May 5, 2023
Bug Fixes
- File Formats: When loading RAS definitions from a Areva CSV file, fixed a bug where ModelResultOverride objects without associated Model Objects were causing an access violation.
- Transient Stability: Modified DC Line transient models such as CDC1, CDC4, CDC6, EPCDC so that the timing of blocking could occur immediately upon the application of a fault. The decision to block would be made based on that immediate post-fault voltage. Previously if the voltage recovered back above the Vblock at the end of the time step it would then not block the converter.
May 4, 2023
Bug Fixes
- Transient Stability: Changed how contingencies are named when automatically inserting contingencies based on bus groupings. It was possible for contingencies to have the same name if basing the name purely on the buses that are on the outside of the grouping. This would cause contingencies to be overwritten and not all expected contingencies were created. Now if a contingency is found with the same name and the contingency actions are different, the lowest bus number internal bus will be appended to the name of the contingency to make the name unique.
- Transient Stability: Fixed bug when saving or loading CTG_AutoInsert_Options to or from an aux file when using the BUSGROUPING element type.
- Weather: Fixed how the Transient Stability\Summary\Models In Use table and Power Flow Weather Models In Use table function in case information displays. If the Weather Related Models and Information Dialog was open at the same time as the Model Explorer was showing one of these tables the software would crash. This has been fixed.
May 3, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Case Information Displays: On the Case Description page added support for an Assumed Date for Determining Inservice Devices. Currently this date is only used for determining whether generators are retired, future, or current. This date needs to be different from the case date since the case date is modified by the time step simulation. By default this date is the same as the case date.
- User Interface Dialogs: Enhanced the File Browser to return all file dates: created and last modified
- Available Transfer Capability (ATC) Tool: When attempting to ramp an ATC transfer with a negative step and the full step amount could not be achieved, the process could stop prematurely without attempting the full step in smaller steps due to a tolerance bug. This has been fixed.
- Case Information Displays: Generally fixed issues with displaying and switching between filters when filtering display objects. Filters for display objects will now show up in the list of filters in both the Model Explorer and Display Explorer. This will allow them to be saved to and loaded from auxiliary files. All filters will be saved to PWB files, but only filters that are used with dynamic formatting, contours, geographic data view styles, and select by criteria sets will be saved to PWD files or AXD files of complete onelines.
- Contingency Analysis: When auto inserting contingencies by bus grouping, groups with only 1 bus were not being named using the grouping convention to name based on the outside buses of the boundary lines. This has been fixed so these contingencies are named consistently.
- Scheduled Actions: Fixed a bug in Open Breakers actions where already-isolated elements were misidentified as unable to be isolated
Fixed the Current Status and InOutage fields to properly reflect the current state of Scheduled Action application - Time Step Simulation: Fixed a few bugs with loading aux files into the Time Step Simulation form, and on the Modal Analysis Frequency dialog added the ability to scale the mode values on the transfer.
Bug Fixes
April 21, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Transient Stability: Added support for a new machine model named REGFM_A1 for a grid-forming converter model designed by PNNL.
- Transient Stability: Improved Algebraic Network Boundary equation solutions at the time of fault or fault clearing for the REGC_B, REGC_C, REGFM_A1 and DER_A machine models.
- Case Information Displays: Fixed bug with the wrong object type being used in the Advanced Filter dialog when the dialog is opened using the Find button on the Filter toolbar.
- File Formats: When loading a DYD file if duplicate _cmp_der_a or _cmp_dgpv with the same data number (such as -103) were read an error occurred. This has been fixed so that whatever the final entry read will be maintained.
- GIC: Fixed GIC scripting issues and added the GIC script command GICTimeVaryingClearB3D to clear out the b3D data. It has three boolean paraments. If the first is "Yes" then clear the file name, if the second is "Yes" then clear the GIC data, if the third is yes then clear the time points. All three default to yes, so the command can be called with no parameters.
- Transient Stability: For both the PlayInGen and InfiniteBusSignalGen machine models, when Rth was not 0 there was a bug. This has been fixed.
Bug Fixes
April 19, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Scheduled Actions: Added "Apply Only Filtered Actions" to the Scheduled Actions Options tab; if enabled, the Advanced Filter settings on the Scheduled Actions grid will determine which Actions are actually applied to the case.
- Simulator Automation Server (SimAuto): SimAuto instances now run at Below Normal priority level to allow all cores on a machine to be used without danger of locking up the user interface.
- Transient Stability: Added REEC_E Exciter Transient Model.
April 18, 2023
Bug Fixes
- File Formats: Fixed a bug with reading transient stability DC Lines models from a dyd file. The DC Line was read incorrectly because it was expected the DC line id after the second bus and that was causing an error in the format and couldn't add the transient model. That issue was solved and reading the ID in the correct string order was added. Also writing the transient DC line model was corrected to follow the same format.
- File Formats: Fixed error in reading the USRMDL relays models VTGTPA, VTGDCA, FRQTPA, and FRQDCA. Multiple instances at a single generator were not being read properly.
April 17, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Bus View and Substation View Onelines: Forward and backward mouse buttons now work for moving backward and forward in bus views and substation views.
- Transient Stability: Fixed a bug with the Transient Stability Contingency Dialog. When inserting a Generator Event with the dialog, the set By "Percentage of Start" was not working with the dialog. It was working with an aux file and during the simulation.
Bug Fixes
April 13, 2023
Bug Fixes
- File Formats: It was possible to assign an invalid Control Mode to a Switched Shunt that would result in access violations when restoring the system state as part of contingency analysis, and possibly elsewhere. The Control Mode would make it appear that the switched shunt was an SVC, but it was really an invalid type. When loading a PWB file with this incorrect control mode the control mode is now set to Fixed. The error most likely originated from loading a RAW file with a switched shunt control mode of 6 that is not supported in Simulator. When loading RAW files with this control mode the mode is now set to Fixed.
April 11, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Contingency Analysis Tool: Added option to use branch Normal Status when determining Bus Groupings as a standalone or as part of auto inserting contingencies.
- GIC: Added a GIC script command for setting up the time-varying series. Also added logging when the time-varying series is setup and made functions for some of the more common script processes.
- GIC: Added script command GICSetupTimeVaryingSeries(aStartTimeSec,aEndTimeSec,aDeltaTime) to update the time-varying values; for all time using parameters of 0,0,0,
- GIC: added another parameter to the GICShiftOrStretchInputPoints command to update the time-varying values with a default of "YES"
- GIC: added a log entry whenever the time-varying series is updated.
- Oneline Diagrams: Fixed minor bug with TS Contour Toolbar contour dialog being opened when there is no oneline
- Oneline Diagrams: On a oneline with a large number of Geo Data View objects, it could take a long time to delete an object. This has been fixed.
- User Interface Dialogs: Fixed showing generator ID on the Breaker Isolated Groups generator table.
Bug Fixes
April 6, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Auxiliary Files (SCRIPT and DATA Sections): In script command "SendToExcel", the "workbookname" and "worksheetname" parameters will let the use of the special keywords @DATETIME, @DATE, @TIME, @BUILDDATE, @VERSION, @CASENAME, @CASEFILENAME, and @CASEFILEPATH.
- Case Information Displays: When sorting on Case Information Displays now if the present view of the display is not near the top of bottom of the list of objects, Simulator will now automatically navigate to the presently selected object in the table after completing the sort.
- Scheduled Actions: Added TimeProfile to Scheduled Action Groups, which can be Continuous or Daily
- Continuous groups are active continuously between the StartTime and EndTime
- Daily groups are active every day from the day of StartTime to the day of EndTime, between the time of StartTime and the time of EndTime - Sensitivity Calculations: Added a TBus field to show whether there are any connected closed generators, loads or shunts (including the fixed ones). This is a useful field by itself, but it is also now used in the alternative solution check to not say those buses have converged to an alternative solution.
- Sensitivity Calculations: Modified the LikelyLowSolution field for a Bus so that it only returns YES if a bus meets all the following
1. dV/dQ < 0
2. Not connected to any branch with a negative (excluding 3-winding transformer windings)
3. Has at least one closed generator, load, or shunt
Criteria #3 was added to eliminate falsely flagged buses in some situations. A bus must have some load, gen, or shunt in order for those injections to push the local system to voltage collapse. - Sensitivity Calculations: Modified Bus field HasNegativeReactanceBranches so it always return NO if the bus is an internal star bus of a three-winding transformer.
- Transient Stability: When using Distributed computing in transient stability and you want to change the mode to to "One Contingency at a Time" that will now be allowed to be done without the need for the user to go to the Options and unchecked the "Use Distributed Computing" Option. Once you initially checked the "Use Distributed Computing" checked box a similar option will appear below the Process Multiple contingency options. However, when running One contingency at a time, will not allow the use of distributed computing and as soon as you select the One contingency at a time option it will automatically uncheck the Use Distributed Computing option .
- Transient Stability: Added a new Paux Controller PAUXSS1A.
- Case Information Displays: Fixed secondary filtering of a ContingencyElement, RemedialActionElement, and other similar objects.
- Case Information Displays: TSContingency and TSContingencyElement objects can now be filtered using the following secondary filter object types: Bus, Gen, Load, SwitchedShunt, Branch, Interface, InjectionGroup, DCLine, Area, and LineShunt. TSContingency objects can be filtered using TSContingencyElement filters and TSContingencyElement objects can be filtered using TSContingency filters.
- Contingency Analysis: Fixed access violation that could result if any contingency generator actions for Move, Change By, or Set To are specified for a generator rather than a bus.
- Contingency Analysis: Made significant changes to the Bus Grouping option when auto inserting contingencies. This option uses the Implicit Breakers field specified with buses to create contingencies.
- Difference Case Tool: Difference Case Change Mode Tolerances for Substation Latitude, Longitude, UTM Northing, and UTM Easting were not being applied. This has been fixed.
Bug Fixes
March 29, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Power Flow Solution: Power Flow Solution
When EvalSolutionIsland = YES, a solution only terminates if ALL viable islands in the case fail to converge.
Added a new option EvalSolutionIslandRequireLargest that when set to YES also requires that the island with the largest number of buses in it must converge.
March 28, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Power Flow Solution: When automatically detecting parallel transformers to ensure taps ratios and regulated buses are consistent, PowerWorld Simulator uses the ZBRThreshold user-input parameter to determine groupings of buses considered the same electrical point. This ZBRThreshold is also used with generator voltage regulation and making the ZBRThreshold too large can cause numerical problems. Transformer tap and regulated bus tests for parallel transformers are not as sensitive to this threshold however, so a larger threshold is useful so that more parallel transformers can be auto-detected. This patch increases the impedance threshold for the purposes of transformers taps to be 4 times the ZBRThreshold. For example, if ZBRThreshold = 0.00029, then for transformers tap tests we will use a value of 0.00116 instead.
- Scheduled Actions: Update PowerWorld Outage CSV to allow for unmapped actions with unknown device types
- Distributed Computation: Fixed a bug generating an error when DistributedComputer credentials were being encrypted. This bug was only in the recently released Version 23.
Bug Fixes
March 24, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Bus View and Substation View Onelines: Modified the Bus View edit box for show the presently selected bus to accept a PASTE action when the paste comes from a spreadsheet.
- Oneline Diagrams: Added Case Info option in the Geographic Data View submenu to show the closest objects.
- Sensitivity Calculations: Every object that has a geographic location (or can estimate one from the underlying objects), now has available fields named RefDistanceMile and RefDistancekm which shows the distance of an object from a user-specified reference point. The reference point can be set on a dialog available from the right-click menu of a case information display under the Geographic Data View submenu. This can be used with objects such as a generator or load which obtain their geographic location from either the bus or substation object, or from more abstract objects such as a RemedialAction or Interface that obtain their geographic location from the average value of objects that they contain.
- User Interface Dialogs: Every object that has a geographic location (or can estimate one from the underlying objects), now has available fields named RefDistanceMile and RefDistancekm which shows the distance of an object from a user-specified reference point. The reference point can be set on a dialog available from the right-click menu of a case information display under the Geographic Data View submenu. This can be used with objects such as a generator or load which obtain their geographic location from either the bus or substation object, or from more abstract objects such as a RemedialAction or Interface that obtain their geographic location from the average value of objects that they contain.
March 23, 2023
Bug Fixes
- Integrated Topology Processing (ITP): Fixed a bug causing a list index out of bounds error when running an SCOPF solution using Integrated Topology Processing when using the DC approximation.
- Security Constrained OPF (SCOPF) Tool: Fixed a bug causing a list index out of bounds error when running an SCOPF solution using Integrated Topology Processing when using the DC approximation.
March 22, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Available Transfer Capability (ATC) Tool: On the ATC dialog the case information displays that list the object changes for multiple scenarios cannot be modified to show different fields. This makes it difficult to save the individual scenario object types with the correct fields directly from their case information displays. The "Save As Auxiliary FIle (x Scenarios)" option found on the local menu for each object type will now save all objects for a scenario type along with the appropriate fields for updating and creating these objects. They are saved in the same manner as they are saved when using the Save Settings button on the ATC dialog to save all ATC settings. A prompt prior to saving the file will allow user input for which key field type to use. If Labels are being used and not all objects have labels, the resulting aux file will be split into objects using labels and objects using primary keys when labels aren't defined.
- Case Information Displays: Added 4 more new generator fields the folder for "Mvar Output\Capability Curve Range\"
CapCurveMvarMinAtMWMin, CapCurveMvarMinAtMWMax, CapCurveMvarMaxAtMWMin, CapCurveMvarMaxAtMWMax
- Case Information Displays: Some additional generator fields for showing the retirements and inservice dates, and the EIA860 identifiers.
- Scheduled Actions: Added ability to create unmapped Scheduled Actions reading in PW Outage CSV files
- Scheduled Actions: Added a read-only Log field to Scheduled Action objects to display any issues that arise when the action is applied.
- User Interface Dialogs: Modified the default "Dark Blue" Color Scheme to modify the color of the caption for the active form to a dark color to match the Ribbon. This make it so when a form is maximized you can better see the Minimize/Maximize/Restore/Close icons in the upper right of the form. These buttons get integrated into the Ribbon when the form is maximized so the color schemes need to match the ribbon.
- Transient Stability: Patch: Bug fix. REPC_B model is now written out as PLNTBU1, REAX3U1, and REAX4U1 models in the PSSE DYR file format.
Bug Fixes
March 16, 2023
Bug Fixes
- Scheduled Actions: Fixed a bug where assigning ScheduledActionGroup a filter could cause the software to hang.
- User Interface Dialogs: When viewing the list of line shunts that belong to a branch when clicking the Line Shunts button on the branch dialog, all shunts belonging to that line should be displayed and no Advanced Filtering or Area/Zone/Owner filtering should be applied. Filtering had been applied and this has been fixed.
March 8, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Oneline Diagrams: Changed GDVs to make it easier to work with large numbers of GDVs. The only user change is there is now a GDV Style option that controls the minimum pixel size of text to display. This defaults to 6 vertical pixels. This avoids spending lots of time waiting for a display to show text that can't be read.
- Scheduled Actions: Added a new Scheduled Actions Script Command:
ApplyScheduledActionsAtCurrentViewTime(StartTime, [EndTime], [Filter])
This command applies any scheduled actions which meet the specified filter which are active during the window of time between StartTime and EndTime. If EndTime is not specified, only actions active at StartTime are applied; if no filter is specified, no filter is applied. - Transient Stability: Added a new TS Gen event that allows an event to set the playin voltage magnitude and speed values. The events is valid for the Gen, Set Values to or Change Values Type. Set the Action Type to PlayIn Voltage Mag, Speed.
March 3, 2023
Features and Improvements
- Scheduled Actions: Added ActionAllow column to PowerWorld Outage CSV format to map to the action's AllowActive field.