To obtain these j terms, a2/(r/x), 0r2/(r/X) and Os, 00/(r/x), Oo/(r/x) and 0,/(r/x) read D. Goodrich, Jr.
Goodrich, Jr. AIER Transactions, vol. 70, pt.
and r2/(r/x) read from the chart are to be
multiplied by r/x. To include leakance,
rlx should be replaced wherever it occurs by
(r/x+g/b).
In Fig. 15, the magnitudes JAl and lal of
A and a respectively are seen to vary
slightly with rlx as the length of line (or
equivalent length 1) increases. For the
range considered, r is not affected by r/x.
The angles 0a, Oor, and Or are seen to vary
directly as r/x; therefore, 0a/(r/x), 0,/(r/x),
and 8,/(r/x) are given. To obtain O., G,
Automatic Calculation of Load Flows
A.MEMBER
F. GLIMN
AIEE
THIS PAPER PRESENTS the pro-
cedures developed by the authors
using a medium-sized digital computer,
(the International Business Machines Cor-
poration IBM 650), for the calculation of
the load flows necessary to the planning
of electric power systems. The computer
program utilizes the nodal method des-
cribed by Ward and Hale.1 This pro-
gram and the associated routines were
developed with the specific requirement
that an entire planning study could be
performed in a semiautomatic manner.
In addition, the paper presents the ex-
periences of the authors in conducting a
digital planning study of a subtrans-
mission system of moderate size, as well
as the experience gained in obtaining
supplemental cases for a study of a large
subtransmission system.
Although numerical methods of com-
puting load flows are not new, commercial
computers, now available, have stimu-
lated the development of programs for
this computation.14 In general, the
primary effort has been in the area of
developing computational methods and,
particularly for the nodal-type solution,
Paper 57-681, recommended by the ATEE System
Engineering Committee and the Computing
Devices Committee of the Communication and
Electronics Division and approved by the AIER
Technical Operations Department for presentation
at the AIEE Summer General Meeting, Montreal,
Que., Canada. June 24-28, 1957. Manuscript
submitted March 27, 1957; made available for
printing May 9, 1957.
A. F. GLIMN is with the General Electric Company,
Schenectady, N. Y., and G. W. STAGG iS with the
American Gas and Electric Service Corporation,
New York, N. Y.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribu-
tions to the development of the program of M. S.
Dyrkacz, P. J. Frumkin, R. Habermann, Jr., and
D. G. Lewis, all of General Electric Company,
Schenectady, N. Y. Thanks are due also to A. F.
Gabrielle, American Gas and Electric Service
Corporation, New York, N. Y., for his supervision
of the Roanoke study.
OCTOBER 195)7 Glimn, Stagg-Automatic Calculation of Load Flows
from the clhart are to be multiplied by r/x.
If leakance is to be included, r/x wherever
it occurs should be replaced by (r/x+g/b).
References
1. CIRCLE DIAGRAMS FOR TRANSMISSION SYSTBMS,
R. D. Evans, H. K. Sels. The Electric Journal,
East Pittsburgh, Pa., 1922, p. 550.
2. A UNIVERSAL POWBR CIRCLE DIAGRAM, Ralph
G. W. STAGG
ASSOCATE MEMBER AIEE
the developing of methods of improving
speed of convergence of the iterative so-
lution. From the results obtained in this
work as well as other studies conducted by
the authors, it appears that the time has
come to apply the computer to the cal-
culations required in conducting a com-
plete system study. It is expected that
further refinements in programming and
numerical techniques will yield only
moderate speed improvement for an in-
dividual load flow. Better economy in
the calculation of power system load
flows must therefore rely primarily upon
the use of higher speed and more eco-
nomical digital computers. The appli-
cation of more advanced computers to
this problem requires that several cases
be calculated successively without human
intervention in order to provide an eco-
nomic work load. The procedures de-
scribed in this paper form the initial steps
toward this goal.
Nodal Iterative Method
To determine the distribution of system
voltage, the nodal method utilizes the
criterion that the algebraic sum of the
current flow into each bus of the system is
zero. Once the correct voltage distri-
bution is obtained, the line flows and re-
maining terminal conditions can be cal-
culated. The general voltage equation
for this calculation at a typical bus p is
PP -jQP+ Y"2Eq
Ep_Ep
*
f (1)
The solution of a set of simultaneous
equations 1 (one equation for each bus
of the system except for the swing bus),
II, 1951, pp. 2042-49.
3. NEW TRANSmISsIoN-LiNE DIAGRAMS, A. C.
Schwager, P. Y. Wang. Ibid., vol. 64, Sept. 1945,
pp. 610-15.
4. SIMPLIFIED TRANSmiSsION LTNR CALCULATIONS,
Edith Clarke. General Electric Review, Schenec-
tady, N. Y., May 1926.
5. A PER-UNIT INTERPRETATION OF TRANSMIS-
SION LINE CONSTANTS, D. J. Povejail, A. A. Johnson.
