Power system spatial analysis and visualization using geographic information system (GIS)

Power system conditions need to be monitored continuously to detect and control any abnormal condition in the system. Geographic information system (GIS) is considered an essential part of situational awareness that is recommended by the blackout-2003 report for power system reliability. In this paper, the potential of using GIS for power system spatial analysis is investigated using ArcGIS software. Several digital maps and networks are created from excel sheets using the synthetic test systems including Tennessee, Texas, and the entire synthetic network of the US test system. Inverse density weight technique, slope analysis, and contour lines are employed for the situational analysis. The study includes both steady-state and dynamic analysis, and the systems are simulated using a MATLAB-based package developed for the work in this paper. The obtained numerical results are converted to geo database for more spatial analysis, and several videos are created. The study demonstrates the capability of GIS for analyzing and visualizing the system geographically and in multi-layer, multi-view, and dynamic display.