Smart Grid Constraint Violation Management for Balancing and Regulating Purposes

The gradual active load penetration in low-voltage distribution grids is expected to challenge their network capacity in the near future. Distribution system operators should for this reason resort to either costly grid reinforcements, use of low-voltage boosters, or demand response (DR) mechanisms. Since DR implementation is usually more cost effective, it is the favorable solution to avoid or delay the need for grid reinforcement. To this end, this paper presents a framework for handling grid limit violations, both voltage and current, to ensure a secure and qualitative operation of the distribution grid. This framework consists of two steps, namely a proactive centralized, and subsequently, a reactive decentralized control scheme. The former is employed to balance the 1-h-ahead load, while the latter aims at regulating the consumption in real time. In both schemes, fairness in terms of utilization of demand flexibility among the customers is incorporated. It is demonstrated that the proposed methodology aids in keeping the grid status within preset limits while utilizing flexibility from all flexibility participants.