AIEE Transactions, vol. 70, pt. I, 1951, pp. 194-
201.
6. STABILITY LIMITATIONS OF LONG-DISTANCE
A-C POWRR-TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS, Edith Clarke,
S. B. Crary. Ibid., vol. 60, 1941, pp. 1051-59.
is performed by the Gauss-Seidel itera-
tion method. The derivation of equa-
tion 1 and the definition of its terms are
shown in Appendix I.
The selection of the nodal approach
was dictated by the following advan-
tages:
1. The system is simple to code for
description to the digital computer.
2. The topology of the system may be
altered, and changes in terminal conditions
and tap settings can be made easily.
3. Little effort is required in the initial
data preparation.
4. Initial data are directly applicable for
the solution and does not require manual
or computer processing prior to the solution
of the first load flow.
General Features of Program
The computer program described in
this paper uses a bus-numbering system
to describe the configuration of busses,
transmission lines, and transformers of
the system. Parallel lines or transfor-
mers are tacitly assumed numbered al-
though no specific number need be as-
signed to these circuit facilities in the
description of the network to the com-
puter. Therefore the initial step in the
preparation for a digital study is the
numbering of each bus with the only re-
quirements being that the swing bus be
restricted to be number one and the re-
maining busses numbered consecutively.
Arrangements have been made in the
program for the direct use of power and
reactive, either generation or load, in
megawatts and megavars; bus voltages in
per unit, angles in degrees, and admit-
tances, (or impedances), in per unit on
100,000-kva base. The preparation of
these data is similar to the requirements
necessary to performing a study on the
a-c network analyzer.
Incorporated in the program is a means
of maintaining automatically the voltage
at specified busses. This type of control
will maintain the desired net megawatts
and desired voltage magnitude and will
817
calculate, at the conclusion of the itera,
tion process, the net megavar demand
to maintain this conditiou. In general,
this type of control is applicable to gen-
erator or synchronous condenser busses,
or wherever a continuous reactive supply
is available. For the remaining busses
the net megawatt and megavar demand
will be maintained and the voltage cal-
culated to satisfy this condition. Either
of these types of control may be applied,
if desired, to generator or synchronous
condenser busses. In addition to speci-
fying the voltages to be maintained,
approximate values of voltage for the re-
maining busses of the system are required
as starting values for the iterative method.
Approximate values of bus angles are also
required.
In order not to penalize the digital com-
puter because of its inherent precision,
provisions have been made to control the
tolerance to which the bus voltages are
calculated. A direct method of analyzing
the effect of the convergence tolerance is
provided by the caculation of the mis-
match of each bus of the system, i.e., the
difference between the desired and the
calculated megawatt and megavar de-
amd at each bus.
To ensure the correct setting of trans-
former taps and condenser outputs, se-
lected voltages are punched during the
iteration process in order that calculation
can be stopped if it is desired to revise the
settings.
Remarks on Speed and Convergence
The speed of solution of the digital
calculation must always be considered in
its relation to the precision required for a
particular load flow. For this reason, the
convergence tolerance of the program is
tp be specified by the study supervisor,
and he should select this tolerance care-
fully for each load flow.
For example, if during a line outage
case a particular bus voltage is collapsing
to a value lower than permissible limits,
there is no particular value in letting
such a solution proceed to a tight conver-
gence, i.e., a relatively high degree of
accuracy. On th.e other hand, it is un-
doubtedly desirable to perform base case
studies with rather tight convergence.
Reduction of the number of iterations
required to achieve convergence of the set
of voltages to desired precision has been
the subject of extensive work by many
investigators in this field. The Gauss-
Seidel iterative sceme can be improved
by several methods:
1. Acceleration of each voltage at each
iteration by linear acceleration factors.
818 Glimn, Stagg-Automatic Calculation of Load Flows
2. Periodic "blasting" of the voltages
toward solution by extrapolation processes.
3. Selective extrapolation of those voltages
retarding system convergence.
An unaccelerated solution is extremely
slow in convergence: of the order of
hundreds of iterations. The authors' ex-
perience is that methods 2 or 3 do not
apprecably improve the rate of conver-
gence when used alone. As a result,
method 1 is used alone in the present pro-
gram. Experimental work ineluding
method .2 or method 3 with method 1
showed no dramatic improvement, and
the conclusion was reached that such
improvement can better be accomplished
by improving the starting values of the
voltages to begin the iteration process.
No great effort need be expended in
estimating such starting values of volt-
age magnitudes and angles, for any broad
estimate of these quantities is better, for
example, than impressing all voltages at
equal magnitude and angle. The present
program will accept the converged values
of voltages of one load flow case as the
starting values of the next case.
Convergence is measured by the
absolute values of the changes in voltage
components for two successive iterations.
