Frequency response assessment of Eastern and Western Interconnections

With higher penetrations of renewable energy resources, assessing frequency response trends becomes extremely important. It is a critical component to the reliable operation of the bulk power system, particularly during disturbances and restoration. This paper presents a new and comprehensive statistical method to evaluate the trends for the Eastern and Western Interconnections of the North American electric grid. The statistical analysis tests whether observable decreases or increases between four annual data points constitute a statistically significant trend. The probability distribution of frequency response and contributing factors to it changes over the years are also examined. The statistical significance tests and studies have indicated a stable general trend for the Eastern and Western Interconnections over time.