Techniques for Creating Synthetic Combined Electric and Natural Gas Transmission Grids

This paper presents a methodology for the creation of a synthetic combined electric and natural gas transmission network, along with representative benchmark results. The systems do not contain actual, confidential network data, but are synthetic, meaning they are built to capture the behavior of a combined network that is geographically constrained. First, natural gas loads are placed in a selected area. Work already done in building synthetic electric grids aids in this process, where the natural gas-powered generators are modeled as loads in the natural gas system. Publicly available data is then used to place the remaining gas loads and the gathering plant. Next, a method is introduced to construct a pipeline network connecting the loads and gathering plant, which acts as the source. The combined electric-gas system is then solved for the nodal pressures, pipeline flow rates, and electric state variables. A 47-node gas test case with 23 loads and 46 pipelines is built and solved in combination with a 173-bus electric system, designed to aid with developing and validating analysis techniques for combined electric-gas systems.