It should be stressed that this test is
not a true test of convergence. Ihe
voltage tolerance to which the solution
is converged will produce relatively
larger errors in the flow of lines having
relatively large admittances, since line
flows are calculated using the line's
admittance and the voltage difference
across the line. The acceptability of a
particular load flow solution is measured
more directly by the separate sums of
watts and vars into each bus (which are
similar to the network analyzer errors
obtained by sunming flows around the
bus). Further, if a line of large ad-
mittance terminates upon a bus where
other lines of relatively small admittance
terminate, the voltage convergence of
this bus will inherently be slow and
delay the convergence of the other busses
in the system. Hence, it is wise, if
possible, to avoid an extreme range of
admittances in a system, i.e., impedances
of the order 0.OOX per unit should be
rounded to either 0 or 0.01 if the great
bulk of line impedances are of order
O.OX or O.X.
Experience With Roanoke
Subtransmission System
To test the program thoroughly and
gain experience in performing a complete
load flow study, a planning study of the
Roanoke subtransmission system of the
American Gas and Electric Company
was performed at Schenectady in De-
eember 1956. The Roanoke area was
chosen primarily because it had not
been studied for several years and there-
fore required a study to develop a new
program of improvements for meeting
expected load growth. It was felt that
this provided an excellent opportunity
to test rigorously the ability of the
digital method to provide load flows in a
manner which would facilitate the plan-
ning of power systems.
The system studied initially consisted
of 30 busses and 42 lines, mainly 33-kv,
with 132-kv transmission represented as
necessary; see Fig. 1. The planning
study consisted of a study of performance
of the system under outages of various
facilities and addition of new facilities
as required by system growth. Detailed
study was given to the present operation
of the system, as well as to operation with
expected loads for 1958, 1961, 196, 1971,
and 1976, with expansion of subtrans-
mission at 33 kv and transmission at 132
and 345 kv. This study required 40
load flow cases and expanded the system
to 46 busses and 91 lines.
The preparation of necessary basic
data for the performance of a load flow
study is identical whether the study is
to be carried out on a network analyzer
or a digital computer. The information
required includes generation and voltage
schedules, terminal conditions, loads,
line impedances, line charging, capacitor
rating, available taps, and a systemn
diagram, as well as certain physical
data such as line, transformer, generator,
and condenser capacities required in
evaluating system performance and de-
ciding on need for additional facilities.
Two special forms were developed for
tabulating the basic data required in the
digital study. The format of these
sheets was chosen to facilitate the
punching of data on cards. In addition
to these forms for the basic data, a log
sheet was prepared also for keeping an
accurate record of cases and particular
system changes.
Prior to tabulating the data, however,
it is necessary to prepare a bus code
diagram for the digital study. This
amounts simply to numbering the busses
with the only restriction being that
bus 1 must be the swing machine. The
bus code diagram establishes storage
locations within the digital computer
for all the necessary data. This diagram,
Fig. 1, although very much simnpler, is
similar to the plugging diagram required
for the network analyzer.
The final step in the preparation of the
OCTOIBER 1957
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OCTOBER 1957 Glimn, Stagg-Automatic Calculation of Load Flows 819

 Table 1. Statistic-s Record, Roanoke Subtransmission System Planning Study
Absolute Mw* Bus Error Acceleration Factors
Year, Approximate Case No. of No. of Time, Voltage Number of
Peak Loads Type of Case Number Maximum Average Busses Lines Minutes Tolerance aa ab Iterations

(base. .~~~1.....0.85.....0.21 .....30 .....42.....12 .....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6 .....14

1956, 300 mw...... 2.....2.34.....0.37 .....30.....42 .....9.....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6 .....7
J3.....0.43.0... 0.8 .....30.....42 .....9.....0.0005 .....1.6.1....6 .....9
outage........4.....1.51.....0.22.....30 .....42.....10 .....0.0005 .....1.6.....166.....10
S.....0.35.....0.09 .....30.....42 .....12 .....0.0005.....166.....1.6 .....14
6.....1.42.....0.18 .....30 .....42.....10 .....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6..... 9
load change......7.....0.85.....0.21.....30 .....42.....19.....0.0005 .....1.6.....166.....22
outage. ....... 8.....0.72.....0.20.....30.....42 .....25.....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6 .....28
19..... .7 .....0.19 .....30 .....42.....12 .....0.0005 ... 1.6.. ....1.6 .....11
195. 20mw.....(10 ......0.90.....0.22 .....30.....44 .....14.....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6..... 13
1958,320mw ......0.93.....0.22..... 30.....44 .....13.....0.0005.....1.6.....1.6 .....14
j~~~~~~il
addition .
<....12......0.76.....0.18.....30 .....44.....1i2.....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6 .....13
.....12.....0.0005
13 .....0.84.....0.20 .....30.....44 .....1.6.....1.6 .....11
.14
.....0.76.....0.17 .....30 .....45.....15 .....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6 .....19
.....0.43.....0.09.....30.....43 .....14 .....0.0006 .....1.6.....1.6 .....13
outage........15
.....0.80.....0.22.....33 .....49 .....23.....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6 .....23
fload change.....16
.....0.76.....0.21.....33.....49 .....24.....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6 .....27
17
outage .......
