Commonwealth Associates, Inc.

TRANSMISSION 2000®
PC-Based Power System Analysis Software

TRANSMISSION 2000® is Commonwealth’s proprietary highly interactive, powerful software product designed to improve the analysis and planning of electric utility transmission systems. We are dedicated to developing and providing the best tools for electric transmission analysis for use on personal computers. Our products are developed on and for Microsoft Windows.

Training on the operation and use of these programs is available at either our location or yours. We also provide consulting services, studies, and customized computer programming.

The TRANSMISSION 2000® suite of programs is compatible with all standard industry formats, including PTI PSS/E, GE PSLF, Aspen One-Liner, and Electrocon Short Circuit Format.

The TRANSMISSION 2000® software comprises the following modules:

Power Flow (PFLOW)

POWER FLOW

The TRANSMISSION 2000® Power Flow (PFLOW) program offers two solution algorithms, the fast-decoupled method, and Newton's method for reliable convergence with any power system. It contains an interactive, full-screen data entry and modification feature and powerful reporting capabilities. PFLOW offers the ability to study cases with an unlimited number of buses without sacrificing capabilities or speed. The program has been tested with the largest cases available. Independently developed for the personal computer environment, PFLOW offers an easy to use, intuitive interface coupled with superior solution speed and robustness.

Cascade Analysis

By expanding on traditional transmission planning and reliability analysis methods, Commonwealth Associates, Inc. has developed a study method and associated software tools that produce reasonable and verifiable assessments of electric grid vulnerability to widespread blackout. The method also provides an objective measure of the NERC reliability criteria allowing “Planned/Controlled” loss of load for Category C “double” contingencies. This is accomplished by identifying contingencies that will not result in “the uncontrolled successive loss of system elements, which cannot be restrained from sequentially spreading” beyond a predetermined area, even though they cause overloads and voltage violations (Applicable Rating – A/R violations). Commonwealth studies to date suggest that over 80 percent of contingencies that cause A/R violations will not cause outages outside a predetermined area.

Commonwealth’s methodology provides:

Verifiable and complete list of “breaker-to-breaker” contingencies
Identification of ALL contingencies that cause violations and a direct or indirect assessment of all double (Category B and C) contingency combinations
Analytical methodology to supplement your engineer’s experience and judgment
Objective, repeatable, and reasonable classification of contingencies that cause A/R violations into those that will not cause outages beyond a predetermined area and those that cannot be eliminated as potential causes for widespread outages
Priority list of trouble facilities that identifies and suggests root causes for contingencies that may initiate widespread outages
Independent evaluation of your system suitable for use as compliance documentation that management can include in their “due diligence” reporting

Available Transfer Capability /
Constrained Economic Dispatch (CED)

The TRANSMISSION 2000® Available Transfer Capability (ATC) tool is an option integrated within PFLOW that automatically estimates transfer capabilities. The ATC methodology relies upon full AC power flow solution of the transmission system. Using a full AC solution means that both line overloads and voltage constraints may be included in the evaluation of system transfer capability. To solve the interrelated problem of using generation adjustments to increase transmission capability, the TRANSMISSION 2000® Constrained Economic (or, more generally, Electric) Dispatch (CED) program is included in this package. CED calculates the minimum-cost loading of generating units, while enforcing constraints on the maximum flow on transmission lines and transformers. To achieve optimal generation scheduling, you need only supply additional data for each generator's fuel prices, input/output curve, and active power generation limits. If you do not have price data, CED provides options to maximize transfers, minimize deviations from the current dispatch, or minimize losses.

Contingency Processor (CP)

The TRANSMISSION 2000® Contingency Processor program works with the Power Flow (PFLOW) program to examine the response of the electrical system model to outage conditions. Each user-defined outage condition is termed a “contingency.” The program assists with analyzing and organizing hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of contingencies. Using the set-definition tools contained in PFLOW, users can quickly identify logical combinations of areas, zones, specific buses, voltage levels, etc., to define the regions containing the contingency outages they wish to study. In addition to automatically preparing large sets of single contingency outages, contingencies involving multiple outages can be constructed. The reports are concisely organized to allow rapid analysis of impacted facilities and the contingencies that cause the impacts. A comparison feature provides a means of instantly comparing results from two different cases. Users familiar with Microsoft Access can easily modify and generate reports to suit their needs.

