Non-synthetic European low voltage test system

Abstract

The use and development of standard test systems has been critical for testing all kind of algorithms, operation procedures and planning purposes in transmission and distribution networks. With the irruption of advanced metering infrastructure based among others on smart meter technology, distribution systems suffered a drastic modernization in many regions of the world. The smart grid concept translated to the terminal distribution systems implies a drastic change of paradigm in the way these kinds of systems have been planned and operated. Although there are several distribution test systems, most of them are synthetic and there are very few test feeders and networks representing the European style distribution system. In this paper, a real (non-synthetic) comprehensive distribution test network representing a typical European town’s network is presented. The model also features a provisioning mechanism to incorporate smart meter data obtained from the consumer’s meter in order to study the distribution network status. This test network will provide a tool that allows researchers to work on algorithms and optimization of resources for European style distribution systems. The test network also demonstrates the impact of neutral voltage in European style distribution networks. Both researchers and the distribution company provide with the raw data extracted from the GIS system and all the functions to convert the data into an OpenDSS model as well as the loads extracted from real smart meters representing 20 days.