Title: Spectral analysis of a real power network

Authors: Vincenzo Fioriti; Marino Sforna; Gregorio D'Agostino

Addresses: ENEA Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, S. Maria in Galeria, 00123 Rome, Italy. ' TERNA SpA, Via Ostiense 92, 00100 Roma, Italy. ' ENEA Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, S. Maria in Galeria, 00123 Rome, Italy

Abstract: We present a spectral analysis of a significant part of the Italian bulk power system. Spectral analysis applied to graphs is not a new tool, but analyses of the real world, especially of technological networks, currently are lacking. We show the spectral pattern of a high voltage power network, calculate the ratio between the smallest and largest non-zero Laplacian eigenvalue to check its synchronisability and calculate the epidemics threshold of a real HV power grid. We indicate the trade-off between sinchronisability and epidemic threshold as a major network design problem. Moreover, following Restrepo, Ott, Hunt, we propose the usage of the maximum eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix to assess a metric for the inter-dependency in the technological networks.

Keywords: spectral analysis; high voltage power networks; synchronisation; eigenvalue; cascading failures; complex networks; Italy; power grids; network design; critical infrastructures.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2012.050109

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2012 Vol.8 No.4, pp.354 - 367

Accepted: 02 Aug 2012
Published online: 31 Jul 2014 *

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