Risk Assessment of Power Systems

Learn how to evaluate, forecast and manage the risk of power system failures

Risk Assessment of Power Systems closes the gap between risk theory and real-world application. As a leading authority in power system risk evaluation for more than fifteen years and the author of a considerable number of papers and more than fifty technical reports on power system risk and reliability evaluation, Wenyuan Li is uniquely qualified to present this material. Following the models and methods developed from the author's hands-on experience, readers learn how to evaluate power system risk in planning, design, operations, and maintenance activities to keep risk at targeted levels.

The book's expert guidance and real-life examples enable readers to master even the most complex aspects of power system risk assessment, including:

• How to choose the component outage models that best reflect actual circumstances
• How to deal with uncertainty in statistical data
• How to select the appropriate risk evaluation methods to fit a specific case
• How to apply fundamentals and methodologies to each individual engineering issue

The book begins with a general introduction to concepts in power system risk, including system risk evaluation, data in risk evaluation, and unit interruption cost. Next, a thorough discussion of modeling and methodology is provided, including outage models of components and state enumeration techniques and Monte Carlo simulation methods for system risk assessment. The author then focuses on practical applications that reflect actual issues facing the utility industry. The application examples provided are based on the author's hands-on field experience. Finally, five appendices contain additional materials-mathematical elements, power system models, and probability distribution tables needed in power system risk assessment.

The consequences of power system failure have wide-ranging economic, environmental, and safety implications. With so much at stake, this book is essential reading for all engineers and managers in electric utilities who are tasked with system planning, operations, maintenance, and asset management. In addition, by bridging the gap between theory and application, this is an excellent graduate-level textbook for courses in power systems that will help students understand how risk theory is applied in the workplace.