I (18~~~is........
0.81.....0.25 .....33.....49 .....25.....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6 .....29
1961, 400 mw .....addition.......192.....1.06.....0.28 .....35.....54 .....19.....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.6 .....16
(20........ .0.31.....0.06.....35 .....54.....15 .....0.0005.....1.6.....1.6..... 8
outage .......21........ .0.53.....0.14.....35.....54
.....20 .....0.0005.....16 .....13
(22 ........ 0.33.....0.10.....35.....54 .....17 .....0.0005.....1.6.....1.7 .....11
6.1....7
addition.......23 .....0.23.....0.05.....35 .....57.....18 .....0.0005.....1. 6.....1.7 .....11
(load change. .24 .....0.97.....0.26.....40.....67 .....24 .....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.7 .....20
..

1966, 600 mw ..J.. addition.......25.....0.50.....0.10 .....40.....69 .....25 .....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.7 .....18

(26 .....0.93.....0.22 .....40..... 69 .....19...... 0.00005 .....16 .... 17......12
.~27 .....0.61.....0.13 .....40.....69 .....19 .....0.0005.....1.6.....17 .....11
~~outage
(28 .....0.57.....0.14 .....40 .....69.....22 .....0.0005.....166....177.....14
29 .....0.65.....0.17.....40 .....69.....20 .....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.7 .....13
lodcag. 30 .....1.18.....0.25 .....42.....80 .....25..... 0.0005 .....1.6.....1.7 .....19
1971870mw . addition ......32......1.41.....0.25.....42.......42
. 88 . 292 . 0.0005 17..... 19
.. 16 .....1. ..... 1
3......1.52.....0.26 .....42.....88 .....30 .....0.0005 .....1.6.....177.....17
outage...... 4.... .0....0 30.....42.....88 .....30 .....0.0005 .....1.6.....1.7 .....19
3......1.79.....0.30 .....42.....88 .....30. 0... 0005 .....1.6.....1.7 .....17
(load change. 36 .....1.00.....0.23.....46 .....89.....30 .....0.001 .....1.6.....1.7 .....16
~addition.......37 .....1.96.....0.19 .....46 .....92.....27.....0.001......1.6.....1.7 .....11
1976.1,250 mw ....outage .......38 .....175.....0.29 .....46.....92 .....22.....0001.MI.....16.....1.7.....11
addition.......39 .....2.16.....0.31 .....46.....93......26 .....0.001..... 1 6.....1.7 .....11
~outage........40
.....1.55.....0.18.....46.....93 .....29 .....0.001 .....16....1.7.....14
*Megawatt.

data for the digital study involves
punching the basic data on cards. All
the initial data for the Roanoke sub-
transmission study required 60 cards,
and required about 1 1/2 hours for the
preparation and checking. This final
step is akin somewhat to the plugging
and setting of network analyzer units.
The preparation of the cards for the
digital study does not require, of course,
the use of the computer.
To simplify the calculatilon and reduce
computer time, line admittances were
actually used instead of impedances.
An auxili-ary programn which converts
impedances to admittances was used
to effect this change. For the Roanoke
study this required negligible time on
the computer.
A series of programs, Appendix II,
were written to revise automati'cally the
basic system data to effect line or trans-
former addi-tions or outages, changes
in tap settings, etc. To initiate these
changes, in proceeding from case to case,
it is necessary to punch on a card the
data associated with the change. For
examnple, these data include for a new
line its admittance and bus numbers to
which it is to be connected, for a line
820 820
outage the bus numbers to whi'ch the
line is connected, etc. The number of
cards requilred to make the necessary
system changes for the Roanoke study
(exclusive of load changes for future
periods), averaged about four cards per
case.
The results of each case were printed
in tabular form and they include all bus
voltages and angles, line flows at each
end of the line, PIR and 12X losses, net
demand at each bus, "mismatch" at
each bus as an indication of the accuracy,
and tap settings used. The engi'neer
in charge of the study soon became
familiar with the format of the printed
results, and no particular difficulty was
encountered in analyzi'ng each case.
When a particular case showed that
facilities being developed provided an
adequate solution to the future load
growth, the results were transferred to a
system diagramn to provide a final check
on system performa-nce, to guide the
planning of future cases, and for use in
discussions with management. Of the
40 cases taken it was found sufficient to
copy 8 completely.
The study was completed in si'x work-
ing days and requilred 15 hours of com-
~~~~~~Glimn, Stagg-A4utomatic Calculation of Load FlowsOCBE17
puter timne. However, there was nothing
to be gained by performing the study on a
continuous basis. It could have been
completed more efficiently by leaving
more time available for analysis and
decisions between groups of related
cases. This is feasible because the com-
puter does not stand idle between cases
but instead is used for other problems.
