AGC Tuning of an Interconnected System after Deregulation Using Genetic Algorithms

Currently, the electric power industry is in transition from vertically integrated utilities to an industry that will incorporate competitive companies. This increases the complexity of the load frequency issue and calls for more insight and research. In this context, the tuning of a two-area AGC system after deregulation is not yet discussed and is studied in this work. The effect of bilateral contracts on the dynamics of the system is taken into account and the concept of DISCO participation matrix for these bilateral contracts is simulated. Genetic algorithms are adopted in order to obtain the optimal parameters of the load-frequency controllers as well as of the frequency biases. The performances of the tuned two–area AGC system are obtained using an appropriate Matlab/Simulink model and are found comparable and better to those of the same AGC system found in literature. Key-Words: Automatic generation control, deregulation, bilateral contracts, power system control, tuning by GA.