Automatic Generation Control for Frequency and Tie-Line Regulation in a Two-Area Interconnected Diesel–Battery Energy Storage System

Ameze Big-Alabo, Wofuru Innocent

Abstract

This paper presents the dynamic modelling framework for Automatic Generation Control (AGC) in a two area hybrid power system. Each control area consists of a diesel generator represented by cascaded governor–turbine transfer functions, and a BESS unit operating under a Virtual Inertia Control (VIC) strategy that emulates synchronous machine inertia by responding to the rate-of-change of frequency (RoCoF). The two areas are interconnected through a tie-line that is modelled using the standard synchronizing coefficient formulation. The Area Control Error (ACE) integrates both local frequency deviation and tie-line power deviation that help drive the AGC loop. Four simulation case studies are conducted which are a single area load disturbance to verify area autonomy; simultaneous same direction load steps to assess coordinated recovery; opposing load changes to examine inter – area tie – line dynamics; and time – varying load profiles to evaluate robustness under continuous disturbances. In all cases the proposed scheme successfully restores nominal frequency and returns the tie-line exchange to its scheduled value at steady state. The results demonstrate that the BESS virtual inertia significantly reduces the frequency nadir and RoCoF during the initial disturbance period, complementing the slower diesel governor response. Moreover, the integral AGC controller ensures 0 steady – state error in both frequency and tie – line power and thus, confirms the effectiveness of Diesel – BESS hybrid AGC architectures for frequency regulation in multi – area power systems.

Keywords

Automatic Generation Control; Area Control Error; Diesel – BESS hybrid system; Virtual Inertia Control.

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References

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.47238/ijeca.v11i1.318

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