Self-organized criticality and cascading failures in the topological model of power grids: a case study

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that power-grids experience a dynamical equilibrium named self-organized criticality as they evolve by their own means to a critical state in which a minor event can trigger a chain reaction affecting any number of elements. Considering the topological
model of Eletrosul transmission system and a simplified model of cascading failures, we study the size/scope of blackouts relatively to the proximity of the system to its operational limits. Results indicate that the size and scope of blackouts are strongly related to the overall state of
the system at the moment of an individual failure.