First GIC Estimates for the Mexican Power Grid

Abstract

This contribution addresses the first assessment of the impact of geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) on the 400‐kV power grid of Mexico. As an initial approach, we modeled GIC using a uniform conductivity for the entire Mexican territory and spatially uniform geomagnetic disturbance. Power grid data were provided by the electric operator of Mexico; the geophysical data were inferred from the main features of Mexican geology. We calculate the power grid response during four geomagnetic storms from Solar Cycles 23 and 24 (i.e., 15 July 2000, 20 October 2003, 17 March 2015, and 7 September 2017), as well as during an extreme scenario (a Carrington‐like event). The results show that the Mexican power grid can be affected by three‐phase GIC ranging from 20 to 75 A during geomagnetic disturbances. According to the model, sites located in coastal areas or close to the edges of the network can experience large GIC during time intervals between 3 and 10 hr, depending on the intensity of the geomagnetic disturbance. It is an interesting result that these sites are of the major economic and strategic significance for the country. In the case of a Carrington‐like event, the power grid could be affected by GIC ranging between 25 and 150 A under a uniform 1 V/km EW geoelectric field. Such an event might produce significant distortions in the grid hardware (i.e., transformers and static VAR compensators), potentially leading to widespread damage.

Geolectric field measurement, modelling and validation during geomagnetic storms in the UK

“…Albertson et al, 1981). Modelling the response of a power grid to a uniform input geoelectric field is generally well-understood and many GIC analyses begin at this point (Horton et al, 2012;Caraballo et al, 2020). This simple field structure has often been adopted by industry within worst case scenarios and real-time analysis software (e.g.…”

Impact of Geomagnetically Induced Currents on High Voltage Transformers in Malaysian Power Network and Its Mitigation

“…In this simulation case, the produced GICs were calculated in the Malaysian power network model using the NAMM due to the geoelectric field value of 20 V/km which uniformly applied to the entire system at 0° northward and 100° eastward directions. The results of only two directions were presented because these angles are considered the main field directions that generate the highest GICs in most cases [41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. In this work, the 100° field angle contributes the highest GICs in the entire system.…”

Simulation and Analysis of Geomagnetically Induced Current Levels in Shandong Power Grid

“…By monitoring the GIC in China during the geomagnetic storm on November 10, 2004, Ge (2011) showed that the peak GIC in the transformer neutral at a nuclear power station in Zhaoqing reached 75.5 A. China’s power resources and demand are unevenly distributed. The domestic power grid mainly adopts long‐distance power transmission, with east‐west transmission lines, which are more vulnerable to geomagnetic storms (Caraballo et al., 2020). China is increasingly focusing on space weather monitoring and prevention.…”