Power Flow Reduction and Data Conversion

The TRANSMISSION 2000® Power Flow Reduction and Data Conversion (PFR) program is used to produce smaller power flow network equivalents of larger networks. Since accurate power flow modeling often requires data exchange between utilities, power flow network reduction programs need to read and write data in many different formats. PFR can use each of the major formats. Once PFR reads your data, it uses the advanced “Extended Ward” method to produce desired reductions. This method produces better equivalents because it doesn't increase the number of branches with low X/R ratios and it produces a superior model of the external system VAR response. Any electric utility that has two or more interconnections to other systems or that simply wishes to eliminate detailed models from a large network model for any reason should consider PFR.

TRANSMISSION MAPPING FOR NETWORK ANALYSIS©

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are now industry standard for all new mapping projects. The software has matured, is powerful and economical and, most importantly, has a large set of different databases readily available. GIS provides tools to view data in new ways.

Commonwealth has developed a unique approach that efficiently integrates our power network software and system data with off-the-shelf geographic information systems. This approach takes advantage of the characteristics of the power system to create a solution that is both powerful and sustainable. With the mapping feature, we provide the planning engineer with access to any number of transmission system maps at his computer!

TRANSMISSION ACCESS INFORMATION LIBRARY©

The TRANSMISSION 2000® Transmission Access Information Library© (TAIL) is a compact library of information culled from various sources and provided to the personal computer user via CD-ROM. The base information in the library includes all available regional power flow models of the United States transmission system. Currently, this consists of approximately 40 models covering every state except Alaska and Hawaii.

The power flow data made available by the utilities and reliability councils is provided in Siemens/PTI, PSLF, GE, and other formats. The library provides the data in their original form. More importantly, all power flow models have been converted to a common basis and have been re-solved to assure the accuracy and integrity of the data. A viewer is provided to allow the user to efficiently view, search, sort, print, and paste data into spreadsheets and word processing programs.

POWER NETWORK DATA MANAGER

The Power Network Data Manager (PNDM) is designed to acquire data from diverse sources and provide a flexible environment for manipulating the data to support a variety of transmission network analysis programs, including our TRANSMISSION 2000® series of programs. Transmission data are created by many parties using multiple formats and protocols. The formats are often not standardized and subject to frequent, and sometimes arbitrary, change. By providing a comprehensive data description that includes all the elements of transmission network analysis, PNDM allows combination of data from diverse applications, translations from and to other data sources, and a mechanism for sending and receiving data. By providing editors, tools, and open access to database tools, PNDM provides the means to create data integrity.

ONE-LINE DIAGRAM

The TRANSMISSION 2000® One-Line Diagram (OL) program is a tool for the computerized construction, modification, and display of One-Line diagrams of electrical power systems. You may layout, inspect, and change diagrams using a graphics display on a personal computer and obtain hard copies on a wide variety of hard copy devices. Once you have constructed a system diagram, you may use it to present numeric results from the TRANSMISSION 2000® PFLOW or SC programs in a graphic format. You may also use OL as an interface to these programs. Results from either PFLOW or SC may be displayed on the same system diagram.

TRANSIENT STABILITY

Transient stability studies are typically required whenever a generator, transmission line, or other major facility is added to a transmission system. Operations personnel may want to conduct transient stability studies to determine whether certain network configurations might lead to stability problems in the event of a fault. The Transient Stability (TS) program is capable of computing solutions of up to approximately 30 seconds. Therefore, it is possible to study the stability of the system after the first swing. TS is also useful for studying a wide range of conditions, including motor starting and settings, as well as generator and load shedding relays.

