Sensitivity in Power Systems

Sensitivity is defined as the ratio ¿x/¿y relating small changes ¿x of some dependent variable to small changes ¿y of some independent or controllable variable y. In power systems, two dominant types of sensitivity relations are defined, namely 1) sensitivity of one electrical variable, such as the voltage Vi at node i, with respect to another electrical variable, such as reactive production Qj at node j, and 2) sensitivity of the operating cost F with respect to such electrical variables as the consumption Ci at node i and the production Pj at node j.