Enhancing Distribution System Flexibility through Network Restructuring and Optimal Planning of Distributed Energy Resources

Abstract

This research introduces a novel outage management strategy (OMS) designed to enhance the resilience of distribution systems (DiSs) during severe weather-induced power outages. The approach incorporates an innovative network restructuring technique that utilizes an updated matrix to efficiently identify and reconfigure the radial network's topology following line faults. This restructuring optimizes the use of distributed energy resources (DERs) by strategically replacing connection and cross-section lines, formulated as an optimization problem solved through the social spider optimization algorithm. The key contributions include a unique matrix rank-based topology modeling method that avoids traditional empirical topological searches, proving effective in N-1, N-2, and N-3 scenarios. Comprehensive planning of DERs, encompassing both dispatchable and non-dispatchable resources, ensures optimal power supply during crises, even in systems with low to moderate DER penetration. Extensive simulations on IEEE 69-bus and IEEE 123-bus systems show that the method can sustain up to 85% of the load after line failures, significantly outperforming traditional microgrid techniques. Additionally, the strategy reduces energy resource exploitation costs by over 20% compared to conventional approaches, offering a robust solution for enhancing DiS resilience.