As the traditional generation is gradually replaced by inverter-based resources, a lack of rotational inertia is now a common issue of modern power systems, which leads to an increasingly larger rate of change of frequency (RoCoF) following contingencies and may result in frequency collapse. As a crucial index of the frequency security and stability of power systems, the accurate estimation of the RoCoF can be a foundation for the development of advanced operations and control techniques of the future power system. This paper firstly analyzes the role of the RoCoF in typical blackouts occurring in recent years and discusses the physical and numerical nature of the RoCoF; then, by introducing the frequency spatial distribution of the power system, the paper discusses the concept of the “center” RoCoF that can present the frequency security and stability of the entire system. The estimation and prediction techniques of the maximal power system RoCoF following a contingency and the existing real-time tracking techniques of the power system RoCoF are comprehensively reviewed. Finally, the open questions and related research topics of the RoCoF estimation are discussed.

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