Merchant transmission and the reliability of the New York State bulk power system. Part I. Thermal transfer limit analysis

This paper is the first one in a series of papers that presents a reliability analysis of the New York State bulk power system (NYSBPS) with the addition of the Empire Connection, a major New York State 2,000 MW HVDC merchant transmission project developed by Conjunction LLC. The focus of this paper will be on the evaluation of thermal transfer limits for major NYSBPS interfaces relevant to the project. In evaluating the thermal transfer limit for the studied interfaces, the paper uses an incremental approach that determines the first contingency incremental transfer capability as a basis for calculating the thermal transfer limits, with and without the proposed Empire Connection project. The thermal transfer limit analysis was conducted using PIT´s managing and utilizing system transmission (MUST) software package for FCITC calculations. The obtained results show that the thermal transfer limits for the intra NY State interfaces under study were substantially increased under normal and emergency conditions with the Proposed Empire Connection Project in service. The basis for this paper is the work done for the system reliability impact study report for the Empire Connection approved by the NYISO on March 18, 2004.