The real-time operation and control of distribution systems has not been significantly automated due to limitation of communication infrastructure, real-time monitoring, and operational scheduling tools. Also, the energy democracy movement is resulting in more and more penetration of energy resources in electric distribution systems. With increasing penetration level of distributed energy resources (DERs) in distribution systems, more and more electric utility customers are transitioning from the role of mere consumers into “prosumers” (producers and consumers, in one). However, this active involvement of prosumers along with ever-increasing penetration level of intermittent DERs cause new challenges in power systems and make management of a distribution system with DERs a sophisticated task. Moreover, reverse power flow in distribution systems is introduced due to the high penetration of DERs. Successful transition from the conventional distribution system to this new paradigm requires an accurate planning and efficient management of these resources. Therefore, effective operational scheduling via an accurate AC optimal power flow for unbalanced distribution system is needed in order to maintain the reliability and efficiency of modern distribution systems and accommodate a high penetration level of DERs.
Researchers at Arizona State University have developed a software tool for voltage distribution power system modeling and scheduling. The tool can be used for: (1) situational awareness enhancement of distribution systems and/or (2) scheduling and control of distributed energy resources (DERs). In this proposed formulation, untransposed distribution lines, shunt elements of distribution lines, mutual coupling between phases, line losses, and detailed representation of distribution transformers and DERs are modeled. This tool provides efficient real-time distribution system topology processing, state estimation, and outage detection to correctly identify the network topology configuration, detect outage sections, and estimate system states with limited real-time measurements.
Related publications:
Potential Applications:
- Distribution management systems (DMSs)
- Distributed energy resource management systems (DERMSs)
- Power utility companies
Benefits and Advantages:
- Real-time monitoring and control of distribution systems
- Accurately estimates active and reactive power losses, voltage magnitude, and voltage angle due to precisely modeling all components of an unbalanced distribution system
- Works during normal and/or emergency (e.g., outage) conditions
- Evaluated on actual distribution feeder of an electric utility in Arizona
- Identified different topologies and outages with a high accuracy greater than 98%
- Can be incorporated in DERMS