Synchronization of energy transmission networks at low voltage levels

Abstract Power grids or energy transmission networks are among the biggest and more complex man made constructions ever made and are a typical example of a complex system. Its components need to be in a synchronous state in order to be fully functional and avoid cascade failures and blackouts. Power grids can be modeled as a complex network of oscillators, where each node represents a generator or a consumer and the transmission lines are represented by edges. In this work, we show how to build a power grid topology that presents relatively low number of edges and favors synchronization as a low value of coupling is required to reach the synchronous state. As the coupling is related to the maximum transmission capacity of a transmission line, lower coupling in this context means lower voltage levels. The basin stability of this network is also calculated as it appears to have a higher quantity of stable nodes when compared to a random network. The methodology presented in this work is based on an evolutionary optimization framework and would be of great interest when building power grids due to the costs involved in the construction of transmission lines, as there would be less lines and they would be required to operate in a lower voltage level.