Two-stage stochastic optimal islanding operations under severe multiple contingencies in power grids

• We present a novel stochastic optimization model for power grid islanding.
• We propose efficient and optimal islanding operations to properly respond to extreme outages.
• The overall unsatisfied load demand is minimized in case of a severe contingency.
• The impacted or failed area will be isolated from the other operational parts.
• Catastrophic losses or large-scale blackouts can be avoided.

Due to the catastrophic consequences of rolling blackouts, there is an increasing concern with the security and stability of modern power grids. Power grid islanding, as an emergency control operation method, can divide power grids into several self-sufficient islands and can then avoid wide-area blackouts. In this paper, we present a two-stage stochastic programming model to divide the power grids into self-sufficient islands before any multiple failures happen, and optimize islanding operations plan under severe multiple contingencies that lead to extreme situations where rolling blackouts may occur. Line switching and controlled load shedding are main tools for islanding, and the expected penalty for load shedding cost is minimized in consideration of contingencies with certain probabilities to happen. The presented model can give the system operator an efficient and optimal way to properly respond to outages. Several numerical experiments are performed on IEEE test cases to show the effectiveness of the proposed islanding operations method.