Average electrical distance-based bus clustering method for network equivalence

Network equivalence is useful for electrical market analysis in large power networks. Generation shift factors (GSF)-based bus clustering methods have been used for network equivalence to analyze the impact of changes in transactions between operating areas or congestion zones on transmission line flows. However, GSFs are sensitive to the location change of slack generator. Equivalent networks based on GSF bus clustering methods change with the location of slack generator, which may increase the complexity of market behavior analysis in the equivalent networks. In this paper, we present a new bus clustering method for network equivalence based on the average electrical distance (AED) from buses to a designated transmission line. AED is independent of the location changes of slack generator in a power system, which can reduce the complexity of market behavior analysis in the equivalent network. The efficacy of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparing the proposed bus clustering method and GSF-based clustering method on the IEEE 39-bus system.