary regulation function.

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 Francis Turbine
Fig. 3 Hydro turbine Scheme

The speed/ frequency control in isolated operation can be represented by the functional block
diagram shown in Fig. 4.

Set Point
ROTOR S
POINT INERTIA P
+ - GOVERNOR TURBINE + ROTOR E
E
Valve / gate Load D
Mechanical
Mecha
Position Power
Power

Fig
Fig 42 GOVERNING
FUNCTIONALSYSTEM
BLOCK DIAGRAM
FUNCTIONAL
OF ISOLATED
BLOCK DIAGRAM
SYSTEM

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When load changes, speed of the turbine changes and the governor adjusts the valve (or gate in
hydro) opening automatically. The power output also changes in proportion to the valve opening.
The feed back control action goes on till mechanical power and load match. The dynamic performance
of the closed loop depends on various parameters like rotor inertia, turbine time constant and
governor settings. The governor settings are adjustable in operation in the electronic part of the
electro hydraulic governors (Fig. 5).

ELECTR
Speed E HYDRAULIC
ONIC
& MW H PART
PART Electro-hydraulic

Converter
· Sensing · Hydraulic Amplification

· Processing
· Primary · Actuation of Valve or Guide vane
Servomotor
Amplification

Fig 5 ELECTRO – HYDRAULIC GOVERNOR SCHEME

Regulation or droop characteristic

Whenever there is a mismatch in power, speed changes. As seen earlier, the governing system senses
this speed change and adjusts the gate opening which in turn changes power output. This action stops
once the power mismatch is made zero. But the speed error remains. What should be the change in
power output for a change in speed is decided by the ‘regulation’. If 4 % change in speed causes 100 %
change in power output, then the regulation is said to be 4 % (or in per unit 0.04).

The regulation can be expressed in the form of power – frequency characteristic as shown in Fig. 6. At
100 % load the generation is also 100 %, frequency (or speed) is also 100%. When load reduces
frequency increases, as generation remains the same. When load reduces by 50 %, frequency
increases by 2 %, in the characteristic shown. When load reduces by 100 %, frequency increases by 4
%. In other words 4 % rise in frequency should reduce power generation by 100 %. This 4 % is called
‘droop’ of 4 %. The characteristic is of ‘drooping’ type. Droop or regulation is an important parameter
in the frequency regulation. In thermal power plants droop value is generally 4 % or 5 %.

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Frequency
4% Drop
(Hz)

50

0% 50% 100% Load

Fig 6 REGULATION OR DROOP CHARACTERSTIC

In terms of control system steady state gain it is expressed as inverse of droop: gain of 25 in per unit
corresponds to 4 % (or 0.04 p.u) droop.

Governor insensitivity or dead band

Governor insensitivity or dead band is another important parameter in the primary regulation. The
governing system action depends on speed sensing. There is a minimum value of speed which cannot
be picked by the sensing mechanism and hence may remain uncorrected. This minimum value is called
governor insensitivity or dead band. The characteristic is shown in Fig. 7.

Valve

Opening

Speed frequency

Dead band or insensitive zone

Fig . 7 DEAD BAND CHARACTERISTIC

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Transient performance

The governing system, as noted earlier is a closed loop control system. Stability is an important
parameter in any feedback control system. Stability and speed of response depend on the signal
modifications done by various blocks in the loop. The closed loop gain depends on the individual block
gains and the adjustable gains provided in the speed controller and load controller. The gain at the
steady state and during the transient is important in deciding the performance. If the gain is not
proper there can be hunting in the system as shown in Fig. 8. Various parameters like speed, power,
gate opening and head will be oscillating continuously and may ultimately result in the trip of the
turbine.

Unstable

Speed

(%) Oscillatory

(Hunting)

Time (Sec)

Fig. 8 TYPICAL SPEED HUNTING TRANSIENT

Speed controller and load controller

In the era of mechanical- hydraulic governors (MHG), the control action is mainly proportional. That is
valve opening command is just proportional to the speed error. In the isolated operation where speed
control is active and in the inter connected operation where power output or MW only is controlled
same control action is present. In the electronic governors it has become easier to realize complex
control logic. Separate control actions are incorporated for speed control and load control, as shown
in Fig. 9.

