A Review of System Strength Metrics for Inverter-Based Power Systems: Preprint

Trager Joswig-Jones; Shuan Dong; Jin Tan; Di Wu; Baosen Zhang

A Review of System Strength Metrics for Inverter-Based Power Systems: Preprint

Trager Joswig-Jones
, Shuan Dong
, Jin Tan
, Di Wu
, Baosen Zhang

Power Systems Engineering

National Laboratory of the Rockies
University of Washington
North Dakota State University

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper

Abstract

The increasing share of inverter-based resources (IBRs) in electrical power systems is causing a range of challenges related to maintaining power system stability. It is computationally challenging and time-intensive to evaluate the stability of power systems with high IBR penetration levels through time-domain simulation or small-signal analysis; therefore, grid strength metrics capable of screening systems for potential stability issues are valuable. The conventional grid strength metric short-circuit ratio (SCR) has proven useful; however, it is inaccurate when applied to power systems with high IBR penetrations. To resolve this issue, a range of new metrics aimed at quantifying grid strength have been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we summarize and compare a selection of these metrics to identify gaps in their capabilities and future directions or grid strength metric development.

Original language	American English
Number of pages	8
State	Published - 2026
Event	IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting (PES GM) - Montreal, Canada Duration: 19 Jul 2026 → 23 Jul 2026

Conference

Conference	IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting (PES GM)
City	Montreal, Canada
Period	19/07/26 → 23/07/26

NLR Publication Number

NLR/CP-5D00-98037

Keywords

grid strength
inverter-based resource
power system stability
short-circuit ratio
system strength

Access to Document

https://www.nlr.gov/docs/fy26osti/98037.pdf

Cite this

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title = "A Review of System Strength Metrics for Inverter-Based Power Systems: Preprint",

abstract = "The increasing share of inverter-based resources (IBRs) in electrical power systems is causing a range of challenges related to maintaining power system stability. It is computationally challenging and time-intensive to evaluate the stability of power systems with high IBR penetration levels through time-domain simulation or small-signal analysis; therefore, grid strength metrics capable of screening systems for potential stability issues are valuable. The conventional grid strength metric short-circuit ratio (SCR) has proven useful; however, it is inaccurate when applied to power systems with high IBR penetrations. To resolve this issue, a range of new metrics aimed at quantifying grid strength have been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we summarize and compare a selection of these metrics to identify gaps in their capabilities and future directions or grid strength metric development.",

keywords = "grid strength, inverter-based resource, power system stability, short-circuit ratio, system strength",

author = "Trager Joswig-Jones and Shuan Dong and Jin Tan and Di Wu and Baosen Zhang",

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language = "American English",

note = "IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting (PES GM) ; Conference date: 19-07-2026 Through 23-07-2026",

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TY - CONF

T1 - A Review of System Strength Metrics for Inverter-Based Power Systems: Preprint

AU - Joswig-Jones, Trager

AU - Dong, Shuan

AU - Tan, Jin

AU - Wu, Di

AU - Zhang, Baosen

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - The increasing share of inverter-based resources (IBRs) in electrical power systems is causing a range of challenges related to maintaining power system stability. It is computationally challenging and time-intensive to evaluate the stability of power systems with high IBR penetration levels through time-domain simulation or small-signal analysis; therefore, grid strength metrics capable of screening systems for potential stability issues are valuable. The conventional grid strength metric short-circuit ratio (SCR) has proven useful; however, it is inaccurate when applied to power systems with high IBR penetrations. To resolve this issue, a range of new metrics aimed at quantifying grid strength have been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we summarize and compare a selection of these metrics to identify gaps in their capabilities and future directions or grid strength metric development.

AB - The increasing share of inverter-based resources (IBRs) in electrical power systems is causing a range of challenges related to maintaining power system stability. It is computationally challenging and time-intensive to evaluate the stability of power systems with high IBR penetration levels through time-domain simulation or small-signal analysis; therefore, grid strength metrics capable of screening systems for potential stability issues are valuable. The conventional grid strength metric short-circuit ratio (SCR) has proven useful; however, it is inaccurate when applied to power systems with high IBR penetrations. To resolve this issue, a range of new metrics aimed at quantifying grid strength have been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we summarize and compare a selection of these metrics to identify gaps in their capabilities and future directions or grid strength metric development.

KW - grid strength

KW - inverter-based resource

KW - power system stability

KW - short-circuit ratio

KW - system strength

M3 - Paper

T2 - IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting (PES GM)

Y2 - 19 July 2026 through 23 July 2026

ER -

A Review of System Strength Metrics for Inverter-Based Power Systems: Preprint

Abstract

Conference

NLR Publication Number

Keywords

Access to Document

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Cite this