Exploring Potential Applications of Ising Machines for Power System Operations

Recent advancements in Ising machines, both via quantum and quantum-inspired annealing, have been showing promising results in solving difficult optimization problems. Due to the potential of these dedicated machines, there is a rising interest in applying Ising machines to power system operation. However, despite Ising machines exhibiting computational advantages over conventional computational resources, modeling capability of Ising machines limit potential applications. Hence, this work explores these potential applications in two steps. First, using known characteristics of Ising machines and theoretical derivation, this work constructs an Ising machine applicability table for optimization problems. Then, using the constructed table, this work assesses the suitability of well-known optimization problems in the power system operation to identify potential applications. Furthermore, to understand the performance in applying Ising machines, a phasor measurement unit placement problem is solved using a quantum inspired Ising machine. The results show potential for solving large-scale problems that are unsolvable by conventional methods. The findings of the work are summarized in an Ising machine usage guideline for power system operations.