Extraordinary events: Understanding sequence, causes, and remedies

Increased understanding of extraordinary events in the electrical power system is vital in order to develop and assign appropriate remedies to limit the presence and consequences of such events in the future. In this paper, extraordinary events are analysed in order to identify general patterns in the sequence of event, causes, and potential remedies. The generalised discussion is supported by a case study of historical events from the U.S.-Canadian and continental European power systems. Results show that there are correlating factors between the proposed generalised structure of events and the events analysed in the case study, supporting the generalisation of extraordinary events. Improvements of monitoring systems and controlled islanding schemes are remedial actions identified to have high potentials for decreasing vulnerability of extraordinary events. Such actions may lead to increased situational awareness and limitation of disturbance propagation and consequences of extraordinary events. © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group