We propose a phase model to study cascade failure in power grids composed of
generators and loads. If the power demand is below a critical value, the model
system of power grids maintains the standard frequency by feedback control. On
the other hand, if the power demand exceeds the critical value, an electric
failure occurs via step out (loss of synchronization) or voltage collapse. The
two failures are incorporated as two removal rules of generator nodes and load
nodes. We perform direct numerical simulation of the phase model on a
scale-free network and compare the results with a mean-field approximation.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure