Cascading Collapse Assessment Considering Hidden Failure

Hidden failure relay protection is the major cause of cascading failure in power system. Therefore, in this study, a hidden failure model has been developed to study the impact of certain parameter that could cause cascading collapse. The parameters that could lead to major blackout include system loading level, spinning reserve, hidden failure probability and other factors. As the overall load is the key factor that could affect the risk of cascading outages, this study will reveal the impact of it to the system. A test system of IEEE 24 bus RTS is used as a case study. The hidden failure model adopts here is the steady state analysis, which is caused by line tripping. The significant loads at which blackout risk sharply increases are identifiable for cascading collapse. This study can provide guidance for the utility on when and how to mitigate the cascading collapse from spreading to the entire power system. This study also can determine the critical loading in the risk of cascading failure.