Power Transfer Distribution Factor for Transmission Expansion Planning with Consideration on Load Growth

Reliable transmission expansion planning becomes highly important for effective and smooth operation of power systems. Various approaches for power system transmission expansion have been developed in the literature. The approach presented in this paper is based on the computation of network power transfer distribution factor (PTDF) using Neplan application software. The mathematical formulation of the approach based on Power Transfer Distribution Factor (PTDF) is presented. The main advantage offers by this method is that it is simple and requires no complex mathematical computation for its analysis. The Nigerian 30-bus power system network is used as a case study in this work. Based on the analysis, 12 new transmission lines are proposed for the expansion of the existing network. The results obtained show that the method is effective for transmission expansion during load growth. 30% load growth was implemented with the expanded network and the results showed no violation in bus voltages and no transmission line was overstressed.