To add to the post above, generating points as mentioned are fuel consumption and load determined. Loads pick up, generator lags, more fuel is added to try to keep it at Caleutches 3600 RPM. Loads decrease rapidly,(especially with large solar and partly cloudy days) fuel has to be decreased.
When we have to make ties between generation points, whether it is at the transmission level of the distribution level, we are required to call the central dispatch and get the angular difference between generation points before we tie.
One generation point can decrease fuel just a bit to slow a generator down to get within a degree or two (synchronize) before we make our tie.
Along with hertz the synchronization of generation plants is also monitored just for tying generation points together for load sharing, maintenance, etc..
Solar has really made the process more involved with the addition of bi-directional power. I’ve looked at substation phasors before on a partly cloudy day when the loads are very close to a solar farms output, and the phasor is constantly flipping back and forth as the energy flows from utility or to the utility.
It’s this type of fluctuation that’s hardest on transmission synchronization.
When we have to make ties between generation points, whether it is at the transmission level of the distribution level, we are required to call the central dispatch and get the angular difference between generation points before we tie.
One generation point can decrease fuel just a bit to slow a generator down to get within a degree or two (synchronize) before we make our tie.
Along with hertz the synchronization of generation plants is also monitored just for tying generation points together for load sharing, maintenance, etc..
Solar has really made the process more involved with the addition of bi-directional power. I’ve looked at substation phasors before on a partly cloudy day when the loads are very close to a solar farms output, and the phasor is constantly flipping back and forth as the energy flows from utility or to the utility.
It’s this type of fluctuation that’s hardest on transmission synchronization.