Table I is a record of the actual
computer usage for the 40 cases. These
computer timnes are a function of:
1. The amount of system modification to
be made to base case data.
2. The initial values of all voltages and
angles.
3. The factors eta and zia used to accelerate
the real and imagi'nary components of each
bus voltage each iteration.
4. The voltage convergence tolerances
Aa, and Ab.
5. The size of the system in terms of
number of busses and lines.
When the times used for system modi-
fications are deducted (of the order of
1 to 5 minutes per case), it becomes
evident that the greatest single effect on
convergence was exerted by the initial
values of voltages and angles. In general,
starting values of voltage and angle
OCTOBER 1957

0 6060
z and to analyze other alternative schemes
50
0
1- 40
CL
'w 3C
70 80 90 100 110
SUM OF NUMBER OF LINNES AND NUMBER OF BUSES
Fig. 2. Time per iteration In calculating bus voltages
used were the final values of the previous
base case. These were excellent choices
except when a specific system plan was
tested with 5-year future loads. Cases
such as these show approximately 25%
longer running time, exclusive of item 1,
than cases comparable in other respects.
The time per iteration, which is inde-
pendent of items 1 through 4, is shown
in Fig. 2. Multiplying the time per
iteration for each case by the corre-
sponding number of iterations yields the
time spent in the main area of the
program, calculating bus voltages. These
times, plotted in Fig. 3, demonstrate the
effect of items 2 and 5, since item 1 is
excluded and 3 and 4 are identical for
large groups of cases.
To determine accurately the cost of
performing this study on the a-c network
analyzer would be difficult. If the
study were repeated case for case, the
time usually incurred for analyzing each
case and deciding on the next would not
be properly considered. If the study
were repeated by another engineer who
was not aware of the program of improve-
ments developed in the digital study,
the effect of individual engineering
abilities would be included. It was felt
therefore that the best way to obtain
an indication of comparable cost was to
present to the network analyzer operators
a diagram of the system, the list of cases,
and the load changes required, and to
ask their estimate of the number of days
required to perform the study based
primarily on their experience with the
systems of similar size and scope. It
was estimated that this study would
require 7 days on the network analyzer.
Based on a cost of $200 per day (which is
OCTOBER 1957 Glimn, Stagg-.Automatic Calculation of Load Flows
__ it was found necessary to perform several
load flow cases as a supplement to the
original network analyzer study. These
- _______ cases were required to test the perform-
ance of the system with additional load
increases acquired since the main study,
_ developed as a result of a detailed eco-
nomic investigation of the proposed
plan. Furthermore, more recent in-
_ quiries from industrial and commercial
customers in this area concerning addi-
tional power make it advantageous to
have this system coded and cards pre-
pared so that in the event that these
loads materilize, supplemental cases may
be obtained quickly. The cases imme-
120 1,0 14 diately required provided an opportunity
to test the program for larger systems.
This system consisted of 80 busses and
120 lines for which five cases were taken.
A comparison of the iterative times for
these cases with those incurred in the
the cost of operating the American Gas Roanoke study are shown in Fig. 5.
and Electric Service Corpc)ration board), These cases were obtained in 1/2 days
the cost for an analyzer cmpable of perd at a cost of approximately $500, including
the cost of punching and checking.
forming this study woulId amount to
$1,400. The comparable cost of per-
forming the digital study, which required Discussion of Study Experience
15 hours at $70 per hour, was $1,050,
plus personnel charges of approximately Although the prime goal in both the
$200 for data punching and checking. Roanoke and Tri-State studies was to
These figures exclude the cost of engi- produce the load flow cases required at
neering consultation required by a cus- reasonable cost, the records of the study
tomer unfamiliar with digital procedures. provide data for some analysis of the
factors deternuiing the speed and the
Experience on Tn-State quality of the solution. At the time the
Subtransmission System Roanoke study was performed, the
quality of the solutions (i.e., the pre-
Recently, in the preparation of a report cision to which the solutions were cal-
setting forth the program of improve- culated), was judged by visual inspection
ments for the Tri-State area of the Ameri- of the bus mismatch watts and vars.
can Gas and Electric system, Fig. 4, The absolute values of the maximum
Is 32,34
17 ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~30
15 24.....
cn ~~~16 25 4
w
z
j1 4 19 25 37,36
Z 26 31
1510 21
2327
5" 22
I- 9 13
~~~20__
2
CASE NUMBER INDICATES
LOCATION OF POINT
70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140
SYSTEM SIZE, NUMBER OF BUSES + NUMBER OF LINES
Fig. 3. Time spent In iterative program:, number of Iterations x time per Iteration from Roanoke
study
821
 0

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I-

822 Glimn, Stagg-Automatic Calculation of Load Flows Oc,rOBER 1957

 309 1 1 1 1 1 1
computer, loading the data, and extract-
TR - STATE ing the results would represent a large
CASES portion of the over-all computer time
per case. It is essential therefore that
the 704 program logic include the intelli-
gence to proceed automatically from
case to case. The ultimate goal is to
(n 20 perform a study in its entirety in order
w

0 a to util fully the high speed of the

0
computer. It may be expected that
15 ~
IS 0~~~0
0
00 00 such a program would include economic
£iJ 0
ROANOKE0 evaluation of planned facilities, and
0 CASES quality evaluation of system operation.
0
Determination of the load flows neces-
0
~~~~~0 0-~ sary to determine a loss formula con-
IC

% 0 00o stitutes a load flow study that can easily

000
00 be programmed for automatic progres-
sion from case to case. Such a 704
0

0
program is now under development.

