Inter-Area Oscillation Damping in Data-Center-Integrated Power Systems
arXiv:2607.27575
The paper models hyperscale data‑center HVAC and UPS subsystems and incorporates them into a small‑signal stability analysis to show that UPS‑based demand response can improve inter‑area oscillation damping, while HVAC cannot, using gradient optimization on the UPS controller in the IEEE 39‑bus system.
Abstract
This paper develops explicit dynamic models of a hyperscale data center, including its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) subsystems, and integrates them into a small-signal stability framework to investigate the impact of data center demand response on power system inter-area oscillations. Through eigenvalue analysis and time-domain simulations, the results demonstrate that UPS-based demand response can enhance inter-area oscillation damping. In contrast, the HVAC subsystem is shown to be inherently incapable of providing effective oscillation damping due to its limited thermal response bandwidth. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is used to tune the UPS controller gain to maximize the damping ratio of the critical inter-area mode. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated using the IEEE 39-bus test system.
6 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for presentation at the 58th North American Power Symposium (NAPS 2026)