Enhancements and New Features in Simulator 9.0

The following is a list of many of the most noticeable changes to Simulator for Version 9.0.

• New Security-Constrained Optimal Power Flow (SCOPF) add-on tool has been developed which expands on the existing Optimal Power Flow (OPF) add-on. This allows you to define possible contingency scenarios which are used during the optimization routines to ensure that system flows during the contingency scenarios are maintained within limits. This facilitates the complete modeling of new LMP or spot-pricing based markets.
• New Simulator Automation Server (SimAuto) add-on has been created. The SimAuto add-on allows the access of the Simulator calculation engine from another programming language. This allows users to write their own programs, either macros or full-fledged stand alone applications, which can have the ability to link to Simulator’s analysis engine.
• New script file language that allows you to automate commonly performed tasks
• Added DC power flow mode for use in Simulator’s OPF, SCOPF, and normal power flow.
• Added support for Simulator’s own text power flow format based on Simulator’s self-defining auxiliary file format.

Along with enhanced abilities and tools, Version 9.0 continues PowerWorld Corporation’s singular dedication to creating powerful analysis software that is easy to use. We’ve included several new features that make navigating and interpreting the results of your analysis easy. Simulator’s innovative one-line diagrams continue to provide you with insight into your analysis results in seconds. We’ve added a number of features that will make the creation of these diagrams easier.

• Bus view diagrams have been enhanced
• Generator, Load, and Shunt Fields can now be anchored to their symbol instead of their terminal bus
• Users can now create new objects by pasting data into Case Information Displays from spreadsheets.
• Oneline diagrams can now optionally be linked using bus name and nominal voltage instead of bus number.
• Major enhancements of the case comparison tool allow you to view case information displays showing you all elements which have been removed or added to your new case.
• Case information display data can now be contoured.
• Facility Analysis routine has been added to study the topological redundancy of specific electric facilities.

Power Flow Modeling enhancements of Simulator’s engineering analysis algorithms continues to improve as well.

• Added decoupled power flow solution technique and a polar-form Newton-Raphson technique.
• Added a robust power flow solution method, which can often be successful in producing a flat-start power flow solution. 
• Improved Power Flow Convergence Techniques
• Improved models for multi-terminal DC lines.
• Allow multiple switched shunts at each power flow bus
• New switched shunt control mode which regulates a set of generator MVAR outputs
• Added more features to transmission line branch modeling
• Allow generators, loads, and switched shunts to belong to a different area or zone that their terminal bus.

Contingency Analysis Tool Improvements

• Added “post-contingency” actions which are set for execution based on the post-contingency state. These can effectively model actions such as thermal relays.
• Added Contingency Blocks for defining a list of commonly occurring contingency actions. These blocks can then be called from a contingency record directly allow you to avoid needless repetition of a common list.
• Added Global Actions which are applied to all contingency records (especially good for post-contingency actions).
• Added injection group contingency actions which are applied to all loads or generators in the injection group.
• Added interface actions which can open or close all branches in the interface.
• Added new generator voltage control routines called Line Drop Compensation (LDC) and Reactive Current Compensation (RCC). These help to model shorter-term voltage control such as in a post-contingency solution
• Added ability to report contingency violations based on the change in limiting value from the base case. Using this, for example, you could report bus voltages which fall by more than 0.05 per unit or suppress reporting of line flows which increase by less than 2.0%.
• Added more make-up power options during contingency analysis to more accurately model generator response.
• Improved contingency analysis export capabilities making custom exporting possible.

Available Transfer Capability Improvements

• Improved convergence for iterated solution techniques
• Modified the Full AC ATC solution method to only process the worst contingencies found during the iterated technique. This allows the full AC method to be faster and more useful.
• Added the flagging of divergent power flow solutions when ramping out using the iterated solution techniques.

Optimal Power Flow Improvements

• Added the ability to dispatch system loads inside the optimal power flow routines. This requires economic response information for loads in the system.
• Improved algorithms to help ensure algorithm convergence.

PV and QV Curve Tools Completely Revamped

• The PV and QV curve tools in Simulator have been completely redone for Version 9.0
• The same ease of setup is maintained, but improved solution algorithms have been applied.
• Improved plotting options and easier plot customization.