Open-loop PDCI probing tests for the Western North American power system

Poorly-damped electromechanical oscillations are of concern in the western North American power system. Recent development of reliable real-time wide-area measurement systems has enabled the potential for large-scale damping control approaches for stabilizing critical oscillation modes. The current approach being developed is feedback modulation of the Pacific DC Intertie (PDCI). This paper summarizes several years of open-loop actual-system PDCI probing tests. This includes a total of 56 tests conducted in 2009, 2011, and 2012. Test goals are to: 1) evaluate the controllability and robustness of the PDCI with WAMS feedback for damping; and 2) compare actual-system results to model-based transient stability and eigenanalysis studies.