Advantages of Digital Load

60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 Flow Calculations
SYSTEM SIZE, NUMBER OF BUSES + NUMBER OF LINES
While difficult to evaluate on a cost
Fig. 5. Comparison of times spent In iterative program: number oF Iteations x time per Itera- basis, certain real advantages of per-
tion from Roanoke and Tri-State studies forming load flow studies digitally have
been noted. Experience with the
and averagemismatch watts for the 40 a higher-speed computer, e.g., the IBM Roanoke and Tri-State studies have
cases have since been tabulated; see 704. Since this machine possesses some demonstrated the following:
Table In general, quality was con- 40-to-I speed advantage over the 650
I.
1. Once all busses of the system have
trolled to be equivalent to network at only an 8-to-1 cost disadvantage, one been coded, and the line and transformer
analyzer results. Poorer quality was draws the immediate conclusion that admittance and line charging have been
punched on data cards, it is not necessry
deliberately accepted for the larger and identical work may be performed at to repeat this step for the next study. The
less certainly known loads of the 15- one fifth the cost on the 704. However, data can be kept up to date, and will thus
and 20-year future. In nearly all cases, if the semiautomatic case by case pro- be available momentarily for the calculation
the maximum absolute megawatt bus cedures of the 650 are applied to the of load flows.
error occurred on the 132-kv system, 704, this cost advantage will not be 2. The records of each case are complete
where errors of such magnitude are realized. Since the calculating time of both in the actual input data used and the
negligible. Another judgment of solu- an average load flow case being per- results obtained.
tion quality can be made from the formed on the 704 would be in the order 3. Precision can be controlled to the degree
system loss, plotted in Fig. 6 for a typical of 1/2 to 1 minute, the necessary me- justified by the problem.
case, which was rerun after the main chanical operations of checking the 4. The small amount of human inter-
study had been completed to obtain the
necessary additional data. This figure 7.90
U _ _ X I T XI I I

also demonstrates that the solutions

obtained are of acceptable quality.
Although it is impossible to predict from
these data the quality of solution which 17.85 \1
will be realized for a particular voltage cn U,EXTRAPOLATED LOSS
tolerance for another system, it should 17.890MW
be emphasized that provision has been
made in the program for control of solu- 17.80 TOLERANCE ITERATIONS % ERROR
tion quality. cn .00001 55 0.02
.00005 40 0.16
In the Tn-State study, it was again .0001 32 0.36
found that final values of bus voltages .0005 22 I.54
and angles of one case are excellent 17.75
starting values for the succeeding case
at the same load level. In addition (see
Fig. 5), computer ti.me per case does not
increase prohibitively with system size.
0 .00001 .00005 .0001

Future Work VOLTAGE CONVERGENCE TOLERANCE - p.u.

55 40 32
NUMBER OF ITERATIONS
An immediate suggestion for future
work is the development of a program for Fig. 6. Convergence of system loss: Roanoke case 7

OCTOBER 1957 Glimn, Stagg-Automatic Calculation of Load Flows 823

vention in the calculations ensures a high Roanoke subtransmission system was per- The procedure for determining components
degree of reliability. formed at a cost comparable to an equiva- of voltage at a voltage-controlled bus is
5. Digital computer charges are incurred lent a-c network analyzer study.
only when the machine is actually com- 1. Solve equation 2 for Qv.
4. The few-case availability of the pro-
puting load flows; not for the time required gram was used to good advantage in 2. Solve equation 1 using calculated
for data checking, load changing, engineer- obtaining supplemental cases for an earlier value of Qp.
ing decisions, etc. network analyzer study of the Tri-State 3. Ratio the components of E, cal-
6. In general, the availability of digital subtransmission system. culated in step 2 to satisfy scalar
computers is such that computer time may voltage requirements of desired Ep.
be obtained on short notice.
The swing bus voltage magnitude and
7. By-product calculations, such as IPR, Appendix 1. Nodal Equation angle are known, and require no equation
I'X, are easily available. Development for representation.
