Automated design of multiple damping controllers using Genetic Algorithms

This paper presents an automated robust coordinated tuning of power system damping controllers using Genetic Algorithms (GA). Damping controller structures are assumed to be fixed, consisting basically of lead-lag filters. The objective function for the GA ensures that a sufficiently large number of system operating conditions are taken into account, so that the final result will be an optimum parameter set which ensures adequate dynamic performance for most practical system conditions. The paper points out the advantages of utilizing the results from analytic control design methods at the GA initialization step. A Partial Pole-Placement algorithm and a design procedure based on single-machine infinite-bus (SMIB) models are the analytical methods used for this purpose. Modified GA operators are used in the simultaneous optimization of both phase compensations and gain settings for the stabilizers. The method has been applied for PSS coordination in the New England System and in the 1762-bus modified equivalent South-Southeastern Brazilian system.