Transmission-Line Switching for Load Shed Prevention via an Accelerated Linear Programming Approximation of AC Power Flows

Topology control has garnered recent consideration for its value in leveraging the flexiblity of the power system. However, using even the latest technology, the AC optimal transmission switching (ACOTS) problem remains intractable. As such, most research addressing optimal topology control is based on the DCOPF, which has been shown to be particularly inaccurate for transmission switching decisions in the AC power system. This paper accelerates an existing mixed-integer linear power flow model which has been shown to be very accurate in approximating AC power flows. The aim of the new model is to identify transmission switching candidates to prevent load shed caused by contingency events. The methodology was tested on the IEEE 118-bus test case system and presents promising results. The model proposed herein was found to almost always identify AC optimal switching actions while significantly reducing the necessary solution time in comparison with the base model.