8. Planning studies of different systems Equation 1 may be modified to in-
or parallel development studies of the At a typical bus the input current I, clude the effects of voltage-ratio devices:
same system may be performed simul- due to net P-jQ into the bus, can be For the q bus, Fig. 8,
taneously without complication. written, Fig. 7, Pe- jQ9
In addition, application of a computer
of larger scale should produce the follow-
1= Y"°(E1-Eo)+ Y "(E1-E,)+
Y13(E -E,)+ Y14(E1-E4)
=
E,ff j(E,-En) Y""+(Eq-ES) Y]
ing advantages: But E1*1, -PP-jQi
1. The size of the system for which Substituting yields
calculations can be made is, for practical
purposes, unlimited by computer memory. (YO+ yl2+ Y"8+ Y4)E1-
±=
2. The need for selection of system base
will be eliminated. yE- Yl4E4
Y12E2 'sE
3. Maximum permissible vars on genera- a
Solving for El yields
tors and condensers can be automatically
limited. PI-jQ, + Yl2E+ Y13E+ yl4E4 EE + Y1 En+-E-
4. Any quantities in any units desired
can be produced in the output, viz., line El*Yo+ Y12+ Y13+ y" E=-
Ey4n+ y, (3)
loading in per cent of thermal capacity n
or actual bus voltages in kilovolts. In general,
Similarily for the p bus, Fig. 9,
B. The effects of phase-shifting trans-
formers will be included. PP-QV±+ Y1'fEg
Conclusions ~~~~~~~~~(1)
The capabilities of the program and
El,yvq
ED at
its performance may be summarized: Pp -jQp " vE+Ey
where the denominator includes the ad- Ep* +LatY~+E
mittance to ground of line charging, static n
1. The maximum size system acceptable
to the main load flow program is one of capacitors, and any other fixed admittance Ep =
99 busses and 149 lines. to ground. Equations of this form yield ypn+-2at
to an iterative process and the Ep wil
2. Auxiliary programs developed permit: n
approach a correct value as the Ef's and
a. Automatic addition to or removal the E,* approach correctness. Et =aEg
from the system of lines and trans-
formers.
When it is desired to hold a fixed
voltage magnitude at bus p, equation 1
PP -jQPv a
+YpnEn Ea
b. Automatic changes of tap settings. can be solved for Qp, as follows:
The use of these programs results in the (4)
semiautomatic production of a complete Q=- g [Ep( yPQ) Y_YPEq]Ep* vypn+ _Y
as
study. n
3. The digital planning study of the (2) The distribution of system voltage i

2
r-I Y 14 2 Yt EEx I :a
II
01 Y14 l 14
q
WHERE: YPq c G pq + j (-Bpq) h
- ADMITTANCE OF LINE pq
-FIXED ADMITTANCE TO GROUND,
INCLUDING LINE CHARGING

Fig. 7 (above). Typical bus, no. 1, For derivation of general voltage

equation
Fig. 8 (above, right). Typical bus, no. q, for derivation of voltage
1~ 2

equation on q (nontap side) side of a transformer q p

Fig. 9 (right). Typical bus, no. p, for dervation of voltage equation n

on p (top side) side of a transformer

824 Glimn, Stagg-Automatic Calculation of Load Flows OCTOBER 1957

determined by the iterative solution of a
set of equations of the general form equa-
tion I or its modifications, equations 3 or
4. The iterative process is initiated by
using a set of assumed voltages and phase
angles, which, along with system admit-
tances, and power and reactive demand
of all busses except one (the swing bus)
constitute the input data. When the so-
lution has converged, the resultant set
of voltages can be considered as driving
the system, at which time the line flows
and the remaining terminal conditions can
be calculated.
Appendix II. Program Layout
In general, the calculation of load flows
in system-planning studies proceeds with
the calculation of a base case followed by
the calculation of successive modifications
of this base case. These modification cases
normally consist of tests of system per-
formance with various outages of trans-
mission lines or transformer banks, or the
addition of such facilities as required to
maintain system performance with esti-
mated future loads. The programs follow-
ing were developed to facilitate the calcula-
tion of an entire study in a semiautomatic
manner.
Program 1: To reduce the number of
iterations, the starting values of bus
voltages and angles should approximate
as closely as practicable the final solution.
This program expands the magnitudes
and angles into component form for use
in the main area of the program.
Program 2 combines load and generation
on the same bus to net watts and net vars.
It is convenient to set the no. 1 (swing) bus
generation and load to zero watts and vars.
A later program which produces the mis-
match between desired bus loadings and
actual bus loadings will show for the no. 1
bus the actual net loading. Condensers
can be treated as fixed reactive sources
where it is desired to hold reactive output,
or they can be allowed to swing in cases
where it is desired to hold the bus voltages.
