DigSILENT PowerFactory software’s potential for analyzing electrical power systems

Abstract

Modern power systems require rigorous analysis to meet operational criteria of stability, efficiency, and compliance with operational standards. This research investigates steady- state load flow analysis using DigSILENT PowerFactory software, employing two case studies to simulate power flow through the Newton-Raphson method. The main results evaluated correspond to voltage magnitudes, phase angles, and active/reactive power distribution, identifying voltage deviations from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI C84.1- 2020) voltage standards. Tests performed on the IEEE 14-bus system and Peru’s National Interconnected Electric System (SEIN) yielded results demonstrating efficient convergence in few iterations, validating the algorithm’s robustness for both small and large-scale networks, while its computational accuracy was confirmed through comparative analysis with MATLAB simulations. The software's integrated visualization tools and automated reporting features highlight its usefulness for analyzing voltage profiles and power flows, while emphasizing the importance of voltage regulation strategies and reactive power management to fulfill operational constraints. Beyond the theoretical study, the research extended to simulating Peru’s National Interconnected Electric System (SEIN), demonstrating PowerFactory’s capability for large-scale simulations that, in this case, revealed critical challenges such as overvoltages at specific buses and transmission losses, reinforcing the need for optimizations in planning and operating complex power networks.