Coordinated reactive power control to achieve minimal operating costs

Abstract

This paper deals with the influence of distributed generation (DG) on distribution losses in medium voltage (MV) distribution networks. The aim was to minimize the losses and operation costs with only DG reactive power compensation with respect to voltage constraints. Thus, the active power flows are not affected as any attempt of active power curtailment causes financial loss for DG owner. The advantage of technologies that build up new smart grids is the possibility of developing new approaches of network management. In this paper, a coordinated reactive power control is presented which takes advantage of real-time data measurements from the network. The load-flow algorithm is implemented into the coordinated control, which determines the optimal operating point using a modeled network for every generator separately. The aim of the algorithm is to minimize the reactive power flow. The solution is evaluated by means of computer simulations. The simulated network is a part of the Slovenian medium-voltage distribution network. The presented results illustrate that the algorithm results in fast, simple and efficient energy loss allocation with an acceptable level of accuracy.