2013 IEEE PES JTCM, Jan 13-17, 2013, Memphis, TN, USA

The need for system modeling in optimizing

distribution system operation
Xiaoming Feng, ABB Corporate Research

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 1
Outline

Distribution system management objectives

and functions
Recurring problem pattern
System model defined
Why do we need system model
Conclusion

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 2
Key Goals of Distribution Management System

Service availability (SAIDI, SAFI)

Service quality (Voltage level)
Efficiency (Energy loss)
Economy (Asset utilization, peak demand
management)
Sustainability (Integration of demand
response, DER)

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 3
Operation Management Functions

Outage analysis
Fault location
Fault detection isolation and restoration
Demand Response Integration
Distributed Energy/ Energy Storage Management
Volt and Var Control and Optimization
Load balancing
Network reconfiguration
Adaptive protection
etc
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January 14, 2013 | Slide 4
A Recurring Pattern

Given
Available controls – caps, taps, ES, switches, etc; & Initial status
Forecast of independent variables – loads, DER
Optionally, mathematical model of the system – how the system
behave

Determine the necessary control actions such that the

resulting state of the system is
Feasible (satisfying all the constraints), and
Optimal (optimizing an explicit performance measure)

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 5
Horizon of Operation Optimization

Single interval (now)

Multi interval

For control objective defined over multiple

intervals, optimizing each interval separately
does not guarantee overall optimal or even
feasible solution

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 6
Control objectives
Local objective – such as voltage or power factor
at certain point on feeder
System objective is not determined by the state
at any specific point in the system, but a function
of overall system condition over time
Energy loss
Demand
Switching operations

Local objective maybe directly measurable

System objective in general can not be measured
directly, need to be evaluated from system states
Constraints

Constraint for one time interval( e.g., bus 1

voltage in time interval 1 should be within
limits)
Constraints linking more than one time
interval (e.g., ramping rate, SOC, # of
switching operations)

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 8
What do we mean by system model?
Characterization of the independent variables (load, DER,
ES, initial condition, temporal evolution)
How independent variable respond to system state (P-V, Q-
V relationship) or interruption
Controls (DR control, cap switching, ES charging
discharging, DER real and reactive power control..)
System behavior – how system states respond to any
changes in the controls – usually defined by system
topology and component parameters

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 9
What can we do with model?

Predicting the resulting system state

Evaluating the merit of the resulting state
(objective improvement, constraint feasibility)
Search for better and optimal control strategy
All without actually implementing the control
actions

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 10
Multi input multi output system behavior

The controls and system response are

coupled by implicit functions (KCL, KVL, and
power balance equations)
Except in very simple cases , predicting
system response to control is not straight
forward
Consider tap changing or capacitor switching

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 11
What if there is no model?
We can know the system state from observation if we have
enough measurements
New system state can only be observed after a control
action is actually implemented on physical system
Searching for better control strategy is possible for single
time interval, very fast continuous single control
Not suitable for
Slow control
Discrete control
Multiple controls
Multiple time interval problem

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 12
Control functions can benefit from better system model

Volt and Var Optimization

Demand response scheduling
Micro grid dispatch
Optimal feeder reconfiguration
…

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 13
Model details depend on the primary concern

Model can be full non-linear model or

simplified linear model
FDIR – feasibility most important, simple
connectivity model may be sufficient
DR – feasibility generally not a concern, a
simple capacity model may be adequate
VVC/VVO – feasibility and optimality are both
important, detailed model may be justified

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 14
Example of Load Model in CVR and DR
Single interval characteristics
Nominal value
Dependence on voltage and frequency

Multi interval characteristics

Constant impedance load (Z) Constant power load (P)

V 2 P Pn
P Pn ( )
Vn
Load Case I Load Case II

W/O vol reduction W/O vol reduction

W/ vol reduction
W/ vol reduction

Time Time
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January 14, 2013 | Slide 15
Effects of using proxy objective in VVC (no model)
System model allows evaluation of explicit control objective, without
it, proxy is used
Misalignment between the proxy objective and real objective could
result in counter productive control actions
Lower voltage on a feeder with high percentage constant power load
could increase the overall demand
Higher power factor does not equate lower power loss;

M
Q=250 M
Q=0

Qc=300
Load

R1 R2
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January 14, 2013 | Slide 16
Conclusions

Model allows the decision maker to identify

and improve control strategy without
experimenting on the physical system
Experimenting on the physical system is not
always possible for multiple control, multiple
interval, and discrete control, making model,
even simplified, a must

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January 14, 2013 | Slide 17
© ABB Group
January 14, 2013 | Slide 18