Distributionally Robust Decentralized Volt-Var Control With Network Reconfiguration

• Published in: IEEE transactions on smart grid Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 4705 - 4718
• Main Authors: Byeon, Geunyeong, Kim, Kibaek
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Piscataway IEEE 01.09.2024; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: active distribution networks; Algorithms; Control centres; coordinated voltage control; decentralized; Decentralized control; Decisions; Distributionally robust; Energy sources; Inverters; multi-timescale; network partition; Optimization; Photovoltaic cells; probabilistic forecast; Probability distribution; Reactive power; Reconfiguration; Robust control; Uncertainty; Voltage control
• ISSN: 1949-3053; 1949-3061
• DOI: 10.1109/TSG.2024.3377910

This paper presents a decentralized volt-var optimization (VVO) and network reconfiguration strategy to address the challenges arising from the growing integration of distributed energy resources, particularly photovoltaic (PV) generation units, in active distribution networks. To reconcile control measures with different time resolutions and empower local control centers to handle intermittency locally, the proposed approach leverages a two-stage distributionally robust optimization; decisions on slow-responding control measures and set points that link neighboring subnetworks are made in advance while considering all plausible distributions of uncertain PV outputs. We present a decomposition algorithm with an acceleration scheme for solving the proposed model. Numerical experiments on the IEEE 123 bus distribution system are given to demonstrate its outstanding out-of-sample performance and computational efficiency, which suggests that the proposed method can effectively localize uncertainty via risk-informed proactive timely decisions.