Keeping 50 Hz

Inertia, response and blackouts

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• After a loss of supply, frequency falls at a rate set by the grid’s inertia.
• Fast frequency response (generators, batteries) stops the fall; the lowest point is the nadir.
• Low-inertia grids need faster response; load shedding is the last line of defence.

Steps

1. A power station trips
2. Inertia and response
3. Stop the fall
4. How fast does it fall?
5. Where did the inertia go?
6. The August 2019 blackout