Summary
In this paper, a general Transient Stability Estimation Index (TSEI) is introduced, which can be used in different network without any data training step. The TSEI determines the stability status based on quantifying the impact of parameters, which affect transient stability problem. To quantify the parameters, some networks are simulated off‐line, and these parameters are randomly changed in their typical range. Then, the impact of these parameters is analyzed using critical clearing time of simulated short circuits. In this paper, IEEE 14‐bus and New England 39‐bus networks are used to provide off‐line learning sets. Unlike the previous works which have used decision tree algorithm as a direct security assessment tool, here, decision tree is used for analyzing of the parameters impact. To validate the result of the data processing, they are compared with the classical transient stability solution. Then, the TSEI is proposed, which draws significantly low processing burden, which is suitable for online transient stability assessment. To test the generality of the proposed index, IEEE 162‐bus network is used without any previous training data. In a real power system, using wide area measurements, first the required parameters are measured or estimated, and then the proposed TSEI is calculated for large disturbances. Simulation results show that the proposed index can acceptably estimate the stability, even in new networks. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.