A Framework for Black Start and Power System Restoration
D. Lindenmeyer H. W. Dommel
The University of British Columbia
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
2356 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 124
Daniel. Lindenmeyer @ieee.org
Abstract
This paper introduces the concept of a n e w frame-
work for power system restoration. I t s objective is
t o minimize the large number of time-domain simula-
tions that is usually necessary in order t o find a suit-
able restoration sequence. T h e new method is based
o n rules that deal with specific problems encountered
during restoration and that are formulated an the fre-
quency and Laplace domain. Once a suitable restora-
tion sequence is found, it can be verified by a single
set of time-domain simulations. As a n example for a
specific rule, the assessment of motor starts during a n
emergency and black start procedure for thermal power
plants is investigated. Simple analytical rules are de-
veloped that help to predict m o t o r start-up times, cur-
rents, and voltage drops. T h e validity of the results
is confirmed by time-simulations carried o u t with the
Electromagnetic Transients Program (EMTP) . tromagnetic Transients Program (EMTP)[2] is used to
1 Introduction
The problem of restoring power systems after a com-
plete or partial blackout is as old as the power industry
itself. In recent years, due t o economic competition
and deregulation, power systems are operated closer
and closer to their limits. At the same time, power
systems have increased in size and complexity. Both
factors increase the risk of major power outages. Af-
ter a blackout, power needs t o be restored as quickly
and reliably as possible, and consequently, detailed
restoration plans are necessary.
In recent years, there has also been an increasing de-
mand in the power industry for the automation and
integration of tools for power system planning and op-
eration. This is particularly true for studies in power
system restoration where a great number of simula-
tions, taking into account different system configura-
tions, have to be carried out. In the past, these sim-
ulations were mostly performed using powerflow anal-
ysis, in order to find a suitable restoration sequence.
0 2000 IEEE
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A. Moshref P. Kundur
Powertech Labs Inc.
12388-88th Avenue
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However, several problems encountered during practi-
cal restoration procedures were found to be related to
dynamic effects [l,31.
This paper introduces the concept of a new framework
for black start and power system restoration. It is
based on frequency domain analysis and its purpose is
to quickly evaluate the feasibility of restoration steps,
and if necessary, to suggest remedial actions. This lim-
its the number of time-consuming time-domain simu-
lations, based on the trial-and-error principle.
As an example for the proposed approach, the fea-
sibility of auxiliary induction motor start-ups during
emergency and black start procedures, as is common in
the beginning of system restoration, is assessed. The
case study represents the emergency start of a group
of induction motors in a thermal power plant by a hy-
dro generator. The frequency scan feature of the Elec-
determine the electrical system's Thevenin impedance, '
that is the basis for the feasibility evaluation using an-
alytical rules.
The, validity of the results obtained by this algorithm
is verified by carrying out an EMTPtime-domain sim-
ulation. For this purpose, the generator and its con-
trollers, as well as the electrical system and the induc-
tion motors are modeled.
2 Structure of Framework
Each restoration case is highly complex and unique,
which makes it difficult to develop systematic restora-
tion procedures, and to find methods that can be gen-
eralized in order to be applied to other systems and
scenarios. However, restoration cases can be consid-
ered as a succession of simple restoration steps that
are common in all restoration procedures [6].
The same principle is true when the feasibility of
restoration steps needs to be assessed: the investi-
gation of an aggregation of complex phenomena can
be simplified by defining specific problem areas that
153
 are common in all restoration scenarios and by devel-
oping rules that address those problems. Examples
are the energization of transmission lines and trans-
formers, the pick-up of cold loads, the energization of
induction motors, and the reintegration of subsystems.
2.1 Framework Modes
accuracy.
As a basis for the analysis in the frequency domain,
the frequency scan feature of the (EMTP)is utilized.
Rules that are based on analysis in the Laplace domain
are not discussed in this paper. The general principle
that is the basis for the framework is shown in the
schematic in Fig. 1.

There are two different aspects of restoration: on-line

restoration and restoration planning. During on-line
restoration, operators face a high time pressure and
decisions have to be made very quickly. Those deci-
sions are mainly based on predefined restoration plans,
the operators experience, and data given by state es-
timation or other data sources. Predefined plans can
only give the operator a general idea on how to behave
during restoration. At each step, however, the opera-
tor has t o decide whether his action is feasible or not.
Simple analytical rules can help operators to assess the
feasibility of restoration steps and to plan restoration
sequences without the need of extensive time-domain T
simulations.
During system restoration, planning engineers are
faced with a large number of theoretical possibilities
I 1
t

of how a system can be restored. Those have to be Time-domainsimulation

explored based on the engineers experience and on
computer simulations carried out with software such

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as the Electromagnetic Transient Programs (EMTP) .
Analytical rules that help to assess restoration steps
with respect to their feasibility help to limit the num-
ber of trial-and-error simulations and consequently to
shorten the overall time necessary to develop restora- Figure 1: Assessment of feasibility of restoration steps
tion strategies and restoration plans.
The proposed framework has two modes: an on-line
restoration mode and a restoration planning mode. In
the on-line mode it supports the operator in his de- 3 Study System
cision making process. In the off-line mode it helps
planning engineers to find restoration plans in a faster The system that is used in order to evaluate the rules
and more efficient way. for motor start-ups during restoration is shown in
Fig. 2. It represents a hydro generator that is used
for emergency or black starts of a large thermal power
2.2 Framework Rules plant. During this procedure the auxiliary motors of
the power plant are energized. The resulting high mo-
Time-domain simulations give the most accurate as- tor inrush currents can lead to long-lasting voltage
sessment of whether a restoration step is feasible or drops, and to overheating of motors.
not. However, they require a great amount of time,
particularly when different combinations of restora-
tion steps need to be assessed. Therefore, the rules
that represent the basis of the framework are based
on analysis in the frequency and Laplace domain, and
time-domain simulations are only performed for verifi-
c+-H
Generator Cable
-,-to
Transformer circuit breaker Induction motor

cation purposes. The objective thereby is to decrease Figure 2: Study system

. the calculation time while still keeping a reasonable

154
In order to investigate the feasibility of the rules that
are developed in the following, we simulate the most
severe case of an emergency start: thereby, the aux-
iliaries of two blocks of the thermal power plant are
energized at once by simultaneously closing a circuit
breaker. A time-domain simulation is carried out with
the EMTPand its Transient Analysis of Control Sys-
tems (TACS) module.
The EMTPhas been chosen since it provides accuracy Figure 3: Thevenin equivalent circuit for motor
under large frequency and voltage excursions. The startup
turbine governor control, the excitation system, and
the generator are modeled in full detail [4]. The mo-
tors are lumped into a single machine whose data was
drop of AVEMTP= 0.4 p.u. is very close to the esti-
provided by the utility.
mated value.

4 Rules for Motor Start-up

4.1 Thevenin Equivalent
A multi-port Thevenin equivalent impedance Z with
two terminals (motor and generator) is determined by
performing EMTPfrequency scans, as outlined in [2].
This step has to be carried out only once, since chang-
ing network conditions during the extension of the sys-
tem can be calculated using matrix manipulations.
i--
8 m
*
g
e
2500

4.2 Prediction of Voltage Drop

The start-up of large induction motors or a group of 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
J
10

induction motors can lead to a significant voltage drop. Time t [SI

.Fig. 3 shows the Thevenin equivalent circuit with its Figure 4: Voltage drop during motor startup; (Vbase= ,

two terminals. To one of the terminals we connect the 4kV)

generator subtransient reactance X i and t o the other
the locked rotor motor impedance ZLR,calculated ac-
cording to [4]. Using the voltage divider equation we
can then determine the voltage drop, caused by the
motor starting as 4.3 Prediction of Inrush Current
The inrush current is calculated according to

where 22 represents the Thevenin equivalent impedance

between terminals 1 and 2. It is important to notice
that the initial voltage drop AV is always independent
of the generator excitation system, since every excita-
tion system has a delayed response to disturbances due
to its inherent time constants.
For the validation of Eq. (1) we assume that initially
both frequency and voltage are equal to their rated val-
ues, which gives us a voltage drop of AV = 0.38 p.u.
The voltage behavior obtained through an EMTPsim-
ulation of the system is shown in Fig. 4. The voltage
and gives us a value of 6147.2 A that agrees well with
the result of I E M T Px 6200.0 A shown in Fig. 5. As
for the voltage drop calculation, the initial value of the
current is independent of the action of the generator
excitation system. In cases where the motor is started
from frequencies different from the nominal frequency,
the Thevenin equivalent impedance can be determined
by an EMTPfrequency solution at that particular fre-
quency.

