In layman's terms, Contingency Analysis (CA) is a 'what if'
scenario simulator that evaluates, provides and prioritizes the
impacts on an electric power system when problems occur. A
contingency is the loss or failure of a small part of the power
system (e.g. a transmission line), or the loss/failure of
individual equipment such as a generator or transformer. This is
also called an unplanned 'outage'. Contingency analysis is a
computer application that uses a simulated model of the power
system, to: • evaluate the effects, and • calculate any
overloads, resulting from each outage event. Contingency
Analysis is essentially a 'preview' analysis tool. It simulates
and quantifies the results of problems that could occur in the
power system in the immediate future. CA is used as a study tool
for the off-line analysis of contingency events, and as an on-
line tool to show operators what would be the effects of future
outages. This allows operators to be better prepared to react to
outages by using pre-planned recove