Shift Factor-Based SCOPF Topology Control MIP Formulations With Substation Configurations

Abstract

Topology control (TC) is an effective tool for managing congestion, contingency events, and overload control. The majority of TC research has focused on line and transformer switching. Substation reconfiguration is an additional TC action, which consists of opening or closing breakers not in series with lines or transformers. Some reconfiguration actions can be simpler to implement than branch opening, seen as a less invasive action. This paper introduces two formulations that incorporate substation reconfiguration with branch opening in a unified TC framework. The first method starts from a topology with all candidate breakers open, and breaker closing is emulated and optimized using virtual transactions. The second method takes the opposite approach, starting from a fully closed topology and optimizing breaker openings. We provide a theoretical framework for both methods and formulate security-constrained shift factor MIP TC formulations that incorporate both breaker and branch switching. By maintaining the shift factor formulation, we take advantage of its compactness, especially in the context of contingency constraints, and by focusing on reconfiguring substations, we hope to provide system operators additional flexibility in their TC decision processes. Simulation results on a subarea of PJM illustrate the application of the two formulations to realistic systems.