In the aftermath of the wave of blackouts that affected US, UK and mainland Europe utilities in 2003 and 2004, renewed attention has been focused on maintaining the highest level of reliability and security in the operation of power systems. The lack of adequate transmission infrastructure as well as real-time tools aimed at detecting and alarming system conditions have also been highlighted.

In this context, the need to assess stability and predict the risk of blackout in real-time has become particularly relevant. Early work in this field documented in technical papers published...