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 SPEED
Speed +
CONTROLLER
Ref.
– SELECTION
VALVE
Speed
LOGIC
OPENING
LOAD
Load
CONTROLLER
Ref. +
–

Load

Fig 9 SPEED CONTROLLER AND LOAD CONTROLLER IN EHG

Speed control loop demands additional capability to dampen the speed oscillations. This is obtained
using so called proportional derivative (PD) controller. In this the valve opening command is
proportional to the rate of change (or derivative) of the error also. This can improve the dynamic
response considerably.

Load control loop deals only with MW error, which is obtained using a MW- transducer and is mainly a
proportional integral (PI) controller. This loop is active when the steam turbine generator is connected
to the grid. There is a selection logic which decides which control loop should prevail.

FREE GOVERNOR MODE OF OPERATION (FGMO)

When frequency changes in the grid, every TG unit reacts and adjusts its generation as dictated by
power frequency or droop characteristic. For instance when frequency falls by 0.1 %, generation has
to be increased by 20 % with droop of 5 %. In Indian situation most of the generating units operate at
their peak values and no additional generation is possible. With the result many units do not increase
their generation and load shedding is resorted to. In some cases, due to various operational reasons
generating companies do not like to their machines to respond, even though spare capacity is
available. Even when a generating unit has capacity to generate more, the governing is ‘bypassed’ or
‘blocked’. If most of the generating stations in a grid do not respond naturally, there is a danger of
grid becoming unstable.

In the Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC), it has been made mandatory for each generator to be
provided with capability to allow up to 105 % MCR (maximum continuous rating capacity) generation
whenever situation demands. This is called Free Governor Mode of operation (FGMO). It has been
reported that after introduction of FGMO, frequency profile has improved considerably.

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5.0 SECONDARY REGULATION

The responsibility of maintaining grid frequency is given to Automatic Load Frequency Control (ALFC)
system or automatic generation control (AGC) system. Whenever there is a mismatch between
generation and load in a grid or an area of a power system (such as Regional electricity Board in India),
the grid frequency varies and ALFC gives commands to adjust the generation through the governing
systems, as shown in Fig. 19. Due to the absence of thermal rate limits hydro units are preferred. The
governing system must respond quickly for such requests. The load controller of electro hydraulic
turbine control system has provision for such interfacing.

Fig. 10 Power System: Basic Control structures [ Ref. ]

Due to the combined action of primary regulation and secondary regulation, the power system
frequency is controlled. A typical frequency response when there is a sudden load increase is shown in
Fig. 11 (Ref. 2).

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 Fig 11 Typical frequency variation in a power system with AGC

The AGC must maintain system frequency and also maintain scheduled exports. In addition signals
are provided to generators for Economic dispatch (ED) and Security control (SC).

6.0 CONCLUSIONS

Power system frequency control is accomplished by primary regulation and secondary regulation.
Primary regulation depends on the characteristics and tuning parameters of the individual turbine
governor parameters. Free governor mode of operation (FGMO) where the governors will not be
restricted to respond automatically for frequency variations is essential. The secondary regulation
depends on the tuning constants of automatic generation control (AGC).

9.0 REFERENCES

1. Goran Andersson ‘Dynamics and Control of Electric Power Systems’ Lecture 227-0528-00, ITET ETH -
Power Systems Laboratory , Zurich, February 2009

2. B. J. Kirby ,’Frequency Control Concerns In The North American Electric Power System’, December
2002, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

3. Dr M S R Murty, ‘ Steam-Turbine-Governing-Systems-Overview’:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6152992/

4. Dr M. S. R. Murty, ‘Simulation-of-Governing-System-Using-Matlab-Simulink
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12859391/

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