SHORT CIRCUIT

The Short Circuit (SC) program was specifically designed to improve upon and replace traditional short circuit programs. New developments in modeling techniques and solution algorithms were combined to produce a short circuit program with analytical capabilities far beyond those found in other fault-analysis programs. Among its features are: interactive user interface, arbitrary fault capability, complete network model, contingency network changes, ANSI Standard X/R ratios, on-demand reporting, and full-screen data editing.

SHORT CIRCUIT REDUCTION

The Short Circuit Reduction (SCR) program is designed to reduce the size of your short-circuit model by replacing sets of buses and connecting branches with a smaller but exact, numerically equivalent network. For a properly chosen set of buses, this equivalent network will have fewer buses and branches than the original, yet still provide the correct response to faults. Equivalents produced by SCR may be useful for a number of important purposes such as: acquiring data from other electric utilities and groups of utilities; sending data to other electric utilities; producing a smaller model for use in other types of studies and with other programs such as the Electromagnetic Transients Program (EMTP); and transmission system equivalents (Thevenin impedances) for distribution studies.

PowerPlot™
The Graphic Light-Table

Now you can plot electrical time-current curves, test multiple configurations, develop single-line diagrams, and print Keuffel & Esser-type professional output for protective device coordination studies – all with a single, easy-to-use program. PowerPlot™ is a completely object-oriented and graphical power system analysis engineering program for protective coordination studies using Microsoft Windows.

PowerPlot™ makes power system protective coordination studies easier than ever with a full spectrum of powerful features, including:

Time Current Characteristic (TCC) Window allows you to select relays, fuses, damage curves, etc., then enter values and plot Time Current Characteristics instantly on your computer’s screen.
Legend Window lets you attach professional legends to your TCC plots, including fields for company name, project, facility, date, and engineer.
Single-Line Diagram Window lets you build an icon-based graphical One-Line you can drag and drop exactly where you want on any TCC.

With PowerPlot™, you can quickly test and save multiple “what-if” scenarios; just enter different items and values and click "plot" for an instant on-screen representation. You can also check time clearances between relays or fuses, change the TCC scale, and even add or reposition text notes and labels wherever you want. See results in seconds instead of hours. Make changes in a snap, right up to the last minute. Work faster, better, and more efficiently than ever before.

PROTECTION ANALYSIS

The TRANSMISSION 2000® Protection Analysis (PA) program is a tool for the design and analysis of a power system protection scheme. It comprises two modules: Relay Graphics for simulating the operation of a protection system, and Device Modeling for the definition of relays, reclosers, fuses, and low-voltage breakers. It becomes part of a complete analysis package when used with the TRANSMISSION 2000® Short Circuit and One-Line Diagram programs. The Short Circuit program provides system currents and voltages for any arbitrary fault condition. The Relay Graphics module may then be used to check protection system operation for that specific fault condition. The Device Modeling module allows the user to add new device models to the existing library or edit the models provided with Relay Graphics. The One-Line Diagram program may be used to display device and system data and even control the operation of Protection Analysis.

LINE CONSTANTS

The TRANSMISSION 2000® Line Constants (LC) program makes computations of the sequence parameters or “constants” of overhead transmission lines. State-of-the-art algorithms produce more accurate parameters than can be obtained by hand calculations. The parameters for all mutually coupled conductors, phase and shield, are computed simultaneously by matrix methods. Each line may comprise up to ten sections that reflect changes in construction details, transposition, etc. The design parameters of the transmission lines (“raw data”) are stored in one or more files that constitute a database. A set of interactive commands provide for entering data into the database, computing the parameters, and making reports.

TRAINING

Training on the operation and use of this program is available at either our location or yours. The cost for training is $1,200 per day plus travel expenses. Commonwealth will also provide consulting services related to the program. For example, you may find it desirable to have Commonwealth personnel help construct your initial data case since this is a one-time investment of labor.

ORDERING AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

To place an order or obtain additional information, please contact: