A Hetero-functional Graph Analysis of Electric Power System Structural Resilience

Abstract

As modern life and the world's services increasingly electrify, the resilience of the electric power grid is more important than ever. Current methods of studying electric power grid resilience generally fall in one of two categories: 1.) dynamic simulation methods and 2.) network science methods based upon graph connectedness. The latter use “lightweight” models while the former is considerably more computationally intensive. Though these methods provide valuable insights, there is a need for analytical tools that balance analytical insight with computational complexity. This paper demonstrates, for the first time, a structural resilience analysis based upon the application of hetero-functional graph theory to electric power systems. These measures are of particular relevance to the grid's architectural transformation as it comes to accommodate distributed generation and meshed networks. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the key differences between existing resilience measures and those based upon a hetero-functional graph analysis.