Interval analysis applied to the maximum loading point of electric power systems considering load data uncertainties

•A new power flow modeling under load data uncertainties is presented.•Interval power flow solutions are calculated at maximum loading point of electric power systems.•This new modeling is a valuable tool for voltage stability assessment.•Monte Carlo simulation validates the proposed method.•This new interval power flow modeling operates very well even for large test systems.

This paper proposes a simple and efficient power flow method to calculate, in an interval manner, the main variables corresponding to the maximum loading point, under load data uncertainties. The resulting interval nonlinear system of equations is solved using Krawczyk method. The proposed methodology is implemented in the Matlab environment using the Intlab toolbox. Results are compared with those obtainable by Monte Carlo simulations. IEEE 30 bus system and a South-southeastern Brazilian network are used to validate the proposed methodology.