A power system simulation environment in MATLAB/Simulink is presented in this paper. The developed Power Analysis Toolbox (PAT) is a very flexible and modular tool for load flow, transient and small signal analysis of electric power systems. Standard power system component models and a wide range of FACTS devices are included. Its data structure and block library have been tested to confirm its applicability to small-to medium-sized power systems. Its advantages over an existing commercial package are given.

This paper presents a GA based optimization scheme for simultaneous coordination of multiple power system damping controllers. Both, local and remote, measurements are considered as input signals to the damping controllers. The proposed algorithm is applied to tuning of single and multiple power system stabilizers as well as tuning of a static VAr compensator. Controller design is tested on the small and mid-sized power systems to prove its effectiveness. All simulations are carried out using the MATLAB based package for nonlinear simulations of power systems, Power Analysis Toolbox (PAT), developed at West Virginia University's Advanced Power Engineering Research Center. Controllers are designed using MATLAB Control System Toolbox and optimized using GAOT toolbox.

Due to the recent deregulation, difficulty in acquiring rights-of-way to build new transmission lines, and steady increase in power demand, maintaining power system stability becomes evermore difficult and very challenging problem. Implementation of new equipment based on the latest technologies and proper controller design become essential for improvement of transient and oscillatory stability margins. To be able to develop and test these new devices and their controls it is necessary to have simulation package that allows accurate modeling of all power system components. Simulation environment has to be modular enough to allow frequent additions of new components without compromising overall speed of simulation and its accuracy. It should also support simulation of soft computing technologies e.g. Neural Networks, Fuzzy Logic, Genetic Algorithms, etc., since these technologies are increasingly being used to answer control challenges. The objectives of this thesis are: (1) development of a new power system simulation package within MATLAB/Simulink environment, and (2) application of genetic algorithms to coordination of power system damping controllers. The developed Power Analysis Toolbox (PAT) is a very flexible and modular tool for load flow, transient and small signal analysis of electric power systems. Standard power system component models and a wide range of FACTS devices are implemented within PAT. This toolbox allows automatic generation of linearized models, addition of new components by using Simulink's GUI, and a simple interface with other MATLAB toolboxes. The proposed scheme for coordination of power system damping controllers, based on genetic algorithms, is tested on the small and mid-sized power systems to prove its effectiveness.