A graphical representation tool depicting the primary components of an electrical power system using simplified symbols and single lines to represent conductors. This visual aid offers a streamlined overview of the system, showing devices like generators, transformers, circuit breakers, and buses and their interconnections. For instance, it might illustrate how a power plant feeds electricity through transmission lines to substations, which then distribute it to various loads.
Such a representation plays a crucial role in power system analysis, planning, and operation. Its simplified nature facilitates efficient fault analysis, load flow studies, and protective device coordination. Historically, these diagrams were manually drafted, but advances in computing have led to specialized programs that automate the creation and modification of these representations, improving accuracy and reducing the time required for power system studies.