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TY - JOUR AU - Menck, Peter J. AU - Heitzig, Jobst AU - Kurths, Jürgen AU - Joachim Schellnhuber, Hans PY - 2014 DA - 2014/06/09 TI - How dead ends undermine power grid stability JO - Nature Communications SP - 3969 VL - 5 IS - 1 AB - The cheapest and thus widespread way to add new generators to a high-voltage power grid is by a simple tree-like connection scheme. However, it is not entirely clear how such locally cost-minimizing connection schemes affect overall system performance, in particular the stability against blackouts. Here we investigate how local patterns in the network topology influence a power grid’s ability to withstand blackout-prone large perturbations. Employing basin stability, a nonlinear concept, we find in numerical simulations of artificially generated power grids that tree-like connection schemes—so-called dead ends and dead trees—strongly diminish stability. A case study of the Northern European power system confirms this result and demonstrates that the inverse is also true: repairing dead ends by addition of a few transmission lines substantially enhances stability. This may indicate a topological design principle for future power grids: avoid dead ends. SN - 2041-1723 UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4969 DO - 10.1038/ncomms4969 ID - Menck2014 ER -