TUTORIAL 2

Speaker: Jingwei Lu

Jingwei Lu is currently working in the Operations department of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), as a principal power system engineer. He is specialised in power system modelling and analysis, with interests spanning from power system planning, generator grid connection and compliance assessment, operation incident investigation and root cause analysis. He has 16 years of industry experience with international engineering consultancies, utilities, and system operators, where he has been involved in multiple generation connection and commissioning projects, transmission system planning activities, large scale power system model development and validation practice, operational analysis including emergency response plan development, and regulatory framework development and amendments, in UK and Australia. He has co-authored several articles for CIGRE Science & Engineering journals, and IEEE PES journal, in the field of power system modelling and analysis.

Title: Addressing challenges and opportunities for power system planners and system operators through enhanced power system modelling

Abstract

There is a global megatrend of power system decarbonization, and each participating country of relevant climate treaties is experiencing this megatrend in its own unique way, while sharing a common feature: large-scale, rapid uptake of inverter-based resources, potentially inverter-based loads too. The increasing penetration of inverter-based devices are slowly shifting the power system dynamics, by displacing the existing fossil-fuel based synchronous generators from the electricity transmission systems, and introducing more versatile loads and distributed energy resources at the customers’ end.

The transition presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our generation to build greener and more intelligent power systems for generations to come. However it is a transition, not a revolution, and the existing power systems must keep working until the new ones are built and commissioned, which cannot be done hastily. As the transition progresses, the equilibrium of the existing power system is breaking down, and new vulnerabilities are being exposed, and it is the job of power system engineers and researchers to ensure that we have a smooth transition. Despite the new terminologies, the two core aspects of power system development have not changed, which are power system planning and operation, and the tutorial will touch base on both aspects.

The power system planning is about finding the most feasible, achievable, and economical option for sourcing electricity supplies, and power system expansion. However, there are too many unpredictable factors in today’s world, and the scenario planning has been a widely adopted approach for tackling these uncertainties. The tutorial will briefly discuss the scenarios considered in AEMO’s Integrated System Plan (ISP), which is a long-term planning document for the Australian NEM power system development for the next 20 years and beyond.

Despite the best effort of the power system planners, there is a tendency for surprises to emerge during power system operation. The tutorial will share the presenter’s experience in dealing with operational incidents and emergencies, and will focus on the importance of proper power system modelling and analysis in addressing these incidents. In addition to these response measures, having certain preventative measures would be beneficial for power system operators to identify and quantify the risks, and take appropriate actions to minimize the likelihood of a major operational incident. The presenter wishes to discuss with the audience on potential methods to implement such preventative measures, including the leverage of artificial intelligence for this purpose.