Programs 3, 4, and 5 are used for modi-
fication of base case data to produce
Discussion
Donald McGillis (Quebec Hydro-Electric
Commission, Montreal, Que., Canada):
This fine paper is an encouragement to
those who are attempting to apply digital
computers to the problems of power system
analysis. The authors report that 40 load
flow cases of a system with about 35 busses
can be solved on an IBM 650 in six working
days. It must be noted, however, that
these 40 cases are divided into six basic
load groups and that the change in system
load from one group of cases to the next is
about 40%. For this reason, the authors
find it convenient to choose the values
obtained from the previous case as the
starting point in their determination of the
values of the next case. It is not stated in
OCTOBER 1957 Glimn, Stagg-Automatic Calculation of Load Flows
modified cases: Program 3 adds lines or
transformers to the network; program 4
removes lines or transformers; and pro-
gram 5 modifies the charging associated
with 3 or 4. These programs have pro-
vision for differentiating between several
parallel lines or transformers between
bus p and bus q.
Program 6: Equation 4 requires the
calculation of the Y'l/a2 component of the
denominator for the p (tap side) of the
voltage equation for transformers.
Program 7: Each denominator of the
voltage equations equals E YP' of the lines
entering bus p, plus BP, the sum of the line
charging, static capacitor, and reactor
to ground, at bus p. These denominators
are calculated and inverted once for all,
and include modifications of Yi performed
by program 6.
Program 8 sets YeP to YgP/a on the q
side of transformers and resets Y"2/as
developed by program 6 to Y3Q/a' on the
p side of transformers for use in numerators
of the voltage equations 3 and 4 for trans-
formers.
Program 9: Precalculation of (KL), for
use in equation 5 saves a phasor calculation
in the main iterative loop at load busses.
Program 10: A Gauss-Seidel solution of
equation 5 is used for calculation of bus
voltages. Since E, is a function of itself,
two successive calculations are performed
at each bus:
EVO(E* +(AL)p
and (5)
E (KL) (AL)
where
(KL), = (P,-jQV)
(AL)p (, YPIEe)(Z
Where voltage magnitude is to be held,
- -
the paper where the starting values of
the first basic case came from. It is this
first basic case that is the most difficult
to solve.
The authors prove rather conclusively
that the nodal method of analysis is very
suitable to the solution of load flow prob-
lems, particularly when small changes in
the system connections are made from case
to case. They note, moreover, that the
nodal method is very slow to converge and
they choose to accelerate the iterative
process by the method of overcorrected
successive displacements using acceleration
factors of 1.6 and 1.7 although no reason
is given for choosing these particular factors.
There seems to be something inherent
in the nodal equations which causes them
to converge so slowly. Although several
methods of acceleration have been suc-
bus vars are first solved for using the fol-
lowing equation,
E,E, ..-.(AL)vE,*
Qv- Lp
in order to determine a new KL from
(KL) =(Pp -jQv)Lp
then the regular voltage equation is solved
for Ep.
To reduce the total number of iterations
required, bus voltages are projected toward
final values by setting
E;,t (Ept-Ept- I)a+EVt-I
More specifically the real and imaginary
components of each Ep are accelerated by
factors a at the discretion of the study
supervisor.
The convergence tolerance on E, is also
the choice of the study supervisor.
Provision has been made to monitor
program performance by punching selected
bus voltages at each successive iteration.
Program 11: Calculates line flows,
terminal flows, bus mismatch, system I'R
and system I'X. Line flows correspond
to flows inside an equivalent r line.
Program 12 converts the solution com-
ponents of voltages to magnitudes and
angles.
Program 13: The following information
is punched: Bus angles, voltage magni-
tudes, mismatch watts and vars, net watts
and vars into each bus, line watt and var
flows, system IPR and 12X, and tap settings.
ReFerences
1. DIGITAL COMPUTER SOLUTION OF PoWuR-
FLOW PROBLEMS, J. B. Ward, H. W. Hale. AIEI
Transactions, vol. 75, pt. III, June 1956, pp.
898-404.
2. DIGITAL LOAD FLOW STUDIES, L. A. Dunstan.
Ibid., vol. 73, pt. III-A, Aug. 1954, pp. 825-32.
8. AUTOMATIc DIGITAL COXPUTER SOLUTION OF
) LoAD FLOW STUDIBS, J. M. Headerson. Ibid.,
pt. III-B, 1954 (Feb. 1955 section), pp. 1696-1702.
4. DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR LARB POWER NECT-
WORKS, Rodney J. Brown, Wlliam F. Tinney.
Ibid., vol. 76, pt. III, June 1957, pp. 347-55.
cessful, the reason for this slow convergence
is not yet apparent. Therefore it is in-
teresting, although somewhat disappoint-
ing, that the authors conclude that further
attempts in this direction would not be
profitable and that the speed of con-
vergence can best be improved by using
higher-speed computers
The authors also draw attention to
another difficulty in the nodal solution of
a load flow problem, namely, that the
voltage convergence must be carried to a
very fine point since the resulting load flow
in any branch is the product of voltage
difference and branch admittance. In a
similar study of Quebec Hydro-Electric
Commission's Montreal system the dis-
cusser found that the system with the
smallest branch admittances, the 60-kv
system. converged before the 120-ky
82.5