Geomagnetic disturbances have the potential to impact the operation of electric power systems, and thus the assessment of their impacts is required as the first step for secure power system operations. While the effects of the disturbances have been observed primarily at higher latitudes, geomagnetic problems are also observed at mid and low latitude locations, in particular including neighboring countries to Korea such as China and Japan. This paper deals with the assessment of impact of geomagnetic disturbances on Korean electric power systems. For the assessment, the geoelectric fields induced by the geomagnetic disturbances are calculated using geomagnetic data measured over the past 20 years in order to quantify the strength of geomagnetic events in Korea. Then, the geomagnetic currents on the grid driven by the geoelectric fields are computed. Finally, the increased reactive power absorption in high voltage transformers is analyzed and accordingly the change of system voltage magnitudes is identified to evaluate whether the system maintains the voltage stability. The systematic study concludes that during a strong geomagnetic disturbance, the Korean electric power system satisfies the associated standards in the U.S. and maintains system stability.

High-altitude electromagnetic pulses (HEMPs) are bursts of electromagnetic energy that result from nuclear weapon detonations at altitudes at or above 30 km. A HEMP is comprised of three components: E1, E2, and E3. E1 and E2 are instantaneous emissions that can damage electronic components, whereas E3 generates low-frequency, geomagnetically-induced currents in transmission lines and power transformers. These currents can lead to the half-cycle saturation of power transformers and increased reactive power consumption. This study assessed the impact of the E3 HEMP on Korean electric power systems. For this assessment, two publicly available E3 HEMP environments were identified. A Direct Current (DC)equivalent model of Korean power systems was developed to calculate the geomagnetically-induced currents and increased the reactive power absorption of transformers in power systems. The vulnerability assessment involved two types of analysis: Static power flow analysis and dynamic transient stability analysis. The maximum electric field limit was determined by performing a steady-state analysis. The capability of the Korean electric power systems to maintain synchronism and acceptable voltages in the transient stability time frame following an E3 HEMP event was evaluated. Furthermore, the effects of detonations at five target locations were compared. It was concluded that Korean electric power systems cannot maintain their stability when affected by an E3 HEMP.Energies 2019, 12, 3335 2 of 12 infrastructure. The E3 waveform has a longer duration pulse, ranging from seconds to minutes, with a magnitude of tens of volts per kilometer. The early-time E1, intermediate E2, and late-time E3 have different time ranges and therefore impact power system assets differently. These different time durations mean each component is analyzed separately in power system studies. The adverse effects of the fast E1 and E2 components can be analyzed by performing an electromagnetic transient simulation, while the E3 component's duration is similar to that of the transient stability [4,5].

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