Influence of the topology on the power flux of the Italian high-voltage electrical network

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the Italian high-voltage electrical network's topology and function, assessing how line removals impact power flow, network vulnerability, and overall service quality using real data and a DC power flow model.

Contribution

It introduces a combined topological and functional analysis of the Italian 380 kV network, highlighting the different roles of lines in network stability and power distribution.

Findings

Topological and functional relevances of lines differ.

Certain lines are critical topologically but not functionally.

Network vulnerability depends on line removal and load conditions.

Abstract

A model of the Italian 380 kV electrical transmission network has been analyzed under the topological and the functional viewpoints. The DC power flow model used to evaluate the power flux has been solved on the basis of input conditions (injected power - extracted power, line's reactances and the maximum flux capacity of each line) taken from real data. The vulnerability of the network under load conditions has been estimated by evaluating the power flux redistribution along the lines subsequent to line's removal. When the perturbed network cannot sustain a given input--output demand, the maximum power sustainable by the network has been evaluated to optimize the \texttt{Quality of Service}, defined as the difference between the expected and the effective dispatched power. The functional relevance of the different lines of the network has been classified according to the amount of power that the network must reduce, to keep alive, upon their removal. Results show that topological and functional relevances are related to different lines; lines having a strong topological relevance may have a bare relevance in the flow distribution and thus their removal does not affect the functioning of the network.