155
 is fulfilled and can be determined numerically [ 5 ] .
Eq. (6) can be solved by writing the sum

where

0 1 2 3 4 7
Tim: t [SI
Figure 5: Inrush current during motor startup
4.4 Prediction of Start-up Time
The start-up time of induction motors can be pre-
dicted, using a quasi-steady-state calculation. For
this, we use the equation of motion that governs the
mechanical behavior of the induction motor together
with its electrical steady-state equations. Following
the basic physical law that relates induction motor
speed w and acceleration a we get
The equation of motion follow as
8 9 1 0
Since the actual final speed is an asymptote, the nu-
merical calculation of the start-up time can result
in different values for different slip increments As.
Therefore, we define the operating slip as Eq. (11) and
the associated speed as
When calculating the start-up time, the question
arises whether a feasible operating condition exists at
all. We define an infeasible operating condition, if the
current in the operating point is bigger than the limit
provided by the manufacturer. The torque behavior
for such a condition (that occurs e. g. during the soft
start of motors) is shown in Fig. 6.
As shown in Fig. 7, the motor permanently draws
very high currents, leading to possible overheating and
(4) damage of machines.

0 erating Point

where Tm represents the mechanical torque and Te the

- El. torque T
Mech. torque ?m
. 1 m

electrical torque of the motor [4].Combining Eq. (3) E

and Eq. (4),and considering the relationships 2
U

= (l-S)*Wmbase
dw = -Wmbase. ds
gives us the integral

0
0 0.1 0.2 .
0.3 TiGgt[sr
0.4 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

Figure 6: Mechanical and electrical torque for f =

The operating slip SO is reached when the condition 1.0 p.u. and V = 0.5 p.u.

156
 o
___
o Operating Point
Current
0 7
0 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09
Time t [SI
Figure 7: Current for f = 1.0 p.u. and V=0.5
For the validation of the above equations we use the
same example as in the previous sections. Due to the
control action of the excitation system, the duration
of the initial voltage drop is much smaller than the
motor start-up time. Therefore, the generator termi-
nal voltage can be approximated to be constant during
the start-up, and we determine the current for the cal-
culation of the electrical torque T,, as [4]
If a more conservative start-up time estimation is de-
sired, Eq. (2) instead of Eq. (14) can be used for the
electrical torque calculation.
The rotor speed characteristic as calculated with the
EMTPis given in Fig. 8. Its start-up time of t E M T p M
3.7 s agrees well with the estimated time of tstart=
3.82 s.
5 Conclusions
This paper describes a new method for power sys-
tem restoration. It is based on a subdivision of com-
plex problems into problems that can be assessed by
means of analytical rules. Analysis procedures in the
frequency or Laplace domain help to find a suitable
restoration sequence, and limit the time that is usu-
ally needed t o carry out time-consuming time-domain
simulations based on the trial-and-error principle. As
an example for rules in the frequency domain, a motor-
start case is investigated. The rules show a very
good agreement with the results given by EMTPtime-
domain simulations and therefore help to reduce the
time for restoration planning or on-line restoration sig-
0
1
8 9 1 0
1 0 1 2 3 4
Tim: t [s]
?.U. Figure 8: Rotor speed during motor startup
nificantly.
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial as-
sistance of the Natural Science and Engineering Re-
search Council (NSERC) of Canada, and of B.C. Hy-
dro & Power Authority, through funding provided for
the NSERC-B.C. Hydro Industrial Chair in Advanced
Techniques for Electric Power Systems Analysis, Sim-
ulation and Control.
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